Cargo arranging method, device, warehousing system and storage medium
By identifying target robots in the warehousing system and automatically assigning sorting tasks based on their status attributes and cargo size information, the problem of low sorting efficiency caused by manual intervention in existing technologies is solved, achieving efficient automatic sorting and improving warehousing efficiency.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202111335614.1
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2020-11-20
- Publication Date
- 2026-02-27
- Estimated Expiration
- 2040-11-20
AI Technical Summary
Existing warehousing systems rely on manual intervention for inventory management, resulting in low inventory management efficiency, unreasonable space utilization, and low overall warehousing efficiency.
By identifying target robots capable of performing inventory management tasks, and based on their status attributes and cargo size information, the system automatically assigns and controls robots to perform inventory management operations on target shelves, thereby optimizing cargo storage through a dynamic inventory location mechanism.
It achieves high efficiency and high accuracy in automated inventory management, thereby improving the storage efficiency of the warehousing system.
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Figure CN114516506B_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of intelligent warehousing, and particularly relates to a goods arrangement method, device, warehousing system and storage medium. BACKGROUND
[0002] The intelligent warehousing system based on the warehousing robot adopts an intelligent operating system, realizes automatic taking and storing of goods through system instructions, can run uninterruptedly for 24 hours, replaces manual management and operation, improves the efficiency of warehousing, and is widely applied and favored.
[0003] In order to improve the warehousing efficiency of the warehousing system, the goods stored on the goods shelves of the warehousing system need to be arranged, that is, the warehouse is arranged, and for the dynamic storage location, in order to ensure the reasonable and orderly storage of the goods on the goods shelves, the warehouse arrangement is particularly important.
[0004] The existing warehouse arrangement strategy is mostly dependent on human participation, needs professional warehouse arrangement personnel, and determines the corresponding warehouse arrangement strategy according to the storage condition of the goods shelves of the warehousing system, so the warehouse arrangement efficiency is low, and the space utilization rate of the warehousing system is unreasonable, and the warehousing efficiency is low. SUMMARY
[0005] The present application provides a goods arrangement method, device, warehousing system and storage medium, realizes automatic warehouse arrangement of the warehousing system, has high warehouse arrangement efficiency and high accuracy, and improves the warehousing efficiency of the warehousing system.
[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a goods arrangement method applied to a warehouse management device, comprising:
[0007] determining a target robot capable of executing a warehouse arrangement task;
[0008] determining a first target goods shelf on which the target robot performs a warehouse arrangement operation according to a state attribute of the target robot, wherein the storage space of each goods on the first target goods shelf is determined according to the size information of the goods and the dynamic goods storage space on the goods shelf;
[0009] controlling the target robot to perform a warehouse arrangement operation on the first target goods shelf.
[0010] In some embodiments, the determination of the target robot capable of executing the warehouse arrangement task comprises:
[0011] determining a first robot currently in an idle state as the target robot; and / or,
[0012] determining a second robot currently performing a taking and storing task and having a taking and storing task execution duration shorter than an allocated duration as the target robot.
[0013] In some embodiments, the target robot is the second robot, and the determining the first target storage rack on which the target robot performs the storage rack organizing operation according to the state attribute of the target robot comprises:
[0014] The target robot is determined as the first target storage rack on which the target robot performs the storage rack organizing operation according to the state attribute of the target robot.
[0015] In some embodiments, the target robot is the first robot or the second robot, and the determining the first target storage rack on which the target robot performs the storage rack organizing operation according to the state attribute of the target robot comprises:
[0016] The first target storage rack is determined from the plurality of storage racks according to a storage rack organizing priority; or,
[0017] The first target storage rack is determined from the plurality of storage racks according to a distance between the target robot and the storage rack; or,
[0018] The first target storage rack is determined from the plurality of storage racks according to the storage rack organizing priority and the distance between the target robot and the storage rack.
[0019] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:
[0020] The storage rack organizing priority of each of the plurality of storage racks is determined according to one or more of a storage rack area priority, a storage rack occupancy rate, and a storage rack organizing interval;
[0021] The storage rack area priority is a priority of an area in which the storage rack is located, and the storage rack area priority is in a positive proportional relationship with a heat of the area in which the storage rack is located, and the heat of the area in which the storage rack is located is in a positive proportional relationship with a frequency of organizing the storage rack;
[0022] The storage rack occupancy rate is a ratio of a total length of a fragment space of the storage rack to a total length of goods, the total length of the fragment space is a sum of lengths of fragment spaces on the storage rack, the length of the fragment space is an interval length between adjacent first goods and second goods, and the interval length is less than a preset value, and the total length of the goods is a sum of lengths of goods stored on the storage rack, and the storage rack occupancy rate is in a positive proportional relationship with the storage rack organizing priority;
[0023] The storage rack organizing interval is a time interval between a time node at which the storage rack is last organized and a current time.
[0024] In some embodiments, the determining the storage rack organizing priority of each of the plurality of storage racks according to one or more of the storage rack area priority, the storage rack occupancy rate, and the storage rack organizing interval comprises:
[0025] According to the shelf area priority, the shelf occupancy rate and the shelf library interval, a corresponding shelf library priority of each shelf is calculated by the following formula:
[0026] Q i =O i ×a+P i ×b+T i ×c
[0027] Wherein, Q i is the shelf library priority of the i-th shelf, i = 1, 2, 3…N, N is the total number of shelves; O i is the shelf occupancy rate of the i-th shelf; P i is the shelf area priority of the i-th shelf; T i is the shelf library interval of the i-th shelf; a is the weight coefficient corresponding to the shelf occupancy rate, b is the weight coefficient corresponding to the shelf area priority, and c is the weight coefficient corresponding to the shelf library interval.
[0028] In some embodiments, the first target shelf is determined from the plurality of shelves according to the distance between the target robot and the shelf, comprising:
[0029] The shelf whose distance from the target robot is less than a first preset distance threshold and which does not have other robots performing operations except the target robot is determined as the first target shelf.
[0030] In some embodiments, the first target shelf is determined from the plurality of shelves according to the shelf library priority and the distance between the target robot and the shelf, comprising:
[0031] The shelf whose distance from the target robot is less than a second preset distance threshold, whose shelf library priority is greater than a preset priority threshold, and which does not have other robots performing operations except the target robot is determined as the first target shelf.
[0032] In some embodiments, the target robot is controlled to perform a library operation on the first target shelf, comprising:
[0033] Based on the stored goods on the first target shelf, a library strategy corresponding to the first target shelf is determined;
[0034] According to the library strategy, the target robot is controlled to perform a library operation.
[0035] In some embodiments, the library strategy corresponding to the first target shelf is determined based on the stored goods on the first target shelf, comprising:
[0036] determine a warehouse management strategy for the stored goods on the first target shelf according to one or more of a goods heat of the stored goods on the first target shelf, a goods interval of the stored goods on the first target shelf, and a preset safety interval, wherein the goods heat represents a frequency of the stored goods being taken out.
[0037] In some embodiments, the first target shelf is a shelf arranged in a one-dimensional configuration, and the determining of the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf based on the stored goods on the first target shelf comprises:
[0038] determining the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf according to the goods interval of the stored goods on the first target shelf and the preset safety interval.
[0039] In some embodiments, the first target shelf is a shelf arranged in a two-dimensional configuration, and the determining of the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf based on the stored goods on the first target shelf comprises:
[0040] determining the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf according to the goods heat of the stored goods on the first target shelf, so that goods with a goods heat higher than a preset heat are placed in a first row of each layer of the first target shelf.
[0041] In some embodiments, the warehouse management strategy comprises at least one of:
[0042] adjusting the storage positions of the stored goods so that the distance between the goods is the preset safety interval;
[0043] adjusting the storage positions of the stored goods so that the storage positions of goods with the same size or a size difference within a preset range are adjacent;
[0044] In the process of adjusting the storage positions of the stored goods, the position adjustment priority of the goods is inversely proportional to the size of the goods.
[0045] In some embodiments, when the target robot is a single-fork robot, the target robot comprises at least one group of single-fork robots, and each group of single-fork robots comprises at least two single-fork robots.
[0046] When the target robot is a multi-storage-unit robot, the target robot comprises at least one multi-storage-unit robot.
[0047] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:
[0048] detecting whether a warehouse management condition is met;
[0049] When it is determined that the inventory management condition is met, a step of determining a target robot that can perform an inventory management task is started.
[0050] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:
[0051] allocating a pick-and-place task to a target robot that is performing an inventory management operation, controlling the target robot to stop performing the inventory management operation, and performing the pick-and-place task.
[0052] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:
[0053] When it is detected that the target robot performs an inventory management operation on a first target shelf and that there is an overlapping area between an area in which the target robot performs the inventory management operation and an area in which a second robot performs a pick-and-place task, a second target shelf different from the first target shelf is determined, and the target robot is controlled to perform an inventory management operation on the second target shelf.
[0054] In a second aspect, the present application provides a goods arrangement method applied to a robot, comprising:
[0055] receiving a first control instruction sent by a warehouse management device, the first control instruction being sent by the warehouse management device to a target robot after the warehouse management device determines the target robot that can perform an inventory management task and determines a first target shelf on which the target robot performs an inventory management operation according to a state attribute of the target robot, wherein a storage space of each goods on the first target shelf is determined according to size information of the goods and dynamic goods storage space on the shelf;
[0056] performing an inventory management operation on the first target shelf according to the first control instruction.
[0057] In some embodiments, the first control instruction contains an inventory management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf determined by the warehouse management device based on the stored goods on the first target shelf;
[0058] performing an inventory management operation on the first target shelf according to the first control instruction, comprising:
[0059] performing an inventory management operation on the first target shelf according to the inventory management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf in the first control instruction.
[0060] In some embodiments, the performing an inventory management operation on the first target shelf according to the first control instruction, comprises:
[0061] determining an inventory management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf based on the stored goods on the first target shelf;
[0062] According to a warehouse sorting strategy corresponding to the first target shelf, a warehouse sorting operation is performed on the first target shelf.
[0063] In some embodiments, the process of determining the warehouse sorting strategy corresponding to the first target shelf comprises the following steps:
[0064] According to one or more of the following: the item heat of the stored items on the first target shelf, the item spacing of the stored items on the first target shelf, and the preset safety spacing, a warehouse sorting strategy for the stored items on the first target shelf is determined, wherein the item heat represents the frequency of the stored items being taken out.
[0065] In some embodiments, the first target shelf is a shelf stored in a one-dimensional configuration, and the process of determining the warehouse sorting strategy corresponding to the first target shelf comprises the following steps:
[0066] According to the item spacing of the stored items on the first target shelf and the preset safety spacing, the warehouse sorting strategy corresponding to the first target shelf is determined.
[0067] In some embodiments, the first target shelf is a shelf stored in a two-dimensional configuration, and the process of determining the warehouse sorting strategy corresponding to the first target shelf comprises the following steps:
[0068] According to the item heat of the stored items on the first target shelf, the warehouse sorting strategy corresponding to the first target shelf is determined, so that items with a heat higher than a preset heat are placed in the first row of each layer of the first target shelf.
[0069] In some embodiments, the warehouse sorting strategy comprises at least one of the following:
[0070] Adjusting the storage position of the stored items so that the distance between the items is a preset safety spacing;
[0071] Adjusting the storage position of the stored items so that the storage positions of items with the same size or a size difference within a preset range are adjacent;
[0072] In the process of adjusting the storage position of the stored items, the position adjustment priority of the items is inversely proportional to the size of the items.
[0073] In some embodiments, the adjusting of the storage position of the stored items so that the distance between the items is a preset safety spacing comprises:
[0074] Determining the reference point information of the stored items;
[0075] According to the reference point information, adjusting the storage position of the stored items so that the distance between the items is a preset safety spacing.
[0076] In some embodiments, the reference point comprises one or more of: a column of the first target shelf, a marker point of the first target shelf, and one or more goods placed in positions adjacent to the stored goods.
[0077] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:
[0078] receiving a second control instruction sent by the warehouse management device, the second control instruction comprising a pick-and-place task;
[0079] stopping the execution of the shelf management operation according to the second control instruction, and executing the pick-and-place task.
[0080] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:
[0081] receiving a third control instruction sent by the warehouse management device, the third control instruction being sent by the warehouse management device after detecting that there is an overlapping area between the area in which the target robot executes the shelf management operation on the first target shelf and the area in which the second robot executes the pick-and-place task, and determining a second target shelf different from the first target shelf, the third control instruction comprising information of the second target shelf;
[0082] executing a shelf management operation on the second target shelf according to the third control instruction.
[0083] In a third aspect, the present application provides a warehouse management device, comprising: a memory and at least one processor;
[0084] the memory stores computer-executable instructions;
[0085] the at least one processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the at least one processor executes the above-mentioned goods arrangement method.
[0086] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a robot, comprising: a memory and at least one processor;
[0087] the memory stores computer-executable instructions;
[0088] the at least one processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the at least one processor executes the above-mentioned goods arrangement method.
[0089] In some embodiments, the robot comprises a mobile chassis, a carrying device, a storage shelf, and a lifting assembly; the storage shelf, the carrying device, and the lifting assembly are installed on the mobile chassis.
[0090] In some embodiments, the carrying device comprises one or more of the following: a telescopic arm assembly, a suction cup and a mechanical arm.
[0091] In some embodiments, the carrying device comprises a pallet and a turning structure for changing the orientation of the goods placed on the pallet.
[0092] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a warehouse system, comprising the warehouse management device and the robot.
[0093] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, wherein the computer readable storage medium stores computer execution instructions, and when a processor executes the computer execution instructions, the warehouse sorting method is implemented.
[0094] In some embodiments, the present application further provides a computer program product, comprising a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the warehouse sorting method.
[0095] The warehouse sorting method, device, warehouse system and storage medium provided by the present application, the warehouse sorting method comprises: determining a target robot capable of performing a warehouse sorting task; determining a first target goods shelf on which the target robot performs a warehouse sorting operation according to a state attribute of the target robot, wherein the storage space of each goods on the first target goods shelf is determined according to the size information of the goods and the dynamic goods storage space on the goods shelf; and controlling the target robot to perform the warehouse sorting operation on the first target goods shelf. For the goods shelf adopting the dynamic shelf mechanism, the present application first determines a target robot capable of performing a warehouse sorting task, and then allocates a corresponding first target goods shelf to the target robot based on the state attribute of the target robot, and controls the target robot to perform a warehouse sorting operation on the first target goods shelf. Therefore, by controlling the robot to perform the warehouse sorting operation through the warehouse management device, the automatic warehouse sorting of the warehouse system can be realized, the warehouse sorting efficiency is high, the accuracy is high, and the warehouse efficiency of the warehouse system is improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0096] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present application.
[0097] Figure 1A A schematic diagram of the storage condition in a one-dimensional configuration mode provided by an embodiment of the present application;
[0098] Figure 1B A schematic diagram of the storage condition after placing goods provided by an embodiment of the present application; Figure 1A
[0099] Figure 1C A schematic diagram of the storage condition in a two-dimensional configuration mode provided by an embodiment of the present application;
[0100] Figure 1D For the purpose of the present application Figure 1C schematic view of the storage situation after the goods are placed in the corresponding embodiment;
[0101] Figure 1E For the purpose of the present application Figure 1C schematic view of the storage situation after the goods are placed in the corresponding embodiment;
[0102] Figure 1F schematic view of the structure of a robot provided in an embodiment of the present application;
[0103] Figure 1G For the purpose of the present application Figure 1F schematic view of the structure of a carrying device in the embodiment shown;
[0104] Figure 1H For the purpose of the present application Figure 1F schematic view of the structure of a robot and its carrying device in the embodiment shown;
[0105] Figure 1I For the purpose of the present application Figure 1F schematic view of the structure of a carrying device in the embodiment shown;
[0106] Figure 1J For the purpose of the present application Figure 1I schematic view of the structure of another carrying device in the embodiment shown;
[0107] Figure 1K For the purpose of the present application Figure 1F schematic view of the structure of another carrying device in the embodiment shown;
[0108] Figure 1L For the purpose of the present application Figure 1F schematic view of the structure of another carrying device in the embodiment shown;
[0109] Figure 2A application scenario diagram of a goods storage method provided in an embodiment of the present application;
[0110] Figure 2B another application scenario diagram of a goods storage method provided in an embodiment of the present application;
[0111] Figure 3 flowchart of a goods arrangement method provided in an embodiment of the present application;
[0112] Figure 4 example diagram of goods storage on a shelf in an embodiment of the present application;
[0113] Figure 5 flowchart of another goods arrangement method provided in an embodiment of the present application;
[0114] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a storage condition of one kind of problem goods in an embodiment of the present application;
[0115] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a storage condition of another kind of problem goods in an embodiment of the present application;
[0116] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a storage condition of goods in an embodiment of the present application;
[0117] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a structure of a goods arrangement device provided in an embodiment of the present application;
[0118] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of a structure of another goods arrangement device provided in an embodiment of the present application;
[0119] Figure 11 A schematic diagram of a structure of a robot provided in an embodiment of the present application;
[0120] Figure 12 A schematic diagram of a structure of a warehouse management device provided in an embodiment of the present application;
[0121] Figure 13 A schematic diagram of a structure of a warehouse system provided in an embodiment of the present application.
[0122] The specific embodiments of the present application have been shown through the above-described drawings, and will be described in more detail hereinafter. These drawings and written descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the concept of the present application in any way, but to illustrate the concept of the present application to those skilled in the art by referring to specific embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0123] The exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein with reference to the attached drawings. In the following description, the same numbers are used to indicate the same or similar components. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all the embodiments consistent with the present application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of the present application as detailed in the appended claims.
[0124] The technical solutions of the present application and how the technical solutions of the present application solve the above technical problems will be described in detail below with specific embodiments. The following specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes can not be described again in some embodiments. The embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0125] The application scenarios of the embodiments of the present application will be explained below:
[0126] The application is applied to the scene of dynamically configuring a goods storage space, and provides a goods placement method different from a fixed storage location.
[0127] The dynamic configuration of the goods storage space refers to: after the system determines a to-be-stored goods, a first storage space that is suitable for the size of the goods is allocated from an existing unoccupied space according to the size of the goods, wherein the unoccupied space can be a space of any size, and the unoccupied space does not include a fixed storage location that has been divided; wherein the first storage space can accommodate the to-be-stored goods, and the fixed storage location refers to a storage location that is pre-set in a warehouse, and the position of the fixed storage location is fixed and the size is determined.
[0128] The dynamic goods storage space can be a space configured by dynamically configuring a goods storage space.
[0129] Exemplarily, the dynamic configuration of the goods storage space at least includes a one-dimensional and / or two-dimensional configuration mode.
[0130] Exemplarily, Figure 1A A schematic diagram of a storage condition in a one-dimensional configuration mode provided by an embodiment of the application is shown in conjunction with an X-Y coordinate system, and the one-dimensional configuration mode refers to that the goods in each layer of the goods storage space can be placed in a row in the depth Y direction, wherein in the one-dimensional configuration mode, the storage space of the goods includes a first unoccupied space and / or a first occupied space, specifically, the first occupied space is a space in which goods have been placed in the goods access direction.
[0131] Exemplarily, Figure 1C A schematic diagram of a storage condition in a two-dimensional configuration mode provided by an embodiment of the application is shown in conjunction with an X-Y coordinate system, and the two-dimensional configuration mode refers to that the goods in each layer of the goods storage space can be placed in a row, multiple rows, or a combination of a row and multiple rows in the depth Y direction. That is, in the two-dimensional configuration mode, the goods in the goods storage space can be placed in multiple rows in the depth Y direction, wherein in the two-dimensional configuration mode, the storage space of the goods includes a second unoccupied space and / or a second occupied space, specifically, the second unoccupied space includes a space that is not occupied by goods in the goods access direction.
[0132] For example, Figure 1A A schematic diagram of a storage condition in a one-dimensional configuration mode provided by an embodiment of the application is shown in conjunction with an X-Y coordinate system, and in the one-dimensional configuration mode, as shown in Figure 1A For the unoccupied space in the above dynamic configuration of the goods storage space, that is, as shown in Figure 1ASpaces 101a, 101b, and 101c. After the system confirms the goods to be stored, goods 100a, it will find the first storage space that best matches goods 100a from the unoccupied spaces, namely spaces 101a, 101b, and 101c, for example, space 101c.
[0133] Figure 1B For this application Figure 1A The illustrated embodiment provides a schematic diagram of the storage situation after the goods have been placed, as shown in the figure. Figure 1B As shown, after the goods 100a are placed, the current unoccupied spaces are spaces 101a, 101b and 101d. Among them, space 101d is the newly defined unoccupied space after space 101c is partially occupied by goods 100a.
[0134] Figure 1C This is a schematic diagram illustrating the storage situation under a two-dimensional configuration provided in one embodiment of this application, as shown in the figure. Figure 1C As shown, in terms of the two-dimensional configuration, the unoccupied space on the shelf refers to... Figure 1C Spaces 101e and 101f. After the system confirms the goods to be stored, goods 100b, it will find the first storage space that best matches goods 100b from the unoccupied spaces, namely spaces 101e and 101f, for example, space 101e.
[0135] Figure 1D For this application Figure 1C A schematic diagram of the storage situation after the goods are placed in the corresponding embodiment is shown, as follows: Figure 1D After goods 100b are placed, the current unoccupied spaces are spaces 101f and 101g. Among them, space 101g is the newly defined unoccupied space after space 101e is partially occupied by goods 100b.
[0136] Figure 1E For this application Figure 1C A schematic diagram of the storage situation after the goods are placed in the corresponding embodiment is shown in the reference. Figure 1C , 1D and Figure 1E It can be seen that, Figure 1D and Figure 1E The orientation of cargo 100b when placed varies, meaning that cargo 100b can be rotated during placement, i.e., the orientation of the cargo to be stored can be changed during placement. After cargo 100b is placed, the currently unoccupied spaces are spaces 101f and 101h. Among them, space 101h is the newly defined unoccupied space after space 101e is partially occupied by cargo 100b.
[0137] For example, Figure 1FThis is a schematic diagram of the structure of a robot provided in one embodiment of this application; as shown below. Figure 1F As shown, the handling robot 80 includes a mobile chassis 83, a storage rack 82, a handling device 84, and a lifting assembly 81. The storage rack 82, the handling device 84, and the lifting assembly 81 are all mounted on the mobile chassis 83, and several storage units are arranged on the storage rack 82. The lifting assembly 81 drives the handling device 84 to move vertically, aligning the handling device 84 with any storage unit on the storage rack 82, or with the rack and / or goods. The handling device 84 can rotate about a vertical axis to adjust its orientation, aligning with a storage unit, or with the rack and / or goods. The handling device 84 is used to load or unload goods, moving goods between the rack and the storage units.
[0138] For example, the storage rack 82 can be configured or not configured. When the storage rack 82 is not configured, the goods are stored in the accommodating space of the handling device 84 during the handling of goods by the robot 80.
[0139] The robot 80 in the above embodiments can perform the cargo storage method shown in this application to realize cargo handling between the shelf and the operating platform.
[0140] During the process of robot 80 performing the task of storing goods, robot 80 moves to the location of the designated storage space for goods, and uses lifting component 81 in conjunction with handling device 84 to move goods from storage unit of storage rack 82 to rack.
[0141] For example, Figure 1G For this application Figure 1F A schematic diagram of the structure of a conveying device in the embodiment shown.
[0142] For example, the handling device 84 is mounted on the bracket 86 via a rotating mechanism 85. The rotating mechanism 85 is used to rotate the handling device 84 relative to the bracket 86 about a vertical axis to align it with the storage unit, or with the shelf and / or goods. The handling device 84 is used to move goods between the storage unit and the shelf. If the handling device 84 is not aligned with the shelf and / or goods, the rotating mechanism 85 can rotate the handling device 84 relative to the bracket 86 to ensure that the handling device 84 is aligned with the shelf and / or goods.
[0143] Figure 1H For this application Figure 1F The illustrated embodiment shows the structure of a robot and its handling device. (Cooperation) Figure 1F and Figure 1GIt can be understood that, according to actual conditions, the rotating mechanism 85 can be omitted, for example, the carrying robot 80 moves along a fixed track, and after moving close to the shelf, the carrying device 84 is always aligned with the shelf and / or the goods, and the goods are arranged in the direction of taking and placing the goods of the carrying device 84.
[0144] Exemplarily, Figure 1I For the purpose of the present application Figure 1F The structure of one of the carrying devices in the embodiments shown is schematically shown, and Figure 1G For the purpose of understanding. As Figure 1I As shown, the carrying device 84 includes a supporting plate 841 and a telescopic arm assembly. The supporting plate 841 is used to place the goods and can be a horizontally arranged flat plate. The telescopic arm assembly is used to push the goods placed on the supporting plate 841 out of the supporting plate 841 or pull the goods to the supporting plate 841. The telescopic arm assembly includes a telescopic arm 843, a fixed push rod 842 and a movable push rod 844. The telescopic arm 843 includes left and right telescopic arms, and the telescopic arm 843 can be horizontally extended and is located at one side of the supporting plate 841 in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the telescopic arm 843 and parallel to the supporting plate 841. The telescopic arm 843 is powered by a motor and the power is transmitted by a chain wheel mechanism. According to actual conditions, the chain wheel mechanism can be replaced by a belt wheel mechanism, a screw mechanism and other transmission mechanisms. The fixed push rod 842 and the movable push rod 844 are both installed on the telescopic arm 843 and can be extended together with the telescopic arm 843. The fixed push rod 842 is located at the same side of the telescopic arm 843 as the supporting plate 841, and when the telescopic arm 843 is extended, the fixed push rod 842 is used to push the goods out of the supporting plate 841. The movable push rod 844 can be retracted into the telescopic arm 843. When the movable push rod 844 is not retracted into the telescopic arm 843, the movable push rod 844, the fixed push rod 842 and the supporting plate 841 are all located at the same side of the telescopic arm 843, and the movable push rod 844 is located in the extension direction of the fixed push rod 842 along the telescopic arm 843. The movable push rod 844 can be directly driven by a motor, and according to actual conditions, the power can also be transmitted through transmission mechanisms such as gear sets and link mechanisms. When the movable push rod 844 is not retracted into the telescopic arm and the telescopic arm 843 is retracted, the movable push rod 844 is used to pull the goods to the supporting plate 841.
[0145] Exemplarily, the fixed push rod 842 of the carrying device 84 can be designed as a finger structure of the movable push rod 844.
[0146] Exemplarily, the carrying device 84 can be designed as a telescopic arm assembly with adjustable spacing width. When storing and taking the goods, the spacing width of the telescopic arm assembly can be adjusted according to the size of the goods.
[0147] Exemplarily, the conveying device 84 can further comprise a steering structure, such as a turntable, which can be used to change the orientation of the goods placed on the pallet 841 thereof. Figure 1J For another conveying device of the embodiments shown in the present application Figure 1I The structure diagram of another conveying device of the embodiments shown in the present application can be known in combination with Figure 1J and Figure 1I The conveying device 84 can further comprise a steering structure, such as a turntable 845 in Figure 1I , to change the orientation of the goods placed on the pallet 841 thereof.
[0148] Exemplarily, Figure 1K For another conveying device of the embodiments shown in the present application Figure 1F The structure diagram of another conveying device of the embodiments shown in the present application, the conveying device 84a comprises one or more suction cups 846 arranged on the fixed push rod 842, which can be rod-shaped or plate-shaped. During the storage and retrieval of goods, the fixed push rod 842 can be driven to move towards and away from the direction of the goods and / or the rack. The goods are adsorbed by the suction cups 846, and the goods are conveyed to the rack or the pallet 841 by cooperating with the displacement of the fixed push rod 842.
[0149] Exemplarily, Figure 1L For another conveying device of the embodiments shown in the present application Figure 1F The structure of another conveying device of the embodiments shown in the present application, the conveying device 84b comprises one or more mechanical arms 847 arranged at appropriate positions on the fixed push rod 842 and / or the conveying device 84b. During the storage and retrieval of goods, the fixed push rod 842 can be driven to move towards and away from the direction of the goods and / or the rack. The goods are grabbed / hooked by the mechanical arms 847, and the goods are conveyed to the rack or the pallet 841 by cooperating with the displacement of the fixed push rod 842.
[0150] Exemplarily, the conveying device (84a, 84b) can further comprise a steering structure, such as a turntable 845 in Figure 1J , Figure 1K , to change the orientation of the goods placed on the pallet 841 thereof.
[0151] The structure of the conveying device of the embodiments shown in the present application can comprise one or more combinations of the above examples.
[0152] The beneficial effect is that, compared with the telescopic arm, the use of suction cups, mechanical arms and the like can reduce the safety distance between the goods, thereby improving the density of the goods on the rack of the warehouse system, improving the space utilization rate, and reducing the warehouse cost.
[0153] Figure 2A and Figure 2B The application scenario diagram of the goods arrangement method provided by the embodiments of the present application is as follows: Figure 2Aand Figure 2B As shown in the figure, the goods arrangement method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be executed by the warehouse management device 230 or the robot 210 of the warehouse system 200. The warehouse system 200 uses the robot 210 to extract and / or store the goods on the shelves 220 and adjust the storage positions of the goods, so as to achieve the purpose of arranging the shelves 220. The warehouse management device 230 is used to plan the path of the robot 210, monitor the state of the robot 210, and schedule the robot 210, so as to make the robot 210 move to the set position, thereby extracting and / or storing the corresponding goods and adjusting the storage positions of the goods. The warehouse management device 230 also stores the storage information of each storage space of the shelves 220 and the basic information of each goods, so as to facilitate the warehouse management.
[0154] Referring to Figure 2A In order to place the to-be-stored goods 221 at the target position 222, generally, the to-be-stored goods 221 are first placed in the storage unit of the robot 210 or on the carrying device 211. When the robot 210 receives the storage instruction from the warehouse management device 230, the robot 210 moves to the corresponding position P1 according to the storage instruction, and then places the to-be-stored goods 221 at the target position 222 of the corresponding shelf 220 according to the storage instruction, thereby completing the storage or warehousing of the to-be-stored goods 221.
[0155] Referring to Figure 2B When the warehouse management device 230 controls the robot 210 to perform the arrangement operation, the warehouse management device 230 can send an arrangement instruction to the robot 210. When the robot 210 receives the arrangement instruction from the warehouse management device 230, the robot 210 moves to the corresponding position P2 according to the arrangement instruction, and then the robot 210 performs the arrangement operation on the shelves 220 that need to be arranged according to the arrangement instruction. Specifically, the storage positions of the goods on the shelves 220 are determined according to the above-mentioned method of dynamically configuring the storage space of the goods.
[0156] In the prior art, the arrangement strategy is mostly dependent on the participation of people, and needs professional arrangement personnel to determine the corresponding arrangement strategy according to the storage condition of the shelves of the warehouse system. The arrangement efficiency is low, which leads to unreasonable space utilization rate of the warehouse system and low warehouse efficiency.
[0157] In order to improve the efficiency of the warehouse sorting, the application provides a goods arrangement method. For the shelf adopting the dynamic shelf mechanism, the application first determines the target robot for performing the warehouse sorting task, then allocates the corresponding first target shelf for the target robot based on the state attribute of the target robot, and controls the target robot to perform the warehouse sorting operation on the first target shelf. Thus, the warehouse management device controls the robot to perform the warehouse sorting, which can realize the automatic warehouse sorting of the warehouse system, has high efficiency and high accuracy, and is helpful to improve the warehouse efficiency of the warehouse system.
[0158] Figure 3 The flowchart of the goods arrangement method provided by one embodiment of the application is shown in Figure 3 The goods arrangement method provided by the embodiment includes the following steps.
[0159] S110, determining the target robot capable of performing the warehouse sorting task.
[0160] The target robot is a robot in the warehouse system. When the goods arrangement is needed, the warehouse management device confirms the robot capable of performing the warehouse sorting task from the multiple robots in the warehouse system, and determines the robot as the target robot.
[0161] S120, determining the first target shelf for the target robot to perform the warehouse sorting operation according to the state attribute of the target robot, wherein the storage space of each goods on the first target shelf is determined according to the size information of the goods and the dynamic goods storage space on the shelf.
[0162] The state attribute is the attribute information representing the state of the target robot, and the storage space of each goods on the first target shelf is determined according to the size information of the goods and the dynamic goods storage space on the shelf, i.e., the first target shelf for performing the warehouse sorting operation is the shelf for storing the goods based on the dynamic configuration goods storage space rule.
[0163] When the warehouse management device determines the target robot, the target robot can be in different states, such as the idle state of not performing the task, or the working state of performing the picking and placing task. When the state attribute of the robot is different, the target shelf for performing the warehouse sorting operation can also be different. Thus, the warehouse management device determines the first target shelf for the target robot to perform the warehouse sorting operation according to the state attribute of the target robot.
[0164] S130, controlling the target robot to perform the warehouse sorting operation on the first target shelf.
[0165] After determining the first target shelf corresponding to the target robot, the warehouse management device can send a warehouse management instruction to the target robot, so as to control the target robot to perform the warehouse management operation on the first target shelf. When the robot receives the warehouse management instruction of the warehouse management device, the robot moves to the position of the first target shelf according to the warehouse management instruction, and then the robot performs the warehouse management operation on the first target shelf according to the warehouse management instruction, so as to realize automatic warehouse management.
[0166] Specifically, the content of the warehouse management instruction can be various, for example, the warehouse management instruction can include the identification and position of the first target shelf, and after the robot moves to the first target shelf according to the warehouse management instruction, the robot detects the placement pose of the stored goods on the first target shelf and the spacing between adjacent goods through a sensor, and then determines the goods that need to be managed and performs the warehouse management operation on the goods. Alternatively, the warehouse management instruction can include a taking instruction of any goods that need to be arranged on the first target shelf and / or a placement instruction of the goods, and the placement instruction can include the placement position of the goods that need to be arranged. The robot performs the warehouse management operation on any goods according to the taking instruction and / or the placement instruction. The sensor includes at least one of a laser sensor, a 2D camera and a 3D camera.
[0167] The embodiment provides a goods arrangement method. For a shelf adopting a dynamic storage location mechanism, a warehouse management device first determines a target robot that performs a warehouse management task, then allocates a corresponding first target shelf to the target robot based on the state attribute of the target robot, and controls the target robot to perform a warehouse management operation on the first target shelf. Therefore, by controlling the robot to perform the warehouse management operation through the warehouse management device, automatic warehouse management of the warehouse system can be realized, the warehouse management efficiency is high and the accuracy is high, and thus the warehouse efficiency of the warehouse system can be improved.
[0168] In some embodiments, determining the target robot that can perform the warehouse management task includes: determining a first robot in an idle state as the target robot; and / or determining a second robot that is currently performing a taking and placing goods task and has a task execution time shorter than an allocation time as the target robot.
[0169] Specifically, the warehouse management device can determine a robot in different states as the target robot when determining the target robot. The first robot in an idle state can specifically refer to a robot that does not currently perform any task. Since the first robot does not currently perform any task, the warehouse management device can control the first robot to perform the warehouse management task.
[0170] In addition, when the second robot currently performing the pick-and-place task is determined as the target robot, the second robot needs to satisfy a condition that a pick-and-place task execution duration is shorter than an allocated duration, where the pick-and-place task execution duration refers to an actual duration for which the second robot performs the pick-and-place task, and the allocated duration refers to a duration allocated by the warehouse management device to the second robot for performing the pick-and-place task according to a task priority corresponding to the pick-and-place task and / or a time limit of an order corresponding to the pick-and-place task. When the pick-and-place task execution duration is shorter than the allocated duration, the second robot can perform the pick-and-place task and the inventory management task within the allocated duration, and the sum of the execution durations of the two tasks does not exceed the allocated duration of the pick-and-place task.
[0171] For example, a second robot is currently performing a pick-and-place task, the corresponding pick-and-place task execution duration is 3 minutes, and the allocated duration is 5 minutes. The remaining duration is 2 minutes, and the second robot can use the remaining duration to perform the inventory management task.
[0172] It can be understood that in the embodiment, the warehouse management device can only determine the first robot as the target robot, can only determine the second robot as the target robot, or can determine both the first robot and the second robot as the target robot.
[0173] In the embodiment, the warehouse management device determines the first robot currently in an idle state as the target robot, and / or determines the second robot currently performing a pick-and-place task and having a pick-and-place task execution duration shorter than an allocated duration as the target robot, and the target robot has a condition of performing inventory management, thereby realizing automatic inventory management of the warehouse system.
[0174] In some embodiments, the target robot is the second robot, and determining a first target rack for the target robot to perform the inventory management operation according to the state attribute of the target robot includes: determining a rack corresponding to the pick-and-place task as the first target rack for the target robot to perform the inventory management operation.
[0175] Specifically, when the target robot is the second robot currently performing a pick-and-place task and having a pick-and-place task execution duration shorter than an allocated duration, the warehouse management device can determine a rack corresponding to the pick-and-place task performed by the second robot as the first target rack corresponding to the second robot. Thus, after completing the pick-and-place task, the target robot can directly perform the inventory management operation on the rack, thereby greatly reducing the time for the target robot to move to the corresponding first target rack and improving the inventory management efficiency.
[0176] In some embodiments, the target robot is the first robot or the second robot, and determining the first target shelf on which the target robot performs the warehouse organizing operation according to the state attribute of the target robot includes: determining the first target shelf from the plurality of shelves according to the shelf warehouse organizing priority; or, determining the first target shelf from the plurality of shelves according to the distance between the target robot and the shelves; or, determining the first target shelf from the plurality of shelves according to the shelf warehouse organizing priority and the distance between the target robot and the shelves.
[0177] The shelf warehouse organizing priority represents the priority of performing the warehouse organizing operation on the shelf, and the higher the shelf warehouse organizing priority of the shelf, the higher the priority of determining the shelf as the first target shelf on which the target robot performs the warehouse organizing operation.
[0178] In addition, the first target shelf can also be determined according to the distance between the target robot and the shelves, specifically, the closer the distance between the shelf and the target robot, the higher the priority of determining the shelf as the first target shelf on which the target robot performs the warehouse organizing operation.
[0179] Optionally, the first target shelf can also be determined by combining the shelf warehouse organizing priority and the distance between the target robot and the shelves.
[0180] Specifically, the implementation of determining the first target shelf by combining the shelf warehouse organizing priority and the distance between the target robot and the shelves can be various, for example, a reference shelf with a high priority, such as a plurality of reference shelves with a priority within a first priority range, can be selected, and then the reference shelf closest to the target robot is selected as the first target shelf according to the distance between the plurality of reference shelves and the target robot; or a plurality of reference shelves within a preset range of the target robot can be determined first, and then the reference shelf with the highest priority in the plurality of reference shelves is determined as the first target shelf, and the like, which are not limited herein.
[0181] In the embodiment, when determining the first target shelf on which the target robot performs the warehouse organizing operation according to the state attribute of the target robot, the warehouse management device can determine the first target shelf corresponding to the target robot from the plurality of shelves of the warehouse system according to the shelf warehouse organizing priority and / or the distance between the target robot and the shelves, which is beneficial to improving the effectiveness and rationality of the robot performing the warehouse organizing operation.
[0182] In some embodiments, the method further includes: determining the shelf warehouse organizing priority of each shelf in the plurality of shelves according to one or more of a shelf area priority, a shelf occupancy rate, and a shelf warehouse organizing interval.
[0183] The shelf area priority is the priority of the area where the shelf is located, and the shelf area priority is in a positive proportional relationship with the heat of the area where the shelf is located, and the heat of the area where the shelf is located is in a positive proportional relationship with the arrangement frequency of the shelf.
[0184] The shelf occupancy rate is a ratio of a total length of the fragment space on the shelf to a total length of the goods, the total length of the fragment space is a sum of lengths of the fragment spaces on the shelf, the length of the fragment space is a length of an interval between adjacent first goods and second goods, and the interval length is less than a preset value, and the total length of the goods is a sum of lengths of the goods stored on the shelf, wherein the shelf occupancy rate is in a positive proportional relationship with the shelf storage priority;
[0185] The shelf storage interval is a time interval between a time node of a last time of performing the storage operation on the shelf and a current time.
[0186] Specifically, the heat of different shelf areas is different, and then the storage demand of the shelf is different according to different shelf areas, the storage frequency of the shelf with high area heat is high, and the storage frequency of the shelf with low area heat is low.
[0187] Specifically, the preset value can be an average value of total lengths of all goods on the shelf, or can be an average value of total lengths of all goods in the warehouse, or can be an average value of total lengths of all stored goods on the single-layer shelf where the first goods and the second goods are located, and the like, which is not limited herein.
[0188] For example, Figure 4 For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a shelf 220 stores four goods, the lengths of the four goods are a1, a2, a3 and a4 respectively, and the lengths of the fragment spaces between adjacent two goods are b1, b2 and b3 respectively. Figure 4 As can be seen from FIG. 1, b1, b2 and b3 are all less than the preset value, which means that b1, b2 and b3 cannot store goods, and these three spaces are wasted, so these spaces need to be arranged out. D represents the total length of the goods, d represents the total length of the fragment space, and P represents the shelf occupancy rate. The shelf occupancy rate P can be calculated by the following formula: Figure 4 P=d / D=(b1+b2+b3) / (a1+a2+a3+a4)
[0189] Specifically, the higher the shelf occupancy rate is, the more dispersed the boxes on the shelf are, and then the higher the storage priority corresponding to the shelf is.
[0190] Specifically, the larger the shelf storage interval is, the longer the shelf has not been stored, and then the higher the storage priority corresponding to the shelf is.
[0191]
[0192] Specifically, the warehouse management device can determine the rack storage priority of each rack in the plurality of racks according to any one of the rack area priority, the rack occupancy rate and the rack storage interval. For example, the rack storage priority of each rack in the plurality of racks is determined according to only the rack area priority, or the rack storage priority of each rack in the plurality of racks is determined according to only the rack occupancy rate, or the rack storage priority of each rack in the plurality of racks is determined according to only the rack storage interval.
[0193] Alternatively, the rack storage priority can be determined according to a combination of any two of the rack area priority, the rack occupancy rate and the rack storage interval. For example, the rack storage priority of each rack in the plurality of racks is determined according to the rack area priority and the rack storage interval.
[0194] For example, the rack storage priority of each rack in the plurality of racks is determined according to the rack area priority and the rack occupancy rate. For example, a rack in a region with high heat can be preferentially selected, and a rack with a high occupancy rate in the region can be selected for storage.
[0195] For example, the rack storage priority of each rack in the plurality of racks is determined according to the rack area priority and the rack storage interval. For example, a rack that has not been stored for a long time can be preferentially selected. The system records the time when each rack was last arranged. If a rack has not been arranged for a long time, the rack is preferentially arranged. If a plurality of racks have not been arranged for the same time, a rack in a region with high heat is preferentially arranged.
[0196] Alternatively, the rack storage priority can be determined according to the rack area priority, the rack occupancy rate and the rack storage interval.
[0197] In this embodiment, the warehouse management device determines the rack storage priority of each rack in the plurality of racks according to one or more of the rack area priority, the rack occupancy rate and the rack storage interval, so that the rack storage priority of each rack is more scientific and reasonable.
[0198] In some embodiments, the rack storage priority of each rack in the plurality of racks is determined according to one or more of the rack area priority, the rack occupancy rate and the rack storage interval, including:
[0199] The rack storage priority of each rack is calculated according to the rack area priority, the rack occupancy rate and the rack storage interval by the following formula:
[0200] Q i = O i × a + P i × b + T i × c
[0201] wherein Q i is the shelf warehouse priority of the i-th shelf, i = 1, 2, 3…N, N is the total number of shelves; O i is the shelf occupancy rate of the i-th shelf; P i is the shelf area priority of the i-th shelf; T i is the shelf warehouse interval of the i-th shelf; a is a weight coefficient corresponding to the shelf occupancy rate, b is a weight coefficient corresponding to the shelf area priority, and c is a weight coefficient corresponding to the shelf warehouse interval.
[0202] Specifically, the weight coefficients a, b, and c are dynamic coefficients, which are not uniquely limited, and the warehouse management device can dynamically adjust the values of the weight coefficients a, b, and c according to the current order quantity and the number of robots.
[0203] In addition, the warehouse management device can adjust the types of influencing factors used when determining the shelf warehouse priority corresponding to each shelf in the plurality of shelves by adjusting the values of the weight coefficients a, b, and c. For example, when only one of the weight coefficients a, b, and c has a non-zero value, it means that only one of the shelf area priority, the shelf occupancy rate, and the shelf warehouse interval is used to determine the shelf warehouse priority; when all of the weight coefficients a, b, and c have non-zero values, it means that the shelf area priority, the shelf occupancy rate, and the shelf warehouse interval are all used to determine the shelf warehouse priority.
[0204] In this embodiment, the warehouse management device calculates the shelf warehouse priority corresponding to each shelf according to the shelf area priority, the shelf occupancy rate, and the shelf warehouse interval through the corresponding formula, so that the shelf warehouse priority corresponding to each shelf is more scientific and reasonable.
[0205] In some embodiments, the first target shelf is determined from the plurality of shelves according to the distance between the target robot and the shelf, comprising: determining a shelf with a distance from the target robot less than a first preset distance threshold and no other robot performing an operation except the target robot as the first target shelf.
[0206] The shelf with no other robot performing an operation except the target robot can be a shelf with no other robot performing a warehouse operation, or a shelf with no other robot performing a picking and placing operation, i.e., only one robot performs an operation on each shelf, so as to avoid the operations of the robots from conflicting with each other.
[0207] In this embodiment, when determining the first target shelf according to the distance between the target robot and the shelf, the warehouse management device can determine the first target shelf as the shelf that has a distance less than the first preset distance threshold to the target robot and does not have other robots performing operations except the target robot, so that by limiting the distance to be less than the first preset distance threshold, the problem of too long path of the target robot to the first target shelf can be avoided, so as to shorten the moving time of the target robot and improve the warehouse management efficiency.
[0208] In addition, each shelf only has one robot performing operations at the same time, and the working areas of different robots can also be prevented from overlapping, so that the operations of the robots can be prevented from affecting each other.
[0209] In some embodiments, the first target shelf is determined from the plurality of shelves according to the shelf management priority and the distance between the target robot and the shelf, including: determining the first target shelf as the shelf that has a distance less than a second preset distance threshold to the target robot, has a shelf management priority greater than a preset priority threshold, and does not have other robots performing operations except the target robot.
[0210] In this embodiment, when determining the first target shelf, the warehouse management device can determine the first target shelf by combining the distance between the shelf and the target robot, the shelf management priority, and the shelf operation of other robots, so that the determination result of the first target shelf is more scientific and reasonable.
[0211] In some embodiments, the target robot is controlled to perform the warehouse management operation on the first target shelf, including:
[0212] Based on the stored goods on the first target shelf, a warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf is determined;
[0213] According to the warehouse management strategy, the target robot is controlled to perform the warehouse management operation.
[0214] Specifically, the specific implementation manner of determining the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf based on the stored goods on the first target shelf can be various, for example, the detection information of the stored goods on the first target shelf returned by the robot can be determined to determine the goods that need to be arranged, and then the warehouse management strategy is determined, which has the same principle as the robot determining the warehouse management strategy described below, and will not be described here, or the position of the stored goods can be determined to determine the warehouse management strategy for arranging the above-mentioned fragmented space, or the correspondence between the heat of the stored goods and the storage area can be determined to determine the warehouse management strategy, or the size of the stored goods can be determined to determine the warehouse management strategy of how to place the goods with the same size together, and the like, which is not limited here.
[0215] Specifically, when the warehouse management device controls the target robot to perform the warehouse management operation on the first target shelf, the warehouse management device can first acquire information of the stored goods on the first target shelf, determine a warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf, and then control the target robot to perform the warehouse management operation according to the warehouse management strategy, thereby helping to improve the warehouse management efficiency.
[0216] In some embodiments, the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf is determined based on the stored goods on the first target shelf, including: determining the warehouse management strategy for arranging the stored goods on the first target shelf according to one or more of the goods heat, the goods interval, and the preset safety interval of the stored goods on the first target shelf, wherein the goods heat represents the frequency of the stored goods being taken out.
[0217] The preset safety interval can be determined according to the type or size of the carrying device of the robot. For the carrying device including a suction cup, the preset safety interval can be very small, such as 3 cm, or even negligible. For the carrying device including two telescopic arms, the preset safety interval should be at least the width of the telescopic arm. For the carrying device including a mechanical arm or a mechanical arm, the preset safety interval should be at least the width of the gripping or hooking part of the mechanical arm.
[0218] Specifically, the goods with high goods heat can be arranged from the first target shelf to the shelf in the area with high heat or to the position convenient for the robot to take out, for example, in the two-dimensional configuration mode, the goods with high heat are placed in the outermost layer of each layer of shelves, and there is no other goods to block the outermost layer, which is convenient for taking out.
[0219] Specifically, when the warehouse management device determines the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf based on the stored goods on the first target shelf, the warehouse management strategy can be determined according to one or more of the goods heat, the goods interval, and the preset safety interval of the stored goods on the first target shelf, for example, the warehouse management strategy can be determined according to any one of the goods heat, the goods interval, and the preset safety interval of the stored goods, or a combination of at least two of them, thereby making the warehouse management strategy more scientific and reasonable, and helping to improve the warehouse management efficiency.
[0220] In some embodiments, the first target shelf is a shelf stored in a one-dimensional configuration mode, and the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf is determined based on the stored goods on the first target shelf, including: determining the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf according to the goods interval and the preset safety interval of the stored goods on the first target shelf.
[0221] Specifically, when the first target shelf is a shelf stored in a one-dimensional configuration manner, the warehouse management device can determine the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf according to the preset safety interval and the interval of the stored goods on the first target shelf.
[0222] The interval of the stored goods is the interval between two adjacent goods.
[0223] In this embodiment, the warehouse management device can determine the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf according to the preset safety interval and the interval of the stored goods on the first target shelf, so that the warehouse management strategy is more scientific and reasonable, which helps to improve the efficiency of warehouse management.
[0224] In some embodiments, the first target shelf is a shelf stored in a two-dimensional configuration manner, and the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf is determined based on the stored goods on the first target shelf, including: determining the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf according to the heat of the stored goods on the first target shelf, so that the goods with a heat higher than a preset heat are placed in the first row of each layer of the first target shelf.
[0225] Specifically, when the first target shelf is a shelf stored in a two-dimensional configuration manner, the warehouse management device can determine the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf according to the heat of the stored goods on the first target shelf, so that the goods with a heat higher than a preset heat are placed in the outermost row of each layer of the first target shelf.
[0226] The heat of the goods represents the frequency of the stored goods being taken out, and the heat of the goods higher than the preset heat means that the frequency of the goods being taken out is higher. Therefore, the goods can be considered as popular goods, and the goods can be placed in the outermost row of each layer of the first target shelf, so that the robot can take the goods more conveniently.
[0227] In some embodiments, the warehouse management strategy includes adjusting the storage position of the stored goods so that the distance between the goods is the preset safety interval. Thus, the interval of the goods can be shortened as much as possible under the premise that the robot can normally take the goods, so that more goods can be placed.
[0228] In some embodiments, the warehouse management strategy includes adjusting the storage position of the stored goods so that the storage positions of the goods with the same size or a size difference within a preset range are adjacent. Thus, by placing the goods with the same size or close size adjacent to each other, the goods can be arranged more reasonably, and the storage position of the goods can be more standardized and reasonable.
[0229] In some embodiments, the inventory management strategy includes: during the process of adjusting the storage location of stored goods, the priority of goods position adjustment is inversely proportional to the size of the goods. Specifically, when performing inventory management, the position of small-sized goods is adjusted first, while for larger-sized goods, the position is adjusted as little as possible or not at all, thereby reducing the workload of the robot and improving inventory management efficiency.
[0230] In some embodiments, when the target robot is a single-fork robot, the target robot includes at least one group of single-fork robots, and each group of single-fork robots includes at least two single-fork robots; when the target robot is a multi-storage unit robot, the target robot includes at least one multi-storage unit robot.
[0231] Specifically, if the target robot is a single-forklift robot, then at least two single-forklift robots are assigned as a group. The target robot includes at least one group of single-forklift robots, and the single-forklift robots in each group cooperate with each other to complete the warehouse management work.
[0232] For example, if goods to be sorted are in the storage space of a shelf and there are obstacles blocking them, then a single forklift robot A needs to move the obstacles away, and a single forklift robot B needs to take out the goods to be sorted for storage.
[0233] If the target robot is a multi-storage unit robot (e.g., a multi-basket robot), since a single multi-storage unit robot can complete the storage task independently, there is no need to group the robots; you can directly assign a single multi-storage unit robot to perform the storage task.
[0234] In some embodiments, it also includes:
[0235] Check whether the library conditions are met;
[0236] Once the conditions for determining the appropriate library are met, the steps for identifying the target robot capable of performing the appropriate library task are initiated.
[0237] Specifically, the conditions for performing inventory management operations can be preset. When the warehouse management equipment detects that the inventory management conditions are met, it starts to execute the steps of the goods sorting method, thereby performing inventory management.
[0238] For example, a warehouse management task can be set to be performed every time T. After the first warehouse management task is completed, the warehouse management equipment starts timing. When the accumulated time reaches time T, the warehouse management equipment starts to execute the next warehouse management task, and so on.
[0239] In this embodiment, by setting inventory management conditions, the inventory management task can be automatically started when the warehouse management equipment determines that the inventory management conditions are met, thereby realizing automatic inventory management of the warehousing system.
[0240] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: assigning the picking and placing task to a target robot that is performing the warehouse organizing operation, controlling the target robot to stop performing the warehouse organizing operation, and performing the picking and placing task.
[0241] Specifically, if the warehouse management device currently receives a new picking and placing task and there is no idle robot, i.e., all robots are currently performing tasks, the warehouse management device can assign the picking and placing task to a target robot that is performing a warehouse organizing operation, control the target robot to stop performing the warehouse organizing operation, and perform the picking and placing task, thereby ensuring the normal progress of the picking and placing task.
[0242] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: when it is detected that the area in which the target robot performs the warehouse organizing operation on the first target shelf overlaps with the area in which the second robot performs the picking and placing task, determining a second target shelf different from the first target shelf, and controlling the target robot to perform the warehouse organizing operation on the second target shelf.
[0243] Specifically, if the warehouse management device detects that the area in which the target robot performs the warehouse organizing operation on the first target shelf overlaps with the area in which the second robot performs the picking and placing task, for example, the area in which the target robot performs the warehouse organizing operation is the same as the area in which the second robot performs the picking and placing task, or the second robot needs to pass through the area in which the target robot performs the warehouse organizing operation when performing the picking and placing task, it indicates that there is a conflict between the working areas of the target robot and the second robot. The target robot may affect the second robot performing the picking and placing task when performing the warehouse organizing operation, for example, block the travel route of the second robot.
[0244] In this embodiment, if it is detected that the area in which the target robot performs the warehouse organizing operation on the first target shelf overlaps with the area in which the second robot performs the picking and placing task, the warehouse management device reassigns a new second target shelf to the target robot, and controls the target robot to perform the warehouse organizing operation on the second target shelf, thereby avoiding the target robot affecting the second robot performing the picking and placing task, and improving the picking and placing efficiency of the warehouse system.
[0245] Figure 5 A flowchart of a goods organizing method provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. 1. Figure 5 The goods organizing method provided by the embodiment can be performed by a robot of a warehouse system. The goods organizing method provided by the embodiment includes the following steps:
[0246] S210, receive the first control instruction sent by the warehouse management device, the first control instruction being sent by the warehouse management device to the target robot after determining the target robot that can execute the warehouse management task and determining the first target shelf on which the target robot executes the warehouse management operation according to the state attribute of the target robot, wherein the storage space of each goods on the first target shelf is determined according to the size information of the goods and the dynamic goods storage space on the shelf;
[0247] S220, execute the warehouse management operation on the first target shelf according to the first control instruction.
[0248] The embodiment provides a goods arrangement method, for the shelf adopting the dynamic shelf mechanism, the warehouse management device first determines the target robot that executes the warehouse management task, then allocates the corresponding first target shelf for the target robot based on the state attribute of the target robot, and controls the target robot to perform the warehouse management operation on the first target shelf, so that the warehouse management device controls the robot to perform the warehouse management, and the automatic warehouse management of the warehouse system can be realized, the warehouse management efficiency is high, and the accuracy is high, and then the warehouse efficiency of the warehouse system is improved.
[0249] In some embodiments, the first control instruction comprises a warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf determined by the warehouse management device based on the stored goods on the first target shelf.
[0250] According to the first control instruction, the warehouse management operation is performed on the first target shelf, comprising: performing the warehouse management operation on the first target shelf according to the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf in the first control instruction.
[0251] Specifically, when the warehouse management device controls the target robot to perform the warehouse management operation on the first target shelf, the information of the stored goods on the first target shelf can be acquired first, and the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf is determined, and then the target robot is controlled to perform the warehouse management operation according to the warehouse management strategy, so as to improve the warehouse management efficiency.
[0252] In some embodiments, according to the first control instruction, the warehouse management operation is performed on the first target shelf, comprising:
[0253] determining the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf based on the stored goods on the first target shelf;
[0254] performing the warehouse management operation on the first target shelf according to the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf.
[0255] Specifically, the first control instruction can also only contain the related information of the first target shelf, such as position information, and the robot can formulate the warehouse management strategy by itself after moving to the corresponding position of the first target shelf according to the first control instruction, so as to help reduce the work pressure of the warehouse management device.
[0256] It is understandable that the robot itself can be equipped with a processor, which can determine the inventory management strategy based on the goods already stored on the shelves. Specifically, the robot can acquire inspection information of the stored goods, such as size and location, through sensors (e.g., laser sensors, ultrasonic sensors, infrared sensors, 2D cameras, 3D cameras, etc.). Then, based on this inspection information, the robot can determine whether there are any problematic items among the stored goods on the shelves. The distance between problematic items can be greater than their corresponding preset safety distance. For each adjacent item, if the distance between at least one adjacent item is greater than the corresponding preset safety distance, then that adjacent item is determined to be a problematic item, and the inventory management strategy is determined based on the situation of the problematic item.
[0257] Optionally, the inspection information includes the spacing information and pose of adjacent goods. Based on the inspection information of at least one adjacent goods, it is determined whether there are problematic goods among at least one adjacent goods, including: obtaining the preset safety spacing and preset pose of each adjacent goods; for each adjacent goods, when the inspection information of the adjacent goods meets any of the following conditions, the adjacent goods are determined to be problematic goods: the spacing information of the adjacent goods is greater than the preset safety spacing of the adjacent goods; the pose of the adjacent goods is inconsistent with the preset pose, and then the inventory management strategy is determined based on the situation of the problematic goods.
[0258] For example, Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the storage conditions of problematic goods in an embodiment of this application, such as... Figure 6 As shown, goods 51, 52, 53, and 54 are stored on shelf 50. However, due to an incorrect orientation of the left neighbor of goods 53, namely, goods 52 has been deflected, the problematic goods are goods 52. Therefore, the determined inventory management strategy is to adjust the placement orientation of goods 52, and then, based on the adjusted orientation and the spacing between goods 51, 52, 53, and 54, adjust the fragmented space between them.
[0259] For example, Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the storage situation of another type of problematic goods in an embodiment of this application, such as... Figure 7As shown, the goods 61, 62, 63 and 64 are stored on the shelf 60. However, due to the misplacement of the left-adjacent goods 62 of the goods 63, i.e., the goods 62 has been translated and deviated from the original position 66, the spacing between the goods 62 and the goods 61 is too large, and the spacing between the goods 62 and the goods 63 is too small, so the problem goods is the goods 62. The determined warehouse management strategy can be various, for example, the spacing between the goods 61, 62, 63 and 64 can be adjusted according to the adjusted goods 62 and the specific spacing between the goods 61, 62, 63 and 64, or the goods 61 can be directly adjusted to reduce the large spacing caused by the misplacement of the goods 62.
[0260] After determining the problem goods, the robot can adjust the storage position of the problem goods, for example, the pose of the goods can be adjusted to make the pose of the goods consistent with the preset pose, or the storage position of the goods can be adjusted to make the storage position of the goods more scientific and reasonable, or the robot can adjust the pose and the storage position of the goods at the same time to obtain a larger unoccupied space.
[0261] For example, Figure 8 The schematic diagram of the storage of the goods on the shelf after the warehouse management of the embodiments of the present application is as follows: Figure 8 As shown, the goods 511-521 are stored on the shelf 510. Through the warehouse management operation on the shelf, a larger unoccupied space 522 can be obtained on the shelf, and then the unoccupied space 522 can be reasonably utilized when the robot performs the picking and placing task subsequently.
[0262] In some embodiments, the determination process of the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf includes the following steps: determining the warehouse management strategy for arranging the stored goods on the first target shelf according to one or more of the goods heat of the stored goods on the first target shelf, the goods spacing and the preset safety spacing, wherein the goods heat represents the frequency of taking out the stored goods.
[0263] Specifically, when the warehouse management device or the robot determines the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf based on the stored goods on the first target shelf, the warehouse management strategy can be determined according to one or more of the goods heat, the goods spacing and the preset safety spacing of the stored goods on the first target shelf, for example, the warehouse management strategy can be determined according to any one or a combination of at least two of the goods heat, the goods spacing and the preset safety spacing of the stored goods, so that the warehouse management strategy is more scientific and reasonable, which helps to improve the warehouse management efficiency.
[0264] In some embodiments, the first target shelf is a shelf arranged in a one-dimensional configuration, and the determination of the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf comprises the following steps: determining the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf according to the preset safety interval and the interval of the stored goods on the first target shelf.
[0265] Specifically, when the first target shelf is a shelf arranged in a one-dimensional configuration, the warehouse management device or the robot can determine the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf according to the preset safety interval and the interval of the stored goods on the first target shelf.
[0266] The interval of the stored goods refers to the interval between two adjacent goods.
[0267] The preset safety interval can be determined according to the type or size of the carrying device of the robot. For a carrying device including a suction cup, the preset safety interval can be very small, such as 3 cm, or even negligible. For a carrying device including two telescopic arms, the preset safety interval should be at least the width of the telescopic arm. For a carrying device including a mechanical arm or a robotic arm, the preset safety interval should be at least the width of the gripping or hooking part of the mechanical arm.
[0268] In this embodiment, the warehouse management device or the robot can determine the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf according to the preset safety interval and the interval of the stored goods on the first target shelf, so that the warehouse management strategy is more scientific and reasonable, which helps to improve the efficiency of warehouse management.
[0269] In some embodiments, the first target shelf is a shelf arranged in a two-dimensional configuration, and the determination of the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf comprises the following steps: determining the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf according to the heat of the stored goods on the first target shelf, so that the goods with a heat higher than a preset heat are placed in the first row of each layer of the first target shelf.
[0270] Specifically, when the first target shelf is a shelf arranged in a two-dimensional configuration, the warehouse management device or the robot can determine the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf according to the heat of the stored goods on the first target shelf, so that the goods with a heat higher than a preset heat are placed in the first row of each layer of the first target shelf.
[0271] The heat of the goods represents the frequency of taking out the stored goods, and the heat higher than the preset heat indicates that the frequency of taking out the goods is higher. Therefore, the goods can be considered as popular goods, and thus the goods can be placed in the outermost row of each layer of the first target shelf, so that the robot can take out the goods more conveniently.
[0272] In some embodiments, the warehouse management strategy comprises: adjusting the storage positions of the stored goods so that the distance between the goods is a preset safe distance. Thus, the distance between the goods can be shortened as much as possible under the premise that the robot can normally take the goods, so that more goods can be placed.
[0273] In some embodiments, the warehouse management strategy comprises: adjusting the storage positions of the stored goods so that the storage positions of the goods with the same size or a size difference within a preset range are adjacent. Thus, by placing the goods with the same size or close size adjacent to each other, the goods can be more reasonably arranged, so that the storage positions of the goods are more reasonable.
[0274] In some embodiments, the warehouse management strategy comprises: in the process of adjusting the storage positions of the stored goods, the position adjustment priority of the goods is inversely proportional to the size of the goods. Specifically, when arranging the warehouse, the position of the small-sized goods is adjusted first, and the position of the large-sized goods is adjusted as little as possible, so that the workload of the robot for arranging the warehouse can be reduced and the efficiency of arranging the warehouse can be improved.
[0275] In some embodiments, the adjusting the storage positions of the stored goods so that the distance between the goods is a preset safe distance comprises: determining the reference point information of the stored goods; and adjusting the storage positions of the stored goods according to the reference point information so that the distance between the goods is a preset safe distance.
[0276] In some embodiments, the reference point comprises one or more of the following: a column of the first target goods shelf, a marker point of the first target goods shelf, and one or more goods placed at the adjacent position of the stored goods.
[0277] The reference point is a set point with a known position on the goods shelf. The number of reference points can be one or more, which is determined according to the position of the stored goods. The marker point can be a position point with a preset marker, which can be a two-dimensional code, a round code, a bar code, an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag, etc., or a magnetic nail.
[0278] For example, the image of each reference point can be captured by the vision sensor of the robot, and then the image is identified based on an image recognition algorithm, so that the position information corresponding to the reference point is determined according to the identification result.
[0279] Specifically, the storage position of the stored goods is adjusted according to the reference point information, and the adjusted position is closer to the reference point than the adjusted position.
[0280] For example, in order to improve the space utilization of the shelf, the stored goods can be adjusted to a position close to the reference point, such as one end of the shelf column, so that more space can be reserved at the end away from the reference point for storing other goods.
[0281] Specifically, when adjusting the storage position of the stored goods, the robot first identifies the stored goods to determine the reference point information of the stored goods, and then adjusts the storage position of the stored goods according to the reference point information, so that the distance between the goods is a preset safe distance, thereby shortening the distance between the goods as much as possible under the premise that the robot can normally take goods, and more goods can be placed.
[0282] In some embodiments, further comprising:
[0283] receiving a second control instruction sent by the warehouse management device, the second control instruction comprising a taking and placing task;
[0284] stopping the execution of the warehouse management operation according to the second control instruction, and executing the taking and placing task.
[0285] Specifically, if the warehouse management device currently receives a new taking and placing task, and there is no idle robot at present, i.e., all the robots are currently executing tasks, at this time, the warehouse management device can assign the taking and placing task to the target robot that is executing the warehouse management operation, control the target robot to stop executing the warehouse management operation, and execute the taking and placing task, so as to ensure the normal progress of the taking and placing task.
[0286] In some embodiments, further comprising:
[0287] receiving a third control instruction sent by the warehouse management device, the third control instruction being sent by the warehouse management device after detecting that the area in which the target robot executes the warehouse management operation on the first target shelf overlaps with the area in which the second robot executes the taking and placing task, and determining a second target shelf different from the first target shelf, the third control instruction comprising information of the second target shelf;
[0288] executing a warehouse management operation on the second target shelf according to the third control instruction.
[0289] Specifically, if the warehouse management device detects that the area in which the target robot executes the warehouse management operation on the first target shelf overlaps with the area in which the second robot executes the taking and placing task, it means that there is a conflict between the working areas of the target robot and the second robot, and the target robot may affect the second robot executing the taking and placing task when performing the warehouse management operation, for example, blocking the travel route of the second robot.
[0290] In this embodiment, if it is detected that the region in which the target robot performs the storage operation on the first target shelf and the region in which the second robot performs the picking and placing task overlap, the warehouse management device reassigns a new second target shelf to the target robot, and controls the target robot to perform the storage operation on the second target shelf, so that the target robot can be prevented from affecting the picking and placing task performed by the second robot, and the picking and placing efficiency of the warehouse system is improved.
[0291] In some embodiments, a goods arrangement device is provided, which can be applied to a warehouse management device, Figure 9 For an embodiment of the present application, a structural schematic diagram of a goods arrangement device is provided, as Figure 9 shown, the goods arrangement device comprises:
[0292] A robot determining module 910 is configured to determine a target robot that can perform a storage task;
[0293] A shelf determining module 920 is configured to determine, according to a state attribute of the target robot, a first target shelf on which the target robot performs a storage operation, wherein a storage space of each goods on the first target shelf is determined according to size information of the goods and dynamic goods storage space on the shelf.
[0294] A storage control module 930 is configured to control the target robot to perform a storage operation on the first target shelf.
[0295] In some embodiments, the robot determining module 910 is specifically configured to determine a first robot currently in an idle state as the target robot, and / or determine a second robot currently performing a picking and placing task and having a task execution duration shorter than an assignment duration as the target robot.
[0296] In some embodiments, the target robot is the second robot, and the shelf determining module 920, in the aspect of determining, according to a state attribute of the target robot, a first target shelf on which the target robot performs a storage operation, is specifically configured to determine a shelf corresponding to the picking and placing task as the first target shelf on which the target robot performs the storage operation.
[0297] In some embodiments, the target robot is the first robot or the second robot, and the shelf determining module 920 is specifically configured to determine the first target shelf from a plurality of shelves according to a shelf storage priority, or determine the first target shelf from the plurality of shelves according to a distance between the target robot and the shelves, or determine the first target shelf from the plurality of shelves according to the shelf storage priority and the distance between the target robot and the shelves.
[0298] In some embodiments, the shelf determining module 920 is further configured to determine a shelf warehouse priority of each of the plurality of shelves according to one or more of a shelf area priority, a shelf occupancy rate, and a shelf warehouse interval, wherein the shelf area priority is a priority of an area where the shelf is located, the shelf area priority is in a positive proportional relationship with a heat of the area where the shelf is located, and the heat of the area where the shelf is located is in a positive proportional relationship with a sorting frequency of the shelf; the shelf occupancy rate is a ratio of a total length of a fragment space on the shelf to a total length of goods, the total length of the fragment space is a sum of lengths of the fragment spaces on the shelf, the length of the fragment space is a length of an interval between adjacent first goods and second goods, and the length of the interval is less than a preset value, and the total length of the goods is a sum of lengths of the goods stored on the shelf, wherein the shelf occupancy rate is in a positive proportional relationship with the shelf warehouse priority; and the shelf warehouse interval is a time interval between a time node of a last warehouse operation on the shelf and a current time.
[0299] In some embodiments, the shelf determining module 920 is specifically configured to calculate the shelf warehouse priority of each of the plurality of shelves according to the shelf area priority, the shelf occupancy rate, and the shelf warehouse interval by the following formula:
[0300] Q i = O i × a + P i × b + T i × c
[0301] wherein Q i is the shelf warehouse priority of the i-th shelf, i = 1, 2, 3, …, N, and N is a total number of the shelves; O i is the shelf occupancy rate of the i-th shelf; P i is the shelf area priority of the i-th shelf; T i is the shelf warehouse interval of the i-th shelf; a is a weight coefficient corresponding to the shelf occupancy rate, b is a weight coefficient corresponding to the shelf area priority, and c is a weight coefficient corresponding to the shelf warehouse interval.
[0302] In some embodiments, the shelf determining module 920 is specifically configured to determine, as the first target shelf, a shelf whose distance to the target robot is less than a first preset distance threshold and on which no robot other than the target robot performs an operation.
[0303] In some embodiments, the shelf determining module 920 is specifically configured to determine, as the first target shelf, a shelf whose distance to the target robot is less than a second preset distance threshold, whose shelf warehouse priority is greater than a preset priority threshold, and on which no robot other than the target robot performs an operation.
[0304] In some embodiments, the warehouse organizing control module 930 is specifically configured to determine a warehouse organizing strategy corresponding to the first target shelf based on the stored goods on the first target shelf; and control the target robot to perform a warehouse organizing operation according to the warehouse organizing strategy.
[0305] In some embodiments, the warehouse organizing control module 930 is specifically configured to determine a warehouse organizing strategy for the stored goods on the first target shelf according to one or more of a goods heat of the stored goods on the first target shelf, a goods interval, and a preset safety interval, wherein the goods heat represents a frequency of the stored goods being taken out.
[0306] In some embodiments, the first target shelf is a shelf stored in a one-dimensional configuration, and the warehouse organizing control module 930 is specifically configured to determine a warehouse organizing strategy corresponding to the first target shelf according to a goods interval of the stored goods on the first target shelf and a preset safety interval.
[0307] In some embodiments, the first target shelf is a shelf stored in a two-dimensional configuration, and the warehouse organizing control module 930 is specifically configured to determine a warehouse organizing strategy corresponding to the first target shelf according to a goods heat of the stored goods on the first target shelf, so that goods with a goods heat higher than a preset heat are placed in a first row of each layer of the first target shelf.
[0308] In some embodiments, the warehouse organizing strategy includes at least one of the following: adjusting a storage position of the stored goods so that a distance between the goods is a preset safety interval; adjusting the storage position of the stored goods so that storage positions of goods with the same size or a size difference within a preset range are adjacent; and in the process of adjusting the storage position of the stored goods, a position adjustment priority of the goods is inversely proportional to a size of the goods.
[0309] In some embodiments, when the target robot is a single-fork robot, the target robot includes at least one group of single-fork robots, and each group of single-fork robots includes at least two single-fork robots; and when the target robot is a multi-storage unit robot, the target robot includes at least one multi-storage unit robot.
[0310] In some embodiments, the method further includes: a processing module configured to detect whether a warehouse organizing condition is met; and when it is determined that the warehouse organizing condition is met, start the step of determining the target robot that can perform the warehouse organizing task.
[0311] In some embodiments, the processing module is further configured to assign a goods taking and placing task to the target robot that is performing the warehouse organizing operation, control the target robot to stop performing the warehouse organizing operation, and perform the goods taking and placing task.
[0312] In some embodiments, the processing module is further configured to: when it is detected that the target robot performs a storage operation on the first target shelf and there is an overlapping area between the area where the second robot performs the picking and placing task, determine a second target shelf different from the first target shelf, and control the target robot to perform a storage operation on the second target shelf.
[0313] The specific limitations of the goods arrangement device can refer to the limitations of the goods arrangement method applied to the warehouse management equipment as described above, and the functional modules and benefits of performing the method will not be repeated here. Each module in the above goods arrangement device can be realized by software, hardware and their combination. The above modules can be embedded in or independent of the processor in the computer device in hardware form, or can be stored in the memory in the computer device in software form, so that the processor can call and execute the operations corresponding to each module.
[0314] In some embodiments, a goods arrangement device is provided, which can be applied to a robot, Figure 10 For an embodiment of the present application, a structural diagram of a goods arrangement device is provided, as Figure 10 As shown in the figure, the goods arrangement device includes:
[0315] The receiving module 1010 is configured to receive a first control instruction sent by a warehouse management device, wherein the first control instruction is sent by the warehouse management device to a target robot after determining that the target robot can perform a storage task, and determining a first target shelf on which the target robot performs a storage operation according to a state attribute of the target robot, wherein the storage space of each goods on the first target shelf is determined according to the size information of the goods and the dynamic goods storage space on the shelf;
[0316] The storage module 1020 is configured to perform a storage operation on the first target shelf according to the first control instruction.
[0317] In some embodiments, the first control instruction includes a storage strategy corresponding to the first target shelf determined by the warehouse management device based on the stored goods on the first target shelf;
[0318] The storage module 1020 is specifically configured to perform a storage operation on the first target shelf according to the storage strategy corresponding to the first target shelf in the first control instruction.
[0319] In some embodiments, the storage module 1020 is specifically configured to determine the storage strategy corresponding to the first target shelf based on the stored goods on the first target shelf, and perform a storage operation on the first target shelf according to the storage strategy corresponding to the first target shelf.
[0320] In some embodiments, the determining of the inventory management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf comprises: determining, according to one or more of a goods heat of the stored goods on the first target shelf, a goods interval of the stored goods, and a preset safety interval, an inventory management strategy for the stored goods on the first target shelf, wherein the goods heat represents a frequency of taking out the stored goods.
[0321] In some embodiments, the first target shelf is a shelf stored in a one-dimensional configuration, and the determining of the inventory management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf comprises: determining, according to a goods interval of the stored goods on the first target shelf and a preset safety interval, the inventory management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf.
[0322] In some embodiments, the first target shelf is a shelf stored in a two-dimensional configuration, and the determining of the inventory management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf comprises: determining, according to a goods heat of the stored goods on the first target shelf, the inventory management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf, so that a goods with a goods heat higher than a preset heat is placed in a first row of each layer of the first target shelf.
[0323] In some embodiments, the inventory management strategy comprises at least one of: adjusting a storage position of the stored goods so that a distance between the goods is a preset safety interval; adjusting the storage position of the stored goods so that storage positions of goods with the same size or a size difference within a preset range are adjacent; and in the process of adjusting the storage position of the stored goods, a position adjustment priority of the goods is inversely proportional to a size of the goods.
[0324] In some embodiments, the inventory management module 1020 is specifically configured to: determine reference point information of the stored goods; and adjust a storage position of the stored goods according to the reference point information so that a distance between the goods is a preset safety interval.
[0325] In some embodiments, the reference point comprises one or more of: a column of the first target shelf, a marker point of the first target shelf, and one or more goods placed in an adjacent position of the stored goods.
[0326] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving a second control instruction sent by the warehouse management device, the second control instruction comprising a goods taking and placing task; and stopping the execution of the inventory management operation and executing the goods taking and placing task according to the second control instruction.
[0327] In some embodiments, the receiving module is further configured to receive a third control instruction sent by the warehouse management device, the third control instruction being sent by the warehouse management device to the target robot after detecting that there is an overlapping area between the area in which the target robot performs the warehouse organizing operation on the first target shelf and the area in which the second robot performs the picking and placing task, and determining a second target shelf different from the first target shelf, the third control instruction comprising information of the second target shelf; and performing the warehouse organizing operation on the second target shelf according to the third control instruction.
[0328] The specific limitations of the goods arrangement device can refer to the limitations of the goods arrangement method applied to the robot in the foregoing, and the functional modules and beneficial effects corresponding to the execution method are not repeated here. Each module in the above goods arrangement device can be realized by software, hardware and combinations thereof, in whole or in part. The above modules can be embedded in or independent of the processor in the computer device in hardware form, or can be stored in the memory in the computer device in software form, so as to be called and executed by the processor to perform the operations corresponding to the above modules.
[0329] Figure 11 A structural schematic diagram of a robot provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. 1, which comprises a memory 1110, a processor 1120 and a computer program. Figure 11
[0330] The computer program is stored in the memory 1110 and is configured to be executed by the processor 1120 to implement the goods arrangement method applied to the robot provided by any embodiment of the present application.
[0331] The memory 1110 and the processor 1120 are connected through a bus 1130.
[0332] Of course, the robot also comprises a carrying device, a sensor and a moving device. The carrying device can be a fork, a mechanical arm or the like, which is used to pick up and / or store goods. The sensor can be arranged on the robot body of the robot, and can also be arranged on the carrying device. The sensor can comprise one or more of a laser sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor, a 2D camera, a 3D camera and the like.
[0333] Further, the robot can further comprise a storage unit for storing goods.
[0334] Optionally, the robot comprises a moving chassis, a carrying device, a storage shelf and a lifting assembly; the storage shelf, the carrying device and the lifting assembly are mounted on the moving chassis.
[0335] Optionally, the carrying device comprises one or more of the following: a telescopic arm assembly, a suction cup and a mechanical arm.
[0336] Optionally, the conveying device comprises a pallet and a turning structure, the turning structure being configured to change the orientation of the goods placed on the pallet.
[0337] Figure 12 A structural schematic diagram of a warehouse management device provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. 1, which comprises a robot 100, a warehouse management device 200 and a goods rack 300. Figure 12 As shown in FIG. 1, the robot comprises a memory 1210, a processor 1220 and a computer program.
[0338] The computer program is stored in the memory 1210 and configured to be executed by the processor 1220 to implement the goods arrangement method applied to the warehouse management device provided by any of the embodiments of the present application.
[0339] Figure 13 A structural schematic diagram of a warehouse management device provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. 1, which comprises a robot 100, a warehouse management device 200 and a goods rack 300. Figure 9 As shown in FIG. 1, the robot comprises a memory 1210, a processor 1220 and a computer program.
[0340] The robot 1310 is the robot provided by the embodiment of the present application shown in FIG. 1, the goods rack 1330 is configured to store goods, and the warehouse management device 1320 is configured to generate a taking and placing instruction and a warehouse arrangement instruction, so that the robot 1310 performs corresponding operations based on the taking and placing instruction and the warehouse arrangement instruction. Figure 11
[0341] In some embodiments, a computer readable storage medium is provided, and the computer readable storage medium stores computer execution instructions, when the processor executes the computer execution instructions, the above-mentioned goods arrangement method is implemented.
[0342] In several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-mentioned device embodiments are merely schematic, for example, the division of the modules is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division mode, for example, multiple modules can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the displayed or discussed ones can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.
[0343] The modules described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as modules can or can not be physical units, i.e. they can be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Part or all of the modules can be selected to achieve the purpose of the embodiment according to actual needs.
[0344] In addition, each functional module in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each module can be physically present alone, or two or more modules can be integrated in one unit. The above-mentioned modules can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of hardware plus software functional modules.
[0345] The integrated modules realized in the form of software functional modules can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. The software functional modules stored in a storage medium include a plurality of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor (English: processor) to execute part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application.
[0346] It should be understood that the above-mentioned processor can be a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU for short), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (Digital Signal Processor, DSP for short), application specific integrated circuits (Application Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC for short), etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in combination with the application can be directly embodied as hardware processor execution or executed by hardware and software modules in the processor.
[0347] The memory can contain a high-speed RAM memory, and can also include a non-volatile storage NVM, for example at least one disk memory, and can also be a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc.
[0348] The bus can be an industry standard architecture (Industry Standard Architecture, ISA for short) bus, a peripheral component interconnect (Peripheral Component, PCI for short) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (Extended Industry Standard Architecture, EISA for short) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For the convenience of representation, the bus in the drawings of the present application does not limit only one bus or one type of bus.
[0349] The aforementioned storage medium can be realized by any type of volatile or nonvolatile storage devices or a combination thereof, such as a static random access memory (SRAM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), a read-only memory (ROM), a magnetic storage, a flash memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general or special purpose computer.
[0350] An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can be a part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Of course, the processor and the storage medium can exist as discrete components in the electronic device or host device.
[0351] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the steps of the above-mentioned method embodiments can be completed by relevant hardware of program instructions. The foregoing program can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. When the program is executed, the steps of the above-mentioned method embodiments are executed; and the foregoing storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disk or optical disk.
[0352] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, and not to limit them; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or make equivalent replacement for part or all of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.
Claims
1. A goods sorting method, applied to warehouse management equipment, characterized in that, include: Check whether the library conditions are met; Once the conditions for performing the library management task are met, a target robot capable of performing the library management task is identified. Based on at least one of the shelf management priority and the distance between the target robot and the shelf, a first target shelf for the target robot to perform the management task is determined from a plurality of shelves; wherein, the storage space for each item on the first target shelf is determined based on the size information of the item and the dynamic storage space of the item on the shelf; Based on one or more of the following factors—the heat of goods stored on the first target shelf, the spacing between goods, and the preset safety distance—a warehouse management strategy for organizing the goods stored on the first target shelf is determined, wherein the heat of goods represents the frequency at which the stored goods are taken out. According to the inventory management strategy, the target robot is controlled to perform inventory management operations, adjusting the storage positions of the stored goods so that the distance between the goods is a preset safe distance.
2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The determination of the shelf management priority includes: The shelf management priority for each shelf among the plurality of shelves is determined based on one or more of the following: shelf area priority, shelf occupancy rate, and shelf management interval. The priority of the shelf area refers to the priority of the area where the shelf is located. The priority of the shelf area is directly proportional to the popularity of the area where the shelf is located. The popularity of the area where the shelf is located is directly proportional to the frequency of shelf organization. The shelf occupancy rate is the ratio of the total length of the fragmented space on the shelf to the total length of the goods. The total length of the fragmented space is the sum of the lengths of the fragmented spaces on the shelf. The fragmented space length is the interval length between adjacent first and second goods, and the interval length is less than a preset value. The total length of the goods is the sum of the lengths of the goods already stored on the shelf. The shelf occupancy rate is directly proportional to the shelf management priority. The shelf management interval is the time interval between the most recent shelf management operation and the current time.
3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The step of determining the shelf management priority for each shelf among the plurality of shelves based on one or more of the following: shelf area priority, shelf occupancy rate, and shelf management interval, includes: Based on the shelf area priority, shelf occupancy rate, and shelf management interval, the shelf management priority for each shelf is calculated using the following formula: in, For the first Shelf management priority for each shelf. , This refers to the total number of shelves; For the first Shelf occupancy rate of each shelf; For the first Priority of each shelf area; For the first Shelf spacing for each rack; The weighting coefficient corresponding to shelf occupancy. The weighting coefficients corresponding to the priority of the shelving area. This refers to the weighting coefficient corresponding to the shelf storage interval.
4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Determining the first target shelf from the plurality of shelves based on the distance between the target robot and the shelf includes: The shelf that is determined to be the first target shelf is the shelf that is less than a first preset distance threshold and for which no other robot besides the target robot is performing operations.
5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Based on the shelf management priority and the distance between the target robot and the shelf, the first target shelf is determined from the plurality of shelves, including: The shelf that is determined to be the first target shelf is one that is less than a second preset distance threshold, has a shelf management priority greater than a preset priority threshold, and has no other robots other than the target robot performing operations.
6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, Determining a shelf as the first target shelf, where the distance between it and the target robot is less than a second preset distance threshold, the shelf management priority is greater than a preset priority threshold, and no other robot besides the target robot is performing operations, includes: Among the shelves whose warehouse management priority is greater than a preset priority threshold and in which no other robot besides the target robot is performing operations, the shelf closest to the target robot is determined as the first target shelf; or, Among the shelves where the distance between the shelf and the target robot is less than a second preset distance threshold, and where no other robot besides the target robot is performing operations, the shelf with the highest shelf management priority is determined as the first target shelf.
7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first target shelf is a shelf stored in a one-dimensional configuration. The step of determining a warehouse management strategy for organizing the goods already stored on the first target shelf includes: Based on the spacing between the goods already stored on the first target shelf and the preset safety spacing, the inventory management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf is determined.
8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first target shelf is a shelf stored in a two-dimensional configuration. The step of determining a warehouse management strategy for organizing the goods already stored on the first target shelf includes: Based on the heat value of the goods already stored on the first target shelf, a warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf is determined so that goods with a heat value higher than a preset heat value are placed in the first row of each layer of the first target shelf.
9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, The library strategy also includes at least one of the following: Adjust the storage location of the stored goods so that goods with the same size or a size difference within a preset range are stored adjacent to each other; In the process of adjusting the storage location of the stored goods, the priority of adjusting the location of the goods is inversely proportional to the size of the goods.
10. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, When the target robot is a single-fork robot, the target robot includes at least one group of single-fork robots, and each group of single-fork robots includes at least two single-fork robots. When the target robot is a multi-storage unit robot, the target robot includes at least one multi-storage unit robot.
11. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, Also includes: Assign retrieval and placement tasks to the target robot that is performing inventory management operations, control the target robot to stop performing inventory management operations, and execute the retrieval and placement tasks.
12. A method for sorting goods, applied to a robot, characterized in that, include: The system receives a first control command sent by a warehouse management device. This first control command is sent by the warehouse management device to the target robot after detecting whether the warehouse management conditions are met and, upon determining that the conditions are met, identifying a target robot capable of performing the warehouse management task, determining the first target shelf from a plurality of shelves based on at least one of the shelf management priority and the distance between the target robot and the shelf. The storage space for each item on the first target shelf is determined based on the size information of the item and the dynamic storage space of the item on the shelf. According to the first control command, a warehouse management operation is performed on the first target shelf, specifically including: according to the warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf in the first control command, the warehouse management operation is performed on the first target shelf to adjust the storage position of the goods already stored on the first target shelf so that the distance between the goods is a preset safe distance. The warehouse management strategy is determined by the warehouse management equipment based on one or more of the following: the heat of goods stored on the first target shelf, the interval between goods, and the preset safety distance. The heat of goods represents the frequency at which the stored goods are taken out.
13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first target shelf is a shelf stored in a one-dimensional configuration. The process of determining the inventory management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf includes the following steps: Based on the spacing between the goods already stored on the first target shelf and the preset safety spacing, the inventory management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf is determined.
14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first target shelf is a shelf stored in a two-dimensional configuration. The process of determining the inventory management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf includes the following steps: Based on the heat value of the goods already stored on the first target shelf, a warehouse management strategy corresponding to the first target shelf is determined so that goods with a heat value higher than a preset heat value are placed in the first row of each layer of the first target shelf.
15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, The library strategy also includes at least one of the following: Adjust the storage location of the stored goods so that goods with the same size or a size difference within a preset range are stored adjacent to each other; In the process of adjusting the storage location of the stored goods, the priority of adjusting the location of the goods is inversely proportional to the size of the goods.
16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, Adjusting the storage position of the goods already stored on the first target shelf so that the distance between the goods is a preset safe distance includes: Determine the reference point information of the stored goods; The storage location of the stored goods is adjusted according to the reference point information so that the distance between the goods is a preset safe distance.
17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The reference point includes one or more of the following: the upright of the first target shelf, the marker point of the first target shelf, and one or more goods placed in an adjacent position to the stored goods.
18. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, Also includes: Receive a second control command sent by the warehouse management equipment, the second control command including a pick-up and release task; The second control instruction stops the warehouse operation and executes the pick-up and drop-off task.
19. A warehouse management device, characterized in that, include: Memory and at least one processor; The memory stores computer-executed instructions; The at least one processor executes computer execution instructions stored in the memory, causing the at least one processor to perform the cargo sorting method as described in any one of claims 1-11.
20. A robot, characterized in that, include: Memory and at least one processor; The memory stores computer-executed instructions; The at least one processor executes computer execution instructions stored in the memory, causing the at least one processor to perform the cargo sorting method as described in any one of claims 12-18.
21. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the cargo sorting method as described in any one of claims 1-18.
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