Lane storage management method, system and equipment

Abstract

The present application provides an aisle warehousing management method, system and equipment, which relates to the field of automated logistics technology, including: iWMS, RCMS, RCS and AGV. iWMS is responsible for target shelf selection, dynamic management of aisle shelves, and sending warehousing task instructions to RCMS; the target shelf is used to carry target materials, and the task instructions include in-and-out instructions, aisle transfer instructions and aisle adjustment instructions; RCMS is responsible for parsing the task instructions issued by iWMS, selecting the target storage location of the task shelf, and sending the first shelf handling instruction to RCS, the first shelf handling instruction includes the information of the target storage location and the information of the target shelf; RCS generates a first target path, and controls the robot to move the target shelf to the target storage location based on the first target path; AGV is responsible for transporting the target shelf to the target storage location. Compared with the existing technology, the solution of the present application can realize the functions of dynamic allocation of aisles, intelligent transfer, dynamic adjustment, etc., and improve the storage rate and in-and-out efficiency of the warehouse.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of warehousing and logistics, and in particular to a method, system and equipment for laneway warehousing management. Background Art

[0002] In warehouse management scenarios, in order to achieve centralized storage of materials and increase warehouse capacity, an aisle storage mode is usually adopted. That is, multiple aisles are deployed, each aisle includes multiple storage locations, and shelves carrying materials can be placed in the storage locations of the aisle to achieve material placement, that is, placing materials in the storage locations of the aisle.

[0003] In the related technology, after receiving a warehousing request for material A, the shelf carrying material A can be placed in the first storage position of aisle 1. After receiving a warehousing request for material B, the shelf carrying material B can be placed in the second storage position of aisle 1. After receiving a warehousing request for material C, the shelf carrying material C can be placed in the third storage position of aisle 1, and so on.

[0004] While the aforementioned method is easy to implement for warehousing, the outbound process is complex, requiring the movement of blocking shelves. This results in relatively low outbound efficiency. For example, upon receiving an outbound request for material B, the shelf carrying material A must be moved from the first storage location in Aisle 1 before the shelf carrying material B can be outbound. The shelf carrying material A must then be relocated to the storage location in Aisle 1. Clearly, this inefficiency is low and cannot meet the requirements for high-capacity, high-efficiency warehouse management. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a laneway storage management method, the method comprising:

[0006] After receiving the warehousing request of the target material, the iWMS (Intelligent Warehouse Management System) determines that the target material needs to enter the aisle based on the material type corresponding to the target material, then determines the target aisle corresponding to the target material, and the target aisle is only used to place materials corresponding to the type of the target material; the iWMS sends a transfer aisle instruction to the RCMS (Robot Control Management System), and the transfer aisle instruction includes the information of the target aisle and the information of the target shelf where the target material is located; after receiving the transfer aisle instruction, the RCMS selects a target storage location from all storage locations of the target aisle, and the target storage location is the first empty storage location at the shipping end of the aisle, and the shipping end of the aisle is the head or tail of the aisle, and sends a transfer aisle instruction to the RCS (Robot Control Management System). Server, robot control server) sends a first shelf handling instruction, which includes information about the target storage location and information about the target shelf; after receiving the first shelf handling instruction, the RCS generates a first target path, where the starting point and the end point of the first target path are respectively the location of the target shelf and the location of the target storage location, and controls the robot to move the target shelf to the target storage location based on the first target path.

[0007] The present application provides an aisle warehouse management system, which includes an iWMS, an RCMS, and an RCS, wherein: the iWMS is configured to, upon receiving a request for a target material to enter a warehouse, determine a target aisle corresponding to the target material if it is determined based on the material type corresponding to the target material that the target material needs to enter the aisle, wherein the target aisle is only used to place materials corresponding to the type of the target material; the iWMS is configured to send a transfer aisle instruction to the RCMS, wherein the transfer aisle instruction includes information about the target aisle and information about the target shelf where the target material is located;

[0008] The RCMS is configured to, upon receiving the lane transfer instruction, select a target storage location from all storage locations in the target lane, the target storage location being the first empty storage location at the lane exit end, the lane exit end being the lane head or lane tail, and send a first rack transfer instruction to the RCS, the first rack transfer instruction including information about the target storage location and information about the target rack;

[0009] The RCS is used to generate a first target path after receiving a first shelf moving instruction, where the starting point and the end point of the first target path are respectively the location of the target shelf and the location of the target storage location, and control the robot to move the target shelf to the target storage location based on the first target path.

[0010] The present application provides an electronic device, comprising: a processor and a machine-readable storage medium, wherein the machine-readable storage medium stores machine-executable instructions that can be executed by the processor; the processor is used to execute the machine-executable instructions to implement the aisle warehouse management method of the above example of the present application.

[0011] It can be seen from the above technical solutions that in the embodiment of the present application, a method of not mixing materials in the lanes is adopted to ensure that the lane outbound direction will not encounter obstacles, thereby improving the outbound efficiency. That is to say, the same lane is only used to place one type of material, and will not be used to place different types of materials, making the outbound process simple and able to complete the outbound without moving shelves. The outbound efficiency is relatively high, meeting the needs of high storage capacity and high efficiency warehouse management. Three modes are provided, such as materials not entering the lanes, fixed lanes, and intelligent allocation lanes, to improve the flexibility of warehouse management. A dynamic management method of adjusting while outbound is adopted to improve the utilization rate of lane storage space. Support scenarios such as lane outbound material return and lane inventory quality inspection to enhance system stability. The dynamic lane management mode realizes the dynamic allocation of lanes, intelligent transfer, dynamic adjustment, outbound material return and other functions, greatly improving the warehouse storage rate and inbound and outbound efficiency, and reducing the stagnation rate of materials in the warehouse through the first-in-first-out mode. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present application or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in this application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings of the embodiments of the present application.

[0013] Figure 1 It is a flowchart of a laneway storage management method in one embodiment of the present application;

[0014] Figure 2 is a functional diagram of iWMS, RCMS and RCS in one embodiment of the present application;

[0015] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the overall layout of the warehouse in one embodiment of the present application;

[0016] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of transferring shelves from a warehouse to an aisle in one embodiment of the present application;

[0017] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the data flow of transferring from a warehouse to a lane in one embodiment of the present application;

[0018] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of shelf delivery in one embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figures 7A-7C is a schematic diagram of lane adjustment in one embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 8 It is a hardware structure diagram of an electronic device in one embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The terms used in the embodiments of this application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit this application. The singular forms "a," "the," and "the" used in this application and claims are also intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and / or" used herein refers to any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.

[0022] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used to describe various information in the embodiments of the present application, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of the present application, the first information may also be referred to as the second information, and similarly, the second information may also be referred to as the first information. Depending on the context, the word "if" used may also be interpreted as "at the time of" or "when" or "in response to determining".

[0023] This application embodiment proposes a lane storage management method, see Figure 1 As shown, the method includes:

[0024] Step 101. After receiving the warehousing request for the target material, if iWMS determines that the target material needs to enter the lane based on the material type corresponding to the target material, it determines the target lane corresponding to the target material. The target lane is only used to place materials corresponding to the type of the target material, and not to place materials corresponding to other types.

[0025] Step 102: iWMS sends a warehouse lane transfer instruction to RCMS. The warehouse lane transfer instruction may include information about the target lane and information about the target shelf where the target material is located.

[0026] Step 103: After receiving the lane transfer instruction, RCMS selects a target storage location from all storage locations in the target lane. The target storage location may be the first empty storage location at the lane delivery end, and the lane delivery end may be the lane head or the lane tail. The RCMS sends a first shelf transfer instruction to the RCS. The first shelf transfer instruction may include information about the target storage location and information about the target shelf.

[0027] Step 104: After receiving the first shelf moving instruction, the RCS generates a first target path. The starting point and the end point of the first target path may be the location of the target shelf and the location of the target storage location, respectively. The robot is controlled based on the first target path to move the target shelf to the target storage location.

[0028] In one possible embodiment, after iWMS receives a warehousing request for a target material, if iWMS determines that the target material does not need to enter the aisle based on the material type corresponding to the target material, iWMS may send a warehouse transfer buffer area instruction to RCMS, and the warehouse transfer buffer area instruction may include information about the warehousing buffer area and information about the target shelf. After receiving the warehouse transfer buffer area instruction, RCMS may select an idle storage location from all storage locations in the warehousing buffer area, and send a second shelf transfer instruction to RCS, and the second shelf transfer instruction may include information about the idle storage location and information about the target shelf. After receiving the second shelf transfer instruction, RCS may generate a second target path, and the starting point and end point of the second target path may be the location of the target shelf and the location of the idle storage location, respectively. RCS may control the robot to move the target shelf to the idle storage location based on the second target path.

[0029] Exemplarily, iWMS determines whether the target material needs to enter the lane or not based on the material type corresponding to the target material, which may include: if a stored information table is used to record the material type corresponding to the material that needs to enter the lane, then determining the material type corresponding to the target material; if the information table includes the material type corresponding to the target material, then determining that the target material needs to enter the lane; if the information table does not include the material type corresponding to the target material, then determining that the target material does not need to enter the lane; or, if a stored information table is used to record the material type corresponding to the material that does not need to enter the lane, then determining the material type corresponding to the target material; if the information table includes the material type corresponding to the target material, then determining that the target material does not need to enter the lane; if the information table does not include the material type corresponding to the target material, then determining that the target material needs to enter the lane; or, if a stored information table is used to record the material type corresponding to the material that needs to enter the lane and the material type corresponding to the material that does not need to enter the lane, then determining the material type corresponding to the target material; querying the information table through the material type to determine whether the target material needs to enter the lane or not.

[0030] Exemplarily, the iWMS determines the target lane corresponding to the target material by: querying a mapping table based on the type of the target material to obtain at least one fixed lane corresponding to that type, wherein each fixed lane obtained is used to store the material corresponding to that type and does not store materials corresponding to other types. The mapping table may include a correspondence between material types and fixed lanes; counting the number of empty storage locations within each fixed lane and determining the fixed lane with the least empty storage locations as the target lane. Alternatively, determining whether there are existing lanes with empty storage locations corresponding to the type of the target material, where existing lanes are used only to store materials corresponding to the type of the target material; if so, counting the number of empty storage locations within each existing lane and determining the existing lane with the least empty storage locations as the target lane; if not, and the number of lanes corresponding to the type of the target material does not reach the maximum number of occupied lanes, selecting an unused lane from all lanes as the target lane. If the number of lanes corresponding to the type of the target material has reached the maximum number of occupied lanes, the target lane for the target material cannot be determined, and the target material is not moved to the lane.

[0031] The obtained maximum number of occupied lanes can be the maximum number of occupied lanes configured by the user, i.e., the user configures the maximum number of occupied lanes for the type of target material, indicating that this type of material will occupy at most the maximum number of occupied lanes. Alternatively, the maximum number of occupied lanes can be determined based on the maximum number of material storage locations occupied by the user, i.e., the user configures the maximum number of material storage locations occupied for the type of target material, indicating that this type of material will occupy at most the maximum number of material storage locations occupied. The maximum number of occupied lanes corresponding to the type of target material is determined based on the lane depth (i.e., the number of storage locations in a lane) and the maximum number of material storage locations occupied.

[0032] In one possible implementation, after iWMS receives an outbound request for a first material (i.e., any material), if iWMS determines that the first material needs to be outbound from the alley, it sends a first outbound instruction to RCMS, and the first outbound instruction may include information about the outbound shelf where the first material is located. After receiving the first outbound instruction, RCMS searches the alley for the outbound storage location where the outbound shelf is located, and sends a third shelf handling instruction to RCS, and the third shelf handling instruction may include information about the outbound storage location and information about the outbound shelf. After receiving the third shelf handling instruction, RCS may generate a third target path, and the starting point and end point of the third target path may be the location of the outbound storage location and the location of the outbound workstation, respectively. Based on the third target path, the robot is controlled to move the outbound shelf from the outbound storage location to the outbound workstation.

[0033] In one possible embodiment, after iWMS receives an outbound request for the first material, if iWMS determines that the first material exists in the remaining material area, iWMS sends a second outbound instruction to RCMS; after receiving the second outbound instruction, RCMS can select an outbound shelf on which the first material is placed from the remaining material area, and send a fourth shelf handling instruction to RCS; after receiving the fourth shelf handling instruction, RCS can generate a fourth target path based on the fourth shelf handling instruction, and control the robot to move the outbound shelf from the remaining material area to the outbound workstation based on the fourth target path. If iWMS determines that the first material does not exist in the remaining material area, and determines that the first material exists in the incoming buffer area, iWMS can send a third outbound instruction to RCMS; after receiving the third outbound instruction, RCMS selects an outbound shelf on which the first material is placed from the incoming buffer area, and sends a fifth shelf handling instruction to RCS; after receiving the fifth shelf handling instruction, RCS can generate a fifth target path based on the fifth shelf handling instruction, and control the robot to move the outbound shelf from the incoming buffer area to the outbound workstation based on the fifth target path.

[0034] If the iWMS determines that the first material does not exist in the remaining material area and that the first material does not exist in the incoming buffer area, the iWMS determines that the first material needs to be shipped out of the lane.

[0035] In one possible embodiment, after the RCS controls the robot to move the outbound shelf from the outbound storage location to the outbound workstation based on the third target path, the iWMS can also determine the remaining quantity of the first material on the outbound shelf after receiving the recycling request for the outbound shelf. If the remaining quantity is 0, the iWMS can send a first return instruction to the RCMS. The first return instruction can include information about the incoming buffer area and the outbound shelf. If the remaining quantity is not 0, the iWMS can send a second return instruction to the RCMS. The second return instruction can include information about the remaining material area and the outbound shelf. Based on this, if the RCMS receives the first return instruction, it can send a first shelf recycling instruction to the RCS. The RCS generates a first return path based on the first shelf recycling instruction and controls the robot to move the outbound shelf from the outbound workstation to the incoming buffer area based on the first return path. If the RCMS receives the second return instruction, it can send a second shelf recycling instruction to the RCS. The RCS generates a second return path based on the second shelf recycling instruction and controls the robot to move the outbound shelf from the outbound workstation to the remaining material area based on the second return path.

[0036] In one possible implementation, if iWMS determines that there is a lane to be adjusted among all lanes, iWMS may send a lane adjustment instruction to RCMS, and the lane adjustment instruction may include information about the lane to be adjusted; wherein the lane to be adjusted may include occupied storage locations, and there are empty storage locations in the lane delivery direction of the occupied storage locations. After receiving the lane adjustment instruction, RCMS may determine the first storage location and the second storage location in the lane to be adjusted, and send a shelf migration instruction to RCS, and the shelf migration instruction may include information about the first storage location and the second storage location; wherein the first storage location may be the first empty storage location at the lane delivery end, and the second storage location may be the first occupied storage location in the opposite direction of the lane delivery end of the first storage location. After receiving the shelf migration instruction, RCS may generate a migration path, the starting point and the ending point of the migration path may be the location of the second storage location and the location of the first storage location, respectively, and control the robot to move the shelf of the second storage location to the first storage location based on the migration path.

[0037] Exemplarily, iWMS determines that there are lanes to be adjusted among all lanes, which may include but is not limited to: when materials are shipped out of the outbound lane, the outbound lane is determined to be the lane to be adjusted; or, for each lane, if the number of shelves in the lane is less than the maximum number of storage locations in the lane, and the shelf positions in the lane are not arranged continuously from the first storage location in the direction of the lane's shipping end, the lane is determined to be the lane to be adjusted.

[0038] It can be seen from the above technical solutions that in the embodiment of the present application, a method of not mixing materials in the lanes is adopted to ensure that the lane outbound direction will not encounter obstacles, thereby improving the outbound efficiency. That is to say, the same lane is only used to place one type of material, and will not be used to place different types of materials, making the outbound process simple and able to complete the outbound without moving shelves. The outbound efficiency is relatively high, meeting the needs of high storage capacity and high efficiency warehouse management. Three modes are provided, such as materials not entering the lanes, fixed lanes, and intelligent allocation lanes, to improve the flexibility of warehouse management. A dynamic management method of adjusting while outbound is adopted to improve the utilization rate of lane storage space. Support scenarios such as lane outbound material return and lane inventory quality inspection to enhance system stability. The dynamic lane management mode realizes the dynamic allocation of lanes, intelligent transfer, dynamic adjustment, outbound material return and other functions, greatly improving the warehouse storage rate and inbound and outbound efficiency, and reducing the stagnation rate of materials in the warehouse through the first-in-first-out mode.

[0039] The following describes the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with specific application scenarios.

[0040] In warehouse management scenarios, to achieve centralized material storage and increase warehouse capacity, an aisle storage model is often used. This involves deploying multiple aisles, each containing multiple storage locations, where shelves carrying materials can be placed. Related technologies employ a mixed aisle material entry method. While this entry process is simple, the exit process is complex, requiring the movement of blocking shelves. This results in low exit efficiency and fails to meet the demands of high-capacity, high-efficiency warehouse management.

[0041] In response to the above findings, an aisle warehousing management method is proposed in the embodiment of the present application, which adopts the method of not mixing materials in the aisle to ensure that the aisle outbound direction will not encounter obstacles, improve the outbound efficiency, and meet the needs of high storage capacity and high efficiency warehousing management. Three modes are provided, such as materials not entering the aisle, fixed aisles, and intelligent allocation of aisles, to improve the flexibility of warehousing management. Through the dynamic aisle management mode, the dynamic allocation of aisles, intelligent transfer, dynamic adjustment, outbound and return of materials and other functions are realized, which greatly improves the warehouse storage rate and inbound and outbound efficiency, and reduces the stagnation rate of materials in the warehouse through the first-in-first-out mode. A dynamic management method of adjusting and outbound at the same time is adopted, and the shelves in the aisle are dynamically adjusted to improve the utilization rate of aisle storage space and improve outbound efficiency. It supports aisle outbound return and aisle inventory quality inspection scenarios, enhances system stability, and provides flexible processing methods for these complex scenarios.

[0042] The laneway warehousing management method in the embodiments of this application can be implemented through the collaboration of iWMS, RCMS, and RCS. iWMS is responsible for laneway management, inventory management, and processing tasks and data generated by warehouse operations. RCMS is responsible for task parsing, planning maps, warehouse areas, and configuring workstations, shelves, storage locations, robots, and so on. RCS is responsible for task execution, that is, receiving and completing task instructions from RCMS. RCS is responsible for assigning robots, planning task paths, and dispatching robots to complete instructions.

[0043] The robot in this embodiment can be an AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) or other types of robots. The following description will take AGV as an example. AGV can be an intelligent mobile robot that can transport shelves to a specified location, such as a latent AGV.

[0044] See also Figure 2The figure shows the functions of iWMS, RCMS, and RCS. iWMS includes but is not limited to an inbound unit, an outbound unit, a quality inspection unit, a receiving unit, a lane transfer unit, a lane adjustment unit, a lane management unit, and a sending unit. The inbound unit is used to implement inbound functionality, the outbound unit is used to implement outbound functionality, the quality inspection unit is used to implement quality inspection functionality, the receiving unit is used to implement information reception functionality, the lane transfer unit is used to implement lane transfer functionality, the lane adjustment unit is used to implement lane adjustment functionality, the lane management unit is used to implement lane management functionality, and the sending unit is used to implement information transmission functionality.

[0045] The RCMS includes but is not limited to a command receiving unit, a task parsing unit, a task issuing unit, and a message reporting unit. The command receiving unit is used to implement the information receiving function (receiving commands from the iWMS), the task parsing unit is used to implement task parsing, the task issuing unit is used to implement task issuing (issuing tasks to the RCS), and the message reporting unit is used to implement the information sending function (sending messages to the iWMS).

[0046] The RCS includes but is not limited to a task receiving unit, an AGV allocation unit (i.e., robot allocation unit), a task execution unit, and a message reporting unit. The task receiving unit is used to implement the task receiving function (i.e., receiving tasks from the RCMS), the AGV allocation unit is used to allocate AGVs to perform tasks, the task execution unit is used to control the AGVs to perform tasks, and the message reporting unit is used to implement the information transmission function (i.e., sending messages to the RCMS).

[0047] The lane warehousing management method proposed in the embodiment of the present application can adopt a dynamic lane management mode to realize lane management. Lane refers to the storage and placement method of shelves. In this article, it refers to the storage method of shelves in the warehouse, which can be configured in the RCMS map. In this embodiment, the lane can be composed of three elements: the lane tail, the lane buffer area and the lane head. Among them, the shelf enters from the lane tail, is placed in the lane buffer area, and exits from the lane head. The movement mode of the shelf in the lane is one-way movement, that is, it moves from the lane tail to the lane head. In this case, the lane head can be called the lane delivery end, that is, the shelf is shipped from the lane head. Alternatively, the shelf enters from the lane head, is placed in the lane buffer area, and exits from the lane tail. The movement mode of the shelf in the lane is one-way movement, that is, it moves from the lane head to the lane tail. In this case, the lane tail can be called the lane delivery end, that is, the shelf is shipped from the lane tail. For the convenience of description, the lane delivery end will be taken as the lane head as an example for explanation.

[0048] In one possible implementation, see Figure 3The figure below shows the overall layout of a warehouse, which can include aisle areas, buffer areas, expressways, workstations, AGVs, and racks. Aisle areas can include aisle tails, aisle buffers, and aisle heads. Buffer areas can include incoming buffers and residual material areas. Workstations are operational locations and can include incoming workstations, outgoing workstations, and processing area workstations.

[0049] In the above application scenario, the aisle warehousing management method proposed in the embodiment of the present application may involve the material warehousing process, the material outgoing process, the aisle adjustment process and the material quality inspection process. The material warehousing process, the material outgoing process, the aisle adjustment process and the material quality inspection process are described in detail below.

[0050] First, the material warehousing process. The material to be warehousing is recorded as the target material, and the shelf where the target material is located is recorded as the target shelf. The target material warehousing process can include the following steps:

[0051] In step S11, the operator holds a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), scans the shelf number of the target shelf and the material number of the target material, enters the quantity of the target material, and clicks "Execute" to cause the PDA to send a warehousing request for the target material to the iWMS to apply for the material to be put into storage.

[0052] Step S12: After receiving the warehousing request, iWMS determines whether the target material needs to enter the lane based on the material type corresponding to the target material. If yes, execute step S13-1; if not, execute step S13-2.

[0053] In one possible implementation, iWMS can maintain an information table that records the material types corresponding to materials that need to enter the lanes. That is, the material types corresponding to all materials that need to enter the lanes are recorded in the information table. For example, materials that flow at a low speed can enter the lanes, and the material types corresponding to the slow-flowing materials are recorded in the information table. Based on this, after iWMS receives a request to enter the target material, it determines the material type corresponding to the target material. If the information table includes the material type corresponding to the target material, iWMS determines that the target material needs to enter the lane; otherwise, if the information table does not include the material type corresponding to the target material, iWMS determines that the target material does not need to enter the lane.

[0054] In another possible implementation, iWMS can maintain an information table that records the material types corresponding to materials that do not need to enter the lanes. That is, the material types corresponding to all materials that do not need to enter the lanes are recorded in the information table. For example, materials that flow at high speeds do not need to enter the lanes, and the material types corresponding to these materials are recorded in the information table. Based on this, after receiving a request to enter the target material, iWMS determines the material type corresponding to the target material. If the information table includes the material type corresponding to the target material, it is determined that the target material does not need to enter the lane. Otherwise, if the information table does not include the material type corresponding to the target material, it is determined that the target material needs to enter the lane.

[0055] In another possible implementation, iWMS can maintain an information table that records the material types corresponding to materials that require lane entry and those that do not. Upon receiving a request for a target material to enter the warehouse, iWMS determines the material type corresponding to the target material and, using the material type, queries the information table to determine whether the target material requires lane entry or not.

[0056] Of course, the above methods are just a few examples and are not limited thereto, as long as it is possible to distinguish whether the target material needs to enter the lane, that is, to distinguish whether the target material needs to enter the lane based on the material type.

[0057] Step S13 - 1 : iWMS determines the target lane corresponding to the target material. The target lane is only used to place materials corresponding to the type of the target material, and does not place materials corresponding to other types.

[0058] For example, each material has a corresponding material type and category. The material type can be understood as a broad category of materials, while the category is a subcategory within that material type. For example, "fruit" can be a material type, while "apple," "banana," "orange," etc. can be categories within that material type. For another example, apple can be a material type, while "Red Fuji Apple," "Golden Delicious Apple," "Red Star Apple," etc. can be categories within that material type. Of course, the above are just a few examples and are not intended to be limiting.

[0059] In this embodiment, whether the target material needs to enter the lane can be determined based on the material type. On the basis that the target material needs to enter the lane, the target lane corresponding to the target material can be determined based on the type.

[0060] For example, if iWMS determines that a target material needs to enter an aisle, it determines the target aisle corresponding to the target material's type. The target aisle is used to place the target material, i.e., the target shelf where the target material is located. The target aisle is only used to place materials corresponding to the target material's type, and not materials corresponding to other types. This ensures that materials of the same type are placed in the same aisle, while materials of different types are not placed in the same aisle.

[0061] For example, if iWMS determines that the target material does not need to enter the lane, that is, the target material does not enter the storage lane, then the shelf inventory lane identifier corresponding to the target shelf (target material) is marked as a normal state. If iWMS determines that the target material needs to enter the lane, that is, the target material enters the storage lane, then the shelf inventory lane identifier corresponding to the target shelf (target material) is marked as a lane state to be moved. Among them, the shelf inventory lane identifier may include but is not limited to a normal state, a lane state to be moved, a lane state in the process of being moved, etc. The normal state indicates that the target shelf does not need to perform the storage lane operation, the lane state to be moved indicates that the target shelf needs to perform the storage lane operation, and the lane state in the process of being moved indicates that the target shelf is in the process of entering the storage lane.

[0062] Exemplarily, iWMS can determine all lanes that meet the requirements for target shelf entry based on materials, lane entry strategies, and lane non-mixed material strategies, and give priority to lanes with fewer empty storage spaces as target lanes to ensure that the number of lanes occupied by materials is minimized and the lane storage capacity rate is increased. iWMS can use a fixed lane mode or an intelligent lane allocation mode to determine all lanes that meet the requirements for target shelf entry. For the fixed lane mode, fixed lanes can be configured for the type of material. For the intelligent lane allocation mode, the maximum number of storage space occupancy for the material can be configured for the type of material. iWMS determines the maximum number of occupied lanes corresponding to the type based on the lane depth (i.e., the number of storage spaces in the lane) and the maximum number of storage spaces occupied by the material. Both of the above modes give priority to selecting lanes with fewer empty storage spaces as target lanes, increase the full capacity rate of the lane buffer area, and reduce the number of lanes occupied by materials.

[0063] In one possible implementation, for the fixed lane mode, iWMS can pre-maintain a mapping table that lists the correspondence between categories and fixed lanes. Each fixed lane is used to store materials of that category and does not store materials of other categories. For example, category A corresponds to fixed lanes 1, 2, and 3; category B corresponds to fixed lanes 4 and 5, and so on. Based on this, when iWMS determines the target lane for a target material, it can query the mapping table based on the target material's category to obtain at least one fixed lane corresponding to that category. Each fixed lane is used to store materials of that category and does not store materials of other categories. iWMS then counts the number of empty storage locations in each fixed lane and identifies the fixed lane with the least number of empty locations as the target lane. For example, if the target material is category B, category B corresponds to fixed lanes 4 and 5. Both fixed lanes 4 and 5 are used to store materials of category B and do not store materials of other categories. iWMS counts the number of empty storage locations in fixed lane 4 and the number of empty storage locations in fixed lane 5. If the number of empty storage locations in fixed lane 4 is less than the number of empty storage locations in fixed lane 5, fixed lane 4 is determined as the target lane, that is, fixed lane 4 is used as the target lane corresponding to the target material.

[0064] In another possible implementation, for the intelligent lane allocation mode, iWMS can configure the maximum storage location occupancy number for each material type, such as the maximum storage location occupancy number for type A is 13, the maximum storage location occupancy number for type B is 7, and so on. iWMS can determine the maximum number of occupied lanes corresponding to the target material type based on the lane depth and the maximum storage location occupancy number for the target material type. For example, when the lane depth is 5, that is, the number of storage locations in each lane is 5, then the maximum number of occupied lanes corresponding to type A is 3, that is, 3 lanes can provide 15 storage locations, which can meet the storage location requirement of 13 for the maximum storage location occupancy of type A. The maximum number of occupied lanes corresponding to type B is 2, that is, 2 lanes can provide 10 storage locations, which can meet the storage location requirement of 7 for the maximum storage location occupancy of type B.

[0065] On this basis, when iWMS determines the target lane corresponding to the target material, it first determines whether there is an existing lane with empty storage locations corresponding to the type of target material. Existing lanes are only used to place materials corresponding to this type, and not to place materials corresponding to other types. If so, iWMS counts the number of empty storage locations in each existing lane and determines the existing lane with the least number of empty storage locations as the target lane. For example, suppose the type of the target material is type B, and type B corresponds to existing lanes 4 and 5. Existing lanes 4 and 5 are both used to place materials corresponding to type B, and do not place materials corresponding to other types, and both existing lanes 4 and 5 have empty storage locations. iWMS counts the number of empty storage locations in existing lane 4 and the number of empty storage locations in existing lane 5. If the number of empty storage locations in existing lane 4 is less than the number of empty storage locations in existing lane 5, existing lane 4 is determined as the target lane corresponding to the target material.

[0066] If no, that is, no existing lane with an empty storage location corresponding to the target material type exists, iWMS determines whether the number of lanes corresponding to that type has reached the maximum number of occupied lanes for that type. If not, iWMS selects an unused lane from all lanes as the target lane. If the maximum number of occupied lanes has been reached, no target lane can be selected.

[0067] For example, if there is no existing aisle with empty storage locations corresponding to type B, and the number of aisles corresponding to type B is less than 2, such as the number of aisles is 0 or 1, then iWMS can select an unused aisle from all aisles, that is, all storage locations in the aisle are empty, that is, there are no shelves placed in all storage locations, then the storage location can be used as the target aisle, that is, as the target aisle corresponding to the target material.

[0068] If there is no existing lane with an empty storage location corresponding to type B, and the number of lanes corresponding to type B reaches 2, such as the number of lanes is 2, the target lane cannot be selected for the target material.

[0069] Step S14-1, iWMS sends a warehouse lane transfer instruction to RCMS, which may include information of the target lane (such as the unique identifier of the target lane, such as the lane number, etc.) and information of the target shelf where the target material is located (such as the unique identifier of the target shelf, such as the shelf number, etc.).

[0070] For example, after iWMS sends a warehouse transfer lane instruction to RCMS, RCMS can receive the warehouse transfer lane instruction and return a warehouse transfer lane instruction success message to iWMS. After iWMS receives the warehouse transfer lane instruction success message, it updates the shelf inventory lane identifier corresponding to the target shelf (target material) from the waiting warehouse transfer lane status to the warehouse transfer lane status to indicate that the target shelf is in the process of entering the warehouse lane.

[0071] Step S15-1: After receiving the lane transfer instruction, the RCMS selects a target storage location from all storage locations in the target lane. The target storage location may be the first empty storage location at the shipping end of the lane.

[0072] For example, the lane delivery end can be the lane head or the lane tail. For example, the lane delivery end is the lane head, see Figure 3 As shown, the first storage position on the left side of the lane head is the first storage position at the lane delivery end, the second storage position on the left side of the lane head is the second storage position at the lane delivery end, and so on. RCMS can determine the target lane based on the information of the target lane, and determine whether the first storage position at the lane delivery end of the target lane (i.e., the first storage position on the left side of the lane head) is an empty storage position. If so, the first storage position at the lane delivery end is used as the target storage position. If not, continue to determine whether the second storage position at the lane delivery end of the target lane is an empty storage position. If so, the second storage position at the lane delivery end is used as the target storage position. If not, continue to determine, and so on, until the target storage position in the target lane is found. The target storage position can be the empty storage position closest to the lane head.

[0073] Step S16-1, RCMS sends a first shelf transfer instruction to RCS, which may include but is not limited to information of the target storage location (such as the unique identifier of the target storage location, such as the storage location number, etc.) and information of the target shelf (such as the unique identifier of the target shelf, such as the shelf number, etc.).

[0074] Step S17-1: After receiving the first rack transport instruction, the RCS may generate a first target path based on the first rack transport instruction, wherein the starting point of the first target path may be the location of the target rack, and the ending point of the first target path may be the location of the target storage location.

[0075] For example, RCS can parse the target shelf information from the first shelf transport instruction, and based on the target shelf information, it can determine the location of the target shelf. The location of the target shelf can be the starting point of the first target path. Figure 3As shown, the location of the target shelf can be the location of the incoming storage buffer area or the location of the incoming storage workstation, and there is no restriction on the location of the target shelf. For example, when the target material enters the lane, there is already a vacant position in the lane, that is, the target storage location can be selected, then the location of the target shelf is the location of the incoming storage workstation, that is, the target shelf is directly moved from the incoming storage workstation to the target storage location. For another example, when the target material enters the lane, if there is no vacant position in the lane, that is, the target storage location cannot be selected, then the target shelf will first enter the incoming storage buffer area. On this basis, when there is a vacant position in the lane, the target storage location can be selected, and the location of the target shelf is the location of the incoming storage buffer area, that is, the target shelf is moved from the incoming storage buffer area to the target storage location.

[0076] For example, the RCS may parse the target storage location information from the first shelf transport instruction, and based on the target storage location information, the location of the target storage location in the target aisle may be determined.

[0077] Based on the location of the target shelf and the location of the target storage location, RCS can generate a first target path, where the starting point can be the location of the target shelf and the end point can be the location of the target storage location.

[0078] Step S18-1: The RCS controls the AGV to move the target shelf to the target storage location based on the first target path.

[0079] Obviously, since the starting point of the first target path is the location of the target shelf and the ending point of the first target path is the location of the target storage location, the RCS can dispatch the AGV to move the target shelf to the target storage location. This process will not be described in detail. After controlling the AGV to move the target shelf to the target storage location, the RCS is notified that the task has been completed and sends a task completion message to the RCMS. The RCMS then sends the task completion message to the iWMS. At this point, the target shelf's storage process is complete and the target shelf has been successfully moved to the target aisle.

[0080] For example, after receiving the task completion message, iWMS learns that the target shelf has successfully arrived at the aisle cache area (i.e., the target storage location in the target aisle), records the shelf aisle information, and the shelf inventory records the aisle number. The shelf inventory aisle identifier corresponding to the target shelf (target material) is updated from the aisle status being transferred to the normal status to indicate that the target shelf has completed the warehousing aisle operation and does not need to perform the warehousing aisle operation.

[0081] See also Figure 4As shown in the figure, it is a schematic diagram of moving the target shelf to the target storage location. Assume that the target shelf is located in the storage buffer area and the target storage location is the 4th storage location of lane 102. Based on this, after the target shelf (i.e. shelf A01) enters the storage buffer area, the target shelf is moved from the storage buffer area to the 4th storage location of lane 102 through the material storage process. The flow process is shown in FIG. Figure 4 shown.

[0082] Step S13-2: If the target material does not need to enter the aisle, that is, the target material needs to enter the incoming buffer area, the iWMS sends a transfer buffer area instruction to the RCMS. The transfer buffer area instruction may include the information of the incoming buffer area (such as the unique identifier of the incoming buffer area) and the information of the target shelf.

[0083] Step S14-2: After receiving the instruction to transfer the buffer zone, the RCMS may select a free storage location from all storage locations in the incoming buffer zone. The free storage location may be any empty storage location in the incoming buffer zone.

[0084] Step S15-2: RCMS sends a second shelf transfer instruction to RCS. The second shelf transfer instruction may include information about the vacant storage space (such as a unique identifier of the vacant storage space) and information about the target shelf.

[0085] Step S16-2: After receiving the second rack transfer instruction, the RCS may generate a second target path based on the second rack transfer instruction, wherein the starting point of the second target path may be the location of the target rack, and the ending point of the second target path may be the location of the vacant storage space.

[0086] For example, RCS can parse the information of the target shelf from the second shelf handling instruction. Based on the information of the target shelf, the location of the target shelf can be determined. The location of the target shelf can be the starting point of the second target path, such as the location of the target shelf can be the location of the warehousing workstation.

[0087] The RCS can parse the free storage space information from the second rack handling instruction and, based on the free storage space information, determine the location of the free storage space in the inbound and outbound buffer area. Based on the location of the target rack and the location of the free storage space, the RCS can generate a second target path.

[0088] Step S17-2: The RCS controls the AGV based on the second target path to move the target shelf to the vacant storage location. Obviously, since the starting point of the second target path is the location of the target shelf and the ending point of the second target path is the location of the vacant storage location, the RCS can dispatch the AGV to move the target shelf to the vacant storage location. After controlling the AGV to move the target shelf to the vacant storage location, the RCS is notified that the task has been completed and sends a task completion message to the RCMS. The RCMS then sends the task completion message to the iWMS, thus completing the warehousing process for the target shelf and successfully moving the target shelf to the warehousing buffer area.

[0089] In one possible implementation, the process of moving a shelf to the incoming buffer area may include:

[0090] Step S21: Scan the target material through the PDA and put it into storage on the target shelf.

[0091] Step S22: iWMS records the inventory information of shelf materials, calculates the inventory lane status based on the material information, and sends an instruction to RCMS to return the full shelf to the incoming storage buffer area.

[0092] Step S23: RCMS analyzes the shelf return instruction, selects an idle storage location from all storage locations in the incoming storage buffer area, decomposes the task, and sends the shelf return task to RCS.

[0093] Step S24: RCS receives the task issued by RCMS and assigns AGV to perform the shelf handling task.

[0094] Step S25: The AGV performs the shelf transport task and reports the task execution result information.

[0095] In one possible implementation, see Figure 5 As shown, the process of moving the shelf to the aisle includes:

[0096] Step S31A: iWMS searches for the inventory shelf (ie, the target shelf) of the lane to be transferred based on the inventory lane identifier and the lane transfer strategy. After step S31A, step S32A may be executed.

[0097] Step S32A: iWMS determines the lane mode for material transfer. If the lane mode is a fixed lane mode, proceed to step S33A; if the lane mode is a dynamically allocated lane mode, proceed to step S34A.

[0098] Step S33A: iWMS searches for the fixed lane corresponding to the material, and then executes step S35A.

[0099] Step S34A: iWMS calculates the maximum number of lanes occupied by the material, and iWMS queries occupied lanes and empty lanes. Exemplarily, after step S34A, step S35A may be executed.

[0100] Step S35A: iWMS excludes lanes with shelves at the end of the lanes, and iWMS excludes lanes with other material inventory. Exemplarily, after step S35A, step S36A may be executed.

[0101] Step S36A: iWMS determines whether the remaining available lanes are empty.

[0102] If yes, step S37A may be executed, and if no, step S38A may be executed.

[0103] Step S37A: The material is excluded from the current transfer lane, and iWMS attempts to transfer the next material inventory.

[0104] Exemplarily, after step S37A, step S32A is performed for the next material inventory.

[0105] Step S38A: iWMS sends a warehouse transfer lane message instruction to RCMS.

[0106] For example, after the iWMS sends the warehouse-transfer lane message instruction to the RCMS, step S31B may be executed. After the iWMS sends the warehouse-transfer lane message instruction to the RCMS, step S31C may also be executed.

[0107] Step S31B: RCMS returns the result of the warehouse transfer lane.

[0108] Exemplarily, if the result of transferring the storage lane is failure, step S32B is executed.

[0109] Exemplarily, if the result of transferring the storage lane is successful, step S33B is executed.

[0110] For example, if the result of transferring the storage lane is successful, step S34B can also be executed.

[0111] Step S32B: The material inventory attempts to move to the next lane. If there is no lane available for transfer, the process returns to step S37A. If there is a lane available for transfer, the process returns to step S38A.

[0112] Step S33B: iWMS determines whether there is any inventory left to be transferred. If so, the process returns to step S32A. If not, iWMS determines that the transfer is complete.

[0113] Step S34B: iWMS updates the inventory lane status to normal status, and then executes step S35B.

[0114] Step S35B: RCMS reports the shelf arrival at the aisle storage location information, and then executes step S36B.

[0115] Step S36B: iWMS records the shelf aisle location and updates the inventory aisle number.

[0116] Step S31C: RCMS receives the shelf transfer lane instruction, and then executes step S32C.

[0117] Step S32C: RCMS analyzes the task (i.e., the shelf transfer lane task). If the task analysis fails, the system returns to the transfer lane failure. If the task analysis succeeds, the system proceeds to step S33C.

[0118] Step S33C: RCMS issues the RCS shelf transfer task, and then executes step S34C.

[0119] Step S34C: RCS dispatches AGV to perform the shelf handling task, and then executes step S35C.

[0120] Step S35C: RCS dispatches AGV to assign shelf handling tasks, and then executes step S36C.

[0121] Step S36C: The AGV performs the shelf transport task, and then executes step S37C.

[0122] Step S37C: AGV reports to RCS that the task is completed, and then executes step S38C.

[0123] Step S38C: RCS reports to RCMS that the task is complete, reports the shelf location information, and executes step S35B.

[0124] Second, the material outbound process. The material to be outbound is recorded as the first material, and the shelf where the first material is located is recorded as the outbound shelf. The outbound process of the first material can include the following steps:

[0125] Step S41: The operator uses a handheld PDA to scan the address code of the outbound workstation and the material number of the first material, and clicks "Execute" to cause the PDA to send an outbound request for the first material to the iWMS to apply for the material to be outbound.

[0126] Exemplarily, if iWMS determines that the first material needs to be shipped out from the lane, step S42-1 is executed. If iWMS determines that the first material needs to be shipped out from the incoming buffer area, step S42-2 is executed. If iWMS determines that the first material needs to be shipped out from the remaining material area, step S42-3 is executed. For example, if the first material is a material that does not enter the lane, iWMS determines that the first material needs to be shipped out from the incoming buffer area. If the first material is a material that enters the lane, if the first material exists in the remaining material area, iWMS determines that the first material needs to be shipped out from the remaining material area; if the first material does not exist in the remaining material area, iWMS determines that the first material needs to be shipped out from the lane. For another example, if the first material exists in the remaining material area, it is determined that the first material needs to be shipped out from the remaining material area; if the first material does not exist in the remaining material area and the incoming buffer area exists, it is determined that the first material needs to be shipped out from the incoming buffer area; if the first material does not exist in the remaining material area and the incoming buffer area exists, it is determined that the first material needs to be shipped out from the lane.

[0127] Step S42-1: After receiving the outbound request for the first material, if iWMS determines that the first material needs to be outbound from the aisle, iWMS sends a first outbound instruction to RCMS. The first outbound instruction may include information about the outbound shelf where the first material is located (such as the unique identifier of the outbound shelf, such as the shelf number).

[0128] Step S43-1: After receiving the first outbound instruction, the RCMS searches for the outbound storage location where the outbound shelf is located in the lane, that is, searches for the outbound storage location from all storage locations in all lanes.

[0129] For example, the outbound storage location may be the first occupied storage location at the outbound end of the lane, and the first material has been placed in the occupied storage location, that is, the outbound storage location is the occupied storage location closest to the outbound end of the lane. For example, when the outbound storage location where the outbound rack is located is the first occupied storage location at the outbound end of the lane, the outbound storage location where the outbound rack is located can be searched from the lane. If the outbound storage location where the outbound rack is located is not the first occupied storage location at the outbound end of the lane, the outbound storage location can be searched from the lane. If the outbound storage location where the outbound rack is located is not the first occupied storage location at the outbound end of the lane, the outbound storage location can be waited until the outbound storage location where the outbound rack is located is the first occupied storage location at the outbound end of the lane, and then the subsequent steps can be executed.

[0130] For example, taking the lane delivery end as the lane head, RCMS can find the delivery lane where the delivery rack is located based on the delivery rack information, and determine whether the delivery rack is in the first storage position at the lane delivery end (i.e., the first storage position on the left side of the lane head). If so, the first storage position at the lane delivery end is used as the delivery storage position. If not, it continues to wait (i.e., through the lane adjustment process, the delivery rack is moved to the first storage position at the lane delivery end. For the specific process, see the subsequent embodiments) until the delivery rack is in the first storage position at the lane delivery end, and the first storage position at the lane delivery end is used as the delivery storage position. From the above, it can be seen that iWMS searches for the first occupied storage position in the delivery lane as the delivery storage position based on the first-in-first-out principle, so that the lane delivery direction will not be blocked.

[0131] Step S44-1: The RCMS sends a third rack handling instruction to the RCS. The third rack handling instruction may include information about the outbound storage location (e.g., a unique identifier of the outbound storage location, such as a storage location number, etc.) and information about the outbound rack (e.g., a unique identifier of the outbound rack, such as a rack number, etc.). For example, the third rack handling instruction may also include information about the outbound workstation, such as a unique identifier of the outbound workstation.

[0132] Step S45-1: After receiving the third rack transfer instruction, the RCS may generate a third target path based on the third rack transfer instruction, wherein the starting point of the third target path may be the location of the outbound storage location, and the ending point of the third target path may be the location of the outbound workstation.

[0133] For example, the RCS can parse the third rack handling instruction to obtain the information of the outbound rack, indicating that an outbound operation needs to be performed on the outbound rack. The RCS can parse the third rack handling instruction to obtain the information of the outbound storage location, and based on the information of the outbound storage location, the RCS can determine the location of the outbound storage location in the outbound lane. The RCS can parse the third rack handling instruction to obtain the information of the outbound workstation, and based on the information of the outbound workstation, the RCS can determine the location of the outbound workstation.

[0134] Based on the location of the outbound storage location and the location of the outbound workstation, RCS can generate a third target path, the starting point of which can be the location of the outbound storage location and the end point can be the location of the outbound workstation.

[0135] Step S46-1: The RCS controls the AGV to move the outbound rack from the outbound storage location to the outbound workstation based on the third target path. Obviously, since the starting point of the third target path is the location of the outbound storage location and the ending point of the third target path is the location of the outbound workstation, the RCS can dispatch the AGV to move the outbound rack from the outbound storage location to the outbound workstation. After controlling the outbound rack to move to the outbound workstation, the RCS is notified that the task has been completed and sends a task completion message to the RCMS. The RCMS then sends the task completion message to the iWMS. At this point, the outbound rack's outbound process is completed, and the outbound rack has been successfully moved to the outbound workstation.

[0136] See also Figure 6 The figure shows a schematic diagram of moving the outbound rack to the outbound workstation. According to the lane transfer strategy and outbound strategy, the outbound rack hit by the lane outbound is the rack closest to the lane head and there is no obstruction in the outbound direction. For example, the outbound storage location is the second storage location in lane 103, and the outbound rack (i.e., rack B01) is not blocked when it is outbound from the outbound storage location. The flow process is shown in Figure 6 shown.

[0137] Step S42-2, after iWMS receives the outbound request for the first material, if it is determined that the first material needs to be outbound from the incoming buffer area, that is, the first material exists in the incoming buffer area, then iWMS sends a third outbound instruction to RCMS. The third outbound instruction may include information about the incoming buffer area (such as the unique identifier of the incoming buffer area) and information about the outbound shelf where the first material is located (such as the unique identifier of the outbound shelf).

[0138] Step S43-2: After receiving the third outbound instruction, the RCMS selects an outbound shelf on which the first material is placed from the incoming buffer. For example, the RCMS parses the inbound and outbound buffer information and the outbound shelf information from the third outbound instruction, locates the incoming buffer based on the incoming buffer information, and locates the outbound shelf on which the first material is placed from all shelves in the incoming buffer based on the outbound shelf information.

[0139] Step S44-2: RCMS sends a fifth shelf transport instruction to RCS. The fifth shelf transport instruction may include information about the incoming buffer area, information about the outgoing shelf, and information about the outgoing workstation.

[0140] Step S45-2: After receiving the fifth rack transfer instruction, the RCS may generate a fifth target path based on the fifth rack transfer instruction, wherein the starting point of the fifth target path may be the location of the incoming buffer area and the ending point of the fifth target path may be the location of the outgoing workstation.

[0141] For example, the RCS can parse the information of the outbound rack from the fifth rack handling instruction, indicating that an outbound operation needs to be performed on this outbound rack. The RCS can parse the information of the inbound and outbound buffer area from the fifth rack handling instruction. Based on the information of the inbound and outbound buffer area, the RCS can determine the location of the inbound and outbound buffer area. The RCS can parse the information of the outbound workstation from the fifth rack handling instruction. Based on the information of the outbound workstation, the RCS can determine the location of the outbound workstation. Based on the location of the inbound buffer area and the location of the outbound workstation, the RCS can generate the fifth target path.

[0142] Step S46-2: The RCS controls the AGV to move the outbound rack from the incoming buffer to the outbound workstation based on the fifth target path. Since the starting point of the fifth target path is the incoming buffer and the ending point is the outbound workstation, the RCS can dispatch the AGV to move the outbound rack to the outbound workstation.

[0143] Based on steps S42-2 to S46-2, the outbound function of the incoming buffer area can be realized. The outbound function of the incoming buffer area is used when materials do not enter the lanes, such as materials with a short storage time. Such materials will not enter the lanes for storage. After a short stay in the incoming buffer area, they can be directly outbound from the incoming buffer area. By using the outbound function of the incoming buffer area, the stability of the system can be improved and the outbound function of the system can be handled in an emergency.

[0144] Step S42-3, after iWMS receives the outbound request for the first material, if it is determined that the first material needs to be outbound from the residual material area, that is, the first material exists in the residual material area, then iWMS sends a second outbound instruction to RCMS. The second outbound instruction includes the information of the residual material area (such as the unique identifier of the residual material area) and the information of the outbound shelf where the first material is located (the unique identifier of the outbound shelf).

[0145] Step S43-3: After receiving the second delivery instruction, the RCMS may select a delivery shelf on which the first material is placed from the remaining material area. For example, the RCMS may parse the remaining material area information and the delivery shelf information from the second delivery instruction, locate the remaining material area based on the remaining material area information, and then locate the delivery shelf on which the first material is placed from all shelves in the remaining material area based on the delivery shelf information.

[0146] Step S44-3: RCMS sends a fourth rack handling instruction to RCS. The fourth rack handling instruction may include information about the remaining material area, information about the outbound rack, and information about the outbound workstation.

[0147] Step S45-3: After receiving the fourth rack handling instruction, the RCS can generate a fourth target path based on the fourth rack handling instruction. The starting point of the fourth target path can be the location of the residual material area, and the ending point of the fourth target path can be the location of the outbound workstation. For example, the RCS can parse the information of the outbound rack, indicating that an outbound operation needs to be performed on this outbound rack. The RCS can parse the information of the residual material area and determine the location of the residual material area. The RCS can parse the information of the outbound workstation and determine the location of the outbound workstation. The fourth target path is generated based on the location of the residual material area and the location of the outbound workstation.

[0148] Step S46-3: The RCS controls the AGV to move the outbound rack from the residual material area to the outbound workstation based on the fourth target path. Since the fourth target path starts at the residual material area and ends at the outbound workstation, the RCS can dispatch the AGV to move the outbound rack from the residual material area to the outbound workstation.

[0149] In a possible embodiment, after the outbound shelf is moved to the outbound workstation (such as moving the outbound shelf from the outbound storage location to the outbound workstation, or moving the outbound shelf from the incoming buffer area to the outbound workstation, or moving the outbound shelf from the remaining material area to the outbound workstation), the following steps may also be included:

[0150] Step S51: The operator uses a handheld PDA to scan the shelf number of the outbound shelf, enters the remaining quantity of the first material, and clicks "Execute" to cause the PDA to send a recycling request for the outbound shelf to the iWMS.

[0151] Step S52: After receiving the recycling request for the outbound shelf, iWMS determines the remaining quantity of the first material on the outbound shelf. If the remaining quantity of the first material is 0, step S53-1 is executed. If the remaining quantity of the first material is not 0, that is, the remaining quantity is greater than 0, step S53-2 is executed.

[0152] Step S53 - 1 : iWMS sends a first return instruction to RCMS. The first return instruction may include information about the incoming buffer area, information about the outgoing workstation, and information about the outgoing shelf.

[0153] Step S54-1: After receiving the first return instruction, RCMS generates a first shelf recovery instruction based on the first return instruction and sends the first shelf recovery instruction to RCS. The first shelf recovery instruction may include information about the incoming buffer area, information about the outgoing workstation, and information about the outgoing shelf.

[0154] Step S55-1: After receiving the first shelf recovery instruction, the RCS may generate a first return path based on the first shelf recovery instruction. The starting point of the first return path may be the location of the outbound workstation, and the ending point of the first return path may be the location of the inbound buffer area.

[0155] For example, the RCS can parse the information of the outbound shelf from the first shelf recovery instruction, indicating that the outbound shelf needs to be recovered. The RCS can parse the information of the inbound and outbound buffer area from the first shelf recovery instruction. Based on the information of the inbound and outbound buffer area, the RCS can determine the location of the inbound and outbound buffer area. The RCS can parse the information of the outbound workstation from the first shelf recovery instruction. Based on the information of the outbound workstation, the RCS can determine the location of the outbound workstation. Based on the location of the inbound buffer area and the location of the outbound workstation, the RCS can generate the first return path.

[0156] Step S56-1: The RCS controls the AGV to move the outbound rack from the outbound workstation to the inbound buffer area based on the first return path. Since the first return path starts at the outbound workstation and ends at the inbound buffer area, the RCS can schedule the AGV to move the outbound rack to the inbound buffer area.

[0157] From the above, we can see that if the remaining quantity is equal to 0, it means that the outbound shelf is an empty shelf. The empty shelf can be moved to the incoming buffer area and continue to be used when waiting for a new incoming request.

[0158] Step S53-2: iWMS sends a second return instruction to RCMS. The second return instruction may include information about the remaining material area, information about the outbound workstation, and information about the outbound shelf.

[0159] Step S54-2: After receiving the second return instruction, RCMS generates a second shelf recovery instruction based on the second return instruction and sends the second shelf recovery instruction to RCS. The second shelf recovery instruction may include information on the remaining material area, information on the outbound workstation, and information on the outbound shelf.

[0160] Step S55-2: After receiving the second shelf recovery instruction, the RCS may generate a second return path based on the second shelf recovery instruction. The starting point of the second return path may be the location of the outbound workstation, and the ending point of the second return path may be the location of the residual material area.

[0161] For example, the RCS can parse the information of the outbound shelf from the second shelf recovery instruction, indicating that the outbound shelf needs to be recovered. The RCS can also parse the information of the residual material area from the second shelf recovery instruction, and determine the location of the residual material area based on the residual material area information. The RCS can also parse the information of the outbound workstation from the second shelf recovery instruction, and determine the location of the outbound workstation based on the information of the outbound workstation. Based on the location of the residual material area and the location of the outbound workstation, the RCS can generate a second return path.

[0162] Step S56-2: The RCS controls the AGV based on the second return path to move the outbound rack from the outbound workstation to the residual material area. Since the second return path starts at the outbound workstation and ends at the residual material area, the RCS can dispatch the AGV to move the outbound rack from the outbound workstation to the residual material area.

[0163] From the above, it can be seen that if the remaining material quantity is greater than 0, it means that there is still the first material on the outbound shelf. The outbound shelf can be moved to the remaining material area. When the first material needs to be shipped out, the outbound shelf in the remaining material area can be moved to the outbound workstation. Refer to the above steps, which have introduced the movement process from the remaining material area to the outbound workstation.

[0164] In the above process, after the task is completed, the RCS may know that the task is completed and send a task completion message to the RCMS, and the RCMS sends the task completion message to the iWMS.

[0165] In one possible implementation, the process of moving the shelf to the outbound workstation may include:

[0166] Step S61-1: PDA requests materials, that is, PDA applies for materials to be shipped out.

[0167] Step S62-1, iWMS matches inventory. For materials entering the lane, the inventory in the remaining material area is searched first, and then the lane inventory is searched. For materials not entering the lane, the inventory in the incoming buffer area is directly searched.

[0168] Step S63-1: If the aisle inventory is queried, the outbound process is executed for the aisle inventory, and the iWMS sends the RCMS shelf outbound and the aisle inventory outbound, and marks the aisle as pending adjustment status.

[0169] Step S64-1: RCMS parses the shelf delivery instruction and issues the shelf delivery task.

[0170] Step S65-1: RCS receives the shelf outbound task and assigns AGV to perform the shelf transport task.

[0171] Step S66-1: The AGV performs the shelf transport task and reports the task execution result information.

[0172] In one possible implementation, the process of returning a shelf from a delivery workstation may include:

[0173] Step S61-2: PDA returns materials, that is, PDA applies for materials to be returned to the warehouse from the outbound workstation.

[0174] Step S62-2: iWMS deducts inventory, that is, deducts the inventory sent out from the outbound workstation.

[0175] Step S63-2: If there is any remaining material, iWMS sends the RCMS shelf back to the remaining material area. If the shelf is empty, that is, there is no remaining material, iWMS sends the RCMS shelf back to the incoming storage buffer area.

[0176] Step S64-2: RCMS parses the shelf return instruction and issues the shelf return task.

[0177] Step S65-2: RCS receives the shelf return task and assigns AGV to perform the shelf transport task.

[0178] Step S66-2: The AGV performs the shelf transport task and reports the task execution result information.

[0179] Third, the lane adjustment process. The lane that needs to be adjusted can be determined and recorded as the lane to be adjusted. The lane adjustment process of the lane to be adjusted can include the following steps:

[0180] Step S71: iWMS determines whether any lanes are to be adjusted. Lanes to be adjusted must include occupied locations, and empty locations must exist on the delivery side of the lanes. Occupied locations can be locations where materials are already placed, while empty locations are locations where materials are not placed.

[0181] For example, the lane delivery end can be the lane head or the lane tail. For example, the lane delivery end is the lane head, see Figure 3 As shown, the first storage position on the left side of the lane head is the first storage position in the lane delivery direction, the second storage position on the left side of the lane head is the second storage position in the lane delivery direction, and so on. For a certain lane, if all storage positions in the lane are empty, then the lane is not considered as a lane to be adjusted. If there is an occupied storage position among all the storage positions in the lane, and if there is an empty storage position in the lane delivery direction of any occupied storage position, that is, there is an empty storage position to the right of the occupied storage position, then the lane is considered as a lane to be adjusted. If there are no empty storage positions in the lane delivery direction of all occupied storage positions, that is, there are no empty storage positions to the right of all occupied storage positions, then the lane is not considered as a lane to be adjusted.

[0182] Obviously, if there is a lane to be adjusted among all lanes, then after performing the above processing on each lane, the lane to be adjusted can be found from all lanes, and subsequent steps can be performed on the lane to be adjusted.

[0183] In one possible implementation, when materials are shipped from an outbound lane, iWMS identifies the outbound lane as a lane to be adjusted, meaning that there is a lane to be adjusted among all lanes. For example, when materials are shipped from an outbound lane, the outbound lane is marked as being in a pending adjustment state, indicating that the outbound lane is a lane to be adjusted.

[0184] In another possible implementation, for each lane, if the number of shelves in the lane is less than the maximum number of storage locations in the lane, and the shelf positions in the lane are not arranged continuously starting from the first storage location in the direction of the lane's delivery end, then iWMS determines that the lane is a lane to be adjusted, that is, there is a lane to be adjusted.

[0185] For example, iWMS can count the number of shelves in the lane. If the number of shelves in the lane is equal to the maximum number of storage locations in the lane (i.e. the total number of all storage locations), the lane will not be treated as a lane to be adjusted. If the number of shelves in the lane is 0, the lane will not be treated as a lane to be adjusted. If the number of shelves in the lane is not 0 and the number of shelves in the lane is less than the maximum number of storage locations in the lane, the shelf position of the lane will be determined.

[0186] If the racking positions of the lane are arranged continuously from the first storage position in the direction of the lane's delivery end, for example, starting from the lane's head, the racking positions are arranged in the first storage position, the second storage position, etc. on the left side of the lane's head, then the lane is not considered a lane to be adjusted. If the racking positions of the lane are not arranged continuously from the first storage position in the direction of the lane's delivery end, for example, starting from the lane's head, the racking positions are arranged in the second storage position, the third storage position on the left side of the lane's head, that is, the first storage position on the left side of the lane's head is empty, then the lane is considered a lane to be adjusted.

[0187] Among them, if the number of shelves in the lane is less than the maximum number of storage locations in the lane, and the shelf positions in the lane are not arranged continuously starting from the first storage location in the direction of the lane's delivery end, iWMS marks the lane as pending adjustment.

[0188] For example, for each lane in all lanes, the lane status can be: normal, frozen, or pending adjustment. Lanes in normal status allow racks to enter and exit normally, lanes in frozen status do not allow racks to enter or exit, and lanes in pending adjustment status indicate that the positions of racks within the lane need to be adjusted. This means that racks are placed sequentially from the lane head so that a rack occupies the first storage space on the left side of the lane head, and there are no empty storage spaces between adjacent racks. The following describes the process of adjusting rack positions within a lane.

[0189] Step S72: If the iWMS determines that there is a lane to be adjusted among all the lanes, the iWMS sends a lane adjustment instruction to the RCMS. The lane adjustment instruction may include information about the lane to be adjusted.

[0190] For example, after iWMS determines that there is a lane to be adjusted among all lanes, it can immediately trigger lane adjustment, that is, directly send a lane adjustment instruction to RCMS for the lane to be adjusted. Alternatively, iWMS can trigger lane adjustment on a regular basis. That is, at each triggering moment, iWMS can determine whether there is a lane to be adjusted. If so, it sends a lane adjustment instruction to RCMS for the lane to be adjusted.

[0191] For example, after receiving the lane adjustment instruction, RCMS can return a lane adjustment success message to iWMS. After receiving the lane adjustment success message, iWMS can change the status of the lane to be adjusted from the pending adjustment status to the normal status, that is, the lane allows shelves to enter and exit the lane normally.

[0192] Step S73: After receiving the lane adjustment instruction, the RCMS determines the first and second storage locations in the lane to be adjusted. For example, the first storage location may be the first empty storage location at the lane delivery end, and the second storage location may be the first occupied storage location in the opposite direction of the lane delivery end.

[0193] Exemplarily, RCMS can parse the information of the lane to be adjusted from the lane adjustment instruction, and determine the lane to be adjusted based on the information of the lane to be adjusted. Taking the lane delivery end as the lane head as an example, the first storage position on the left side of the lane head (the first storage position at the lane delivery end) is recorded as storage position a1, and the second storage position on the left side of the lane head is recorded as storage position a2, and so on. Based on this, first determine whether storage position a1 is an empty storage position. If storage position a1 is an empty storage position, that is, storage position a1 is the first empty storage position at the lane delivery end, then storage position a1 is used as the first storage position. If storage position a1 is not an empty storage position, then continue to determine whether storage position a2 is an empty storage position. If storage position a2 is an empty storage position, that is, storage position a2 is the first empty storage position at the lane delivery end, then storage position a2 is used as the first storage position, and so on, until the first storage position in the lane to be adjusted is found.

[0194] Assuming that storage location a1 is the first storage location, we can determine whether the first storage location to the left of storage location a1 (i.e., storage location a2) is occupied. If storage location a2 is occupied, that is, storage location a2 is the first occupied storage location in the opposite direction of the lane delivery end of the first storage location, then storage location a2 will be used as the second storage location. If storage location a2 is not occupied, we will continue to determine whether storage location a3 is occupied. If storage location a3 is occupied, that is, storage location a3 is the first occupied storage location in the opposite direction of the lane delivery end of the first storage location, then storage location a3 will be used as the second storage location, and so on, until the second storage location in the lane to be adjusted is found.

[0195] In summary, the first storage position in the lane to be adjusted and the second storage position in the lane to be adjusted can be obtained. In the subsequent process, it is assumed that the storage position a1 is used as the first storage position, and the storage position a3 is used as the second storage position.

[0196] Step S74: RCMS sends a shelf migration instruction to RCS, where the shelf migration instruction includes information of the first storage location (the unique identifier of the first storage location) and information of the second storage location (the unique identifier of the second storage location).

[0197] Step S75: After receiving the shelf migration instruction, the RCS may generate a migration path based on the shelf migration instruction. The starting point of the migration path may be the location of the second storage location in the lane to be adjusted, and the ending point of the migration path may be the location of the first storage location in the lane to be adjusted.

[0198] For example, the RCS can parse the information of the second storage location from the shelf migration instruction, and determine the location of the second storage location based on the information of the second storage location. The location of the second storage location can be the starting point of the migration path. The RCS can parse the information of the first storage location from the shelf migration instruction, and determine the location of the first storage location based on the information of the first storage location. The location of the first storage location can be the end point of the migration path. Based on the location of the second storage location and the location of the first storage location, the RCS can generate the migration path.

[0199] Step S76: The RCS controls the AGV to move the shelves from the second storage location to the first storage location based on the migration path. Since the starting point of the migration path is the location of the second storage location and the end point of the migration path is the location of the first storage location, the RCS can schedule the AGV to move the shelves from the second storage location to the first storage location.

[0200] After controlling the AGV to move the shelf from the second storage location to the first storage location, the RCS is notified that the task has been completed and sends a task completion message to the RCMS. The RCMS then re-determines the first and second storage locations in the aisle to be adjusted and sends a shelf migration instruction to the RCS. This process continues until all storage locations in the aisle to be adjusted have completed the aisle adjustment. At this point, the aisle adjustment process for the aisle to be adjusted is completed.

[0201] For example, assuming that storage locations a1 and a2 in the aisle to be adjusted are empty, and storage locations a3, a4, and a5 in the aisle to be adjusted are occupied, in the first aisle adjustment process, location a1 is used as the first location, location a3 is used as the second location, and the shelf in location a3 is moved to location a1. In this case, location a1 is the occupied location, locations a2 and a3 are empty, and locations a4 and a5 are occupied. In the second aisle adjustment process, location a2 is used as the first location, location a4 is used as the second location, and the shelf in location a4 is moved to location a2. In this case, locations a1 and a2 are occupied, locations a3 and a4 are empty, and location a5 is the occupied location. In the third aisle adjustment process, storage location a3 is used as the first storage location, storage location a5 is used as the second storage location, and the shelf of storage location a5 is moved to storage location a3. In this case, storage locations a1, a2, and a3 are occupied storage locations, and storage locations a4 and a5 are empty storage locations. At this point, the aisle adjustment process of the aisle to be adjusted is completed.

[0202] For example, after receiving the aisle adjustment instruction, RCMS can parse the aisle shelf adjustment task and assign task priority based on whether there are in-and-out warehouse tasks in the aisle to be adjusted. It then issues the RCS aisle adjustment task, triggering the aisle buffer area shelves to move to the empty storage locations at the head of the aisle in sequence, that is, first move the shelf in storage location a3 to storage location a1, then move the shelf in storage location a4 to storage location a2, and then move the shelf in storage location a5 to storage location a3. RCS dispatches AGVs to transport shelves to designated storage locations, and reports to RCS, RCMS, and iWMS in sequence after the task is completed. Among them, when the aisle is in the entry and exit state, the priority of the adjustment task can be lowered, and the tasks of entering and exiting the aisle are executed first, and then the tasks of aisle adjustment are executed.

[0203] For example, the above process can complete the following actions in sequence: RCMS parses the task; RCMS assigns task priority; RCMS issues shelf adjustment tasks in sequence; RCS dispatches AGV to execute the adjustment tasks in sequence; and task execution results are reported layer by layer from AGV, RCS, RCMS, and iWMS.

[0204] For example, the lane states of the RCMS may include: idle state, entry / exit state, adjustment state, etc. The priority of lane adjustment tasks may be lower than the priority of lane entry / exit tasks.

[0205] For example, after completing the shelf adjustment task, the RCMS may send a shelf adjustment completion message to the iWMS. After receiving the shelf adjustment completion message, the iWMS may update the shelf lane number and lane position.

[0206] In one possible implementation, after shelf B01 is shipped out of lane 103, lane 103 is adjusted. During the lane adjustment process, the shelves (B02, B03, B04) in lane 103 are sequentially moved to the empty storage space closest to the lane head. The shelf transfer process is described in detail in the following sections. Figure 7A 、 Figure 7B and Figure 7C shown.

[0207] In a possible implementation, the lane adjustment process of the lane to be adjusted may include:

[0208] Step S81: iWMS marks the lane adjustment status. In a first possible implementation, when a shelf in a lane is shipped out, the lane adjustment status of that lane is marked as pending adjustment. In a second possible implementation, the lane to be adjusted is intelligently identified and marked as pending adjustment.

[0209] Step S82: iWMS triggers lane adjustment. In a first possible implementation, after marking the lane adjustment status of the lane as pending adjustment, the RCMS lane adjustment is immediately issued. In a second possible implementation, the RCMS lane adjustment is periodically issued for lanes in pending adjustment status.

[0210] Step S83: After receiving the lane adjustment instruction, the RCMS may parse the lane adjustment task, assign task priorities, and issue the lane adjustment shelf movement task to the RCS.

[0211] Step S84: RCS dispatches AGV to execute the task of moving the shelves in the aisle. After the task of moving the shelves in the aisle is completed, the adjustment results of each shelf in the aisle can be reported in sequence.

[0212] Fourth, the material quality inspection process. For materials that need quality inspection, the shelf where the material is located can be marked as the shelf to be inspected. The material quality inspection process of the shelf to be inspected can include the following steps:

[0213] Step S91: The operator uses a handheld PDA to scan the workstation code of the processing area and the shelf number of the shelf to be inspected, and marks the materials on the shelf to be inspected as items to be inspected. The operator clicks "Execute" to cause the PDA to send a quality inspection request for the shelf to be inspected to the iWMS, requesting quality inspection of the shelf to be inspected.

[0214] For example, if the shelf to be inspected is located in the incoming stock buffer, iWMS marks the shelf to be inspected (or the material on the shelf to be inspected) as an item to be inspected and determines that the shelf to be inspected needs to be shipped from the incoming stock buffer, executing step S92-1. If the shelf to be inspected is located in the residual material area, iWMS marks the shelf to be inspected as an item to be inspected and determines that the shelf to be inspected needs to be shipped from the residual material area, executing step S92-2. If the shelf to be inspected is located in the aisle, iWMS determines that the shelf to be inspected needs to be shipped from the aisle, executing step S92-3.

[0215] Step S92-1: After iWMS receives the quality inspection request for the shelf to be inspected, if iWMS determines that the shelf to be inspected is in the incoming buffer area, iWMS can send a shelf outbound instruction to RCMS. The shelf outbound instruction can include information about the incoming buffer area and information about the shelf to be inspected.

[0216] Step S93-1: After receiving the shelf removal instruction, the RCMS selects a shelf to be inspected from the incoming buffer. For example, the RCMS parses the incoming buffer information and the shelf to be inspected information, finds the incoming buffer based on the incoming buffer information, and finds the shelf to be inspected from the incoming buffer based on the shelf to be inspected information.

[0217] Step S94-1: RCMS sends a shelf quality inspection and handling instruction to RCS. The shelf quality inspection and handling instruction may include information about the incoming buffer area, information about the shelf to be inspected, and information about the quality inspection area.

[0218] Step S95-1: After receiving the shelf quality inspection and transportation instruction, the RCS may generate a shelf quality inspection and transportation route based on the shelf quality inspection and transportation instruction. The starting point of the shelf quality inspection and transportation route may be the location of the incoming buffer area, and the end point of the shelf quality inspection and transportation route may be the location of the quality inspection area.

[0219] Step S96-1: The RCS controls the AGV based on the shelf inspection transport path to move the shelf to be inspected from the incoming buffer to the inspection area. Since the shelf inspection transport path starts at the incoming buffer and ends at the inspection area, the RCS can dispatch the AGV to move the shelf to be inspected from the incoming buffer to the inspection area. The inspection area can be a processing area workstation.

[0220] Step S92-2: After receiving the quality inspection request for the shelf to be inspected, if iWMS determines that the shelf to be inspected is in the residual material area, iWMS can send a shelf outbound instruction to RCMS. The shelf outbound instruction can include information about the residual material area and information about the shelf to be inspected.

[0221] Step S93-2: After receiving the shelf delivery instruction, the RCMS selects a shelf to be inspected from the remaining stock area. For example, the RCMS parses the remaining stock area information and the shelf to be inspected information from the shelf delivery instruction, finds the remaining stock area based on the remaining stock area information, and finds the shelf to be inspected from the remaining stock area based on the shelf to be inspected information.

[0222] Step S94-2: RCMS sends a shelf quality inspection and handling instruction to RCS. The shelf quality inspection and handling instruction may include information about the remaining material area, information about the shelf to be inspected, and information about the quality inspection area.

[0223] Step S95-2: After receiving the shelf quality inspection and transportation instruction, the RCS may generate a shelf quality inspection and transportation path based on the shelf quality inspection and transportation instruction. The starting point of the shelf quality inspection and transportation path may be the location of the residual material area, and the end point of the shelf quality inspection and transportation path may be the location of the quality inspection area.

[0224] Step S96-2: The RCS controls the AGV to move the shelf to be inspected from the residual material area to the inspection area based on the shelf inspection transport path. Since the shelf inspection transport path starts at the residual material area and ends at the inspection area, the AGV can be dispatched to move the shelf to be inspected from the residual material area to the inspection area.

[0225] Step S92-3: After receiving the quality inspection request for the shelf to be inspected, if the iWMS determines that the shelf to be inspected is in the aisle, the iWMS then determines whether the shelf to be inspected is in the first storage location in the aisle's delivery direction (e.g., the first storage location in the aisle's head). If not, the iWMS waits until the next inspection cycle and continues to inspect whether the shelf to be inspected is in the first storage location in the aisle's delivery direction, and so on, until the shelf to be inspected is in the first storage location in the aisle's delivery direction. If so, the iWMS sends a shelf dispatch instruction to the RCMS. The shelf dispatch instruction may include the aisle information and the shelf to be inspected information.

[0226] For example, iWMS can determine the location of the shelf awaiting quality inspection and whether it is the first storage location at the aisle head. If so, it sends a shelf removal instruction to RCMS. If not, it freezes the entire aisle, prohibiting normal inbound and outbound operations until the next quality inspection cycle. During each quality inspection cycle, if the shelf awaiting quality inspection is found to be ready to be removed from the aisle for quality inspection, iWMS can also determine whether there are any uninspected shelves in the aisle after sending the shelf removal instruction to RCMS. If not, the aisle is unfrozen.

[0227] Step S93-3, after receiving the shelf outbound instruction, RCMS selects the shelf to be inspected from the aisle (determined based on the information of the aisle) (based on) the information of the shelf to be inspected as the shelf to be outbound, and sends the shelf quality inspection and transportation instruction to RCS. The shelf quality inspection and transportation instruction may include the information of the first storage location in the direction of the aisle delivery end of the aisle, the information of the shelf to be inspected, and the information of the quality inspection area.

[0228] Step S94-3: After receiving the rack inspection and transport instruction, the RCS may generate a rack inspection and transport path based on the rack inspection and transport instruction. The starting point of the rack inspection and transport path may be the location of the first storage location in the lane's delivery direction (i.e., the location of the rack to be inspected), and the ending point of the rack inspection and transport path may be the location of the inspection area.

[0229] Step S95-3: The RCS controls the AGV based on the shelf quality inspection transport path to move the shelf to be inspected from the first storage location in the lane delivery direction to the quality inspection area, such as the processing area workstation.

[0230] For example, when a shelf awaiting quality inspection is in the lane buffer area, it can be marked as a pending item. When the shelf is moved to the storage location closest to the lane head (i.e., the first storage location on the lane's delivery side), the lane status can be updated to frozen. Lanes in a frozen state do not support shelf entry and exit operations. When the shelf awaiting quality inspection at the first storage location on the lane's delivery side is moved to the quality inspection area, iWMS can update the lane status from frozen to normal.

[0231] For example, after the shelf to be inspected is moved to the quality inspection area, the quality inspector can determine whether the inventory (i.e., the materials on the shelf to be inspected) are qualified. If the inventory is unqualified, the materials on the shelf to be inspected are returned, making the shelf to be inspected an empty shelf, and the shelf to be inspected (empty shelf) is moved to the incoming storage buffer area. If the inventory is qualified, the incoming storage time is updated, and the shelf to be inspected (i.e., the shelf still has materials) is moved to the incoming storage buffer area. After the shelf to be inspected is moved to the incoming storage buffer area, a transfer lane operation can also be performed on the shelf to be inspected, that is, the transfer lane for the shelf to be inspected is re-triggered.

[0232] In one possible implementation, the quality inspection process for the shelf may include the following steps:

[0233] The operator uses the PDA to check inventory quality and sends the iWMS shelf inventory quality inspection message.

[0234] After receiving the quality inspection instruction, iWMS marks the shelf inventory as pending inspection. If the shelf is in the incoming stock buffer or the surplus stock area, it is pending. If the shelf is in the aisle buffer area, the aisle is frozen.

[0235] iWMS regularly processes inventory awaiting quality inspection and issues a shelf release to a processing area workstation. For example, if a shelf is in the inbound buffer or the surplus material area, iWMS directly issues a shelf release instruction to the RCMS. If the shelf is in the first storage location in the aisle buffer, iWMS issues a shelf release instruction, unfreezing the aisle.

[0236] RCMS analyzes the shelf tasks and issues RCS shelf delivery tasks.

[0237] RCS dispatches AGV to perform shelf handling tasks.

[0238] If the quality inspection fails, the material is removed from the shelf and the empty shelf is moved to the incoming storage buffer. Alternatively, if the quality inspection passes, the inventory incoming time is updated and the shelf is returned to the incoming storage buffer to wait for the transfer lane.

[0239] It can be seen from the above technical solutions that in the embodiment of the present application, a method of not mixing materials in the lanes is adopted to ensure that the lane outbound direction will not encounter obstacles, thereby improving the outbound efficiency. That is to say, the same lane is only used to place one type of material, and will not be used to place different types of materials, making the outbound process simple and able to complete the outbound without moving shelves. The outbound efficiency is relatively high, meeting the needs of high storage capacity and high efficiency warehouse management. Three modes are provided, such as materials not entering the lanes, fixed lanes, and intelligent allocation lanes, to improve the flexibility of warehouse management. A dynamic management method of adjusting while outbound is adopted to improve the utilization rate of lane storage space. Support scenarios such as lane outbound material return and lane inventory quality inspection to enhance system stability. The dynamic lane management mode realizes the dynamic allocation of lanes, intelligent transfer, dynamic adjustment, outbound material return and other functions, greatly improving the warehouse storage rate and inbound and outbound efficiency, and reducing the stagnation rate of materials in the warehouse through the first-in-first-out mode. iWMS, RCMS, and RCS work together to achieve dynamic aisle management in warehouse inventory, dynamic material aisle allocation, and targeted delivery to the front shelf in the aisle's delivery direction. There is no need for additional AGVs to move and block the shelves. Parallel modes of delivery trigger adjustment and intelligent calculation adjustment are supported, improving aisle buffer area utilization and warehouse capacity.

[0240] Based on the same application concept as the above method, an aisle warehouse management system is proposed in the embodiment of the present application, including iWMS, RCMS and RCS, wherein: the iWMS is used to determine the target aisle corresponding to the target material after receiving the warehousing request of the target material, if it is determined based on the material type corresponding to the target material that the target material needs to enter the aisle, and the target aisle is only used to place materials corresponding to the type of the target material; the iWMS is used to send a transfer aisle instruction to the RCMS, and the transfer aisle instruction includes the information of the target aisle and the information of the target shelf where the target material is located; the RCMS is used to receive After receiving the warehouse transfer lane instruction, a target storage location is selected from all storage locations in the target lane, where the target storage location is the first empty storage location at the lane delivery end, where the lane delivery end is the lane head or lane tail, and a first shelf handling instruction is sent to the RCS, where the first shelf handling instruction includes information about the target storage location and information about the target shelf; the RCS is used to generate a first target path after receiving the first shelf handling instruction, where the starting point and the ending point of the first target path are the location of the target shelf and the location of the target storage location, respectively, and control the robot to move the target shelf to the target storage location based on the first target path.

[0241] Exemplarily, the iWMS is also used to, after receiving a request for the outbound delivery of the first material, send a first outbound delivery instruction to the RCMS if it is determined that the first material needs to be delivered from the aisle, and the first outbound delivery instruction includes information about the outbound shelf where the first material is located; the RCMS is also used to, after receiving the first outbound delivery instruction, search the aisle for the outbound storage location where the outbound shelf is located, and send a third shelf handling instruction to the RCS, and the third shelf handling instruction includes information about the outbound storage location and information about the outbound shelf; the RCS is also used to generate a third target path after receiving the third shelf handling instruction, and the starting point and end point of the third target path are the location of the outbound storage location and the location of the outbound workstation, respectively, and control the robot to move the outbound shelf from the outbound storage location to the outbound workstation based on the third target path.

[0242] Exemplarily, the iWMS is further configured to send a lane adjustment instruction to the RCMS if it is determined that there is a lane to be adjusted in all lanes, and the lane adjustment instruction includes information about the lane to be adjusted; wherein the lane to be adjusted includes occupied storage locations, and there are empty storage locations in the lane delivery direction of the occupied storage locations; the RCMS is further configured to determine the first storage location and the second storage location in the lane to be adjusted after receiving the lane adjustment instruction, and send a shelf migration instruction to the RCS, and the shelf migration instruction includes information about the first storage location and the second storage location; the first storage location is the first empty storage location at the lane delivery end, and the second storage location is the first occupied storage location in the opposite direction of the lane delivery end of the first storage location; the RCS is further configured to generate a migration path after receiving the shelf migration instruction, the starting point and the ending point of the migration path being the location of the second storage location and the location of the first storage location, respectively, and control the robot to move the shelf of the second storage location to the first storage location based on the migration path.

[0243] Based on the same application concept as the above method, an electronic device (such as a device that implements iWMS, or a device that implements RCMS, or a device that implements RCS) is proposed in the embodiment of the present application, see Figure 8 As shown, the electronic device may include: a processor 81 and a machine-readable storage medium 82, the machine-readable storage medium 82 storing machine-executable instructions that can be executed by the processor 81; the processor 81 is used to execute the machine-executable instructions to implement the aisle warehouse management method disclosed in the above example of this application.

[0244] Based on the same application concept as the above method, an embodiment of the present application also provides a machine-readable storage medium, on which a number of computer instructions are stored. When the computer instructions are executed by the processor, the aisle warehouse management method disclosed in the above example of the present application can be implemented.

[0245] The machine-readable storage medium may be any electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical storage device that may contain or store information, such as executable instructions, data, and the like. For example, the machine-readable storage medium may be: RAM (Random Access Memory), volatile memory, non-volatile memory, flash memory, a storage drive (such as a hard disk drive), a solid-state drive, any type of storage disk (such as a CD, DVD, etc.), or similar storage media, or a combination thereof.

[0246] The systems, devices, modules, or units described in the above embodiments may be implemented by products having certain functions. A typical implementation device is a computer, which may be in the form of a personal computer, laptop computer, cellular phone, camera phone, smartphone, personal digital assistant, media player, navigation device, email transceiver, game console, tablet computer, wearable device, or any combination of these devices.

[0247] For the convenience of description, the above devices are described as being divided into various units according to their functions. Of course, when implementing this application, the functions of each unit can be implemented in the same or multiple software and / or hardware.

[0248] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application can adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the embodiments of the present application can adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0249] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that each process and / or box in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the processes and / or boxes in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate instructions for implementing the steps in the process. Figure 1 a process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in a block or multiple blocks.

[0250] Furthermore, these computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory capable of directing a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture comprising an instruction device, which implements the process Figure 1 a process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0251] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions for executing on the computer or other programmable device to implement the process. Figure 1 a process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A step that specifies a function in one or more boxes.

[0252] The foregoing is merely an embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. For those skilled in the art, the present application may have various changes and variations. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application should all be included within the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A tunnel storage management method, characterized in that: The method comprises: After receiving a request for a target material to enter storage, the intelligent warehouse management system iWMS determines that the target material needs to enter a lane based on the material type corresponding to the target material, then determines a target lane corresponding to the target material, and the target lane is only used to place materials corresponding to the type of the target material; wherein, if a stored information table is used to record the material type corresponding to the material that needs to enter the lane, then the material type corresponding to the target material is determined, and if the information table includes the material type corresponding to the target material, then the target material needs to enter the lane; if the information table does not include the material type corresponding to the target material, then the target material does not need to enter the lane; Alternatively, if the stored information table is used to record the material type corresponding to the material that does not need to enter the lane, then the material type corresponding to the target material is determined; if the information table includes the material type corresponding to the target material, then the target material does not need to enter the lane; if the information table does not include the material type corresponding to the target material, then the target material needs to enter the lane; or, if the stored information table is used to record the material type corresponding to the material that needs to enter the lane and the material type corresponding to the material that does not need to enter the lane, then the material type corresponding to the target material is determined, and the information table is queried through the material type to determine whether the target material needs to enter the lane or does not need to enter the lane; The iWMS sends a warehouse lane transfer instruction to the robot control management system RCMS, where the warehouse lane transfer instruction includes information about the target lane and information about the target shelf where the target material is located; After receiving the lane transfer instruction, the RCMS selects a target location from all the locations in the target lane, where the target location is the first empty location at the lane exit, where the lane exit is the lane head or lane tail, and sends a first shelf transfer instruction to the robot control server RCS, where the first shelf transfer instruction includes information about the target location and the target shelf. After receiving the first shelf moving instruction, the RCS generates a first target path, where the starting point and the ending point of the first target path are the location of the target shelf and the location of the target storage location, respectively. Based on the first target path, the robot is controlled to move the target shelf to the target storage location.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that After the iWMS receives the warehousing request for the target material, the method further includes: If the iWMS determines that the target material does not need to enter the lane based on the material type corresponding to the target material, the iWMS sends a transfer buffer area instruction to the RCMS, where the transfer buffer area instruction includes information about the incoming buffer area and information about the target shelf; After receiving the transfer buffer zone instruction, the RCMS selects an idle storage location from all storage locations in the incoming storage buffer zone and sends a second shelf transfer instruction to the RCS, where the second shelf transfer instruction includes information about the idle storage location and information about the target shelf; After receiving the second shelf moving instruction, the RCS generates a second target path, where the starting point and the ending point of the second target path are the location of the target shelf and the location of the vacant storage space, respectively. Based on the second target path, the robot is controlled to move the target shelf to the vacant storage space.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The iWMS determines the target lane corresponding to the target material, including: A mapping table is queried based on the type of the target material to obtain at least one fixed lane corresponding to the type, wherein each fixed lane obtained from the query is used to store the material corresponding to the type and does not store materials corresponding to other types, wherein the mapping table includes a correspondence between the material types and the fixed lanes; the number of empty storage locations in each fixed lane is counted, and the fixed lane with the least number of empty storage locations is determined as the target lane; Alternatively, determine whether there is an existing lane with empty storage spaces corresponding to the type of the target material, and the existing lane is only used to place materials corresponding to the type; if so, count the number of empty storage spaces in each existing lane, and determine the existing lane with the least number of empty storage spaces as the target lane; if not, and the number of lanes corresponding to the type does not reach the maximum number of occupied lanes obtained, then select an unused lane from all lanes as the target lane.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further comprises: The iWMS receives a request for the first material to be shipped out; If the iWMS determines that the first material needs to be shipped out of the lane, it sends a first shipping instruction to the RCMS, where the first shipping instruction includes information about the shipping shelf where the first material is located; After receiving the first outbound instruction, the RCMS searches the lane for the outbound storage location where the outbound rack is located, and sends a third rack handling instruction to the RCS, the third rack handling instruction including information about the outbound storage location and the outbound rack; After receiving the third shelf handling instruction, the RCS generates a third target path. The starting point and the end point of the third target path are the location of the outbound storage location and the outbound workstation, respectively. Based on the third target path, the robot is controlled to move the outbound shelf from the outbound storage location to the outbound workstation.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that After the iWMS receives the outbound request for the first material, the method further includes: If the iWMS determines that the first material exists in the surplus material area, it sends a second outbound instruction to the RCMS; after receiving the second outbound instruction, the RCMS selects an outbound shelf on which the first material is placed from the surplus material area and sends a fourth shelf handling instruction to the RCS; the RCS generates a fourth target path based on the fourth shelf handling instruction and controls the robot to move the outbound shelf from the surplus material area to the outbound workstation based on the fourth target path; If the iWMS determines that the first material does not exist in the remaining material area and that the first material exists in the incoming buffer area, the iWMS sends a third outbound instruction to the RCMS; after receiving the third outbound instruction, the RCMS selects an outbound shelf on which the first material is placed from the incoming buffer area and sends a fifth shelf handling instruction to the RCS; the RCS generates a fifth target path based on the fifth shelf handling instruction and controls the robot to move the outbound shelf from the incoming buffer area to the outbound workstation based on the fifth target path; If the iWMS determines that the first material does not exist in the remaining material area and that the first material does not exist in the incoming storage buffer area, it is determined that the first material needs to be shipped out of the lane.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that After the RCS controls the robot to move the outbound shelf from the outbound storage location to the outbound workstation based on the third target path, the RCS further includes: After receiving the recycling request for the outbound shelf, the iWMS determines the remaining quantity of the first material on the outbound shelf; if the remaining quantity is 0, the iWMS sends a first return instruction to the RCMS, the first return instruction including information of the incoming buffer area and information of the outbound shelf; if the remaining quantity is not 0, the iWMS sends a second return instruction to the RCMS, the second return instruction including information of the remaining area and information of the outbound shelf; If the RCMS receives the first return instruction, it sends a first shelf recovery instruction to the RCS. The RCS generates a first return path based on the first shelf recovery instruction, and controls the robot to move the outbound shelf from the outbound workstation to the inbound buffer area based on the first return path. If the RCMS receives the second return instruction, it sends a second shelf recovery instruction to the RCS. The RCS generates a second return path based on the second shelf recovery instruction, and controls the robot to move the outbound shelf from the outbound workstation to the remaining material area based on the second return path.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: If the iWMS determines that there is a lane to be adjusted among all lanes, it sends a lane adjustment instruction to the RCMS, the lane adjustment instruction including information about the lane to be adjusted; wherein the lane to be adjusted includes an occupied storage location, and there is an empty storage location in the shipping direction of the lane with the occupied storage location; After receiving the lane adjustment instruction, the RCMS determines the first storage location and the second storage location in the lane to be adjusted, and sends a shelf migration instruction to the RCS, the shelf migration instruction including information about the first storage location and the second storage location; the first storage location is the first empty storage location at the lane delivery end, and the second storage location is the first occupied storage location in the opposite direction of the lane delivery end of the first storage location; After receiving the shelf migration instruction, the RCS generates a migration path, where the starting point and the ending point of the migration path are the location of the second storage location and the location of the first storage location, respectively. Based on the migration path, the robot is controlled to move the shelf of the second storage location to the first storage location.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The iWMS determines that there are lanes to be adjusted among all lanes, including: When the material is shipped out of the shipping lane, the shipping lane is determined to be a lane to be adjusted; or, For each lane, if the number of shelves in the lane is less than the maximum number of storage locations in the lane, and the shelf positions in the lane are not arranged continuously starting from the first storage location in the direction of the lane's delivery end, the lane is determined to be a lane to be adjusted.

9. A laneway storage management system, characterized in that: It includes the intelligent warehouse management system iWMS, the robot control management system RCMS and the robot control server RCS, among which: The iWMS is configured to, upon receiving a warehousing request for a target material, determine a target lane corresponding to the target material if it is determined based on the material type corresponding to the target material that the target material needs to enter a lane, wherein the target lane is only used to place materials corresponding to the type of the target material; wherein, if a stored information table is used to record the material type corresponding to the material that needs to enter the lane, then the material type corresponding to the target material is determined, and if the information table includes the material type corresponding to the target material, then the target material needs to enter the lane; if the information table does not include the material type corresponding to the target material, then the target material does not need to enter the lane; or Alternatively, if the stored information table is used to record the material type corresponding to the material that does not need to enter the lane, the material type corresponding to the target material is determined; if the information table includes the material type corresponding to the target material, the target material does not need to enter the lane; if the information table does not include the material type corresponding to the target material, the target material needs to enter the lane; or, if the stored information table is used to record the material type corresponding to the material that needs to enter the lane and the material type corresponding to the material that does not need to enter the lane, the material type corresponding to the target material is determined, and the information table is queried using the material type to determine whether the target material needs to enter the lane or does not need to enter the lane; The iWMS is used to send a warehouse lane transfer instruction to the RCMS, where the warehouse lane transfer instruction includes information about the target lane and information about the target shelf where the target material is located; The RCMS is configured to, upon receiving the lane transfer instruction, select a target storage location from all storage locations in the target lane, the target storage location being the first empty storage location at the lane exit end, the lane exit end being the lane head or lane tail, and send a first rack transfer instruction to the RCS, the first rack transfer instruction including information about the target storage location and information about the target rack; The RCS is used to generate a first target path after receiving a first shelf moving instruction, where the starting point and the end point of the first target path are respectively the location of the target shelf and the location of the target storage location, and control the robot to move the target shelf to the target storage location based on the first target path.

10. The system according to claim 9, characterized in that The iWMS is further configured to, after receiving the outbound request for the first material, send a first outbound instruction to the RCMS if it is determined that the first material needs to be outbound from the lane, the first outbound instruction including information about the outbound shelf where the first material is located; The RCMS is further configured to, after receiving the first outbound instruction, search the lane for the outbound storage location where the outbound rack is located, and send a third rack handling instruction to the RCS, wherein the third rack handling instruction includes information about the outbound storage location and information about the outbound rack; The RCS is also used to generate a third target path after receiving a third shelf handling instruction. The starting point and end point of the third target path are the location of the outbound storage location and the outbound workstation location, respectively. Based on the third target path, the robot is controlled to move the outbound shelf from the outbound storage location to the outbound workstation.

11. The system according to claim 9, wherein: The iWMS is further configured to, if determining that a lane to be adjusted exists among all lanes, send a lane adjustment instruction to the RCMS, the lane adjustment instruction including information about the lane to be adjusted; wherein the lane to be adjusted includes an occupied storage location, and an empty storage location exists in the shipping direction of the lane with the occupied storage location; The RCMS is further configured to, upon receiving the lane adjustment instruction, determine a first storage location and a second storage location in the lane to be adjusted, and send a shelf migration instruction to the RCS, wherein the shelf migration instruction includes information about the first storage location and information about the second storage location; the first storage location is the first empty storage location at the lane delivery end, and the second storage location is the first occupied storage location in the opposite direction of the lane delivery end of the first storage location; The RCS is further configured to generate a migration path after receiving a shelf migration instruction, wherein the starting point and the ending point of the migration path are respectively the location of the second storage location and the location of the first storage location, and control the robot based on the migration path to move the shelf of the second storage location to the first storage location.

12. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: a processor and a machine-readable storage medium storing machine-executable instructions capable of being executed by the processor; The processor is configured to execute machine-executable instructions to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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