A stereoscopic warehouse dispatching system

Abstract

The present specification discloses a kind of stereoscopic warehouse scheduling system and method, by using first handling equipment and second handling equipment in mixed use in stereoscopic warehouse, using the lifting equipment handling function in stereoscopic warehouse, so that first handling equipment and second handling equipment can be cooperated in dense storage warehouse and moveable carrier is handled, by setting container loading and unloading equipment, movable carrier can place multiple containers, improve storage space utilization, by container loading and unloading equipment, it can increase the sorting efficiency of goods in stereoscopic warehouse, reduce the cost of warehouse operation, realize the promotion of handling efficiency.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to patent application number 202122496421.6, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of warehousing and logistics technology, and in particular to an automated warehouse scheduling system. Background Technology

[0003] Currently, with the rapid development of the logistics industry, automated handling equipment such as Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) or Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) are commonly used to improve warehouse operational efficiency and achieve automated transportation of goods. Meanwhile, due to the typically limited floor space of warehouses and the high costs of acquiring and using land, existing warehouses often employ dense storage methods to maximize space utilization and reduce operating costs.

[0004] In existing technologies, in order to simultaneously address the issues of improved efficiency through automated transportation and reduced costs through dense storage, a four-way shuttle vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the four-way vehicle) used in dense storage warehouses and a dedicated automated warehouse for the operation of the four-way vehicle are designed, such as... Figures la-lb As shown. Figure la This is a cross-sectional view of an automated warehouse. It can be seen that each floor of the warehouse contains several adjacent storage locations for storing goods, interspersed with several aisles for four-way vehicles to transport goods. Each floor of the warehouse includes tracks for four-way vehicles to travel on, and each storage location is equipped with a support frame for placing vehicles. The storage locations share a common column support. Figure lb This is an overhead view of an automated warehouse. It can be seen that goods can be densely stacked, saving a lot of space. Small four-way vehicles can flexibly move between storage locations to transport goods to storage locations or transport goods to the warehouse's pick-up point for outbound delivery.

[0005] However, four-way vehicles are relatively expensive material handling equipment and must travel on tracks. This makes warehouse layouts difficult to change flexibly due to the track system, resulting in high construction and operating costs. Furthermore, four-way vehicles are currently typically used to handle large containers such as pallets, making it difficult to achieve dense storage of smaller, less bulky goods. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments of this specification provide an automated warehouse scheduling system, which partially solves the problems existing in the prior art where dense storage warehouses using four-way shuttles require the installation of tracks at the bottom layer, resulting in high warehouse operating costs, inflexible warehouse layout, and difficulty in achieving dense storage of non-bulk goods.

[0007] The embodiments in this specification adopt the following technical solutions:

[0008] The automated warehouse scheduling system provided in this specification includes: one or more control servers, one or more first handling devices, one or more second handling devices, at least one automated warehouse, at least one lifting device, and one or more container loading and unloading devices. Each automated warehouse has at least two floors, connected by the at least one lifting device. The control server communicates with both the first and second handling devices.

[0009] At least a portion of the bottom storage units in the automated warehouse are provided with movable vehicles for carrying one or more containers.

[0010] The automated warehouse, excluding the ground floor, has at least one high-level connection point on each of its upper floors. Each upper floor is equipped with a track for the first handling equipment to run on, and at least some of the upper-level storage spaces are equipped with movable vehicles.

[0011] The control server is used to determine the first handling device, the second handling device, and the lifting device to perform the handling task according to the handling task, and send handling instructions to the first handling device, the second handling device, and the lifting device to perform the handling task respectively, and determine the container loading and unloading device to perform the container loading and unloading device to perform the picking task or the storage task corresponding to the handling task.

[0012] The first handling device is used to retrieve or place a movable vehicle indicated by the handling instruction in the high-level storage location according to the handling instruction sent by the control server, and to transport the movable vehicle indicated by the handling instruction between the high-level storage location and the high-level connection point.

[0013] The second handling device is used to retrieve or place the movable vehicle indicated by the handling instruction in the bottom storage location according to the handling instruction sent by the control server, and to handle the movable vehicle indicated by the handling instruction between the lifting device and the bottom storage location, between the lifting device and the container loading and unloading device, or between the bottom storage location and the container loading and unloading device.

[0014] The lifting device is used to rise or fall to a designated floor according to the transport instructions sent by the control server, and to transport at least one or more combinations of the movable vehicle indicated by the transport instructions, the first transport device, and the second transport device between each floor;

[0015] The container loading and unloading equipment is used to remove containers from the movable carrier transported by the second handling equipment, or to place containers in the movable carrier transported by the second handling equipment, according to the operation instructions sent by the control server.

[0016] Optionally, the container loading and unloading equipment includes a first sensor, which is used to determine whether there is a container in the corresponding container position in the mobile carrier when the container is taken out from the mobile carrier, or to determine whether the corresponding container position in the mobile carrier is empty when the container is placed on the mobile carrier.

[0017] Optionally, the container loading and unloading equipment includes a second sensor, which is used to determine the pose deviation between the container loading and unloading equipment and the corresponding container position in the movable carrier.

[0018] Optionally, the container loading and unloading equipment is further configured to adjust the pose of the container loading and unloading equipment and eliminate the pose deviation based on the pose deviation between the container loading and unloading equipment and the corresponding container position determined by the second sensor.

[0019] Optionally, the first sensor and the second sensor are the same sensor.

[0020] Optionally, the first sensor and the second sensor are image sensors.

[0021] Optionally, the control server is further configured to schedule at least one of the first handling equipment, the second handling equipment, and the lifting equipment to return the mobile vehicle to its original storage location or other storage location in the automated warehouse.

[0022] Optionally, the control server is further configured to determine the activity level of the mobile vehicle based on at least one of the loading and unloading frequency and the quantity of goods stored on the mobile vehicle, and to determine the storage location of the mobile vehicle when it returns to the automated warehouse based on the ranking of the activity levels of the mobile vehicle.

[0023] Optionally, the control server is further configured to determine the storage location of the mobile vehicle when it returns to the automated warehouse based on the distance between the container loading / unloading equipment and the available storage locations.

[0024] Optionally, the control server is further configured to, in response to a sorting task, schedule at least one of the first handling equipment, the second handling equipment, and the lifting equipment to move the movable vehicle from its original storage location in the automated warehouse to another storage location or keep its original storage location unchanged.

[0025] Optionally, the control server is further configured to determine the activity level of the mobile vehicle based on at least one of the loading and unloading frequency and the quantity of goods stored on the mobile vehicle, and to determine the storage location of the mobile vehicle after its position is adjusted during cargo handling based on the ranking of the activity levels of the mobile vehicle.

[0026] Optionally, the container loading and unloading equipment is located in the bottom workstation. The workstation also includes a conveyor line and a picking station. The container loading and unloading equipment is installed at the inlet and outlet of the conveyor line, and the picking station is located in the conveyor path of the conveyor line.

[0027] The container loading and unloading equipment located at the entrance of the transmission line is also used to remove containers from a movable carrier located at the entrance and place them on the transmission line;

[0028] The container loading and unloading equipment located at the outlet of the transmission line is also used to acquire the containers transported by the transmission line and place them in the movable carrier located at the outlet.

[0029] Optionally, the height of the track for storing the movable vehicle is greater than the height of the first handling device when it is not carrying the movable vehicle; the first handling device is further used to drive into the space below the high-level storage unit, and carry the movable vehicle away from the high-level storage unit in a back-carry manner.

[0030] Optionally, when the automated warehouse contains multiple lifting devices, there is at least overlap between the designated floors that the multiple lifting devices can reach.

[0031] Optionally, the lifting device is provided with a track for connecting with the track in the high-rise building, so that the first transport device can travel into the lifting device.

[0032] Optionally, the control server is further configured to, at least in part, determine the number of first handling devices required by each high layer based on the handling tasks to be performed by each high layer, and, based on the number of first handling devices required by each high layer and the current number of first handling devices in each high layer, determine the first handling devices that each high layer needs to call, and send a calling instruction to the first handling devices that need to be called.

[0033] The first transport device is also used to travel into the lifting device according to the received call instruction, and reach the high floor specified by the call instruction via the lifting device.

[0034] Optionally, the high-rise connection point is located inside the lifting equipment;

[0035] The first transport device is further configured to travel to a high-level connection point within the lifting device, place the movable vehicle at the high-level connection point, or remove the movable vehicle from the high-level connection point.

[0036] Optionally, at least some floors in the upper floors are also provided with the container loading and unloading equipment, and the upper floors connection points are respectively located near the container loading and unloading equipment in the upper floors and inside the lifting equipment;

[0037] The first handling device is further configured to handle the movable vehicle between the high-level storage location and the high-level connection point near the container loading and unloading equipment location, or to handle the collection vehicle between the high-level connection point near the container loading and unloading equipment location and the high-level connection point within the lifting device.

[0038] The container loading and unloading equipment is also used to remove containers from the mobile carrier and place them in the collection carrier, or to remove containers from the collection carrier and place them in the mobile carrier.

[0039] Optionally, the movable carrier includes legs, and the height of the opening formed by the legs of the movable carrier is higher than the height of the second handling device when it is not carrying the movable carrier; the second handling device is further configured to selectively pass under at least a portion of the movable carrier when it is not carrying the movable carrier, or to carry the movable carrier away from the bottom storage position in a back-carry manner from under at least a portion of the movable carrier.

[0040] Optionally, the spacing between the columns of at least a portion of the bottom storage units in the automated warehouse is greater than the width of the second handling equipment, and the height of the lowest point of the connector between at least a portion of two adjacent columns in the bottom of the automated warehouse is higher than the height of the second handling equipment when it is not carrying the movable vehicle; the second handling equipment is further configured to selectively travel between at least a portion of two adjacent columns in the bottom layer when it is not carrying the movable vehicle.

[0041] Optionally, the second transport device is used to enter the bottom storage location at an alleyway location adjacent to the bottom storage location, retrieve the movable carrier from the bottom storage location and transfer it to the second transport device, or place the movable carrier on the second transport device into the bottom storage location.

[0042] Optionally, the automated warehouse has at least one ground-level connection point on its ground floor;

[0043] The second handling device is also used to handle the movable vehicle indicated by the handling instruction between the underlying storage location and the underlying connection point or between the lifting device and the underlying connection point, according to the handling instruction sent by the control server.

[0044] Optionally, at least one ground floor connection point is provided in a designated area of ​​the ground floor of the automated warehouse;

[0045] The second handling device is used to remove the movable vehicle from the bottom storage location or the lifting device, and transport the movable vehicle to the bottom docking point, and place the movable vehicle in the designated area; or, to remove the movable vehicle from the bottom docking point of the designated area, and transport the movable vehicle to the bottom storage location or the lifting device.

[0046] Optionally, the system further includes: one or more external caches, wherein the external caches are in the form of at least one of three-dimensional storage or two-dimensional storage;

[0047] The external buffer area shares at least part of the second handling equipment with the at least one automated warehouse, or the second handling equipment handles and / or connects the mobile vehicle between the external buffer area and the at least one automated warehouse;

[0048] The control server is also used to store the external cache area and the inventory information of goods in the at least one automated warehouse.

[0049] Optionally, the container loading and unloading equipment removes the container from the movable carrier or places the container in the movable carrier by at least one of the following methods: suction, pushing, clamping, grabbing, hooking, picking up, and lifting.

[0050] Optionally, the mobile carrier is a mobile shelf, which includes at least one partition that divides the mobile shelf into at least two layers. The partition of the mobile shelf is provided with at least one storage space, and each storage space can hold at least one first container capable of accommodating stored goods.

[0051] The method for handling and scheduling in an automated warehouse provided in this specification is characterized in that: there are at least one or more automated warehouses; the automated warehouse has at least two floors; the floors of the automated warehouse are connected by at least one lifting device; one or more container loading and unloading devices are provided in the bottom floor; at least some of the bottom floor storage spaces are equipped with movable vehicles; each of the upper floors of the automated warehouse, excluding the bottom floor, is provided with at least one upper floor connection point; each upper floor is provided with a track for a first handling device to run on; and at least some of the upper floor storage spaces are equipped with the movable vehicles. The method includes:

[0052] Identify the transportation tasks to be performed;

[0053] Based on the transport task, a first transport device, a second transport device, and a lifting device for performing the transport task are determined, as well as a container loading and unloading device for loading and unloading containers are determined.

[0054] Send handling instructions to the identified first handling equipment, second handling equipment, and lifting equipment, and send operation instructions to the container loading and unloading equipment, respectively;

[0055] The handling instruction is used to cause the first handling equipment, the second handling equipment, and the lifting equipment to cooperate in moving the mobile vehicle from the upper or lower storage position of the automated warehouse to the container loading and unloading equipment set on the lower level, or to move the mobile vehicle from the container loading and unloading equipment set on the lower level to the upper or lower storage position of the automated warehouse.

[0056] The operating instructions are used to instruct the container loading and unloading equipment to remove containers from the mobile carrier or place containers into the mobile carrier.

[0057] The above-described at least one technical solution used in the embodiments of this specification can achieve the following beneficial effects:

[0058] By combining first and second handling equipment in an automated warehouse, and utilizing the lifting equipment's handling function, the first and second handling equipment can work together to move mobile carriers within the high-density storage warehouse. By installing container loading and unloading equipment to retrieve or place goods into the mobile carriers, which can hold multiple containers, the utilization rate of storage space is improved. The container loading and unloading equipment enables efficient storage and retrieval of containers from the mobile carriers, thereby increasing the sorting efficiency of goods in the automated warehouse, reducing warehouse operating costs, and improving handling efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0059] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of this application and form part of this application, illustrate exemplary embodiments and are used to explain this application, but do not constitute an undue limitation of this application. In the drawings:

[0060] Figure la This is a cross-sectional view of the existing warehouse.

[0061] Figure lb This is a top view structural diagram of the existing warehouse;

[0062] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the automated warehouse scheduling system provided in the embodiments of this specification;

[0063] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a movable vehicle provided in this specification;

[0064] Figure 4 A top view diagram of the automated warehouse provided in the embodiments of this specification;

[0065] Figures 5a-5b A schematic diagram of the warehouse layout provided for embodiments of this specification;

[0066] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a transmission line provided in this specification;

[0067] Figure 7a A schematic diagram of the container loading and unloading mechanism provided in the embodiments of this specification;

[0068] Figure 7b A schematic diagram of the first handling device provided in the embodiments of this specification picking up and placing a movable carrier from the side;

[0069] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the distribution of lifting equipment provided in the embodiments of this specification;

[0070] Figure 9 A schematic diagram showing the tracks installed inside the lifting equipment of the automated warehouse provided in the embodiments of this specification;

[0071] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the non-connected areas of the automated warehouse provided in the embodiments of this specification;

[0072] Figure 11a and Figure 11b A schematic diagram showing the interconnection of the ground surfaces of two automated warehouses provided in the embodiments of this specification;

[0073] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the transfer device in the system provided in the embodiments of this specification;

[0074] Figure 13A schematic diagram of a system designated as a connection point on the bottom layer in an embodiment of this specification;

[0075] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of the automated warehouse scheduling process provided in the embodiments of this specification. Detailed Implementation

[0076] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this specification clearer, the technical solutions of this application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with specific embodiments and corresponding drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments in this specification without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0077] The technical solutions provided by the various embodiments of this application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0078] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of an automated warehouse scheduling system provided in the embodiments of this specification. The system includes: one or more control servers 100, one or more first handling devices 102, one or more second handling devices 104, at least one automated warehouse 106, at least one lifting device 108, and one or more container loading and unloading devices 105. An automated warehouse 106 has at least two floors, and the floors of the automated warehouse 106 are connected by at least one lifting device 108. The control server 100 communicates with the first handling devices 102 and the second handling devices 104 respectively. That is, in this specification, the automated warehouse 106 can be divided into at least one bottom floor and one upper floor. Of course, the purpose of an automated warehouse is to improve the utilization rate of vertical space; therefore, generally, an automated warehouse 106 is multi-layered, that is, one bottom floor and several upper floors.

[0079] Furthermore, the storage spaces located on the bottom level of the automated warehouse 106 are designated as bottom-level storage spaces, and the storage spaces located on the upper levels are designated as upper-level storage spaces. At least some of the bottom-level storage spaces in the automated warehouse 106 are equipped with movable vehicles 107, and similarly, at least some of the upper-level storage spaces in the automated warehouse 106 are also equipped with movable vehicles 107.

[0080] Figure 2 For ease of understanding, this only includes a control server 100 and an automated warehouse 106.

[0081] Since the purpose of warehouse storage is to centrally store a large quantity of various goods, for example, to facilitate the picking of required goods according to orders, and the goods in the automated warehouse system provided in this specification are carried by containers placed in movable carriers 107, which need to be transported by the first handling equipment 102, the second handling equipment 104, and the lifting equipment 108, the handling task in this specification is also for the purpose of picking goods, and can be determined by the control server 100 according to the order. Similarly, in this specification, the containers need to be removed from the movable carriers 107 before the goods carried or contained in the containers can be operated. Therefore, in order to achieve goods picking, the container loading and unloading equipment 105 needs to operate the movable carriers 107 to remove containers or place containers in the movable carriers 107. Of course, the operation instructions for the container loading and unloading equipment 105 can also be determined by the control server 100 according to the order.

[0082] Furthermore, the movable carrier 107 can be in the form of a shelf, i.e., a movable shelf, or it can also be in the form of a pallet support, cage cart, pallet support, etc., as long as it is a movable carrier used to place containers (carrying or containing goods) or goods. This specification does not limit the specific form of the movable carrier 107. Moreover, the movable carrier 107 can be used to place a single container or multiple containers, which is also not limited by this specification.

[0083] In this manual, the container used to hold the goods can be any type of container that can hold goods, such as a bin, carton, or pallet. This manual does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0084] When the mobile carrier 107 is used to place multiple containers, in order to improve the space utilization of the mobile carrier 107, the mobile carrier 107 is a mobile shelf, which includes at least one partition, the at least one partition divides the mobile shelf into at least two layers, and at least one storage position is provided on the partition of the mobile shelf, each storage position can hold at least one first container (e.g., a cargo box) that can hold stored goods.

[0085] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a movable vehicle provided in this specification. The diagram shows a front view of the movable vehicle 107. Figure 3As can be seen, the container slots in the movable carrier 107 are closely arranged to improve the space utilization of the movable carrier 107. The movable carrier 107 has legs, and several container slots are partitioned within it, forming an array of closely arranged containers. Containers can be placed in the container slots from the front or back of the movable carrier 107, or removed from the front or back of the movable carrier 107. The gap between the container slot and the placed container is insufficient to remove the goods from the container; that is, to retrieve or place goods from the container, the container must first be removed from the movable carrier 107.

[0086] Furthermore, when the movable vehicle 107 is a vehicle with wheels (e.g., a cage car), it can be considered that the support columns of the cage car have wheels installed underneath. Since the support columns together fulfill the function of supporting the vehicle body, they belong to the aforementioned outriggers. In other words, this specification does not limit the form of outriggers; any structure used to support the platform in the vehicle where the container is placed can be considered an outrigger.

[0087] In one or more embodiments of this specification, when sorting goods, the control server 100 is used to determine the handling task corresponding to the received order, and to determine the first handling device 102, the second handling device 104, and the lifting device 108 to perform the handling task, and to send handling instructions to the determined first handling device 102, the second handling device 104, and the lifting device 108 to perform the handling task, and to determine the container loading and unloading device 105 to load and unload containers, and to send operation instructions to the container loading and unloading device 105 to perform the picking task or storage task corresponding to the handling task.

[0088] Specifically, when picking goods from containers in the automated warehouse 106, the storage location of the mobile carrier 107 to be stored needs to be determined first, based on the goods to be picked. This storage location is where the mobile carrier 107 is placed. Several storage locations can be set up on each floor of the automated warehouse as needed to place the mobile carrier 107. After determining the mobile carrier 107 to be stored, the handling equipment performs the handling task, causing the goods stored in the containers of the mobile carrier 107 to be taken out of the warehouse and arrive at the container loading and unloading equipment 105. The container loading and unloading equipment 105 removes the containers from the mobile carrier 107 to facilitate the sorting of the goods contained in the containers. After sorting, the container loading and unloading equipment 105 loads the containers containing the remaining goods into the mobile carrier 107, and the handling equipment transports the mobile carrier 107 into the warehouse for storage. Therefore, the handling task in this specification is the task of moving the mobile carrier 107 carrying the goods to achieve the sorting of goods.

[0089] In this specification, the movement of the movable vehicle 107 at higher floors can be achieved by the first handling device 102, and the movement of the movable vehicle 107 at lower floors can be achieved by the second handling device 104.

[0090] The first handling device 102 can be used to retrieve or place the movable vehicle 107 indicated by the handling instruction in the high-level storage location according to the handling instruction sent by the control server 100, and to transport the movable vehicle 107 indicated by the handling instruction between the high-level storage location and the high-level connection point 112.

[0091] The second handling device 104 is used to retrieve or place the movable carrier 107 indicated by the handling instruction in the bottom storage location according to the handling instruction sent by the control server, and to move the movable carrier 107 indicated by the handling instruction between the lifting device 108 and the bottom storage location, between the lifting device 108 and the container loading and unloading device 105, or between the bottom storage location and the container loading and unloading device 105.

[0092] The container loading and unloading equipment 105 is used to remove containers from the movable carrier 107 transported by the second handling equipment 104, or to place containers in the movable carrier 107 transported by the second handling equipment 104, according to the operation instructions sent by the control server 100.

[0093] During the picking process, the container loading and unloading equipment 105 needs to take out the containers containing goods from the movable carriers 107 transported by the second handling equipment 104 according to the operation instructions. After the goods are picked out, the container loading and unloading equipment 105 will place the remaining containers containing goods into the corresponding movable carriers 107. Then, the second handling equipment 104 will transport the movable carriers 107 to the corresponding bottom storage position for storage, or the second handling equipment 104 will transport the movable carriers 107 to the lifting equipment 108, and the first handling equipment 102 will transport the movable carriers 107 to the upper storage position for storage.

[0094] Therefore, the control server 100 is also used to determine the mobile carrier 107 where the remaining containers containing goods need to be stored. Furthermore, when the mobile carrier 107 can be used to place multiple containers, the control server 100 is also used to determine the specific container slots within the mobile carrier 107 where the remaining containers containing goods are stored. Of course, the control server 100 is also used to determine the current storage location of the mobile carrier 107 where each of the remaining containers containing goods is placed, and the first handling device 102 and / or the second handling device transports the mobile carrier 107 to the container loading / unloading device 105.

[0095] Thus, after the goods are removed from the mobile carrier 107 by the container loading and unloading equipment 105 and sorted at the picking station, the container loading and unloading equipment 105 further places the remaining containers containing the goods into the mobile carrier 107 transported by the second handling equipment 104. Then, the control server 100 determines the storage location where the mobile carrier 107 needs to be stored, determines the path for transporting the mobile carrier 107, and determines the first handling equipment 102, the second handling equipment 104, and the lifting equipment 108 to perform the handling task based on the path. The server then sends handling instructions to the first handling equipment 102, the second handling equipment 104, and the lifting equipment 108 to execute the handling task. Through this process, the automated warehouse 106 completes the goods sorting.

[0096] It should also be noted that the automated warehouse 106 and its scheduling system for picking goods described in this manual are not only applicable to picking goods in warehousing scenarios, but also to picking finished products, semi-finished products, or semi-processed products in factory production scenarios. The picked goods are used to complete a certain production process or for a certain production node. This manual does not specifically limit the application scenarios for goods picking.

[0097] In addition, in this specification, the bottom layer of the automated warehouse 106 is provided with at least one bottom storage position, which is used to place the movable vehicle 107 transported by the second handling equipment 104. The bottom storage position can be set on the bottom layer as needed. When different locations are selected for the bottom storage position, different areas for placing the movable vehicle 107 can be formed on the bottom layer. The spaces between the areas for placing the movable vehicle 107 can serve as aisles for the second handling equipment 104 to pass through when carrying the movable vehicle 107.

[0098] Depend on Figure 2 As can be seen, each of the upper floors of the automated warehouse 106, excluding the bottom floor, is provided with at least one upper floor connection point 112, each upper floor is provided with a track 118 for the first handling equipment 102 to run on, and at least some of the upper floor storage positions are provided with movable vehicles 107.

[0099] Furthermore, in this specification, the containers in the mobile carrier 107 can hold goods stored in the warehouse, or they can be idle containers without holding goods. That is, not all containers in the mobile carrier 107 need to be filled with goods. Similarly, the storage spaces arranged on each level of the automated warehouse 106 can also contain mobile carriers 107, or they can be idle without any mobile carriers 107 placed there. The occupancy rate of each storage space, i.e., the ratio of storage spaces with mobile carriers 107 to the total number of storage spaces, can be configured as needed. The container occupancy rate of each mobile carrier 107 is the ratio of containers in the mobile carrier 107 containing goods to the total number of containers in the mobile carrier 107. The container space occupancy rate of each mobile carrier 107 is the ratio of containers stored in the mobile carrier 107 to the total number of container spaces. Both occupancy rates can be configured as needed. The occupancy rate of the upper-level storage spaces can be set between 0% and 100%, and the occupancy rate of the lower-level storage spaces can also be set between 0% and 100%. Similarly, the container occupancy rate and container space occupancy rate of each movable vehicle 107 can also be set as needed. Therefore, for a movable vehicle 107, each container stored in the movable vehicle 107 can contain goods or be idle, and there can also be container spaces in the movable vehicle 107 that do not contain containers.

[0100] Because the storage locations of the automated warehouse 106 are densely packed with movable vehicles 107, the first handling device 102 or the second handling device 104 cannot directly move from one storage location to an adjacent storage location when carrying the movable vehicle 107. Therefore, each level of the automated warehouse 106 is equipped with aisles for the first handling device 102 or the second handling device 104 to pass through when carrying the movable vehicle 107. The second handling device 104 is also used to enter the bottom storage location from an aisle adjacent to the bottom storage location, retrieve the movable vehicle 107 from the bottom storage location and transfer it to the second handling device 104, or place the movable vehicle 107 from the second handling device 104 into the bottom storage location.

[0101] This instruction manual provides Figure 4 This is a top-down view of the automated warehouse 106. The left side shows the upper level, which includes tracks 118 for the first handling equipment 102 to travel on. The right side shows the lower level, which does not include tracks 118. Furthermore, the top view shows that each level of the automated warehouse 106 has aisles for passage of either the first handling equipment 102 or the second handling equipment 104.

[0102] Additionally, it should be noted that the aisle layout on different floors may not be entirely identical in this specification, and can be configured as needed. Specifically, in a dense storage warehouse, if it is necessary to move movable vehicles 107 from storage locations not adjacent to an aisle, the movable vehicles 107 from the adjacent storage locations must first be moved out, making the adjacent storage location a temporary aisle. Then, the handling equipment moves the goods from the storage locations not adjacent to the aisle. Therefore, for handling efficiency, the stock keeping unit (SKU) of the goods stored in containers in the movable vehicles 107 in storage locations not adjacent to the aisle and storage locations next to the adjacent aisles is usually the same. In this case, the arrangement order of storage locations and aisles in the warehouse is: aisle 1, storage location 4, aisle 1, as follows. Figure 5a As shown, this can increase the density of goods storage without affecting the efficiency of warehouse operation.

[0103] However, when a single SKU does not have enough goods requiring more than two storage locations, Figure 5a The layout shown may affect warehouse operating efficiency, so it is usually advisable to adopt a different approach. Figure 5b The layout shown, that is, the arrangement of storage locations and aisles in the warehouse, is: aisle 1, storage location 2, aisle 1.

[0104] In this specification, each level of the automated warehouse can employ methods such as... Figure 5a or Figure 5b The layout shown, or a combination of both, is not limited in this specification. Furthermore, each layer can employ a slightly different layout depending on the needs of the stored goods. For example, if layer A stores goods that occupy a large amount of space, and a single SKU requires more than two storage slots corresponding to the movable carriers 107, then layer A can be entirely arranged using… Figure 5a The layout is such that, since layer A+1 stores goods and occupies less space, layer A+1 can be entirely used. Figure 5b The layout.

[0105] In this specification, the first handling device 102 can specifically be a handling device that travels on a track, such as a four-way shuttle. The second handling device 104 can specifically be a handling device that travels on a plane, such as an AGV. Of course, this application does not limit the specific form of the first handling device 102 and the second handling device 104, and they can be set as needed. As long as the first handling device 102 can travel along the track and handle the movable carrier 107 in the upper storage position, and the second handling device 104 can travel on the lower level and handle the movable carrier 107 in the lower storage position, it is sufficient.

[0106] In this specification, since the movable vehicle 107 may need to be moved between different floors of the automated warehouse 106, the lifting device 108 is used to rise or fall to a designated floor according to the handling instructions sent by the control server 100, and to transport at least one or more combinations of the movable vehicle 107, the first handling device 102 and the second handling device 104 indicated by the handling instructions between the floors.

[0107] The designated floor refers to the floor that the lifting device 108 needs to reach when performing a transport task. For example, to transport a movable vehicle 107 from the 3rd floor to the bottom floor, the control server 100 can send two transport commands to the lifting device 108. The transport device 108 reaches the 3rd floor according to the first received transport command (i.e., the designated floor indicated by the first received transport command). Once the movable vehicle 107 has been transported into the lifting device 108, the transport device 108 can reach the bottom floor according to the second received transport command (i.e., the designated floor indicated by the second received transport command). Of course, the above is only one example. In the above example, the control server 100 can also send only one transport command, in which case the designated floors are the 3rd floor and the bottom floor in sequence, so that the lifting device 108 reaches the 3rd floor and the bottom floor in sequence according to the transport command, and transports the movable vehicle 107 from the 3rd floor to the bottom floor.

[0108] Furthermore, in this specification, since the movable carrier 107 includes legs, the openings formed by the legs make the distance between the movable carrier 107 and the track 118 greater than the height of the first handling device 102 when it is not carrying the movable carrier 107. This further allows the first handling device 102 to drive under the high-level storage position and carry the movable carrier 107 away from the high-level storage position in a back-carrying manner. That is, the height of the legs of the movable carrier 107 is greater than the height of the first handling device 102 when it is not carrying the movable carrier 107.

[0109] In this specification, the second handling device 104 is further configured to selectively travel under at least a portion of the bottom storage compartment when not carrying the movable carrier 107, or to carry the movable carrier 107 in a carry-on manner from under at least a portion of the bottom storage compartment. Therefore, the height of the opening formed by the legs of the movable carrier 107 is higher than the height of the second handling device 104 when not carrying the movable carrier 107. The second handling device 104 is further configured to selectively travel under at least a portion of the movable carrier 107 when not carrying the movable carrier 107, or to carry the movable carrier 107 in a carry-on manner from under at least a portion of the movable carrier 107 and leave the bottom storage compartment.

[0110] In this specification, the storage units may be enclosed by a number of columns. The spacing between the columns in at least a portion of the bottom storage units of the automated warehouse 106 is greater than the width of the second handling device 104. Furthermore, the lowest point of the connector between at least a portion of two adjacent columns in the bottom layer of the automated warehouse 106 is higher than the height of the second handling device 104 when not carrying the movable carrier 107. The second handling device 104 is further configured to selectively move between at least a portion of two adjacent columns in the bottom layer when not carrying the movable carrier 107.

[0111] Of course, since the movable carrier 107 can stand upright on its own legs, the columns in this specification are used to support the automated warehouse 106, but not necessarily to support the movable carrier 107. Therefore, the upper and lower storage positions can also be set up as needed, without being enclosed by columns. For example, a QR code can be used to locate the storage position of the movable carrier 107, allowing the first handling device 102 and the second handling device 104 to determine the location.

[0112] In this specification, the automated warehouse 106 may be equipped with workstations. The container loading and unloading equipment 105 installed on the bottom layer of the automated warehouse 106 may be located in the bottom workstation. The workstation may also include a conveyor line and a picking station. The container loading and unloading equipment 105 is installed at the inlet and outlet of the conveyor line, respectively. The picking station in the workstation is located in the conveying path of the conveyor line.

[0113] In this specification, the container loading and unloading device 105 located at the inlet of the transmission line is also used to remove containers from the movable carrier 107 located at the inlet and place them on the transmission line. The container loading and unloading device 105 located at the outlet of the transmission line is also used to acquire containers transported from the transmission line and place them in the movable carrier 107 located at the outlet.

[0114] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a conveyor line provided in this specification. As shown, containers are transported by the conveyor line. Container loading / unloading equipment 105 retrieves containers from the movable carrier 107 at the conveyor line's exit and places them onto the conveyor line. The diagonally filled rectangles in the diagram represent picking stations. It can be seen that picking stations are set up along the conveyor line's transport path for sorting the containers transported by the conveyor line. At the conveyor line's entrance, container loading / unloading equipment 105 places the remaining sorted containers into the adjacent movable carrier 107. Figure 6 The transmission line shown is just an example; it can also take other forms, such as a loop transmission line, in which case the entrance and exit points can be located at the same location.

[0115] Furthermore, since multiple containers filled with goods can be stored in the movable carrier 107 in one or more embodiments of this specification, and the container loading and unloading device 105 needs to individually retrieve or store containers stored in the movable carrier 107, the container loading and unloading device 105 may include a first sensor. This first sensor is used to determine whether a corresponding container position in the movable carrier 107 is empty when a container is retrieved from the movable carrier 107, or to determine whether a corresponding container position in the movable carrier 107 is empty when a container is placed in the movable carrier 107. The corresponding container position is either the container position where the container filled with goods to be retrieved is located, or the container position where the container filled with goods needs to be placed.

[0116] When the movable carrier 107 contains multiple container positions, the container loading and unloading device 105 needs to adjust its orientation to align with the corresponding container position when picking up or storing containers from different container positions. Therefore, the container loading and unloading device 105 may also include a second sensor, which is used to determine the orientation deviation between the container loading and unloading device 105 and the corresponding container position in the movable carrier 107, so as to adjust the orientation and align the container loading and unloading device 105 with the container position of the movable carrier 107.

[0117] Furthermore, the container loading and unloading device 105 is also used to adjust the pose of the container loading and unloading device 105 and eliminate the pose deviation determined by the second sensor between the container loading and unloading device 105 and the corresponding container position. After eliminating the pose deviation, the container is placed in the corresponding container position or removed from the corresponding container position.

[0118] In this specification, the first sensor and the second sensor can be different sensors, or they can be the same sensor. Specifically, the first sensor and the second sensor can be image sensors. Alternatively, when the first sensor and the second sensor are different sensors, the first sensor can be a distance sensor, and the second sensor can be an image sensor. Of course, the first sensor only needs to be able to determine whether a container is present at the container position; for example, it can be ultrasonic radar, lidar, etc. Similarly, the second sensor only needs to be able to determine the pose deviation between the container loading / unloading device 105 and the corresponding container position; for example, it can be lidar, a binocular vision system, a depth sensor, etc.

[0119] Furthermore, in this specification, the movable carrier 107 may be used to carry only one container, and the first sensor installed on the container loading and unloading equipment 105 is used to determine whether the movable carrier 107 carries a container.

[0120] However, since the movable carrier 107 can also be used to carry only one container, it is generally not necessary to use sensors to determine whether a container is placed on the movable carrier 107. Instead, it is only necessary to determine the pose deviation based on the sensors and adjust the pose of the container loading and unloading device 105 to eliminate the pose deviation (for example, when the pose deviation is less than or equal to a preset deviation tolerance value, it is considered that the pose deviation has been eliminated). Therefore, when the movable carrier 107 is used to carry one container, the sensors installed on the container loading and unloading device 105 can be used only to perform the function of a second sensor.

[0121] In this specification, the container loading and unloading device 105 may also align itself with the container itself when picking up the container, rather than with the container position. The container may have information that is easy for the first sensor to identify, such as a QR code that can be identified by the first sensor for alignment. Of course, when determining and eliminating positional deviations, the container loading and unloading device 105 is not limited to aligning with anything specific, such as the container, the container position, or the movable carrier 107.

[0122] In one or more embodiments of this specification, the container loading and unloading device 105 can remove containers from or place containers in the movable carrier 107 by at least one of the following methods: suction, pushing, clamping, grabbing, hooking, lifting, and raising. This specification does not limit the specific method used by the container loading and unloading device 105 to pick up and place containers. Since different types of movable carriers 107 may limit the operation of picking up and placing containers, at least the container loading and unloading device 105 in the automated warehouse 106 is compatible with the movable carrier 107 in terms of the method of picking up and placing containers.

[0123] like Figure 7a The above, Figure 7a A schematic diagram of a container loading and unloading mechanism is shown. This mechanism includes a frame 7, on which a container loading and unloading assembly 2 and a carrier assembly are mounted. The frame 7 includes mutually perpendicular X-axis tracks 71 and Y-axis tracks 72, which are arranged in a vertical plane. Specifically, the Y-axis track is configured to move along the X-axis track, and the container loading and unloading assembly is configured to move along the Y-axis track. The container loading and unloading assembly 2 can remove containers from the carrier along the Z-axis direction and load them onto the carrier assembly, or unload containers from the carrier assembly and place them onto the carrier. The X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis constitute a three-dimensional coordinate system.

[0124] In one embodiment, the frame 7 includes a gantry assembly, and the X-axis track 71 includes a ground track structure and a top track structure disposed on the gantry assembly. The X-axis track 71 extends horizontally, and the Y-axis track 72 extends vertically. The Y-axis track 72 can be a column structure, and its two ends are respectively guided and engaged with the ground track structure and the top track structure, and the Y-axis track 72 moves horizontally along the ground track structure and the top track structure.

[0125] Specifically, each of the two X-axis tracks 71 is equipped with an X-axis movable plate, which can move horizontally along the X-axis track 71. The two ends of the Y-axis track 72 are fixedly connected to the two X-axis movable plates. The Y-axis track 72 is equipped with a Y-axis movable plate, which can move vertically along the Y-axis track 72. The pick-and-place container assembly 2 is fixedly connected to the Y-axis movable plate. Guide components can be further installed on the X-axis and Y-axis movable plates, and the components allow the assemblies to slide along the corresponding X-axis track 71 and Y-axis track 72.

[0126] The frame 7 is also equipped with a drive system, which includes an X-axis drive unit and a Y-axis drive unit. The X-axis drive unit drives the Y-axis track 72 to move along the X-axis track 71, and the Y-axis drive unit drives the pick-and-place container assembly 2 to move along the Y-axis track 72, thereby moving the pick-and-place container assembly 2 to a corresponding position, such as corresponding to a target position on the carrier. The drive system may include a drive motor, transmission gears, transmission chains, lead screw assemblies, etc., and those skilled in the art can configure it based on existing technology to achieve the above-mentioned functions of the drive system.

[0127] In one embodiment of this disclosure, at least two Y-axis tracks 72 may be provided, and the at least two Y-axis tracks 72 can move relatively independently between the upper and lower X-axis tracks 71. At least one container loading and unloading assembly is provided on each Y-axis track, and each container loading and unloading assembly 2 on the Y-axis track can move independently, thereby improving the working efficiency of the container loading and unloading mechanism.

[0128] In this embodiment, the container loading and unloading mechanism is used to transfer containers on the carrier. The container loading and unloading assembly 2 can move along the X-axis track 71 and the Y-axis track 72 on the frame 7 to the target position of the carrier.

[0129] In one possible implementation, the carrier can be a movable shelf, and the container can be a cargo box located on the movable shelf.

[0130] In practical applications, the container pick-up and delivery component 2 picks up and places containers by at least one of the following methods: sucking, pushing, clamping, grabbing, hooking, picking up, and lifting.

[0131] In addition, in this specification, after the control server 100 determines the handling task according to the order and controls at least one of the first handling equipment 102, the second handling equipment 104 and the lifting equipment 108 to move the movable carrier 107 to the container loading and unloading equipment 105 to remove the container or to place the container in the movable carrier 107, the control server 100 can also determine the handling task of putting the movable carrier 107 back into the storage location.

[0132] The control server 100 can also schedule at least one of the first handling equipment 102, the second handling equipment 104, and the lifting equipment 108 to return the movable carrier 107 to its original storage location in the automated warehouse, or to another storage location. In other words, the system can return the movable carrier 107 to its original location after handling it for picking or other operations. For example, assuming the second handling equipment 104 moves the movable carrier 107 from the bottom storage location A1 to the container loading / unloading equipment 105 for picking, after picking is completed, the control server 100 can send a handling instruction to the second handling equipment 104, scheduling the second handling equipment 104 to return the movable carrier 107 from the container loading / unloading equipment 105 back to the bottom storage location A1.

[0133] Alternatively, to reduce the operational burden on the first handling equipment 102, the second handling equipment 104, and the lifting equipment 108, more transport capacity can be allocated to moving the mobile vehicle 107 to the workstation, rather than returning it to its original storage location. In this case, the control server 100, upon determining that the mobile vehicle 107 needs to be returned to its storage location, can identify the nearest available storage location and, by scheduling at least one of the first handling equipment 102, the second handling equipment 104, and the lifting equipment 108, place the mobile vehicle 107 in the identified available storage location. In other words, when the system needs to place the mobile vehicle 107 in a storage location, it can adopt a proximity-based placement strategy, with the control server 100 determining the storage location.

[0134] Alternatively, since the automated warehouse 106 can be equipped with multiple workstations, meaning that multiple tasks such as picking, sorting, and outbound processing can be performed in parallel, it is also possible for a mobile vehicle 107 to be moved out of a storage location and then placed in that storage location by other handling tasks. When the mobile vehicle 107 is returned, the control server 100 determines that another mobile vehicle 107 has already been placed in the original storage location. Therefore, the control server 100 can identify other storage locations and call at least one of the first handling equipment 102, the second handling equipment 104, and the lifting equipment 108 to place the mobile vehicle 107 in the other storage location.

[0135] Of course, in one or more embodiments of this specification, the control center 100 may also determine the storage location for placing the movable vehicle 107 from any available storage location (including high-level storage location and low-level storage location), and call at least one of the first handling device 102, the second handling device 104 and the lifting device 108 to transport the movable vehicle 107 to the storage location.

[0136] Furthermore, to further improve the operational efficiency of the automated warehouse 106, in one or more embodiments of this specification, the control center 100 can determine the activity level of a mobile vehicle 107 that needs to be returned for storage based on at least one of the loading / unloading frequency and the quantity of goods stored on the mobile vehicle 107. Thus, based on the ranking of the activity levels of the mobile vehicle 107, the storage location of the mobile vehicle 107 when it returns to the automated warehouse 106 is determined.

[0137] Specifically, for mobile carriers 107 that need to be returned to storage, the control center 100 first determines the activity level of the mobile carrier 107 based on at least one of the loading / unloading frequency and the quantity of goods stored on it, and then stores it. Next, based on the activity levels of the stored mobile carriers 107, the control center 100 sorts the mobile carriers 107 to determine their order. Finally, from the available storage locations on each floor, the control center determines the storage location for each mobile carrier 107 based on its order.

[0138] The second handling device 104 is more flexible than the first handling device 102 because it does not need to travel along the track. Furthermore, workstations are typically located on the ground floor, so the time required for outbound or picking of goods in the ground floor storage locations is shorter, resulting in less time spent on handling tasks. The higher the floor, the longer the lifting device 108 takes to move goods. Therefore, the control center 100 can place highly active mobile vehicles 107 in the ground floor storage locations and less active mobile vehicles 107 in the upper floors storage locations. Since the number of storage locations varies across different floors, the ranking range of mobile vehicles 107 placed on each floor can be determined based on the number of storage locations on each floor.

[0139] For example, assuming that the bottom floor of the automated warehouse 106 has 100 storage spaces, the second floor and the third floor have 50 and 30 storage spaces respectively, then the first 100 movable vehicles 107 in the sorting can be placed in the bottom floor storage spaces, the movable vehicles 107 in the sorting from 101 to 150 can be placed in the upper floors storage spaces of the second floor, and so on.

[0140] Furthermore, since operations such as picking and shipping goods must be performed at the workstation (which is equipped with container loading and unloading equipment 105), the closer the movable carrier 107 placed on the bottom floor is to the workstation, the less time is required to operate the goods stored in that movable carrier 107. Similarly, for movable carriers 107 placed on the same upper floor, the closer the movable carrier 107 is to the upper floor connection point 112 at the lifting equipment 108, the less time is required to operate the goods stored in that movable carrier 107.

[0141] Therefore, in one or more embodiments of this specification, after determining the floor where the mobile vehicle 107 is stored, if the floor is the bottom floor, the control center 100 determines, based on the storage locations of the floor and the workstations, to place the mobile vehicles 107 with high activity levels in storage locations closer to the workstations and the mobile vehicles 107 with low activity levels in storage locations farther from the workstations. If the floor is a high floor, the control center determines, based on the storage locations of the floor and the high-floor connection point 112, to place the mobile vehicles 107 with high activity levels in storage locations closer to the high-floor connection point 112 and the mobile vehicles 107 with low activity levels in storage locations farther from the high-floor connection point 112.

[0142] For higher floors, it is possible to place the more active mobile vehicles 107 in storage locations close to the elevator 108 on that floor, that is, to replace the higher floor connection point 112 with the elevator 108. Alternatively, both the higher floor connection point 112 and the elevator 108 can be considered simultaneously.

[0143] Specifically, when determining the storage location for the mobile vehicle 107, the control server 100 can first sort the layers with available storage locations according to the activity level of the mobile vehicle 107 to determine the layer where the mobile vehicle 107 will be placed. Then, from the available storage locations of the determined layers, sort the mobile vehicle 107 according to its activity level to determine the storage location where the mobile vehicle 107 will be stored.

[0144] It should be noted that, for the automated warehouse 106, multiple workstations can be set up on the bottom floor, while multiple high-level connection points 112 or multiple lifting devices 108 can be set up on the upper floors. Therefore, the control server 100 can determine the "heat" of different storage locations on each floor based on the location of multiple workstations, multiple high-level connection points 112, or multiple lifting devices 108. The more "heated" the storage location, the higher the activity level of the mobile vehicle 107 placed there. Of course, in the case of multiple workstations / high-level connection points 112 / lifting devices 108, the heat of a storage location can be determined based on its distance from the multiple workstations / high-level connection points 112 / lifting devices 108.

[0145] For example, for the underlying layer, the control server 100 can determine the heat distribution corresponding to each workstation according to a Gaussian distribution with preset parameters. This heat distribution covers at least part of the underlying storage bits. Then, the heat distributions corresponding to each workstation are superimposed to determine the heat of each underlying storage bit.

[0146] Furthermore, since the heat intensity indicates that another movable vehicle 107 may already be placed in the storage location, the control server 100 can determine whether the identified storage location is vacant. If so, it calls at least one of the first handling device 102, the second handling device 104, and the lifting device 108 to place the movable vehicle 107 in the storage location. If not, it swaps the positions of the movable vehicle 107 with another movable vehicle 107 already placed in the storage location, that is, it removes the other movable vehicle 107 from the storage location and places the movable vehicle 107 in the storage location. For the other movable vehicle 107 that has been removed, the server can use the same method to re-determine the storage location of the movable vehicle 107.

[0147] Alternatively, in one or more embodiments of this specification, when the control server 100 determines that a storage location is not free, it may determine the nearest free storage location and place the mobile vehicle 107 in the newly determined free storage location.

[0148] Alternatively, other movable vehicles 107 can be removed from the storage location and placed in another available storage location closest to the storage location.

[0149] Of course, since there is no binding relationship between the containers and the mobile carriers 107 in this specification, the container holding a certain item can be placed in different mobile carriers 107. Therefore, before picking, the container can be taken out of one mobile carrier 107, and after picking, the container can be placed in another mobile carrier 107. Thus, the control server 100 can also determine the activity level of different containers based on at least one of the loading / unloading frequency and the quantity of goods stored / retrieved. Based on the order of activity levels of each container, it sends handling instructions to the first handling device 102, the second handling device 104, and the lifting device 108 to perform handling tasks, thereby adjusting the containers in at least some of the mobile carriers 107 so that the activity level of containers in the lower storage location mobile carriers 107 is higher than the activity level of containers in the higher storage location mobile carriers 107. Of course, the above process can be performed during container sorting or in other task processes, as long as the container needs to be taken out of the mobile carrier 107, adjustments can be made.

[0150] In one or more embodiments of this specification, the control server 100 may also determine the activity level of the mobile vehicle 107 based on the activity level of each container in the mobile vehicle 107, and use any of the methods described above for determining storage locations based on the activity level of the mobile vehicle 107 to place the mobile vehicle 107 back into the storage location. The specific process is similar to the process described above, and will not be repeated in this specification.

[0151] Since the warehouse currently performs not only picking and outbound tasks, but also sorting tasks, which involve organizing goods in at least two storage locations, including merging and swapping goods, and in this specification, sorting tasks can be performed at workstations, the control server 100 can also respond to sorting tasks by scheduling at least one of the first handling equipment 102, the second handling equipment 104, and the lifting equipment 108 to move the movable vehicle 107 from its original storage location in the automated warehouse 10 to another storage location or keep it in its original storage location.

[0152] Specifically, in response to a sorting task, the control server 100 identifies the mobile vehicle 107 that has completed sorting at the workstation, determines the original storage location of the mobile vehicle 107, and calls at least one of the first handling device 102, the second handling device 104, and the lifting device 108 to return the mobile vehicle 107 to its original storage location. Alternatively, it determines the activity ranking of the mobile vehicle 107 after sorting, determines another storage location for the mobile vehicle 107 to be returned, and calls at least one of the first handling device 102, the second handling device 104, and the lifting device 108 to place the mobile vehicle 107 in that other storage location.

[0153] Specifically, the method for determining the activity level of the mobile carrier 107 can be consistent with the aforementioned approach, that is, the activity level of the mobile carrier 107 can be determined based on at least one of the loading and unloading frequency and the quantity of goods stored on the mobile carrier 107. Subsequently, the storage location of the mobile carrier 107 after its position is adjusted during cargo handling can be determined based on the ranking of the activity levels of the mobile carrier 107.

[0154] Additionally, in one or more embodiments of this specification, a cargo handling task can also be performed on a mobile carrier 107. For example, when the mobile carrier 107 is used to place multiple containers, cargo handling can be performed on at least two containers of the mobile carrier 107. Alternatively, when the mobile carrier 107 is used to place a single container, the workstation can also perform cargo handling on the container placed by the mobile carrier 107 according to the cargo it stores.

[0155] Therefore, when the control server 100 calls at least one of the first handling equipment 102, the second handling equipment 104, and the lifting equipment 108 to transport the mobile vehicle 107 to the workstation for sorting according to the sorting task, it can determine the storage location where the mobile vehicle 107 will be placed after returning to the automated warehouse 106. In other words, the sorting task may include organizing the goods corresponding to at least one mobile vehicle 107, and adjusting the storage location of the mobile vehicle 107. That is, the sorting task can be determined by including at least one of the following: adjusting the goods or adjusting the storage location. In other words, the sorting task can be completed by changing the storage location of the mobile vehicle 107, or by organizing the goods on the mobile vehicle 107, or by both organizing the goods on the mobile vehicle 107 and adjusting the storage location of the mobile vehicle 107.

[0156] Of course, the adjustment of the storage location of the mobile vehicle 107 has been described in detail above, and you can refer to the above content. This manual will not repeat it here.

[0157] In one embodiment provided in this specification, the process of the automated warehouse scheduling system performing a handling task is described using the example of moving a movable vehicle 107 from any high-level storage location to the bottom level for goods outbound.

[0158] According to the handling task to be executed, when it is determined that the goods in the movable carrier 107 located in the upper storage position need to be moved to the lower storage position for outbound, the control server 100 of the automated warehouse scheduling system can first determine the first handling equipment 102 of the upper storage position.

[0159] Then, the first handling device 102 to perform the handling task is determined from the identified first handling devices 102, and a handling instruction is sent. The control server 100 can determine the first handling device 102 to perform the handling task from the identified first handling devices 102 based on whether each first handling device 102 is idle or the number of handling instructions to be executed.

[0160] Of course, this application does not limit the strategy used to select the first transport device 102; it can be configured as needed. For example, the control server 100 can simply select any one of the available first transport devices 102 as the first transport device 102 to perform the transport task. Alternatively, it can further determine the first transport device 102 closest to the high-level storage location of the movable vehicle 107 for the transport task from among the available first transport devices 102, and use it as the first transport device 102 to perform the transport task.

[0161] Furthermore, when the control server 100 sends a transport instruction to the first transport device 102, it can also asynchronously send a transport instruction to the lifting device 108, causing the lifting device 108 to rise or fall to the floor where the high-level storage location is located (i.e., the designated floor), which is also the floor where the movable vehicle 107 for the transport task is located. The lifting device 108 can then move to that floor according to the transport instruction, waiting for the first transport device 102 to transport the movable vehicle 107 to the high-level connection point 112, and receiving the movable vehicle 107 through the high-level connection point 112. It should be noted that the transport instructions sent by the control server 100 to different transport devices are not entirely the same in this specification.

[0162] Then, according to the received transport instruction, the first transport device 102 travels through the aisle of its floor to the high-level storage location where the movable vehicle 107 for the transport task is located, and carries the movable vehicle 107 out of the high-level storage location on its back. It then travels again through the aisle of its floor to the high-level connection point 112 of its floor, and places the movable vehicle 107 into the lifting device 108 via the high-level connection point 112. After placement, it sends a message to the control server 100 indicating that the transport instruction has been executed.

[0163] It should be noted that the transport instruction sent to the first transport device 102 includes the identifier of the high-level storage location where the movable vehicle 107 to be transported is located, the identifier of the high-level connection point 112, and the path from the high-level storage location to the high-level connection point 112. When the automated warehouse 106 contains multiple high-level connection points 112, the control server 100 can determine the identifier and path of the high-level connection points 112 through path optimization, and send them to the first transport device 102 as information included in the first transport instruction. This causes the first transport device 102 to transport the movable vehicle 107 to the high-level connection point 112 according to the optimized path.

[0164] Based on the information that the first transport device 102 has completed the transport instruction, the control server 100 determines that the lifting device 108 has obtained the movable vehicle 107 through the high-level connection point 112, and sends a transport instruction to the lifting device 108 according to the transport task corresponding to the movable vehicle 107 being transported. The transport instruction contains the specified floor that the lifting device 108 needs to reach next. In this example, the specified floor is the bottom floor.

[0165] The lifting device 108 can then determine, based on the transport instruction sent again by the control server 100, to transport the currently transported movable vehicle 107 to the bottom floor of the automated warehouse 106, and send a message to the control server 100 indicating that the transport instruction has been completed.

[0166] Based on the information indicating that the transport instruction sent by the lifting device 108 has been completed, the control server 100 determines that the movable vehicle 107 has been transported to the bottom floor. Then, it can determine the second transport device 104 from among the second transport devices 104 to perform the transport task and send a transport instruction to the determined second transport device 104. The logic for determining the second transport device 104 from among the second transport devices 104 to perform the transport task can be the same as the logic for determining the first transport device 102 from among the first transport devices 102 to perform the transport task; this will not be elaborated further in this specification.

[0167] The second transport device 104, according to the transport instruction sent by the control server 100, travels through the bottom aisle to the lifting device 108 and transports the movable vehicle 107 transported by the lifting device 108. Afterwards, it travels through the bottom aisle again to the corresponding bottom storage position, places the movable vehicle 107 on the bottom storage position, and sends a message to the control server 100 indicating that the transport instruction has been executed.

[0168] Finally, the control server 100 can determine that the transport task has been completed based on the completion information sent by the second transport device 104.

[0169] Alternatively, if goods need to be picked out of the warehouse at the picking station, after the movable carrier 107 is moved by the lifting equipment 108, the second handling equipment 104 can move the movable carrier 107 to the container loading and unloading equipment 105 and send a message to the control server 100 indicating that the handling instruction has been executed.

[0170] Then, according to the operation instructions sent by the control server 100, the container loading and unloading equipment 105 removes the containers containing the goods to be picked from the mobile carrier 107, so as to pick the goods stored in the containers in the mobile carrier 107 through the picking station. The container loading and unloading equipment 105 can send a message to the control server 100 indicating that the operation instructions have been executed.

[0171] In addition, in this specification, a cargo collection vehicle may be provided in the upper floors, and container loading and unloading equipment 105 may be provided in at least some floors of the upper floors. The upper floor connection points 112 may be located near the container loading and unloading equipment 105 in the upper floors and inside the lifting equipment 108, respectively. The first handling device 102 is further used to transport the movable vehicle 107 between the upper floor storage position and the upper floor connection point 112 near the container loading and unloading equipment 105, or to transport the cargo collection vehicle between the upper floor connection point 112 near the container loading and unloading equipment 105 and the upper floor connection point 112 inside the lifting equipment 108. The container loading and unloading equipment 105 is also used to remove containers from the movable vehicle 107 and place them in the cargo collection vehicle, or to remove containers from the cargo collection vehicle and place them in the movable vehicle 107.

[0172] It should be noted that this specification does not limit the form of the collection vehicle. The collection vehicle may include racks (such as partition racks, box racks, etc.), pallet supports, cage carts, pallet supports, etc. The specific type of collection vehicle used can be set according to needs.

[0173] In this specification, the bottom layer of the automated warehouse 106 may be provided with at least one bottom-layer connection point. The second handling device 104 is also used to handle the movable vehicle 107 indicated by the handling instruction sent by the control server 100 between the bottom-layer storage location and the bottom-layer connection point or between the lifting device 108 and the bottom-layer connection point. The bottom-layer connection point of the automated warehouse 106 is a connection point that connects to the outside of the automated warehouse 106. For example, a forklift or other handling equipment can take out the movable vehicle 107 that needs to be taken out of the warehouse or the container containing goods taken out of the movable vehicle 107 from the movable vehicle 107, or transport the movable vehicle 107 that needs to be taken in or the container containing goods to the bottom-layer connection point. Then, at least one of the first handling device 102, the second handling device 104, and the lifting device 108, according to the handling instruction sent by the control center 100, will transport the movable vehicle 107 from the bottom-layer connection point to the bottom-layer storage location or the upper-layer storage location.

[0174] In this specification, a designated area on the ground floor of the automated warehouse 106 (e.g., a picking area or a packing area) may be provided with at least one ground floor connection point; that is, the ground floor connection point can also be a designated area on the ground floor. The second handling device 104 is used to retrieve the movable carrier 107 from the ground floor storage location or the lifting device 108, transport the movable carrier 107 to the ground floor connection point, and place the movable carrier in the designated area. Alternatively, it can retrieve the movable carrier 107 from the ground floor connection point in the designated area and transport the movable carrier 107 to the ground floor storage location or the lifting device 108.

[0175] In another embodiment of this specification, taking the process of goods being shipped out when the movable carrier 107 containing the goods to be shipped out is located in the bottom storage position as an example, the control server 100 can determine the second handling device 104 that performs the handling task from each of the second handling devices 104, and send a handling instruction to the determined second handling device 104.

[0176] The second handling equipment 104, upon receiving the handling instruction, travels through the bottom lane to the bottom storage location and handles the movable carrier 107 stored in the bottom storage location.

[0177] Afterwards, the second transport device 104 travels through the bottom lane to the bottom docking point, places the mobile vehicle 107 at the bottom docking point, and sends a message to the control server 100 indicating that the transport instruction has been completed.

[0178] Finally, after receiving the information that the handling instruction sent by the second handling device 104 has been completed, the control server 100 determines that the movable vehicle 107 has been correctly handled to the bottom docking point, and the handling task has been completed.

[0179] In one embodiment provided in this specification, the process of the automated warehouse scheduling system performing a handling task is described using the process of moving a movable vehicle 107 from a bottom connection point to any high-level storage location for storage as an example.

[0180] First, based on the handling task to be executed, when the control server 100 of the system determines that the movable vehicle 107, which has been transported to the lower-level docking point 110, needs to be moved to the upper-level storage location for storage, it first selects the second handling device 104 from among the various second handling devices 104 to perform the handling task, and sends a handling instruction to the selected second handling device 104. The logic for selecting the second handling device 104 to perform the handling task will not be elaborated in this specification.

[0181] Subsequently, the second transport device 104, according to the received transport instruction, travels through the bottom aisle to the corresponding bottom junction point to transport the movable carrier 107, and then travels again through the bottom aisle to the lifting device 108, where it places the movable carrier 107 onto the lifting device 108. After placement, it sends a message to the control server 100 indicating that the transport instruction has been executed.

[0182] Furthermore, when the control server 100 sends a transport instruction to the second transport device 104, it can also asynchronously send a transport instruction to the lifting device 108, causing the lifting device 108 to move to the bottom layer (i.e., the designated layer), which is the layer where the storage location corresponding to the movable carrier 107 to be transported is located. Then, the lifting device 108 can move to the bottom layer according to the transport instruction and wait for the second transport device 104 to transport the movable carrier 107 to the lifting device 108.

[0183] After receiving the information that the handling instruction sent by the second handling device 104 has been completed, the control server 100 can continue to send handling instructions to the lifting device 108 based on the information that the handling instruction has been completed and the floor where the high-level storage location of the goods to be stored is located. The specified floor corresponding to the handling instruction is the floor where the high-level storage location of the goods to be stored is located.

[0184] The lifting device 108, upon receiving a transport instruction from the control server 100, transports the movable vehicle 107 to the floor containing the upper storage location and sends a message to the control server 100 indicating that the transport instruction has been completed. Additionally, upon reaching the designated floor, the lifting device 108 can also transport the movable vehicle 107 out of the lifting device 108 via the upper-floor connection point 112.

[0185] Based on the information that the handling instruction sent by the lifting device 108 has been completed, the control server 100 determines the first handling device 102 to perform the handling task from the first handling devices 102 in the layer where the high-level storage location is located, and sends the handling instruction to the determined first handling device 102.

[0186] According to the received transport instructions, the first transport equipment 102 travels through the aisle of its floor to the high-rise connection point 112. The transport lifting equipment 108 lifts the movable vehicle 107 from the bottom floor and travels through the aisle of its floor again to the area below the high-rise storage position, where the movable vehicle 107 is placed.

[0187] Finally, after placing the movable carrier 107, the first handling device 102 can send a message to the control server 100 indicating that the handling instruction has been completed. After receiving the message from the first handling device 102 indicating that the handling instruction has been completed, the control server 100 determines that the movable carrier 107 has been correctly transported to the high-level storage location and the handling task has been completed.

[0188] In this specification, regardless of whether it is from the bottom connection point to the bottom storage location for warehousing, from the bottom connection point to the top storage location for warehousing, from the top storage location to the bottom connection point for warehousing, or from the bottom storage location to the bottom connection point for warehousing, as long as there is a need to sort the goods stored in the containers, the second handling equipment 104 can move the movable carrier 107 to the position of the container loading and unloading equipment 105, and the container loading and unloading equipment 105 can take the container from the movable carrier 107 or place the container on the movable carrier 107.

[0189] Furthermore, in this specification, the first handling device 102 can use various methods to move the movable carrier 107 out of the high-level storage location or to store the movable carrier 107.

[0190] Specifically, the control server 100 determines the high-level storage location corresponding to the transport task based on the transport task. For example, the high-level storage location where the mobile vehicle 107 is stored can be regarded as the high-level storage location corresponding to the transport task, or the high-level storage location when the mobile vehicle 107 is stored can also be regarded as the high-level storage location corresponding to the transport task.

[0191] Subsequently, the control server 100 can send a handling instruction to the determined first handling device 102 based on the location of the high-level storage location and the location of the adjacent aisle.

[0192] The first handling device 102 can, according to the handling instructions sent by the control center 100, retrieve the movable carrier 107 from the side of the high-level storage unit at a track position adjacent to the high-level storage unit and transfer it to the first handling device 102; or, it can place the movable carrier 107 being handled by the first handling device 102 from the side of the high-level storage unit into the high-level storage unit. For example... Figure 7b As shown. Figure 7b This is a schematic diagram of the first handling equipment provided in this specification taking and placing a movable carrier from the side. As can be seen, the first handling equipment 102 is located in an aisle adjacent to the high-level storage position, and takes and places containers containing goods from the side of the high-level storage position.

[0193] Alternatively, after determining the high-level storage location corresponding to the transport task, the control server 100 sends a transport instruction to the determined first transport device 102 based on the location of the high-level storage location and the locations of other storage locations above it.

[0194] The first handling device 102 can take the movable carrier 107 from above the high-level storage position and put it into the first handling device 102 according to the handling instruction sent by the control server 100, or place the movable carrier 107 from above the high-level storage position into the high-level storage position from the first handling device 102.

[0195] Furthermore, in this specification, the second handling device 104 can use various methods to move the movable carrier 107 out of the underlying storage location or store the movable carrier 107.

[0196] Specifically, the control server 100 determines the underlying storage location corresponding to the transport task based on the transport task. For example, the underlying storage location where the mobile vehicle 107 is put into storage can be regarded as the underlying storage location corresponding to the transport task, or the underlying storage location when the mobile vehicle 107 is put into storage can also be regarded as the underlying storage location corresponding to the transport task.

[0197] Then, the control server 100 can send a handling instruction to the determined second handling device 104 based on the location of the underlying storage location and the location of the adjacent aisle.

[0198] The second transport device 104 can, according to the transport instruction sent by the control server 100, take out the movable carrier 107 from the side of the bottom storage position at the alley position adjacent to the bottom storage position and transfer it to the second transport device 104, or place the movable carrier 107 transported on the second transport device 104 from the side of the bottom storage position into the bottom storage position.

[0199] Alternatively, after determining the underlying storage location corresponding to the transport task, the control server 100 sends a transport instruction to the determined second transport device 104 based on the location of the underlying storage location.

[0200] The second transport device 104 can, according to the transport instruction sent by the control server 100, enter the lower part of the bottom storage position at the alley position adjacent to the bottom storage position, take out the movable carrier 107 from the lower part of the bottom storage position and put it on the second transport device 104, or place the movable carrier 107 indicated by the transport instruction from the second transport device 104 into the bottom storage position.

[0201] In addition, in this specification, since each automated warehouse 106 may be provided with at least one lifting device 108, in order for the movable vehicle 107 to be placed on any floor of the automated warehouse 106, when the automated warehouse 106 contains multiple lifting devices 108, there is at least overlap between the designated floors that the multiple lifting devices 108 can reach.

[0202] In other words, through overlapping layers, the various lifting devices 108 can connect the different levels of the automated warehouse 106. For example... Figure 8 As shown, the automated warehouse 106 has four floors and three lifting devices 108 connected to each other: the bottom floor is connected to the first floor, the first floor to the second floor, and the second floor to the third floor. Of course, each lifting device 108 can be located in a different position within the automated warehouse 106.

[0203] The control server 100 can transport the mobile vehicle 107 to any floor of the automated warehouse 106 via one or more lifting devices 108. For example, the above-mentioned Figure 8 If the server wants to transport goods from the 3rd floor to the bottom floor, it can call the first handling equipment 102 and the corresponding lifting equipment 108 of the 1st to 3rd floors respectively, so that each lifting equipment 108 and the first handling equipment 102 of each floor can transport the goods from the 3rd floor to the bottom floor in a relay manner. The second handling equipment 104 of the bottom floor can then further transport the movable vehicle 107.

[0204] The lifting device 108 described in this specification may be equipped with a track 118, allowing the track 118 within the lifting device 108 to connect with the track 118 installed in the upper floors of the automated warehouse 106. When the first transport device 102 moves along the track 118 in the upper floors, it can enter the lifting device 108 and directly place the movable carrier 107 within the lifting device 108, or the lifting device 108 can transport the first transport device 102 to other floors. Figure 9 As shown. Among them, Figure 8 and Figure 9The examples shown all use a movable vehicle 107 for placing multiple containers. As mentioned above, the movable vehicle 107 can also be a vehicle for placing a single container.

[0205] Furthermore, in this specification, when the lifting device 108 is also equipped with a track 118, the control server 100 can also call the first transport device 102 between different floors through the lifting device 108.

[0206] Specifically, in this specification, the control server 100 can determine the number of first handling devices 102 required for each high-level layer based on the handling tasks to be executed corresponding to some or all high-level layers. The control server 100 can define the layer containing the high-level storage location involved in the handling task as the high-level layer corresponding to the handling task. For example, if handling task A needs to move the movable vehicle 107 from layer 3, then layer 3 is the high-level layer corresponding to handling task A; or if handling task B needs to move the movable vehicle 107 to a certain high-level storage location within layer 3, then layer 3 is the high-level layer corresponding to handling task B. Furthermore, the control server 100 can determine the number of first handling devices 102 required for each high-level layer based on the number of handling tasks to be executed corresponding to each high-level layer; the more handling tasks to be executed for a high-level layer, the more first handling devices 102 are required for that high-level layer. Of course, since the space on each floor of the warehouse is limited, an excessive number of first handling devices 102 may reduce the travel path of the devices or cause congestion. Therefore, in this specification, the control server 100 can also determine the number of first handling devices 102 required for each floor based on the preset maximum number of first handling devices 102 for each floor. The maximum number of first handling devices 102 can vary depending on the layout of each floor. The fewer the number of movable vehicles 107 arranged in a floor, the more areas the first handling devices 102 can travel through.

[0207] Subsequently, the control server 100 can determine the first transport equipment 102 that each high-level building needs to call based on the number of first transport equipment 102 required by each high-level building and the current number of first transport equipment 102 in each high-level building, and send a call instruction to the first transport equipment 102 that needs to be called.

[0208] The first transport device 102 is also used to travel along the track 118 to the lifting device 108 according to the call instruction sent by the control server 100, and reach the high floor specified by the call instruction through the lifting device 108.

[0209] In addition, in the above structural description of the automated warehouse 106 in this specification, the high-rise connection points 112 set for each high floor are all independent of the lifting equipment 108. This is because if the first handling equipment 102 cannot reach the lifting equipment 108, the movable vehicle 107 needs to be transported to the lifting equipment 108 by the high-rise connection point 112, and then the lifting equipment 108 will transport the movable vehicle 107 to the designated floor.

[0210] If the lifting device 108 is also equipped with a track 118, and the first transport device 102 can drive into the lifting device 108, then in this specification, the high-rise connection point 112 can also be set to be located inside the lifting device 108.

[0211] Therefore, the first transport device 102 is further used to, according to the transport instructions sent by the control server 100, travel to the high-rise connection point 112 in the lifting device 108, place the movable vehicle 107 at the high-rise connection point 112, or take the movable vehicle 107 out of the high-rise connection point 112.

[0212] In one or more embodiments of this specification, the high-rise connection point 112 may also be located within the lifting device 108. The first transport device 102 may further be used to travel to the high-rise connection point within the lifting device 108, place the movable vehicle 107 at the high-rise connection point 112, or remove the movable vehicle 107 from the high-rise connection point 112.

[0213] Furthermore, in this specification, due to various factors that may affect the construction of the warehouse, resulting in different layouts for each floor, and when there are floors in the upper levels of the automated warehouse 106 where all areas cannot be connected by tracks, such as... Figure 10 As shown, if it is necessary to call the first handling device 102 between two areas, the control server 100 can be used for:

[0214] For a layer where all areas cannot be connected by track 118, when the first transport device 102 needs to be called between different areas of the layer, the area where the first transport device 102 is called out is taken as the starting area, and the area where the first transport device 102 is called in is taken as the destination area. The control server 100 is used to determine the layer that is closest to the layer and connected by track, as the intermediate layer.

[0215] The control server 100 sends a call command to the first transport device 102 in the departure area, a transport command to the lifting device 108 connecting the intermediate layer and the departure area, and a transport command to the lifting device 108 connecting the intermediate layer and the destination area, so that the first transport device 102 can reach the destination area from the departure area after passing through the two lifting devices 108 and the track 118 of the intermediate layer.

[0216] Furthermore, in the system provided in this specification, when there are two or more automated warehouses 106, the bottom surfaces of each automated warehouse 106 are interconnected. For example... Figure 11a and Figure 11b As shown. Among them, Figure 11a For the corresponding Figure 10 This is a simplified diagram showing two automated warehouses connected at the ground level. It illustrates that the two warehouses can be considered as a single unit because only their ground floors are connected. Figure 11b As shown in the detailed diagram, the two automated warehouses are set up independently on the bottom surface. It can be seen that the bottom layer has a bottom connection point 110.

[0217] Furthermore, the control server 100 can determine the number of first handling equipment 102 required for each automated warehouse 106 based on the handling tasks to be performed for at least some of the automated warehouses 106.

[0218] Based on the number of first handling equipment 102 required by each automated warehouse 106 and the current number of first handling equipment 102 in each automated warehouse 106, determine the first handling equipment 102 that each automated warehouse 106 needs to call.

[0219] The automated warehouse 106 from which the first handling equipment 102 is dispatched is designated as the starting warehouse, and the automated warehouse 106 from which the first handling equipment 102 is dispatched is designated as the destination warehouse. A dispatch instruction is sent to the first handling equipment 102 in the starting warehouse, and a handling instruction is sent to the second handling equipment 104, the lifting equipment 108 in the starting warehouse, and the lifting equipment 108 in the destination warehouse, so that the first handling equipment 102 is dispatched from the starting warehouse to the destination warehouse through the two lifting equipment 108 and the second handling equipment 104.

[0220] The second handling device 104 is also used to move the first handling device 102 from the bottom layer of the starting warehouse to the bottom layer of the destination warehouse according to the call instruction.

[0221] It should be noted that since the first handling device 102 can travel to the lifting device 108 via the track 118, the second handling device 104 can regard the first handling device 102 inside the lifting device 108 as a vehicle inside the lifting device 108, and move the first handling device 102 out of the lifting device 108 in the same way as moving the movable vehicle 107. Moreover, since the bottom layers of each automated warehouse 106 are connected, the second handling device 104 can travel from one automated warehouse 106 to another through the bottom layer, realizing the mobilization of the first handling device 102 between different automated warehouses 106.

[0222] In addition, in this specification, the lifting equipment 108 is equipped with a powered transfer device 120, and the high-rise connection point 112 includes at least the transfer device 120 located within the lifting equipment. The powered transfer device 120 can actively move the movable carrier 107 placed on the transfer device 120, such as a roller conveyor, a transport line, a bidirectional telescopic fork, etc., and the specific form is not limited.

[0223] The first transport device 102 is further used to travel to the transfer device 120, which serves as a high-level connection point 112, within the lifting device 108, place the movable vehicle 107 on the transfer device 120, or remove the movable vehicle 107 from the transfer device 120, which serves as a high-level connection point 112.

[0224] Furthermore, in this specification, at least a portion of the upper levels of the automated warehouse 106 are equipped with powered transfer devices 120 outside the location where the lifting equipment 108 connects with the upper level. Therefore, the upper-level connection point in this specification also includes at least the transfer device located outside the lifting equipment. For example... Figure 12 As shown.

[0225] When the lifting equipment 108 is located at a high floor, the transfer equipment 120 located outside the lifting equipment 108 docks with the transfer equipment 120 located inside the lifting equipment 108, and transports the movable carrier 107 from the transfer equipment 120 inside the lifting equipment 108 to the transfer equipment 120 outside the lifting equipment 108, or, transports the movable carrier 107 from the transfer equipment 120 outside the lifting equipment 108 to the transfer equipment 120 inside the lifting equipment 108.

[0226] Additionally, in this specification, when the lifting device 108 has a built-in transfer device 120, the bottom layer of the automated warehouse 106 may also be equipped with a powered transfer device 120. This allows the bottom transfer device 120 to dock with the transfer device 120 inside the lifting device 108 when the lifting device 108 is at the bottom layer. This docks with the transfer device 120 inside the lifting device 108 to transport the movable carrier 107 from the transfer device 120 inside the lifting device 108 to the transfer device 120 at the bottom layer. This allows the second handling device 104 to remove the movable carrier 107 from the transfer device 120 at the bottom layer. Alternatively, when the second handling device 104 places the movable carrier 107 on the transfer device 120 at the bottom layer, the transfer device 120 at the bottom layer can transport the movable carrier 107 from the transfer device 120 at the bottom layer to the transfer device 120 inside the lifting device 108.

[0227] Therefore, the second handling device 104 in this specification is further used to remove the movable carrier 107 from the bottom-level transfer device 120, transport the movable carrier 107 to the bottom-level docking point 110, and place the movable carrier 107 in a designated area. Alternatively, the second handling device 104 can remove the movable carrier 107 from the bottom-level docking point 110 in the designated area and transport the movable carrier 107 to the bottom-level transfer device 120. Figure 13 As shown, the dashed line represents the movement path of the movable vehicle 107.

[0228] In another embodiment of this specification, the control server 100 can send a transport instruction to the second handling device 104 as needed, to transport the mobile carrier 107 to a designated area outside the automated warehouse 106. The second handling device 104 can then transport the mobile carrier 107 to the designated area according to the transport instruction. That is, this specification does not limit the second handling device 104 to operating only within the automated warehouse 106. Since the second handling device 104 operates on a lower platform, it is not restricted by tracks and can more flexibly interface with equipment outside the system or outside the automated warehouse 106 to transport the mobile carrier 107 out or into the warehouse. The external equipment can be worker-controlled forklifts, roller conveyors for transporting the mobile carrier 107, production lines, areas where workers sort goods, etc., and this specification does not impose any limitations on these.

[0229] Furthermore, the system may also include at least one external cache area 122, which may be in the form of at least one of three-dimensional storage or two-dimensional storage, without limitation in this specification. When the external cache area 122 is in the form of three-dimensional storage, a lifting device 108 may also be provided in the external cache area 122 to connect the different layers of the external cache area 122. Of course, if the external cache area 122 is not provided with a lifting device 108, a three-dimensional handling device, such as a forklift, may be used to move the movable carrier 107 of the upper layers of the external cache area 122, and the layout structure of the external cache area 122 may also be as described above. Figure 2 , Figure 4 , Figure 5a , Figure 5b As shown in the figure.

[0230] In this specification, the external buffer area 122 may share at least a portion of the second handling equipment 104 with at least one automated warehouse 106, or the second handling equipment 104 may handle and / or connect mobile vehicles 107 between the external buffer area 122 and at least one automated warehouse 106. For example, when it is necessary to move goods stored in mobile vehicles 107 in the automated warehouse 106 to the external buffer area 122, the control server 100 may send a handling instruction to the second handling equipment, which may then transport the mobile vehicles 107 to the external buffer area 122 for caching.

[0231] The external buffer area 122 can be used to store goods with high inbound and outbound frequency, reducing the frequency of goods inbound and outbound in the automated warehouse 106 and reducing the time occupied by various handling equipment when handling goods with high inbound frequency. Generally speaking, the external buffer area 122 has a smaller storage capacity and a simpler structure than the automated warehouse 106, as long as it can achieve the purpose of buffering goods.

[0232] based on Figure 2 The automated warehouse scheduling system shown in this specification, along with the description of the above-mentioned handling task execution process, demonstrates that the system provided in this specification, by combining first and second handling equipment in the automated warehouse and utilizing the lifting equipment's handling function, enables the first and second handling equipment to cooperate in transporting mobile carriers within the dense storage warehouse. By setting up container loading and unloading equipment to retrieve or place goods into the mobile carriers, which can hold multiple containers, the system improves storage space utilization. The container loading and unloading equipment enables efficient storage and retrieval of containers from the mobile carriers, increasing the sorting efficiency of goods in the automated warehouse, reducing warehouse operating costs, and achieving improved handling efficiency.

[0233] based on Figure 2 To facilitate understanding of the system's operation, this specification also provides a method for scheduling an automated warehouse, such as... Figure 14 As shown.

[0234] Figure 14 This is a flowchart illustrating the automated warehouse scheduling method provided in this specification. There are at least one or more automated warehouses. Each floor of the automated warehouse is connected by at least one lifting device. The automated warehouse has at least two floors. Each floor is connected by at least one lifting device. One or more container loading and unloading devices are installed on the bottom floor. At least some of the bottom floor storage locations are equipped with movable vehicles. Each of the upper floors (excluding the bottom floor) has at least one upper-floor connection point. Each upper floor has tracks for the operation of a first handling device, and at least some of the upper-floor storage locations are equipped with movable vehicles. The automated warehouse scheduling process may specifically include the following steps:

[0235] S200: Determine the transport task to be performed.

[0236] It should be noted that this handling task is used for sorting goods in an automated warehouse, enabling handling equipment to move movable vehicles, and can be determined based on the received orders.

[0237] In this specification, the scheduling of the automated warehouse can be performed by a server. First, the server can determine the handling tasks to be performed.

[0238] S202: Based on the transport task, determine the first transport equipment, the second transport equipment, and the lifting equipment to perform the transport task, and determine the container loading and unloading equipment for loading and unloading containers.

[0239] After determining the handling task to be performed, the server can determine the first handling equipment, the second handling equipment, and the lifting equipment to perform the handling task, as well as the container loading and unloading equipment for loading and unloading containers.

[0240] S204: Send handling instructions to the identified first handling equipment, second handling equipment, and lifting equipment, and send operation instructions to the container loading and unloading equipment, respectively.

[0241] After identifying the various handling and lifting devices, the server can send handling instructions to the identified first handling device, second handling device, and lifting device, and send operation instructions for the goods in the mobile carrier to the container loading and unloading equipment.

[0242] Specifically, the handling instruction is used to instruct the first handling equipment, the second handling equipment, and the lifting equipment to cooperate in moving the mobile carrier from a high-level or low-level storage location in the automated warehouse to a container loading and unloading device located on the low level, or from a container loading and unloading device located on the low level to a high-level or low-level storage location in the automated warehouse. The operation instruction is used to instruct the container loading and unloading device to remove containers from the mobile carrier or place containers into the mobile carrier.

[0243] The first handling equipment, the second handling equipment, and the lifting equipment can cooperate to handle the movable vehicle according to the handling instructions. The container loading and unloading equipment can remove containers from the movable vehicle or place containers into the movable vehicle according to the operation instructions.

[0244] The server can be a single device or multiple devices, such as a distributed server composed of multiple servers. This specification does not limit this. Of course, since there can be one or more automated warehouses, one server can be set up to determine the handling tasks for multiple automated warehouses and schedule the equipment to execute the handling tasks. Alternatively, multiple servers can determine different handling tasks and schedule the equipment to execute the handling tasks. Furthermore, when there are multiple servers, each server can share the determined handling tasks so that multiple servers can cooperate to complete multiple handling tasks.

[0245] In addition, the detailed execution process of this method can be found in the description of the process of performing handling tasks in the above-mentioned automated warehouse scheduling system, which will not be repeated in this specification.

[0246] based on Figure 14 The method shown uses a combination of first and second handling equipment in an automated warehouse, utilizing the lifting equipment's handling function to enable the first and second handling equipment to work together to move goods in a dense storage warehouse. This avoids laying tracks on the warehouse floor, allowing for flexible changes to the warehouse layout, reducing the number of first handling equipment required, lowering warehouse operating costs, and improving handling efficiency.

[0247] In the 1990s, improvements to a technology could be clearly distinguished as either hardware improvements (e.g., improvements to the circuit structure of diodes, transistors, switches, etc.) or software improvements (improvements to the methodology). However, with technological advancements, many methodological improvements today can be considered direct improvements to the hardware circuit structure. Designers almost always obtain the corresponding hardware circuit structure by programming the improved methodology into the hardware circuit. Therefore, it cannot be said that a methodological improvement cannot be implemented using hardware physical modules. For example, a Programmable Logic Device (PLD) (such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)) is such an integrated circuit whose logic function is determined by the user programming the device. Designers can program and "integrate" a digital system onto a PLD themselves, without needing chip manufacturers to design and manufacture dedicated integrated circuit chips. Furthermore, nowadays, instead of manually manufacturing integrated circuit chips, this programming is mostly implemented using "logic compiler" software. Similar to the software compiler used in program development, the original code before compilation must also be written in a specific programming language, called a Hardware Description Language (HDL). There are many HDLs, such as ABEL (Advanced Boolean Expression Language), AHDL (Altera Hardware Description Language), Confluence, CUPL (Cornell University Programming Language), HDCal, JHDL (Java Hardware Description Language), Lava, Lola, MyHDL, PALASM, and RHDL (Ruby Hardware Description Language). Currently, the most commonly used are VHDL (Very-High-Speed ​​Integrated Circuit Hardware Description Language) and Verilog. Those skilled in the art should also understand that by simply performing some logic programming on the method flow using one of these hardware description languages ​​and programming it into an integrated circuit, the hardware circuit implementing the logical method flow can be easily obtained.

[0248] The controller can be implemented in any suitable manner. For example, it can take the form of a microprocessor or processor and a computer-readable medium storing computer-readable program code (e.g., software or firmware) executable by the (micro)processor, logic gates, switches, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic controllers, and embedded microcontrollers. Examples of controllers include, but are not limited to, the following microcontrollers: ARC 625D, Atmel AT91SAM, Microchip PIC18F26K20, and Silicon Labs C8051F320. A memory controller can also be implemented as part of the control logic of the memory. Those skilled in the art will also recognize that, in addition to implementing the controller in purely computer-readable program code form, the same functionality can be achieved by logically programming the method steps to make the controller take the form of logic gates, switches, application-specific integrated circuits, programmable logic controllers, and embedded microcontrollers. Therefore, such a controller can be considered a hardware component, and the means included therein for implementing various functions can also be considered as structures within the hardware component. Alternatively, the means for implementing various functions can be considered as both software modules implementing the method and structures within the hardware component.

[0249] The systems, devices, modules, or units described in the above embodiments can be implemented by computer chips or entities, or by products with certain functions. A typical implementation device is a computer. Specifically, a computer can be, for example, a personal computer, laptop computer, cellular phone, camera phone, smartphone, personal digital assistant, media player, navigation device, email device, game console, tablet computer, wearable device, or any combination of these devices.

[0250] For ease of description, the above devices are described in terms of function, divided into various units. Of course, in implementing this specification, the functions of each unit can be implemented in one or more software and / or hardware components.

[0251] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of the present invention can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present invention can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0252] This invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more blocks of the flowchart illustrations and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0253] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0254] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus, provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0255] In a typical configuration, a computing device includes one or more processors (CPU), input / output interfaces, network interfaces, and memory.

[0256] Memory may include non-persistent storage in computer-readable media, such as random access memory (RAM) and / or non-volatile memory, such as read-only memory (ROM) or flash RAM. Memory is an example of computer-readable media.

[0257] Computer-readable media includes both permanent and non-permanent, removable and non-removable media that can store information using any method or technology. Information can be computer-readable instructions, data structures, modules of programs, or other data. Examples of computer storage media include, but are not limited to, phase-change memory (PRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), other types of random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile optical disc (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic tape, magnetic magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transferable medium that can be used to store information accessible by a computing device. As defined herein, computer-readable media does not include transient computer-readable media, such as modulated data signals and carrier waves.

[0258] It should also be noted that the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0259] Those skilled in the art will understand that the embodiments of this specification can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this specification may take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this specification may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0260] This specification can be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions that are executed by a computer, such as program modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform a specific task or implement a specific abstract data type. This specification can also be practiced in distributed computing environments, where tasks are performed by remote processing devices connected via a communication network. In distributed computing environments, program modules can reside in local and remote computer storage media, including storage devices.

[0261] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to interchangeably. Each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments. In particular, the system embodiments are basically similar to the method embodiments, so the description is relatively simple; relevant parts can be referred to the descriptions in the method embodiments.

[0262] The above description is merely an embodiment of this specification and is not intended to limit this specification. Various modifications and variations can be made to this specification by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this specification should be included within the scope of the claims of this specification.

Claims

1. A three-dimensional warehouse scheduling system, characterized in that, The system includes: one or more control servers, one or more first handling devices, one or more second handling devices, at least one automated warehouse, at least one lifting device, and one or more container loading and unloading devices. One of the automated warehouses has at least two floors, and the floors are connected by the at least one lifting device. The control server communicates with the first handling device and the second handling device respectively. At least a portion of the bottom storage units in the automated warehouse are provided with movable vehicles for carrying one or more containers. The automated warehouse, excluding the ground floor, has at least one high-level connection point on each of its upper floors. Each upper floor is equipped with a track for the first handling equipment to run on, and at least some of the upper-level storage spaces are equipped with movable vehicles. The control server is used to determine the first handling device, the second handling device, and the lifting device to perform the handling task according to the handling task, and send handling instructions to the first handling device, the second handling device, and the lifting device to perform the handling task respectively, and determine the container loading and unloading device to perform the container loading and unloading device to perform the picking task or the storage task corresponding to the handling task. The first handling device is used to retrieve or place a movable vehicle indicated by the handling instruction in the high-level storage location according to the handling instruction sent by the control server, and to transport the movable vehicle indicated by the handling instruction between the high-level storage location and the high-level connection point. The second handling device is used to retrieve or place the movable vehicle indicated by the handling instruction in the bottom storage location according to the handling instruction sent by the control server, and to handle the movable vehicle indicated by the handling instruction between the lifting device and the bottom storage location, between the lifting device and the container loading and unloading device, or between the bottom storage location and the container loading and unloading device. The lifting device is used to rise or fall to a designated floor according to the transport instructions sent by the control server, and to transport at least one or more combinations of the movable vehicle indicated by the transport instructions, the first transport device, and the second transport device between each floor; The container loading and unloading equipment is used to remove containers from the movable carrier transported by the second handling equipment, or to place containers in the movable carrier transported by the second handling equipment, according to the operation instructions sent by the control server. The lifting device is equipped with a track for connecting with the track in the high-rise building, so that the first transport device can travel into the lifting device; The container loading and unloading equipment is also provided on at least some floors of the high-rise building, and the high-rise connection points are respectively located near the container loading and unloading equipment on the high-rise building and inside the lifting equipment; The first handling device is further configured to handle the movable vehicle between the high-level storage location and the high-level connection point near the container loading and unloading equipment location, or to handle the collection vehicle between the high-level connection point near the container loading and unloading equipment location and the high-level connection point within the lifting device. The container loading and unloading equipment is also used to remove containers from the mobile carrier and place them in the collection carrier, or to remove containers from the collection carrier and place them in the mobile carrier.

2. The system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The container loading and unloading equipment includes a first sensor, which is used to determine whether there is a container in the corresponding container position in the mobile carrier when the container is taken out of the mobile carrier, or to determine whether the corresponding container position in the mobile carrier is empty when the container is placed in the mobile carrier.

3. The system as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The container loading and unloading equipment includes a second sensor, which is used to determine the positional deviation between the container loading and unloading equipment and the corresponding container position in the movable carrier.

4. The system as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The container loading and unloading equipment is further configured to adjust the posture of the container loading and unloading equipment and eliminate the posture deviation based on the posture deviation between the container loading and unloading equipment and the corresponding container position determined by the second sensor.

5. The system as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The first sensor and the second sensor are the same sensor.

6. The system as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The first sensor and the second sensor are image sensors.

7. The system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The control server is also used to schedule at least one of the first handling equipment, the second handling equipment, and the lifting equipment to return the mobile vehicle to its original storage location or other storage location in the automated warehouse.

8. The system as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The control server is further configured to determine the activity level of the mobile vehicle based on at least one of the loading and unloading frequency and the quantity of goods stored on the mobile vehicle, and to determine the storage location of the mobile vehicle when it returns to the automated warehouse based on the ranking of the activity levels of the mobile vehicles.

9. The system as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The control server is further configured to determine the storage location of the mobile vehicle when it returns to the automated warehouse based on the distance between the container loading / unloading equipment and the available storage location.

10. The system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The control server is also configured to, in response to a sorting task, schedule at least one of the first handling equipment, the second handling equipment, and the lifting equipment to move the movable vehicle from its original storage location in the automated warehouse to another storage location or keep its original storage location unchanged.

11. The system as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that, The control server is further configured to determine the activity level of the mobile vehicle based on at least one of the loading and unloading frequency and the quantity of goods stored on the mobile vehicle, and to determine the storage location of the mobile vehicle after its position is adjusted during cargo handling based on the ranking of the activity levels of the mobile vehicle.

12. The system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The container loading and unloading equipment is located in the bottom workstation. The workstation also includes a conveyor line and a picking station. The container loading and unloading equipment is installed at the inlet and outlet of the conveyor line, and the picking station is located in the conveyor path of the conveyor line. The container loading and unloading equipment located at the entrance of the transmission line is also used to remove containers from a movable carrier located at the entrance and place them on the transmission line; The container loading and unloading equipment located at the outlet of the transmission line is also used to acquire the containers transported by the transmission line and place them in the movable carrier located at the outlet.

13. The system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The height of the track used to store the movable vehicle is greater than the height of the first handling device when it is not carrying the movable vehicle; the first handling device is further used to drive under the high-level storage position and carry the movable vehicle away from the high-level storage position in a back-carry manner.

14. The system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, When the automated warehouse contains multiple lifting devices, there is at least overlap between the designated floors that the multiple lifting devices can reach.

15. The system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The control server is also used to determine, at least in part, the number of first handling devices required by each high layer based on the handling tasks to be performed by each high layer, and to determine the first handling devices that each high layer needs to call based on the number of first handling devices required by each high layer and the current number of first handling devices in each high layer, and to send a call instruction to the first handling devices that need to be called. The first transport device is also used to travel into the lifting device according to the received call instruction, and reach the high floor specified by the call instruction via the lifting device.

16. The system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The high-rise connection point is located inside the lifting equipment; The first transport device is further configured to travel to a high-level connection point within the lifting device, place the movable vehicle at the high-level connection point, or remove the movable vehicle from the high-level connection point.

17. The system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The movable carrier includes legs, and the height of the opening formed by the legs of the movable carrier is higher than the height of the second handling device when it is not carrying the movable carrier; The second handling device is further configured to selectively travel under at least a portion of the movable vehicle when not carrying the movable vehicle, or to carry the movable vehicle away from the bottom storage location in a back-carry manner from under the at least a portion of the movable vehicle.

18. The system as claimed in claim 17, characterized in that, The spacing between the columns of at least a portion of the bottom storage units in the automated warehouse is greater than the width of the second handling equipment, and the height of the lowest point of the connector between at least a portion of two adjacent columns in the bottom layer of the automated warehouse is higher than the height of the second handling equipment when it is not carrying the movable vehicle; the second handling equipment is further configured to selectively travel between at least a portion of two adjacent columns in the bottom layer when it is not carrying the movable vehicle.

19. The system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The second transport device is used to enter the bottom storage location at a location adjacent to the bottom storage location, take out the movable carrier from the bottom storage location and transfer it to the second transport device, or place the movable carrier on the second transport device into the bottom storage location.

20. The system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The automated warehouse has at least one ground-level connection point on its ground floor; The second handling device is also used to handle the movable vehicle indicated by the handling instruction between the underlying storage location and the underlying connection point or between the lifting device and the underlying connection point, according to the handling instruction sent by the control server.

21. The system as claimed in claim 20, characterized in that, The designated area on the ground floor of the automated warehouse has at least one ground floor connection point. The second handling device is used to remove the movable vehicle from the bottom storage location or the lifting device, and transport the movable vehicle to the bottom docking point, and place the movable vehicle in the designated area; or, to remove the movable vehicle from the bottom docking point of the designated area, and transport the movable vehicle to the bottom storage location or the lifting device.

22. The system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The system further includes: one or more external caches, wherein the external caches are in the form of at least one of three-dimensional storage or planar storage; The external buffer area shares at least part of the second handling equipment with the at least one automated warehouse, or the second handling equipment handles and / or connects the mobile vehicle between the external buffer area and the at least one automated warehouse; The control server is also used to store the external cache area and the inventory information of goods in the at least one automated warehouse.

23. The system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The container loading and unloading equipment removes the container from the movable carrier or places the container in the movable carrier by at least one of the following methods: suction, pushing, clamping, grabbing, hooking, lifting, and raising.

24. The system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The movable carrier is a movable shelf, which includes at least one partition that divides the movable shelf into at least two layers. Each partition of the movable shelf is provided with at least one storage space, and each storage space can hold at least one first container capable of holding stored goods.

25. A method for handling and scheduling in an automated warehouse, characterized in that, The automated warehouse comprises at least one or more units, has at least two floors, and is connected to each floor by at least one lifting device. One or more container loading and unloading devices are installed on the bottom floor, and at least a portion of the bottom floor storage spaces are equipped with movable vehicles. Each of the upper floors (excluding the bottom floor) has at least one upper floor connection point. Each upper floor has tracks for a first handling device to run on, and at least a portion of the upper floor storage spaces are equipped with the movable vehicles. The lifting device has internal tracks for connecting to the tracks in the upper floors, allowing the first handling device to travel into the lifting device. The method includes: Identify the transportation tasks to be performed; Based on the transport task, a first transport device, a second transport device, and a lifting device for performing the transport task are determined, as well as a container loading and unloading device for loading and unloading containers are determined. Send handling instructions to the identified first handling equipment, second handling equipment, and lifting equipment, and send operation instructions to the container loading and unloading equipment, respectively; The handling instruction is used to cause the first handling equipment, the second handling equipment, and the lifting equipment to cooperate in moving the mobile vehicle from the upper or lower storage position of the automated warehouse to the container loading and unloading equipment set on the lower level, or to move the mobile vehicle from the container loading and unloading equipment set on the lower level to the upper or lower storage position of the automated warehouse. The operating instructions are used to instruct the container loading and unloading equipment to remove containers from the mobile carrier or place containers in the mobile carrier; The container loading and unloading equipment is provided on at least some of the upper floors. The upper floor connection points are respectively located near the container loading and unloading equipment on the upper floor and inside the lifting equipment. The handling command is also used to cause the first handling equipment to move the movable vehicle between the upper floor storage location and the upper floor connection point near the container loading and unloading equipment location, or to move the collection vehicle between the upper floor connection point near the container loading and unloading equipment location and the upper floor connection point inside the lifting equipment. The operation command is also used to cause the container loading and unloading equipment to take out the container from the movable vehicle and place it in the collection vehicle, or to take out the container from the collection vehicle and place it in the movable vehicle.

Images