A magazine taking and placing method, device and equipment

Abstract

The application provides a bin taking and placing method, device and equipment. The method comprises the following steps: receiving an operation instruction for a first bin sent by a scheduling server; if the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from a first storage position to a robot or move the first bin from the robot to the first storage position, and a second bin exists in a second storage position, then the second bin is moved to a target storage position of a target shelf; the target storage position is an inner storage position of the second storage position; and an association relationship between the second bin and the target storage position is sent to the scheduling server, so that the scheduling server stores the association relationship between the second bin and the target storage position. Through the technical scheme of the application, the operation efficiency can be improved, the operation time consumption can be reduced, and the user experience can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of intelligent warehousing technology, and in particular to a method, apparatus and equipment for picking up and placing bins. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, various types of robots (such as mobile robots) have developed rapidly in terms of technology and the market. Robots can be automated machines that perform tasks, relying on their own power and control capabilities to achieve various functions. Robots can be commanded by humans, run pre-programmed routines, and act according to strategies developed using artificial intelligence. For example, a user can control a robot to perform related operations using a manual remote control, which can wirelessly send operation commands to the robot. After receiving the command, the robot executes the specified action to complete the relevant function.

[0003] With the rapid development of robotics technology, robots are increasingly being used in logistics, warehousing, and factory production, such as transporting boxes. When using robots to transport boxes, multiple boxes can be placed on the same shelf, meaning a single shelf can hold multiple boxes.

[0004] When the same shelf carries multiple bins, both the inbound and outbound processes of the bins suffer from problems such as long operation time, poor operation efficiency, and poor user experience. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a method for picking up and placing a toy bin. The target shelf includes a first compartment and a second compartment, wherein the second compartment is an outer compartment of the first compartment. The method is applied to a robot and includes:

[0006] Receive operation instructions for the first material bin sent by the scheduling server;

[0007] If the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the first compartment to the robot or to move the first bin from the robot to the first compartment, and the second compartment contains a second bin, then the second bin is moved to the target compartment of the target shelf; wherein the target compartment is the inner compartment of the second compartment;

[0008] The association between the second material bin and the target storage location is sent to the scheduling server so that the scheduling server stores the association between the second material bin and the target storage location.

[0009] For example, if the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the first storage location to the robot, the robot includes at least two empty locations, and the at least two empty locations include an idle location and a target location, moving the second bin to the target storage location of the target shelf includes:

[0010] Move the second hopper from the second compartment to the robot's idle position;

[0011] Move the first material bin from the first compartment to the target position of the robot;

[0012] The second bin is moved from the robot to the target storage location on the target shelf.

[0013] For example, if the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the robot to the first storage location, moving the second bin to the target storage location of the target shelf includes:

[0014] Move the second bin from the second compartment to the target compartment of the target shelf;

[0015] The first bin is moved from the robot to a candidate storage location on the target shelf; wherein the candidate storage location is an outer storage location of the target storage location.

[0016] For example, after moving the first bin from the robot to a candidate storage location on the target shelf, the method further includes: sending the association between the first bin and the candidate storage location to a scheduling server, so that the scheduling server stores the association between the first bin and the candidate storage location.

[0017] For example, for a double-deep rack, the double-deep rack includes an inner storage space and an outer storage space, the target storage space is the inner storage space of the double-deep rack, and the candidate storage space is the outer storage space of the double-deep rack; for a multi-deep rack, the multi-deep rack includes at least three storage spaces, the target storage space is the first empty storage space in the inner storage space direction of the second storage space of the multi-deep rack, and the candidate storage space is the first empty storage space in the outer storage space direction of the target storage space of the multi-deep rack.

[0018] For example, if the operation instruction is used to move multiple boxes to be shipped from the shelf to the robot, and the multiple boxes to be shipped are located on K shelves, where K is a positive integer greater than 1, the method further includes: for each of the K shelves, determining the sorting parameter corresponding to the shelf, and sorting the K shelves based on the sorting parameter corresponding to each shelf;

[0019] Based on the sorting results, each of the K shelves is traversed sequentially. For the currently traversed shelf, the material boxes to be shipped out on the shelf are moved from the shelf to the robot.

[0020] For example, the sorting parameters corresponding to the shelves include: the number of full storage positions in the outer storage direction of the material box to be shipped from the shelf; sorting the K shelves based on the sorting parameters corresponding to each shelf includes: sorting the K shelves in descending order of the number of full storage positions corresponding to each shelf.

[0021] This application provides a bin loading and unloading device. The target shelf includes a first compartment and a second compartment, wherein the second compartment is an outer compartment of the first compartment. The device is applied to a robot and includes:

[0022] The receiving module is used to receive operation instructions for the first material box sent by the scheduling server;

[0023] The processing module is configured to, if the operation instruction is to move the first material box from the first storage location to the robot or to move the first material box from the robot to the first storage location, and the second storage location contains a second material box, then move the second material box to the target storage location of the target shelf; wherein the target storage location is the inner storage location of the second storage location;

[0024] The sending module is used to send the association between the second material bin and the target hopper to the scheduling server, so that the scheduling server stores the association between the second material bin and the target hopper.

[0025] For example, if the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the first compartment to the robot, and the robot includes at least two empty positions, and the at least two empty positions include an idle position and a target position, the processing module moving the second bin to the target compartment of the target shelf is specifically used to: move the second bin from the second compartment to the idle position of the robot, move the first bin from the first compartment to the target position of the robot, and move the second bin from the robot to the target compartment of the target shelf.

[0026] For example, if the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the robot to the first storage location, the processing module moving the second bin to the target storage location of the target shelf is specifically used to: move the second bin from the second storage location to the target storage location of the target shelf, and move the first bin from the robot to a candidate storage location of the target shelf; wherein, the candidate storage location is an outer storage location of the target storage location.

[0027] For example, after the sending module moves the first bin from the robot to the candidate storage location of the target shelf, it is further configured to: send the association between the first bin and the candidate storage location to the scheduling server, so that the scheduling server stores the association between the first bin and the candidate storage location.

[0028] For example, for a double-deep rack, the double-deep rack includes an inner storage space and an outer storage space, the target storage space is the inner storage space of the double-deep rack, and the candidate storage space is the outer storage space of the double-deep rack; for a multi-deep rack, the multi-deep rack includes at least three storage spaces, the target storage space is the first empty storage space in the inner storage space direction of the second storage space of the multi-deep rack, and the candidate storage space is the first empty storage space in the outer storage space direction of the target storage space of the multi-deep rack.

[0029] For example, if the operation instruction is used to move multiple outbound bins from the shelf to the robot, and the multiple outbound bins are located on K shelves, where K is a positive integer greater than 1, the processing module is further configured to determine the sorting parameters corresponding to each of the K shelves, and sort the K shelves based on the sorting parameters corresponding to each shelf; based on the sorting results of the K shelves, traverse each of the K shelves sequentially, and for the currently traversed shelf, move the outbound bins on the shelf from the shelf to the robot.

[0030] For example, the sorting parameters corresponding to the shelves include: the number of full storage positions in the outer storage direction of the material box to be shipped from the shelf; when the processing module sorts the K shelves based on the sorting parameters corresponding to each shelf, it is specifically used to: sort the K shelves in descending order of the number of full storage positions corresponding to each shelf, and obtain the sorting result of the K shelves.

[0031] This application provides an electronic device, including: a processor and a machine-readable storage medium, the machine-readable storage medium storing machine-executable instructions that can be executed by the processor; the processor is used to execute the machine-executable instructions to implement the bin loading and unloading method of the above example.

[0032] As can be seen from the above technical solutions, in the embodiments of this application, if the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the first storage location to the robot or to the robot to the first storage location, and the second storage location (the second storage location is the outer storage location of the first storage location) contains the second bin, then by moving the second bin to the target storage location of the target shelf (the target storage location can be the inner storage location of the second storage location), the operation efficiency is improved, the operation time is reduced, and the user experience is improved. For example, if the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the first storage location to the robot (i.e., for the outbound process of the first bin), by moving the second bin to the target storage location of the target shelf, the exchange of bins between the inner and outer storage locations can be realized, reducing the ineffective movement of the robot, thereby improving the outbound efficiency of the bins, reducing the outbound time of the bins, facilitating the next bin inbound, and facilitating the manual inventory work in the warehouse. If the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the robot to the first storage location (i.e., the warehousing process for the first bin), by moving the second bin to the target storage location of the target shelf, the exchange of bins between the inner and outer storage locations can be realized, reducing the robot's ineffective movements and actions, thereby improving the efficiency of bin warehousing, reducing the bin warehousing time, and also benefiting manual warehouse management. Attached Figure Description

[0033] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments of this application or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings of the embodiments of this application.

[0034] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating a bin loading and unloading method according to one embodiment of this application;

[0035] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the robot in one embodiment of this application;

[0036] Figure 3A This is a schematic diagram of a double-deep shelving unit according to one embodiment of this application;

[0037] Figure 3B This is a schematic diagram of a multi-depth shelving unit according to one embodiment of this application;

[0038] Figure 4 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating the warehousing process for the first material box in one embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating the outbound process of the first material box in one embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 6This is a flowchart illustrating the outbound process of a material bin according to one embodiment of this application.

[0041] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the material bin loading and unloading device in one embodiment of this application;

[0042] Figure 8 This is a hardware structure diagram of an electronic device according to one embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0043] The terminology used in the embodiments of this application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the application. The singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” as used in this application and claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term “and / or” as used herein refers to any and all possible combinations comprising one or more of the associated listed items.

[0044] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used to describe various information in embodiments of this application, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from one another. For example, without departing from the scope of this application, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information. Depending on the context, the word "if" may also be interpreted as "when," "when," or "in response to a determination."

[0045] This application proposes a method for picking up and placing a toy bin. The target shelf may include a first compartment and a second compartment, where the second compartment may be an outer compartment of the first compartment. This method can be applied to robots. See [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 1 The diagram shown is a flowchart of the method, which may include:

[0046] Step 101: Receive the operation instructions for the first material box sent by the scheduling server.

[0047] Step 102: If the operation instruction is used to move the first material box from the first storage location to the robot (i.e., the operation instruction is an outbound operation instruction) or to move the first material box from the robot to the first storage location (i.e., the operation instruction is an inbound operation instruction), and the second storage location contains the second material box, then move the second material box to the target storage location of the target shelf; wherein, the target storage location is the inner storage location of the second storage location.

[0048] Step 103: Send the association between the second material bin and the target bin to the scheduling server so that the scheduling server stores the association between the second material bin and the target bin.

[0049] For example, if the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the first storage location to the robot (i.e., the outbound process), and the robot includes at least two empty locations, and the at least two empty locations include an idle location and a target location, then moving the second bin to the target storage location of the target shelf may include, but is not limited to: moving the second bin from the second storage location to an idle location of the robot; moving the first bin from the first storage location to the target location of the robot; and moving the second bin from the robot to the target storage location of the target shelf.

[0050] For example, if the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the robot to the first storage location (i.e., the warehousing process) and move the second bin to the target storage location of the target shelf, it may include, but is not limited to: moving the second bin from the second storage location to the target storage location of the target shelf; moving the first bin from the robot to a candidate storage location of the target shelf, wherein the candidate storage location is the outer storage location of the target storage location.

[0051] For example, in the warehousing process, after the first bin is moved from the robot to the candidate storage location of the target shelf, the association between the first bin and the candidate storage location can be sent to the scheduling server so that the scheduling server stores the association between the first bin and the candidate storage location.

[0052] For example, for double-deep racking, the double-deep racking may include inner storage locations and outer storage locations. The target storage location may be an inner storage location of the double-deep racking, and the candidate storage location may be an outer storage location of the double-deep racking. Alternatively, for multi-deep racking, the multi-deep racking may include at least three storage locations. The target storage location may be the first empty storage location in the inner storage direction of the second storage location of the multi-deep racking, and the candidate storage location may be the first empty storage location in the outer storage direction of the target storage location of the multi-deep racking.

[0053] In one possible implementation, the operation instruction is used to move the bin from the storage location to the robot and / or move the bin from the robot to the storage location. Based on this, if the operation instruction is only used to move the first bin from the first storage location to the robot, i.e., the operation instruction is an outbound operation instruction, the outbound process can be implemented in the above manner. Alternatively, if the operation instruction is only used to move the first bin from the robot to the first storage location, i.e., the operation instruction is an inbound operation instruction, the inbound process can be implemented in the above manner. Or, if the operation instruction is used to move a bin A from the storage location to the robot, and the operation instruction is used to move a bin B from the robot to the storage location, i.e., the operation instruction is both an outbound operation instruction and an inbound operation instruction, the outbound and inbound processes can be implemented in the above manner. For example, the outbound process can be implemented first, and the inbound process can be implemented in the above manner after the outbound process is completed; or, the inbound process can be implemented first, and the outbound process can be implemented in the above manner after the inbound process is completed.

[0054] In one possible implementation, if the operation instruction is used to move multiple outbound bins from the shelf to the robot, and the multiple outbound bins are located on K shelves, where K is a positive integer greater than 1, then: for each of the K shelves, determine the sorting parameter corresponding to the shelf, and sort the K shelves based on the sorting parameter corresponding to each shelf; based on the sorting result, traverse each of the K shelves in turn, and for the currently traversed shelf, move the outbound bins on the shelf from the shelf to the robot.

[0055] For example, the sorting parameters corresponding to the shelf may include, but are not limited to: the number of full storage spaces in the outer compartment direction of the material box to be shipped from the shelf (a full storage space is a storage space where the material box is placed). Based on this, sorting the K shelves according to the sorting parameters corresponding to each shelf may include, but are not limited to: sorting the K shelves in descending order of the number of full storage spaces corresponding to each shelf.

[0056] As can be seen from the above technical solutions, in the embodiments of this application, if the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the first storage location to the robot or to the first storage location, and the second storage location (the second storage location is the outer storage location of the first storage location) contains the second bin, then by moving the second bin to the target storage location of the target shelf (the target storage location can be the first empty storage location in the direction of the inner storage location of the second storage location), the operation efficiency is improved, the operation time is reduced, and the user experience is improved. For example, if the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the first storage location to the robot (i.e., for the outbound process of the first bin), by moving the second bin to the target storage location of the target shelf, the exchange of bins between the inner and outer storage locations can be realized, reducing the ineffective movement of the robot, thereby improving the outbound efficiency of the bins, reducing the outbound time of the bins, facilitating the next bin inbound, and facilitating the manual inventory work in the warehouse. If the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the robot to the first storage location (i.e., the warehousing process for the first bin), by moving the second bin to the target storage location of the target shelf, the exchange of bins between the inner and outer storage locations can be realized, reducing the robot's ineffective movements and actions, thereby improving the efficiency of bin warehousing, reducing the bin warehousing time, and also benefiting manual warehouse management.

[0057] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be described below in conjunction with specific application scenarios.

[0058] A robot (such as a mobile robot) can be a machine device that performs work automatically. It is a machine that relies on its own power and control capabilities to achieve various functions. In this embodiment, there is no restriction on the type of robot. It can be any type of robot, as long as the robot can realize the function of moving the material box.

[0059] For example, the robot can be an AGV (Automatic Guided Vehicle) or other types of robots. Among them, an AGV is a transport vehicle with electromagnetic or optical automatic guidance devices, capable of traveling along a prescribed guidance path, and having safety protection, movement, and cargo carrying functions.

[0060] See Figure 2 The diagram shown is a structural schematic of a robot (such as a mobile robot). The robot may include a mobile base and a material bin location (in...). Figure 2 Taking a 7-bin location as an example, each bin location can hold at least one bin, along with a lifting device and a conveying device. For instance, the robot's movement can be controlled by the movable base, the conveying device can be controlled to rise or fall by the lifting device, the conveying device can move bins from the shelf to the robot (i.e., a bin location on the robot), or the conveying device can move bins from the robot (e.g., a bin location on the robot) to the shelf.

[0061] A shelf can be a carrier for placing boxes. A shelf can include at least two compartments, each of which can store at least one box (taking one box per compartment as an example). A compartment is a shelf shelf, and one box can be stored in one compartment. An empty compartment is one without a box, and a full compartment is one with a box. A box is a container for storing materials (i.e., goods). In this embodiment, it is referred to as a box, but in some scenarios, it can also be called goods, target items, etc., without limitation.

[0062] Based on the number of storage locations on the racks, racks can be classified into double-deep racks and multi-deep racks. See also Figure 3A The diagram shows a double-deep shelving system. The shelving system can include two storage compartments, each holding two tote boxes. These two compartments can be distinguished as inner and outer compartments. For example, the left compartment may be the inner compartment and the right compartment the outer compartment, or vice versa. For simplicity, we will use the left compartment as the inner compartment and the right compartment as the outer compartment as an example. When moving the tote boxes in the inner compartment (e.g., moving a tote box from the inner compartment to the robot, or moving a tote box from the robot to the inner compartment), the outer compartment must be empty.

[0063] See Figure 3BThe diagram shows a multi-depth shelving system. The shelving system can include N storage locations, each storing N boxes, where N is a positive integer greater than 2. These N storage locations can be divided into inner and outer layers. For example, the left storage location is an inner layer, and the right storage location is an outer layer, or vice versa. For simplicity, we will use the example of the left storage location being an inner layer and the right storage location being an outer layer. For instance, we can label the storage locations from left to right as Storage Location 1, Storage Location 2, ..., Storage Location N. Storage Location 1 is an inner layer storage location from Storage Location 2 to Storage Location N, and Storage Locations 2 to Storage Location N are all outer layer storage locations of Storage Location 1. Storage Location 2 is an inner layer storage location from Storage Location 3 to Storage Location N, and Storage Locations 3 to Storage Location N are all outer layer storage locations of Storage Location 2, and so on. When moving the hopper of the Mth layer (M can be less than N) (e.g., moving the hopper of the Mth layer to the robot, or moving the hopper on the robot to the Mth layer), the outer layer of the Mth layer must be an empty hopper.

[0064] This application proposes a method for picking up and placing a toy bin. After receiving an operation instruction from a scheduling server for a first toy bin, if the operation instruction is to move the first toy bin from a first storage location to the robot or from the robot to the first storage location, and a second toy bin exists in a second storage location (the second storage location is the outermost storage location of the first storage location), then the second toy bin is moved to the target storage location on the target shelf. The target storage location is the first empty storage location in the innermost storage location direction of the second storage location. By moving the second toy bin to the target storage location on the target shelf, operational efficiency can be improved, operational time can be reduced, and user experience can be enhanced.

[0065] For the outbound process of the first bin, by moving the second bin to the target location on the target shelf, bin exchange between the inner and outer locations can be achieved, reducing unnecessary robot movements and improving outbound efficiency. For the inbound process of the first bin, by moving the second bin to the target location on the target shelf, bin exchange between the inner and outer locations can be achieved, reducing unnecessary robot movements and actions, and improving inbound efficiency.

[0066] In one possible implementation, for the warehousing process of the first bin, i.e., moving the first bin from the robot to the target shelf, this application proposes a bin retrieval and placement method. For example, the target shelf may include a first storage location and a second storage location. The second storage location is the outer storage location of the first storage location, the first storage location is empty, and the second storage location contains the second bin. For the warehousing process of the first bin, it is necessary to move the first bin from the robot to the first storage location of the target shelf (i.e., the inner storage location of the second storage location).

[0067] For double-deep shelving, when the robot moves the first bin, since the target position of the first bin is the inner storage compartment (first storage compartment), and the second bin is in the outer storage compartment (second storage compartment), the second bin can be moved to the inner storage compartment, and then the first bin can be moved to the outer storage compartment. This completes the exchange of bin positions, thereby reducing the robot's movements and improving bin storage efficiency.

[0068] For multi-depth shelving, when the robot moves the first bin, since the target location of the first bin is an inner storage location (first storage location), and the first storage location corresponds to one or more outer storage locations (these outer storage locations are all referred to as second storage locations), and each second storage location contains a second bin (that is, there are one or more bins in the outer storage locations of the inner storage locations), the second bins of all the second storage locations can be moved to an empty inner storage location. Then, the first bin is moved to the first empty storage location outside the second bin, ensuring that there are no empty storage locations between bins. That is, the outer storage locations can be empty, while the inner storage locations all contain bins. This completes the exchange of bin positions, thereby reducing the robot's movements and improving bin storage efficiency.

[0069] See Figure 4 The diagram shown is a flowchart illustrating the warehousing process for the first material bin. This process includes:

[0070] Step 401: The scheduling server determines that the storage location of the first material box is the first location of the target shelf.

[0071] Step 402: The scheduling server sends an operation instruction (i.e., an inbound operation instruction) to the robot. This operation instruction is used to move the first material box from the robot to the first storage position of the target shelf.

[0072] For example, the scheduling server can send operation instructions to the robot. The type of operation instruction can be an inbound operation. After receiving the operation instruction, if the robot knows that the type of operation instruction is an inbound operation, it will determine that the operation instruction is used to move the bin from the robot to the shelf.

[0073] The operation instructions may also include a unique identifier for the first bin and a unique identifier for the first storage location. The robot locates the first bin from all its bins based on the unique identifier of the first bin, and locates the first storage location from all its storage locations based on the unique identifier of the first storage location. After obtaining the first bin and the first storage location, the robot can move the first bin from the robot to the first storage location on the target shelf.

[0074] Step 403: The robot receives the operation instruction sent by the scheduling server and determines, based on the operation instruction, that the first bin needs to be moved from the robot to the first compartment of the target shelf.

[0075] For example, after receiving the operation instruction, if the robot knows that the operation instruction is of the inbound operation type, it determines that the bin needs to be moved from the robot to the shelf. If the operation instruction includes a unique identifier for the first bin and a unique identifier for the first storage location, the robot finds the first bin based on the unique identifier of the first bin and the first storage location based on the unique identifier of the first storage location. After knowing the first bin and the first storage location, the robot determines that the first bin needs to be moved from the robot to the first storage location of the target shelf.

[0076] Step 404: If the target shelf has an outer compartment of the first compartment (such as the second compartment) and the second compartment has a second material box, the robot will move the second material box from the second compartment to the target compartment of the target shelf, and the target compartment is the first empty compartment in the direction of the inner compartment of the second compartment.

[0077] Step 405: After moving the second bin to the target location, the robot moves the first bin from the robot to the candidate location of the target shelf. The candidate location is the first empty location in the outermost direction of the target location.

[0078] In one possible implementation, if the target shelf does not have an outer compartment of the first compartment, that is, the first compartment is the outermost compartment of the target shelf, the robot can directly move the first bin from the robot to the first compartment of the target shelf, thus ending the warehousing process of the first bin, without any restrictions on this process.

[0079] In one possible implementation, if the target shelf has an outer compartment (such as a second compartment) of the first compartment and the second compartment is empty, the robot can directly move the first bin from the robot to the first compartment of the target shelf, thus ending the warehousing process of the first bin. There are no restrictions on this process.

[0080] In one possible implementation, if the target shelf has an outer compartment (such as a second compartment) of the first compartment and the second compartment has a second material box, the robot can move the second material box from the second compartment to the target compartment of the target shelf and move the first material box from the robot to the candidate compartment of the target shelf.

[0081] The target position can be the first empty position in the direction of the inner layer of the second position (i.e., from the second position towards the inner layer). The candidate position can be the first empty position in the direction of the outer layer of the target position (i.e., from the target position towards the outer layer). For example, taking the left-side position as the inner layer and the right-side position as the outer layer, then: the target position is the first empty position to the left of the second position, that is, the first empty position found to the left of the second position is the target position. The candidate position is the first empty position to the right of the target position, that is, the first empty position found to the right of the target position is the candidate position.

[0082] For double-deep shelving, the two storage locations from left to right are designated as Storage Location 1 and Storage Location 2, with Storage Location 1 being the first storage location and Storage Location 2 being the second storage location. The target storage location is Storage Location 1, and the candidate storage location is Storage Location 2.

[0083] For multi-depth shelving, the multiple storage locations from left to right are sequentially labeled as storage location 1, storage location 2, ..., storage location N. When storage location 1 is the first storage location, the storage locations containing material boxes from storage location 2 to storage location N are all second storage locations (there can be at least one second storage location). When storage location 2 is the first storage location, the storage locations containing material boxes from storage location 3 to storage location N are all second storage locations (there can be at least one second storage location), and so on.

[0084] Assuming bin 2 is the first bin, bins 3 and 6 are both the second bins, and bins 4 and 5 are not the second bins because they do not have hoppers, then, since bin 3 is closer to the first bin, we first determine the target bin for bin 3, and then determine the target bin for bin 6. When determining the target bin for bin 3, find the first empty bin to the left of bin 3 as the target bin. For example, if bins 1 and 2 are both empty, then bin 1 is the first empty bin to the left of bin 3, and bin 1 can be used as the target bin for bin 3; if bin 1 is full and bin 2 is empty, then bin 2 is the first empty bin to the left of bin 3, and bin 2 can be used as the target bin for bin 3. When determining the target position for position 6, find the first empty position to the left of position 6 as the target position. For example, if positions 1 and 2 are both fully invested, and positions 3-5 are all empty, then position 3 is the first empty position to the left of position 6, and position 3 can be used as the target position for position 6.

[0085] Assuming the last target position is position 3, the first empty position to the right of position 3 can be used as a candidate position. For example, if positions 1 to 3 are all fully invested, while positions 4 to 6 are all empty, then the first empty position to the right of position 3 is position 4, and position 4 can be used as a candidate position.

[0086] In summary, knowing the target location and candidate locations, the robot can move the second bin from the second location to the target location on the target shelf. After moving the second bin from the second location to the target location, the robot can move the first bin from the robot to the candidate location on the target shelf.

[0087] Step 406: The robot sends a response message to the scheduling server. The response message may include the association between the second bin and the target bin, and the association between the first bin and the candidate bin.

[0088] Step 407: After receiving the response message, the scheduling server stores the association between the second bin and the target bin, and the association between the first bin and the candidate bin.

[0089] For example, the scheduling server originally stores the association between the second bin and the second storage location (such as the association between the unique identifier of the second bin and the unique identifier of the second storage location) and the association between the first bin and the first storage location (such as the association between the unique identifier of the first bin and the unique identifier of the first storage location). After receiving the response message, the scheduling server parses the association between the second bin and the target storage location and the association between the first bin and the candidate storage location from the response message. Then, it updates the association between the second bin and the second storage location to the association between the second bin and the target storage location (such as the association between the unique identifier of the second bin and the unique identifier of the target storage location), and updates the association between the first bin and the first storage location to the association between the first bin and the candidate storage location (such as the association between the unique identifier of the first bin and the unique identifier of the candidate storage location).

[0090] In one possible implementation, for the outbound process of the first material box, i.e., moving the first material box from the target shelf to the robot, this application proposes a material box retrieval and placement method. For example, the target shelf may include a first storage location and a second storage location, where the second storage location is the outer storage location of the first storage location. The first storage location contains the first material box, and the second storage location contains the second material box. For the outbound process of the first material box, it is necessary to move the first material box from the first storage location (i.e., the inner storage location of the second storage location) of the target shelf to the robot.

[0091] For double-deep shelving, when the robot moves the first bin, it must have at least two empty positions (one for the first bin and the other for the second bin). Since the first bin is located in the inner storage position (first storage position) and the second bin is located in the outer storage position (second storage position), the robot moves the second bin to its empty position, then moves the first bin to its target position, and finally moves the second bin from the robot to the inner storage position of the target shelving. The outer storage position of the target shelving is then empty, completing the migration of the second bin. This facilitates the next bin entry into the warehouse and the manual inventory count.

[0092] For multi-depth shelving, when the robot moves the first bin, it must have at least two empty positions (one for the first bin and the other for the second bin; if there are multiple second bins, there must also be multiple empty positions). Since the first bin is located in the inner storage area (first storage area), and the first storage area corresponds to one or more outer storage areas (these outer storage areas are all referred to as second storage areas), and each second storage area contains a second bin (i.e., there are one or more bins in the outer storage areas of the inner storage areas), the robot moves all the second bins to its empty positions, then moves the first bins to the robot's target position, and moves each second bin from the robot to the inner storage area of ​​the target shelving. The outer storage areas are empty, and it is ensured that there are no empty storage areas between bins within the storage area. The outer storage areas are empty, and all inner storage areas contain bins, which facilitates the next bin entry and also facilitates manual inventory counting in the warehouse.

[0093] See Figure 5 The diagram shown is a flowchart illustrating the outbound process for the first material bin. This process includes:

[0094] Step 501: The scheduling server determines that the location of the first material box is the first location of the target shelf.

[0095] Step 502: The scheduling server sends an operation instruction (i.e., an outbound operation instruction) to the robot. This operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the first compartment of the target shelf to the robot.

[0096] For example, the scheduling server can send operation instructions to the robot. The type of operation instruction can be an outbound operation. After receiving the operation instruction, if the robot knows that the type of operation instruction is an outbound operation, it will determine that the operation instruction is used to move the toy box from the shelf to the robot.

[0097] The operation instructions can also include a unique identifier for the first bin and a unique identifier for the first storage location. The robot locates the first bin from all bins on the shelf based on its unique identifier, and locates the first storage location from all storage locations on the shelf based on its unique identifier. After obtaining the first bin and the first storage location, the robot can move the first bin from the first storage location on the target shelf to the robot.

[0098] Step 503: The robot receives the operation instruction sent by the scheduling server and determines, based on the operation instruction, that the first bin needs to be moved from the first compartment of the target shelf to the robot.

[0099] For example, after receiving the operation instruction, if the robot knows that the operation instruction is of the outbound operation type, it determines that the tote box needs to be moved from the shelf to the robot. If the operation instruction includes a unique identifier for the first tote box and a unique identifier for the first storage location, the robot finds the first tote box based on the unique identifier of the first tote box and the first storage location based on the unique identifier of the first storage location. After knowing the first tote box and the first storage location, the robot determines that the first tote box needs to be moved from the first storage location of the target shelf to the robot.

[0100] Step 504: If the target shelf has an outer compartment of the first compartment (such as the second compartment) and the second compartment has a second material box, then the robot will move the second material box from the second compartment of the target shelf to the robot's free position, and move the first material box from the first compartment of the target shelf to the robot's target position.

[0101] Step 505: The robot moves the second bin from its idle position to the target storage location on the target shelf, and the target storage location is the first empty storage location in the inner layer direction of the second storage location.

[0102] In one possible implementation, if the target shelf does not have an outer compartment of the first compartment, that is, the first compartment is the outermost compartment of the target shelf, the robot can directly move the first bin from the first compartment of the target shelf to the robot, thus ending the outbound process of the first bin, without any restrictions on this process.

[0103] In one possible implementation, if the target shelf has an outer compartment (such as a second compartment) of the first compartment and the second compartment is empty, the robot can directly move the first bin from the first compartment of the target shelf to the robot, thus ending the outbound process of the first bin. There are no restrictions on this process.

[0104] In one possible implementation, if the target shelf has an outer compartment (such as a second compartment) of the first compartment and the second compartment has a second material box, the robot first moves the second material box from the second compartment of the target shelf to the robot's idle position, then moves the first material box from the first compartment of the target shelf to the robot's target position, and then moves the second material box from the robot to the target compartment of the target shelf.

[0105] The robot may include multiple bin locations ( Figure 2 Taking a 7-bin storage location as an example, the location where the first bin needs to be stored is designated as the target location. An empty location is selected from the bin locations outside the target location, and the second bin is moved from the second compartment of the target shelf to this empty location. Then, the first bin is moved from the first compartment of the target shelf to the robot's target location.

[0106] The target position can be the first empty position in the direction of the inner layer of the second position (i.e., from the second position towards the inner layer). For example, if the left position is the inner layer and the right position is the outer layer, then the target position is the first empty position to the left of the second position.

[0107] For a double-deep shelf, the two storage locations from left to right are designated as storage location 1 and storage location 2, with storage location 1 being the first storage location and storage location 2 being the second storage location. Therefore, the target storage location is storage location 1.

[0108] For multi-depth shelving, the multiple storage locations from left to right are sequentially labeled as Storage Location 1, Storage Location 2, ..., Storage Location N. When Storage Location 1 is the first storage location, all storage locations from Storage Location 2 to Storage Location N containing a material box are considered second storage locations. Similarly, when Storage Location 2 is the first storage location, all storage locations from Storage Location 3 to Storage Location N containing a material box are considered second storage locations, and so on. Assuming Storage Location 2 is the first storage location, and Storage Locations 3 and 6 are both second storage locations, to determine the target storage location for Storage Location 3, the first empty storage location to the left of Storage Location 3 is selected as the target storage location. If Storage Location 1 is full and Storage Location 2 is empty, then Storage Location 2 is selected as the target storage location for Storage Location 3. Similarly, to determine the target storage location for Storage Location 6, the first empty storage location to the left of Storage Location 6 is selected as the target storage location. If Storage Locations 1 and 2 are full, and Storage Locations 3 to 5 are empty, then Storage Location 3 is selected as the target storage location for Storage Location 6.

[0109] Step 506: The robot sends a response message to the scheduling server. The response message includes the association between the second material box and the target bin. The scheduling server stores the association between the second material box and the target bin.

[0110] For example, the scheduling server originally stored the association between the second material bin and the second storage location (such as the association between the unique identifier of the second material bin and the unique identifier of the second storage location). After receiving the response message, the scheduling server parses the association between the second material bin and the target storage location from the response message and updates the association between the second material bin and the second storage location to the association between the second material bin and the target storage location (such as the association between the unique identifier of the second material bin and the unique identifier of the target storage location).

[0111] In one possible implementation, for the outbound process of material boxes, i.e., moving material boxes from the shelf to the robot, this application proposes a material box retrieval and placement method. For example, if there are multiple material box outbound tasks (i.e., moving multiple material boxes to be outbound from the shelf to the robot), and these material boxes are distributed on different shelves, then the task where a material box exists in the outer storage compartment of the material box to be outbound is executed first, followed by the task where a material box does not exist in the outer storage compartment of the material box to be outbound. The last task only requires the robot to have an empty space, thereby increasing the maximum number of material boxes that a single robot can outbound and improving outbound efficiency.

[0112] See Figure 6 The diagram shown illustrates the process of issuing material bins from the warehouse. This process includes:

[0113] Step 601: The scheduling server sends an operation instruction (i.e., an outbound operation instruction) to the robot. This operation instruction is used to move multiple outbound boxes from the shelves to the robot. The multiple outbound boxes are located on K shelves, where K can be a positive integer greater than 1. Each outbound box corresponds to one outbound task.

[0114] Step 602: The robot receives the operation instructions sent by the scheduling server and determines, based on the operation instructions, that multiple boxes to be shipped out need to be moved from the shelves (e.g., K shelves) to the robot.

[0115] For example, the scheduling server can send operation instructions to the robot. The type of operation instruction can be an outbound operation. After receiving the operation instruction, if the robot knows that the type of operation instruction is an outbound operation, it will determine that the operation instruction is used to move the toy box from the shelf to the robot.

[0116] The operation instruction can also include the unique identifiers of multiple boxes to be shipped. The robot locates these multiple boxes from all the boxes based on their unique identifiers, assuming they are located on K shelves. After knowing the multiple boxes on the K shelves, the robot can determine that it needs to move these boxes from the shelves (e.g., the K shelves) to the robot.

[0117] Step 603: For each of the K shelves, determine the sorting parameters corresponding to that shelf. The sorting parameters corresponding to the shelf may include, but are not limited to: the number of full storage spaces (full storage space is the storage space where the material box is placed) in the outer storage direction of the corresponding shelf.

[0118] For example, for each of the K shelves, determine the corresponding outbound bin. If there is only one outbound bin on the shelf, then that outbound bin is designated as the outbound bin corresponding to that shelf. If there are at least two outbound bins on the shelf, then either outbound bin is designated as the outbound bin corresponding to that shelf. Alternatively, the outbound bin located in the outermost compartment of all outbound bins can be designated as the outbound bin corresponding to that shelf, or the outbound bin located in the innermost compartment of all outbound bins can be designated as the outbound bin corresponding to that shelf; there are no restrictions on this.

[0119] After locating the corresponding outbound bin for the shelf, the number of full storage spaces in the outer layer direction of the outbound bin can be counted. That is, the number of full storage spaces is counted from the bin located in the outer layer towards the outermost storage space. For example, if the left-hand storage space is considered the inner layer and the right-hand storage space is considered the outer layer, then the number of full storage spaces to the right of the bin located in the outer layer is counted. For multi-depth shelves, the multiple storage spaces from left to right are sequentially labeled as Storage Space 1, Storage Space 2, ..., Storage Space N. If the bin located in Storage Space 2 is in Storage Space 2, then the number of full storage spaces in all storage spaces to the right of Storage Space 2 (Storage Space 3 - Storage Space N) is counted.

[0120] For example, when counting the number of full storage locations in the outer storage direction of the material bins to be shipped, if there are other material bins to be shipped in the outer storage direction of the material bins to be shipped, then the storage location of the other material bins to be shipped can be considered as a full storage location, that is, the number of full storage locations is increased by 1. Alternatively, the storage location of the other material bins to be shipped can be excluded from the full storage location, that is, the number of full storage locations is not increased by 1.

[0121] For example, the full position of the outer compartment of the material box to be shipped can be a compartment where a material box has already been placed. During the shipping process of the material box to be shipped, the full position of the material box can be moved to an idle position of the robot. After the material box to be shipped is shipped, the full position of the material box can also be moved from the robot to the shelf.

[0122] Step 604: Sort the K shelves based on the sorting parameters corresponding to each shelf. For example, sort the K shelves in descending order of the number of full storage spaces corresponding to each shelf. When two shelves have the same number of full storage spaces, the sorting order of these two shelves is not restricted.

[0123] Step 605: Based on the sorting results, traverse each of the K shelves in sequence. For the shelf being traversed, move the boxes to be shipped from the shelf to the robot.

[0124] For example, suppose there are K shelves, specifically 3 shelves, and the sorting result is shelf 3, shelf 1, shelf 2. This means that the number of full storage locations corresponding to shelf 3 is greater than that of shelf 1, and the number of full storage locations corresponding to shelf 1 is greater than that of shelf 2. Then, we first iterate to shelf 3 and move the boxes waiting to be shipped from shelf 3 to the robot. The moving process can be found in [reference needed]. Figure 5 The outbound process shown involves, after the outbound bins on shelf 3 have been processed, traversing shelf 1 to move the outbound bins from shelf 1 to the robot. The movement process can be found in [reference needed]. Figure 5 The outbound process shown involves moving the boxes on shelf 1 to shelf 2 after they have been removed from the shelf. The robot then moves the boxes from shelf 2 to shelf 2 and transfers them to the robot. The movement process can be found in [reference needed]. Figure 5The outbound process shown here is now complete.

[0125] As can be seen from the above technical solutions, in this embodiment, by moving the second bin to the target location on the target shelf, operational efficiency is improved, operational time is reduced, and user experience is enhanced. For example, regarding the outbound process of the first bin, by moving the second bin to the target location on the target shelf, bin exchange between inner and outer locations can be achieved, reducing unnecessary robot movements, thereby improving bin outbound efficiency, reducing outbound time, facilitating subsequent bin inbound operations, and facilitating manual warehouse management and inventory checks, as the bins are all located in the inner layer. Similarly, regarding the inbound process of the first bin, by moving the second bin to the target location on the target shelf, bin exchange between inner and outer locations can be achieved, reducing unnecessary robot movements and actions, thereby improving inbound efficiency, reducing inbound time, and facilitating manual warehouse management.

[0126] Based on the same concept as the above method, this application proposes a bin loading and unloading device. The target shelf includes a first compartment and a second compartment, with the second compartment being an outer compartment of the first compartment. The device is applied to a robot. See [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 7 The diagram shown is a structural schematic of the device, which includes:

[0127] The receiving module 71 is used to receive an operation instruction for the first material box sent by the scheduling server; the processing module 72 is used to move the second material box to the target storage location of the target shelf if the operation instruction is used to move the first material box from the first storage location to the robot or to move the first material box from the robot to the first storage location, and the second storage location contains the second material box; the target storage location is the inner storage location of the second storage location; the sending module 73 is used to send the association relationship between the second material box and the target storage location to the scheduling server, so that the scheduling server stores the association relationship between the second material box and the target storage location.

[0128] For example, if the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the first compartment to the robot, and the robot includes at least two empty positions, and the at least two empty positions include an idle position and a target position, the processing module 72, when moving the second bin to the target compartment of the target shelf, specifically performs the following operations: moving the second bin from the second compartment to the idle position of the robot, moving the first bin from the first compartment to the target position of the robot, and moving the second bin from the robot to the target compartment of the target shelf.

[0129] For example, if the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the robot to the first storage location, the processing module 72, when moving the second bin to the target storage location of the target shelf, specifically performs the following: moving the second bin from the second storage location to the target storage location of the target shelf, and moving the first bin from the robot to a candidate storage location of the target shelf; wherein, the candidate storage location is an outer storage location of the target storage location.

[0130] For example, after the sending module 73 moves the first bin from the robot to the candidate storage location of the target shelf, it is further configured to: send the association between the first bin and the candidate storage location to the scheduling server, so that the scheduling server stores the association between the first bin and the candidate storage location.

[0131] For example, for a double-deep rack, the double-deep rack includes an inner storage space and an outer storage space, the target storage space is the inner storage space of the double-deep rack, and the candidate storage space is the outer storage space of the double-deep rack; for a multi-deep rack, the multi-deep rack includes at least three storage spaces, the target storage space is the first empty storage space in the inner storage space direction of the second storage space of the multi-deep rack, and the candidate storage space is the first empty storage space in the outer storage space direction of the target storage space of the multi-deep rack.

[0132] For example, if the operation instruction is used to move multiple outbound bins from the shelf to the robot, and the multiple outbound bins are located on K shelves, where K is a positive integer greater than 1, the processing module 72 is further used to determine the sorting parameter corresponding to each of the K shelves, and sort the K shelves based on the sorting parameter corresponding to each shelf; based on the sorting result of the K shelves, traverse each of the K shelves in sequence, and for the currently traversed shelf, move the outbound bins on the shelf from the shelf to the robot.

[0133] For example, the sorting parameters corresponding to the shelves include: the number of full storage positions in the outer storage direction of the material box to be shipped from the shelf; when the processing module 72 sorts the K shelves based on the sorting parameters corresponding to each shelf, it is specifically used to: sort the K shelves in descending order of the number of full storage positions corresponding to each shelf, and obtain the sorting result of the K shelves.

[0134] Based on the same application concept as the method described above, this application proposes an electronic device (such as a robot), see [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 8As shown, the electronic device includes a processor 81 and a machine-readable storage medium 82, the machine-readable storage medium 82 storing machine-executable instructions that can be executed by the processor 81; the processor 81 is used to execute the machine-executable instructions to implement the bin loading and unloading method disclosed in the above example of this application.

[0135] Based on the same concept as the above method, this application embodiment also provides a machine-readable storage medium storing a plurality of computer instructions, which, when executed by a processor, can implement the bin loading and unloading method disclosed in the above examples of this application.

[0136] The aforementioned machine-readable storage medium can be any electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical storage device that can contain or store information, such as executable instructions, data, etc. For example, machine-readable storage media can be: RAM (Random Access Memory), volatile memory, non-volatile memory, flash memory, storage drives (such as hard disk drives), solid-state drives, any type of storage disk (such as optical discs, DVDs, etc.), or similar storage media, or combinations thereof.

[0137] The systems, devices, modules, or units described in the above embodiments can be implemented by a computer entity or by a product with a certain function. A typical implementation device is a computer, which can be a personal computer, laptop computer, cellular phone, camera phone, smartphone, personal digital assistant, media player, navigation device, email sending and receiving device, game console, tablet computer, wearable device, or any combination of these devices.

[0138] For ease of description, the above devices are described separately by function as various units. Of course, in implementing this application, the functions of each unit can be implemented in one or more software and / or hardware.

[0139] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, embodiments of this application can take the form of a computer program product implemented 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.

[0140] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this application. 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, generate instructions for implementing the flowchart... Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0141] Furthermore, these computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means, which are implemented in the process. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0142] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable equipment to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable equipment for implementing the process. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps of the function specified in one or more boxes.

[0143] The above description is merely an embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit the scope of this application. Various modifications and variations can be made to this application by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the scope of the claims of this application.

Claims

1. A method for picking up and placing materials into a bin, characterized in that, The target shelf includes a first compartment and a second compartment, wherein the second compartment is an outer compartment of the first compartment. The method is applied to a robot, and the method includes: Receive operation instructions for the first material bin sent by the scheduling server; If the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the first storage location to the robot or to the first storage location, and the second storage location contains a second bin, then the second bin is moved to the target storage location of the target shelf; wherein, if the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the robot to the first storage location, then the second bin is moved from the second storage location to the target storage location of the target shelf; the first bin is moved from the robot to a candidate storage location of the target shelf; wherein, the target storage location is The inner storage space of the second storage location, and the candidate storage space is the outer storage space of the target storage location; wherein, for double-deep racking, the double-deep racking includes an inner storage space and an outer storage space, the target storage space is the inner storage space of the double-deep racking, and the candidate storage space is the outer storage space of the double-deep racking; for multi-deep racking, the multi-deep racking includes at least three storage spaces, the target storage space is the first empty storage space in the direction of the inner storage space of the second storage location of the multi-deep racking, and the candidate storage space is the first empty storage space in the direction of the outer storage space of the target storage location of the multi-deep racking; The association between the second material bin and the target storage location is sent to the scheduling server so that the scheduling server stores the association between the second material bin and the target storage location.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, If the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the first storage location to the robot, and the robot includes at least two empty locations, and the at least two empty locations include an idle location and a target location, then moving the second bin to the target storage location of the target shelf includes: Move the second hopper from the second compartment to the robot's idle position; Move the first material bin from the first compartment to the target position of the robot; The second bin is moved from the robot to the target storage location on the target shelf.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, After moving the first bin from the robot to the candidate storage location of the target shelf, the method further includes: The association between the first material bin and the candidate storage location is sent to the scheduling server so that the scheduling server stores the association between the first material bin and the candidate storage location.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, If the operation instruction is used to move multiple boxes to be shipped from the shelf to the robot, and the multiple boxes to be shipped are located on K shelves, where K is a positive integer greater than 1, the method further includes: For each of the K shelves, determine the sorting parameters corresponding to that shelf, and sort the K shelves based on the sorting parameters corresponding to each shelf; Based on the sorting results, each of the K shelves is traversed sequentially. For the currently traversed shelf, the material boxes to be shipped out on the shelf are moved from the shelf to the robot.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The sorting parameters for the shelves include: the number of full storage spaces in the outer storage direction of the material bins to be shipped from the shelf; The step of sorting the K shelves based on the sorting parameters corresponding to each shelf includes: sorting the K shelves in descending order of the number of full storage spaces corresponding to each shelf.

6. A material bin loading and unloading device, characterized in that, The target shelf includes a first compartment and a second compartment, the second compartment being an outer compartment of the first compartment. The device is applied to a robot, and the device includes: The receiving module is used to receive operation instructions for the first material box sent by the scheduling server; The processing module is configured to, if the operation instruction is to move the first material box from the first storage location to the robot or to move the first material box from the robot to the first storage location, and the second storage location contains a second material box, then move the second material box to the target storage location of the target shelf; wherein, if the operation instruction is to move the first material box from the robot to the first storage location, then move the second material box from the second storage location to the target storage location of the target shelf; and move the first material box from the robot to a candidate storage location of the target shelf; wherein, the target The storage space is the inner storage space of the second storage space, and the candidate storage space is the outer storage space of the target storage space; wherein, for double-deep racking, the double-deep racking includes an inner storage space and an outer storage space, the target storage space is the inner storage space of the double-deep racking, and the candidate storage space is the outer storage space of the double-deep racking; for multi-deep racking, the multi-deep racking includes at least three storage spaces, the target storage space is the first empty storage space in the direction of the inner storage space of the second storage space of the multi-deep racking, and the candidate storage space is the first empty storage space in the direction of the outer storage space of the target storage space of the multi-deep racking. The sending module is used to send the association between the second material bin and the target hopper to the scheduling server, so that the scheduling server stores the association between the second material bin and the target hopper.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that, in, If the operation instruction is used to move the first bin from the first compartment to the robot, and the robot includes at least two empty positions, and the at least two empty positions include an idle position and a target position, then when the processing module moves the second bin to the target compartment of the target shelf, it is specifically used to: move the second bin from the second compartment to the idle position of the robot, move the first bin from the first compartment to the target position of the robot, and move the second bin from the robot to the target compartment of the target shelf; The sending module, after moving the first bin from the robot to the candidate storage location of the target shelf, is further configured to: send the association between the first bin and the candidate storage location to the scheduling server, so that the scheduling server stores the association between the first bin and the candidate storage location; Wherein, if the operation instruction is used to move multiple outbound bins from the shelf to the robot, and the multiple outbound bins are located on K shelves, where K is a positive integer greater than 1, the processing module is further configured to determine the sorting parameters corresponding to each of the K shelves, and sort the K shelves based on the sorting parameters corresponding to each shelf; based on the sorting results of the K shelves, traverse each of the K shelves sequentially, and for the currently traversed shelf, move the outbound bins on the shelf from the shelf to the robot; The sorting parameters corresponding to the shelves include: the number of full storage positions in the outer layer of the material bin to be shipped from the shelf; when the processing module sorts the K shelves based on the sorting parameters corresponding to each shelf, it specifically sorts the K shelves in descending order of the number of full storage positions corresponding to each shelf to obtain the sorting result of the K shelves.

8. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: A processor and a machine-readable storage medium, the machine-readable storage medium storing machine-executable instructions that can be executed by the processor; The processor is configured to execute machine-executable instructions to implement the method described in any one of claims 1-5.

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