Method, processor, device and storage medium for pallet handling

Abstract

The present application discloses a method, processor, device and storage medium for pallet handling, and belongs to the field of automated production warehousing technology. The method includes: classifying multiple outbound orders and multiple pallets respectively to obtain multiple outbound order clusters and multiple pallet clusters; sorting each outbound order cluster and each pallet cluster from large to small according to the number of materials respectively to obtain a first arrangement order of the outbound order cluster and a second arrangement order of the pallet cluster; according to the first arrangement order, the materials in each outbound order cluster are sequentially allocated to the pallets in each pallet cluster arranged according to the second arrangement order to obtain the material allocation results of multiple pallet clusters; according to the material allocation results of multiple pallet clusters, the order of handling tasks corresponding to the target pallets in the multiple outbound order clusters is determined, wherein the target pallet is the pallet to which the material is allocated; and controlling the sorting equipment to carry the target pallet in the order of handling tasks. The present application can improve the handling efficiency of pallets in automated warehouses.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of automated production warehousing technology, and in particular to a method, processor, device and storage medium for pallet handling. Background Art

[0002] An automated warehouse is a warehouse that uses multi-layer shelves to store unit goods. It uses corresponding material handling equipment to carry out the warehousing and outbound operations of goods, thereby making full use of the space to store goods. In the prior art, the allocation and transportation scheduling of pallets in automated warehouses is simply to allocate and transport them in the order of outbound orders, which has the problem of low efficiency. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a method, processor, device and storage medium for pallet handling, so as to solve the problem of low efficiency of pallet allocation and handling scheduling in automated warehouses in the prior art.

[0004] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the first aspect of the present application provides a method for pallet transportation, comprising:

[0005] Classify the multiple outbound orders and the multiple pallets respectively to obtain multiple outbound order clusters and multiple pallet clusters;

[0006] Sort each outbound order cluster and each pallet cluster by material quantity from large to small to obtain a first arrangement order of the outbound order cluster and a second arrangement order of the pallet cluster;

[0007] According to the first arrangement order, the materials in each outbound order cluster are sequentially allocated to the pallets in each pallet cluster arranged according to the second arrangement order, so as to obtain material allocation results of multiple pallet clusters;

[0008] Determine the order of handling tasks corresponding to target pallets in multiple outbound order clusters according to the material allocation results of the multiple pallet clusters, wherein the target pallet is the pallet to which the material is allocated;

[0009] Control the sorting equipment to move the target pallet in the order of the moving tasks.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present application, a plurality of delivery orders are classified to obtain a plurality of delivery order clusters, including: determining any delivery order of a first preset number among the plurality of delivery orders as the initial cluster center delivery order; for each non-initial cluster center delivery order among the delivery orders except the initial cluster center delivery order, respectively calculating the similarity between the non-initial cluster center delivery order and each initial cluster center delivery order; assigning each non-initial cluster center delivery order to the corresponding initial cluster center delivery order with the highest similarity, so as to obtain a plurality of initial delivery order clusters; for each initial delivery order cluster, respectively calculating the similarity between the initial delivery order and the non-initial cluster center delivery order; The similarity between each outbound order in the order cluster and other outbound orders is calculated, and the outbound order with the highest similarity to other outbound orders is determined as the new cluster center outbound order to iterate the cluster center outbound order; when the cluster center outbound order remains unchanged for a preset number of consecutive times or reaches a preset number of iterations, the current cluster center outbound order is determined as the target cluster center outbound order; the similarity between the non-target cluster center outbound order and each target cluster center outbound order is calculated respectively; each non-target cluster center outbound order is assigned to the corresponding target cluster center outbound order with the highest similarity to obtain multiple outbound order clusters.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present application, classifying multiple pallets to obtain multiple pallet clusters includes: determining any pallet of a second preset number among the multiple pallets as an initial cluster center pallet; for each non-initial cluster center pallet except the initial cluster center pallet among the pallets, respectively calculating the similarity between the non-initial cluster center pallet and each initial cluster center pallet; assigning each non-initial cluster center pallet to the corresponding initial cluster center pallet with the highest similarity to obtain multiple initial pallet clusters; for each initial pallet cluster, respectively calculating the similarity between each pallet in the initial pallet cluster and other pallets, and determining the pallet with the highest similarity with other pallets as a new cluster center pallet to iterate the cluster center pallets; when the cluster center pallet remains unchanged for a preset number of consecutive times or reaches a preset number of iterations, determining the current cluster center pallet as a target cluster center pallet; respectively calculating the similarity between the non-target cluster center pallet and each target cluster center pallet; and assigning each non-target cluster center pallet to the corresponding target cluster center pallet with the highest similarity to obtain multiple pallet clusters.

[0012] In an embodiment of the present application, materials in each outbound order cluster are sequentially allocated to pallets in each pallet cluster arranged according to a second arrangement order in accordance with a first arrangement order, so as to obtain material allocation results for multiple pallet clusters, including: for any outbound order cluster, determining in sequence in accordance with the second arrangement order whether the material quantity in the pallet cluster has reached an upper limit value; determining the pallet cluster with the highest ranking among the pallet clusters whose material quantity has not reached the upper limit value as the first target pallet cluster of the outbound order cluster; determining the first target pallet in the first target pallet cluster according to the material quantity and material type in the outbound order cluster, wherein the first target pallet is the pallet with the largest number of materials that can satisfy the outbound order cluster; allocating the first target quantity of materials in the outbound order cluster to the first target pallet, and subtracting the first target quantity from the material quantity of the first target pallet cluster; wherein the first target quantity is the material quantity of the outbound order cluster that can be satisfied by the first target pallet.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present application, the method also includes: determining whether the quantity of materials remaining in the outbound order cluster is 0, wherein the quantity of materials remaining in the outbound order cluster is the quantity of materials after deducting the first target quantity; when it is determined that the quantity of materials remaining in the outbound order cluster is not 0, the quantity of materials remaining in the outbound order cluster is sequentially distributed to pallets in at least one second target pallet cluster until the quantity of materials remaining in the outbound order cluster is 0, wherein the second target pallet cluster is a pallet cluster other than the first target pallet cluster.

[0014] In an embodiment of the present application, the remaining quantity of materials in the outbound order cluster is sequentially allocated to pallets in at least one second target pallet cluster, including: sequentially determining the pallet clusters after the first target pallet cluster in each pallet cluster arranged in the second arrangement order as second target pallet clusters; determining the second target pallet in the second target pallet cluster according to the remaining quantity and type of materials in the outbound order cluster, wherein the second target pallet is the pallet that can satisfy the largest quantity of materials remaining in the outbound order cluster; allocating the second target quantity of materials in the outbound order cluster to the second target pallet, and subtracting the second target quantity from the quantity of materials in the second target pallet cluster; wherein the second target quantity is the quantity of materials in the outbound order cluster that can be satisfied by the second target pallet.

[0015] In an embodiment of the present application, the order of handling tasks corresponding to target pallets in multiple outbound order clusters is determined according to the material allocation results of multiple pallet clusters, including: determining the quantity of materials allocated to each pallet cluster and the quantity of materials allocated to each pallet in each pallet cluster according to the material allocation results; sorting each pallet cluster from large to small according to the quantity of materials allocated to it to obtain a third arrangement order of the pallet clusters; sorting each pallet from large to small according to the quantity of materials allocated to it to obtain a fourth arrangement order of each pallet in the pallet cluster; and the order of handling tasks is the order in which each pallet cluster is transported in turn according to the third arrangement order and the pallets are transported in turn according to the fourth arrangement order.

[0016] A second aspect of the present application provides a processor configured to execute the above-mentioned method for pallet transportation.

[0017] According to a third aspect of the present application, there is provided a device for pallet handling, comprising: a classification module for classifying a plurality of delivery orders and a plurality of pallets, respectively, to obtain a plurality of delivery order clusters and a plurality of pallet clusters; a sorting module for sorting each delivery order cluster and each pallet cluster from large to small according to the material quantity, respectively, to obtain a first arrangement order of the delivery order cluster and a second arrangement order of the pallet cluster; an allocation module for allocating the materials in each delivery order cluster to the pallets in each pallet cluster arranged according to the second arrangement order in sequence according to the first arrangement order, to obtain a material allocation result of the plurality of pallet clusters; a sequence determination module for determining the order of handling tasks corresponding to the target pallets in the plurality of delivery order clusters according to the material allocation results of the plurality of pallet clusters, wherein the target pallet is the pallet to which the material is allocated; and a control module for controlling the sorting device to carry the target pallets in the order of the handling tasks.

[0018] A fourth aspect of the present application provides a machine-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions being used to enable a machine to execute the above-mentioned method for pallet handling.

[0019] Through the above technical solution, firstly, multiple outbound orders and multiple pallets are classified respectively to obtain multiple outbound order clusters and multiple pallet clusters, and then each outbound order cluster and each pallet cluster are sorted from large to small according to the number of materials, so as to obtain the first arrangement order of the outbound order cluster and the second arrangement order of the pallet cluster. Then, according to the first arrangement order, the materials in each outbound order cluster are sequentially allocated to the pallets in each pallet cluster arranged according to the second arrangement order to obtain the material allocation results of the multiple pallet clusters, and the order of the handling tasks corresponding to the target pallets in the multiple outbound order clusters is determined according to the material allocation results of the multiple pallet clusters, wherein the target pallet is the pallet to which the material is allocated, and finally the sorting equipment is controlled to carry the target pallet according to the order of the handling tasks. This application reduces the total number of allocated pallets, the total number of handling times and the total number of waiting times by classifying outbound orders and pallets, thereby reducing the waiting time of the sorting equipment and improving the efficiency of pallet handling.

[0020] Other features and advantages of the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail in the subsequent specific implementation section. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present application and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the following specific implementations, they are used to explain the embodiments of the present application, but do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present application. In the accompanying drawings:

[0022] Figure 1A flow chart of a method for pallet transportation according to an embodiment of the present application is schematically shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical scheme in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the specific implementation methods described herein are only used to illustrate and explain the embodiments of the present application, and are not used to limit the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0024] It should be noted that if the embodiments of the present application involve directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back...), such directional indications are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the components under a certain specific posture (as shown in the accompanying drawings). If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0025] In addition, if there are descriptions involving "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present application, the descriptions of "first", "second", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or suggesting their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but they must be based on the ability of ordinary technicians in the field to implement them. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be deemed that such combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by this application.

[0026] Figure 1 The flowchart of a method for pallet handling according to an embodiment of the present application is schematically shown. Figure 1 As shown, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for pallet transportation. Taking the method applied to a processor as an example, the method may include the following steps:

[0027] Step S101: Classify a plurality of delivery orders and a plurality of pallets respectively to obtain a plurality of delivery order clusters and a plurality of pallet clusters.

[0028] Step S102: sorting the outbound order clusters and the pallet clusters respectively according to the material quantity from large to small, so as to obtain a first arrangement order of the outbound order clusters and a second arrangement order of the pallet clusters.

[0029] Step S103: according to the first arrangement order, the materials in each outbound order cluster are sequentially allocated to the pallets in each pallet cluster arranged according to the second arrangement order, so as to obtain material allocation results of multiple pallet clusters.

[0030] Step S104: determining the order of handling tasks corresponding to target pallets in multiple outbound order clusters according to the material allocation results of the multiple pallet clusters, wherein the target pallet is the pallet to which the material is allocated.

[0031] Step S105: Control the sorting equipment to transport the target pallet according to the order of the transport tasks.

[0032] It can be understood that an automated warehouse is a warehouse that uses multi-layer shelves to store unit goods. It uses corresponding material handling equipment to carry out the warehousing and outbound operations of goods, so as to make full use of the space to store goods; allocation refers to the allocation of materials required for the outbound order to the pallet. For existing automated warehouses, pallet allocation and transportation scheduling are simply to perform allocation and transportation in sequence, which may cause problems such as repeated transportation, long paths and low business efficiency, and at the same time cannot meet the company's demand for refined and intelligent warehousing management.

[0033] Specifically, the K-means clustering algorithm can be used to classify the delivery orders and multiple pallets that need to be allocated for delivery, and the classification is performed according to the similarity of material type and material quantity, so as to form multiple delivery order clusters and multiple pallet clusters. Then, the material demand quantity in the delivery order cluster is summed up, and the delivery order clusters are sorted from large to small; the inventory quantity in the pallet cluster is summed up, and the pallet clusters are sorted from large to small. The first delivery order cluster is selected, and the pallet that can meet the material demand quantity of the first delivery order cluster is selected from the multiple pallets in the first pallet cluster, and the materials in the delivery order cluster are allocated to the pallet, and the material quantity of the first pallet cluster is subtracted from the material quantity of the first delivery order cluster. The remaining material demand quantity of this delivery order cluster is sequentially allocated to a pallet in the next pallet cluster, and the pallet selection method is the same as above, that is, a pallet with the largest number of allocable quantities is found in the next pallet cluster until the material demand quantity of this delivery order cluster is fully met, or the inventory of the pallet cluster is insufficient. Repeat the above steps for the next outbound order cluster in sequence until all outbound order clusters are allocated and the allocation result of the pallet cluster is obtained. After obtaining the pallet allocation result, for each allocated pallet in the pallet cluster, a handling task must be generated and sent to the handling equipment. The order in which the handling tasks are sent to the equipment, that is, the handling order, needs to be sorted. According to the material allocation results, the number of materials allocated to each pallet cluster and the number of materials allocated to each pallet in each pallet cluster are determined, and the pallet clusters are sorted from large to small. For each pallet cluster, the pallets in the pallet cluster are sorted from large to small according to the allocated quantity. According to the sorting cycle, the handling tasks corresponding to the pallets allocated in multiple pallet clusters are sent to the handling equipment in sequence to control the handling equipment to carry them in sequence.

[0034] Through the above technical solution, firstly, multiple outbound orders and multiple pallets are classified respectively to obtain multiple outbound order clusters and multiple pallet clusters, and then each outbound order cluster and each pallet cluster are sorted from large to small according to the number of materials, so as to obtain the first arrangement order of the outbound order cluster and the second arrangement order of the pallet cluster. Then, according to the first arrangement order, the materials in each outbound order cluster are sequentially allocated to the pallets in each pallet cluster arranged according to the second arrangement order to obtain the material allocation results of the multiple pallet clusters, and the order of the handling tasks corresponding to the target pallets in the multiple outbound order clusters is determined according to the material allocation results of the multiple pallet clusters, wherein the target pallet is the pallet to which the material is allocated, and finally the sorting equipment is controlled to carry the target pallet according to the order of the handling tasks. This application reduces the total number of allocated pallets, the total number of handling times and the total number of waiting times by classifying outbound orders and pallets, thereby reducing the waiting time of the sorting equipment and improving the efficiency of pallet handling.

[0035] In an embodiment of the present application, classifying multiple outbound orders to obtain multiple outbound order clusters may include: determining any outbound order of a first preset number among the multiple outbound orders as the initial cluster center outbound order; for each non-initial cluster center outbound order except the initial cluster center outbound order among the outbound orders, respectively calculating the similarity between the non-initial cluster center outbound order and each initial cluster center outbound order; assigning each non-initial cluster center outbound order to the corresponding initial cluster center outbound order with the highest similarity, so as to obtain multiple initial outbound order clusters; for each initial outbound order cluster, respectively calculating the initial The similarity between each outbound order in the outbound order cluster and other outbound orders is calculated, and the outbound order with the highest similarity to other outbound orders is determined as the new cluster center outbound order to iterate the cluster center outbound order; when the cluster center outbound order remains unchanged for a preset number of consecutive times or reaches a preset number of iterations, the current cluster center outbound order is determined as the target cluster center outbound order; the similarity between the non-target cluster center outbound order and each target cluster center outbound order is calculated respectively; each non-target cluster center outbound order is assigned to the corresponding target cluster center outbound order with the highest similarity to obtain multiple outbound order clusters.

[0036] Specifically, the K-means clustering algorithm can be used to classify the delivery orders that need to be assigned for delivery, and the delivery orders are classified according to the similarity of material types and material quantities, so as to form multiple delivery order clusters. First, the delivery orders that need to be delivered by the warehouse are taken as the data to be clustered, and any delivery orders of a preset number among the multiple delivery orders are determined as the initial cluster center delivery orders. The preset number can be set according to actual needs, and the initial cluster center delivery orders are randomly selected. In an example, delivery order 1: 2 items of material A and 2 items of material B; delivery order 2: 3 items of material A and 3 items of material B; delivery order 3: 4 items of material B and 4 items of material C; delivery order 4: 3 items of material C; 3 items of material D; delivery order 5: 4 items of material D; 4 items of material E. Set the number of clusters to be clustered to 3, that is, first randomly select 3 delivery orders as the initial cluster centers. Then, the distribution is performed, that is, for each delivery order, its similarity with the delivery order of each initial cluster center is calculated. The similarity calculation method is to sort by the sameness of the type and quantity of the materials required by the delivery order, and assign the delivery order to the cluster where the delivery order of the initial cluster center with the highest similarity is located. In this way, multiple initial delivery order clusters can be obtained. For example, if the initial cluster center is delivery order 1, delivery order 4, and delivery order 5, then the similarity of other delivery orders not in the initial cluster center and delivery order 1, delivery order 4, and delivery order 5 needs to be calculated. Taking delivery order 1 as an example, it is assumed that the delivery orders with which the similarity needs to be calculated are delivery order 2 and delivery order 3. The similarity between Outbound Order 2 and Outbound Order 1 is: (same material A + same material B) / (same material A + same quantity of material A + same material B + same quantity of material B) = (1+1) / (1+1+1+1) = 50%; the similarity between Outbound Order 3 and Outbound Order 1 is: (same material B) / (same material B + same quantity of material B + same material A + same quantity of material A) = 1 / (1+1+1+1) = 25%.

[0037] Then calculate the central outbound order of each initial outbound order cluster, and take the outbound order with the highest similarity to all outbound orders in each cluster as the cluster center. Assume that the similarity between outbound order 1 and outbound orders 2 and 3 is 50% and 25%; the similarity between outbound order 2 and outbound orders 1 and 3 is 50% and 25%; the similarity between outbound order 3 and outbound orders 1 and 2 is 25% and 25%. At this time, outbound order 1 and outbound order 2 are both the highest, and any outbound order from outbound order 1 and outbound order 2 can be used as the cluster center. Repeat the above steps until the outbound order at the center of the cluster remains unchanged for a preset number of consecutive times or reaches a preset number of iterations. In actual applications, the preset number can be two times, and the preset number of iterations can be 99 times, that is, the outbound order at the center of the cluster remains unchanged for two consecutive times (the same for three consecutive times) or reaches a preset number of iterations of 99 times.

[0038] Finally, the current cluster center delivery order is determined as the final cluster center delivery order, and then the similarity between other non-target cluster center delivery orders and each target cluster center delivery order is calculated respectively, and each non-target cluster center delivery order is assigned to the corresponding target cluster center delivery order with the highest similarity, thus obtaining multiple delivery order clusters after clustering.

[0039] In an embodiment of the present application, classifying multiple pallets to obtain multiple pallet clusters may include: determining any pallets of a second preset number among the multiple pallets as the initial cluster center pallet; for each non-initial cluster center pallet except the initial cluster center pallet among the pallets, respectively calculating the similarity between the non-initial cluster center pallet and each initial cluster center pallet; assigning each non-initial cluster center pallet to the corresponding initial cluster center pallet with the highest similarity to obtain multiple initial pallet clusters; for each initial pallet cluster, respectively calculating the similarity between each pallet in the initial pallet cluster and the other pallets, and determining the pallet with the highest similarity with the other pallets as the new cluster center pallet to iterate the cluster center pallets; when the cluster center pallet remains unchanged for a preset number of consecutive times or reaches a preset number of iterations, determining the current cluster center pallet as the target cluster center pallet; respectively calculating the similarity between the non-target cluster center pallet and each target cluster center pallet; and assigning each non-target cluster center pallet to the corresponding target cluster center pallet with the highest similarity to obtain multiple pallet clusters.

[0040] Specifically, pallet classification is similar to outbound order classification, and can be classified using the K-means clustering algorithm. In one example, the pallets on the vertical warehouse include: Pallet 1: location coordinates (3, 1), number of material types 2, total number of materials 10; Pallet 2: location coordinates (5, 5), number of material types 2, total number of materials 20; Pallet 3: location coordinates (10, 10), number of material types 3, total number of materials 30; Pallet 4: location coordinates (20, 20), number of material types 4, total number of materials 40; Pallet 5: location coordinates (40, 20), number of material types 5, total number of materials 50. The number of clusters required to be clustered is 3 (consistent with the number of lanes in the vertical warehouse), that is, 3 pallets are randomly selected as the initial cluster centers. It should be noted that the total number of materials on the pallet refers to the number of materials already placed on the pallet. Then, clusters are assigned to the pallets, that is, for all pallets in the entire vertical warehouse, their similarity with the pallet at the center of each initial cluster is calculated, and the pallets are assigned to the most similar clusters. The similarity is calculated by comparing the number of material types, total number of materials, and route distance between pallets, and performing weighted summation. A higher value indicates a higher similarity. Assume that the cluster center pallet is pallet 1: location coordinates (3, 1), number of material types 2, total number of materials 10, and the pallet to be similar is pallet 2: location coordinates (5, 5), number of material types 2, total number of materials 20, and pallet 3: location coordinates (10, 10), number of material types 3, total number of materials 30. The weighted value of the similarity between pallet 2 and pallet 1 is: 1 (weighted coefficient) × [100-((5,5)-(3,1))] + 5 (the same number of material types, the weighted coefficient is 5) + 0 (the total number of materials is different, the weighted coefficient is 0) = 99; the weighted value of the similarity between pallet 3 and pallet 1 is 1 (weighted coefficient) × [100-((10,10)-(3,1))] + 0 (the same number of material types, the weighted coefficient is 5) + 0 (the total number of materials is different, the weighted coefficient is 0) = 84. Therefore, pallet 2 is more similar to pallet 1.

[0041] After allocating each non-initial cluster center pallet to the corresponding initial cluster center pallet with the highest similarity and obtaining multiple initial pallet clusters, recalculate the center of each cluster, that is, for each cluster, use the pallet with the highest similarity to all pallets as the new cluster center. For example, the similarities between pallet 1 and pallet 2 and pallet 3 are 99 and 84 respectively; the similarities between pallet 2 and pallet 1 and pallet 3 are 99 and 90 respectively; the similarities between pallet 3 and pallet 1 and pallet 2 are 84 and 90 respectively. In this pallet cluster, pallet 2 has the highest similarity with other pallets, so pallet 2 is selected as the new cluster center. Repeat the above steps until the cluster center pallet remains unchanged for a preset number of consecutive times or reaches a preset number of iterations. In actual applications, the preset number can be two times, and the preset number of iterations can be 99 times, that is, the cluster center pallet remains unchanged for two consecutive times (the same for three consecutive times) or reaches a preset number of iterations of 99 times.

[0042] In an embodiment of the present application, materials in each outbound order cluster are sequentially allocated to pallets in each pallet cluster arranged according to a second arrangement order in accordance with a first arrangement order, so as to obtain material allocation results for multiple pallet clusters, which may include: for any outbound order cluster, determining in sequence in accordance with the second arrangement order whether the quantity of materials in the pallet cluster has reached an upper limit value; determining the pallet cluster with the highest ranking among the pallet clusters whose quantity of materials has not reached the upper limit value as the first target pallet cluster of the outbound order cluster; determining the first target pallet in the first target pallet cluster according to the quantity and type of materials in the outbound order cluster, wherein the first target pallet is the pallet with the largest quantity of materials that can satisfy the outbound order cluster; allocating the first target quantity of materials in the outbound order cluster to the first target pallet, and subtracting the first target quantity from the quantity of materials in the first target pallet cluster; wherein the first target quantity is the quantity of materials that can satisfy the outbound order cluster by the first target pallet.

[0043] In an embodiment of the present application, the method may further include: determining whether the quantity of materials remaining in the outbound order cluster is 0, wherein the quantity of materials remaining in the outbound order cluster is the quantity of materials after deducting the first target quantity; when it is determined that the quantity of materials remaining in the outbound order cluster is not 0, allocating the quantity of materials remaining in the outbound order cluster to the pallets in at least one second target pallet cluster in sequence until the quantity of materials remaining in the outbound order cluster is 0, wherein the second target pallet cluster is a pallet cluster other than the first target pallet cluster.

[0044] In an embodiment of the present application, allocating the remaining quantity of materials in the outbound order cluster to the pallets in at least one second target pallet cluster in sequence may include: determining the pallet clusters after the first target pallet cluster in each pallet cluster arranged in the second arrangement order as second target pallet clusters in sequence; determining the second target pallet in the second target pallet cluster according to the remaining quantity and type of materials in the outbound order cluster, wherein the second target pallet is the pallet that can satisfy the largest quantity of materials remaining in the outbound order cluster; allocating the second target quantity of materials in the outbound order cluster to the second target pallet, and subtracting the second target quantity from the quantity of materials in the second target pallet cluster; wherein the second target quantity is the quantity of materials in the outbound order cluster that can be satisfied by the second target pallet.

[0045] Specifically, after clustering the delivery order and pallet to obtain multiple delivery order clusters and multiple pallet clusters, first, the material demand quantity in the delivery order cluster is summed up, and the delivery order clusters are sorted from large to small; the inventory quantity in the pallet cluster is summed up, and the pallet clusters are sorted from large to small. Then the first delivery order cluster is selected, and the pallet that can meet the largest number of material demand of the first delivery order cluster is selected from the multiple pallets of the first pallet cluster, and the materials in the delivery order cluster are allocated to the pallet, and the number of materials in the first pallet cluster is subtracted from the number of materials allocated to the pallet by the first delivery order cluster. In an example, the material demand of the delivery order cluster is A 10 and B 10. In the pallet cluster, the number of materials that can be allocated to each pallet is: pallet 1: A5, pallet 2: B6, pallet 3: C7, pallet 4: A7. It can be seen that pallet 4 can meet the largest number of allocations, so it is selected for allocation. After allocation, the material requirement quantity of the outbound order cluster becomes: 3 for A and 10 for B; the inventory quantity of the pallet cluster minus the allocated quantity of pallet 4. The remaining material requirement quantity of this outbound order cluster is allocated to a pallet in the next pallet cluster in turn. The pallet selection method is the same as above, that is, find a pallet with the largest number of allocations in the next pallet cluster until the material requirement quantity of this outbound order cluster is fully met, or the inventory of the pallet cluster is insufficient. Repeat the above steps for the next outbound order cluster in turn until all outbound order clusters are allocated, and the allocation result of the pallet cluster is obtained.

[0046] In an embodiment of the present application, determining the order of handling tasks corresponding to target pallets in multiple outbound order clusters based on material allocation results of multiple pallet clusters can include: determining the quantity of materials allocated to each pallet cluster and the quantity of materials allocated to each pallet in each pallet cluster based on the material allocation results; sorting each pallet cluster from large to small according to the quantity of materials allocated to them to obtain a third arrangement order of the pallet clusters; sorting each pallet from large to small according to the quantity of materials allocated to them to obtain a fourth arrangement order of each pallet in the pallet cluster; and the order of handling tasks is the order in which each pallet cluster is transported in turn according to the third arrangement order and the pallets are transported in turn according to the fourth arrangement order.

[0047] Specifically, after obtaining the pallet allocation result, for each allocated pallet in the pallet cluster, a handling task needs to be generated and sent to the handling equipment. The order in which the handling tasks are sent to the equipment, i.e., the handling order, needs to be sorted. According to the material allocation result, the number of materials allocated to each pallet cluster and the number of materials allocated to each pallet in each pallet cluster are determined, and the pallet clusters are sorted from large to small. For each pallet cluster, the pallets in the pallet cluster are sorted from large to small according to the number of allocated pallets. According to the sorting cycle, the handling tasks corresponding to the pallets allocated in multiple pallet clusters are sent to the handling equipment in turn so that the handling equipment can carry them in order. In an example, the handling order is pallet 1 in pallet cluster 1 -> pallet 1 in pallet cluster 2 -> pallet 1 in pallet cluster 3 -> pallet 2 in pallet cluster 1 -> pallet 2 in pallet cluster 2 -> pallet 1 in pallet cluster 3, until all tasks are sent.

[0048] An embodiment of the present application provides a processor configured to execute the above-mentioned method for pallet transportation.

[0049] Specifically, in the embodiment of the present application, the processor may be configured to: classify a plurality of delivery orders and a plurality of pallets respectively to obtain a plurality of delivery order clusters and a plurality of pallet clusters;

[0050] Sort each outbound order cluster and each pallet cluster by material quantity from large to small to obtain a first arrangement order of the outbound order cluster and a second arrangement order of the pallet cluster;

[0051] According to the first arrangement order, the materials in each outbound order cluster are sequentially allocated to the pallets in each pallet cluster arranged according to the second arrangement order, so as to obtain material allocation results of multiple pallet clusters;

[0052] Determine the order of handling tasks corresponding to target pallets in multiple outbound order clusters according to the material allocation results of the multiple pallet clusters, wherein the target pallet is the pallet to which the material is allocated;

[0053] Control the sorting equipment to move the target pallet in the order of the moving tasks.

[0054] In an embodiment of the present application, the processor can also be configured to: determine any of the first preset number of delivery orders among multiple delivery orders as the initial cluster center delivery order; for each non-initial cluster center delivery order except the initial cluster center delivery order among the delivery orders, respectively calculate the similarity between the non-initial cluster center delivery order and each initial cluster center delivery order; assign each non-initial cluster center delivery order to the corresponding initial cluster center delivery order with the highest similarity to obtain multiple initial delivery order clusters; for each initial delivery order cluster, respectively calculate the similarity of each non-initial cluster center delivery order in the initial delivery order cluster. The similarity between a delivery order and other delivery orders is calculated, and the delivery order with the highest similarity to other delivery orders is determined as the new cluster center delivery order to iterate the cluster center delivery order; when the cluster center delivery order remains unchanged for a preset number of consecutive times or reaches a preset number of iterations, the current cluster center delivery order is determined as the target cluster center delivery order; the similarity between the non-target cluster center delivery order and each target cluster center delivery order is calculated respectively; each non-target cluster center delivery order is assigned to the corresponding target cluster center delivery order with the highest similarity to obtain multiple delivery order clusters.

[0055] In an embodiment of the present application, the processor can also be configured to: determine any pallet of a second preset number among the multiple pallets as the initial cluster center pallet; for each non-initial cluster center pallet among the pallets except the initial cluster center pallet, respectively calculate the similarity between the non-initial cluster center pallet and each initial cluster center pallet; assign each non-initial cluster center pallet to the corresponding initial cluster center pallet with the highest similarity to obtain multiple initial pallet clusters; for each initial pallet cluster, respectively calculate the similarity between each pallet in the initial pallet cluster and the other pallets, and determine the pallet with the highest similarity with the other pallets as the new cluster center pallet to iterate the cluster center pallets; when the cluster center pallet remains unchanged for a consecutive preset number of times or reaches a preset number of iterations, determine the current cluster center pallet as the target cluster center pallet; respectively calculate the similarity between the non-target cluster center pallet and each target cluster center pallet; assign each non-target cluster center pallet to the corresponding target cluster center pallet with the highest similarity to obtain multiple pallet clusters.

[0056] In an embodiment of the present application, the processor can also be configured to: for any outbound order cluster, determine in sequence according to the second arrangement order whether the quantity of materials in the pallet cluster has reached the upper limit value; determine the pallet cluster with the highest sorting among the pallet clusters whose quantity of materials has not reached the upper limit value as the first target pallet cluster of the outbound order cluster; determine the first target pallet in the first target pallet cluster according to the quantity and type of materials in the outbound order cluster, wherein the first target pallet is the pallet with the largest number of materials that can satisfy the outbound order cluster; allocate the first target quantity of materials in the outbound order cluster to the first target pallet, and subtract the first target quantity from the quantity of materials in the first target pallet cluster; wherein the first target quantity is the quantity of materials that can satisfy the outbound order cluster by the first target pallet.

[0057] In an embodiment of the present application, the processor can also be configured to: determine whether the number of materials remaining in the outbound order cluster is 0, wherein the number of materials remaining in the outbound order cluster is the number of materials after deducting the first target number; when it is determined that the number of materials remaining in the outbound order cluster is not 0, distribute the remaining number of materials in the outbound order cluster to the pallets in at least one second target pallet cluster in sequence until the number of materials remaining in the outbound order cluster is 0, wherein the second target pallet cluster is a pallet cluster other than the first target pallet cluster.

[0058] In an embodiment of the present application, the processor can also be configured to: determine the pallet clusters after the first target pallet cluster in each pallet cluster arranged in the second arrangement order as second target pallet clusters in sequence; determine the second target pallet in the second target pallet cluster according to the remaining material quantity and material type in the outbound order cluster, wherein the second target pallet is the pallet that can satisfy the largest number of remaining materials in the outbound order cluster; allocate the second target quantity of materials in the outbound order cluster to the second target pallet, and subtract the second target quantity from the material quantity of the second target pallet cluster; wherein the second target quantity is the material quantity of the outbound order cluster that can be satisfied by the second target pallet.

[0059] In an embodiment of the present application, the processor can also be configured to: determine the quantity of materials allocated to each pallet cluster and the quantity of materials allocated to each pallet in each pallet cluster based on the material allocation result; sort each pallet cluster from large to small according to the quantity of materials allocated to it to obtain a third arrangement order of the pallet cluster; sort each pallet from large to small according to the quantity of materials allocated to it to obtain a fourth arrangement order of each pallet in the pallet cluster; and the order of handling tasks is the order in which each pallet cluster is handled in turn according to the third arrangement order and the pallets are handled in turn according to the fourth arrangement order.

[0060] Through the above technical solution, firstly, multiple outbound orders and multiple pallets are classified respectively to obtain multiple outbound order clusters and multiple pallet clusters, and then each outbound order cluster and each pallet cluster are sorted from large to small according to the number of materials, so as to obtain the first arrangement order of the outbound order cluster and the second arrangement order of the pallet cluster. Then, according to the first arrangement order, the materials in each outbound order cluster are sequentially allocated to the pallets in each pallet cluster arranged according to the second arrangement order to obtain the material allocation results of the multiple pallet clusters, and the order of the handling tasks corresponding to the target pallets in the multiple outbound order clusters is determined according to the material allocation results of the multiple pallet clusters, wherein the target pallet is the pallet to which the material is allocated, and finally the sorting equipment is controlled to carry the target pallet according to the order of the handling tasks. This application reduces the total number of allocated pallets, the total number of handling times and the total number of waiting times by classifying outbound orders and pallets, thereby reducing the waiting time of the sorting equipment and improving the efficiency of pallet handling.

[0061] The embodiment of the present application also provides a device for pallet handling, which may include: a classification module, used to classify multiple outbound orders and multiple pallets respectively, to obtain multiple outbound order clusters and multiple pallet clusters; a sorting module, used to sort each outbound order cluster and each pallet cluster from large to small according to the number of materials, to obtain a first arrangement order of the outbound order cluster and a second arrangement order of the pallet cluster; an allocation module, used to allocate the materials in each outbound order cluster to the pallets in each pallet cluster arranged according to the second arrangement order in sequence according to the first arrangement order, to obtain material allocation results of multiple pallet clusters; a sequence determination module, used to determine the order of handling tasks corresponding to the target pallets in the multiple outbound order clusters according to the material allocation results of the multiple pallet clusters, wherein the target pallet is the pallet to which the material is allocated; and a control module, used to control the sorting equipment to transport the target pallets in the order of handling tasks.

[0062] An embodiment of the present application further provides a machine-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions being used to enable a machine to execute the above-mentioned method for pallet transport.

[0063] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application may adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Moreover, the present application may adopt 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 codes.

[0064] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that each process and / or box in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the processes and / or boxes in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to generate a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate instructions for implementing the processes in the flowchart and / or block diagram. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in a block or multiple blocks.

[0065] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory capable of directing a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture comprising an instruction device, which implements the process Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A function specified in one or more boxes.

[0066] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions for implementing the process. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps for the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0067] In a typical configuration, a computing device includes one or more processors (CPU), input / output interfaces, network interfaces, and memory.

[0068] The memory may include non-permanent memory in a computer-readable medium, random access memory (RAM) and / or non-volatile memory in the form of read-only memory (ROM) or flash RAM. The memory is an example of a computer-readable medium.

[0069] Computer readable media include permanent and non-permanent, removable and non-removable media that can be implemented by any method or technology to store information. Information can be computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules 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 technology, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape disk storage or other magnetic storage devices or any other non-transmission media that can be used to store information that can be accessed by a computing device. As defined herein, computer readable media does not include temporary computer readable media (transitory media), such as modulated data signals and carrier waves.

[0070] It should also be noted that the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, commodity or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, commodity or device. In the absence of more restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, commodity or device including the elements.

[0071] The above are only embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. For those skilled in the art, the present application may have various changes and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application should be included within the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for pallet handling, characterized in that: include: Classify the multiple outbound orders and the multiple pallets respectively to obtain multiple outbound order clusters and multiple pallet clusters; Sorting the outbound order clusters and the pallet clusters respectively according to the material quantity from large to small, so as to obtain a first arrangement order of the outbound order clusters and a second arrangement order of the pallet clusters; According to the first arrangement order, the materials in each of the outbound order clusters are sequentially allocated to the pallets in each of the pallet clusters arranged according to the second arrangement order, so as to obtain material allocation results of the multiple pallet clusters; Determining the order of handling tasks corresponding to target pallets in the multiple outbound order clusters according to the material allocation results of the multiple pallet clusters, wherein the target pallet is a pallet to which the material is allocated; Controlling the sorting equipment to transport the target pallet according to the order of the transport tasks.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that By classifying multiple outbound orders, multiple outbound order clusters are obtained, including: Determine any of the first preset number of the multiple delivery orders as the initial cluster center delivery orders; For each non-initial cluster center delivery order among the delivery orders except the initial cluster center delivery order, respectively calculate the similarity between the non-initial cluster center delivery order and each initial cluster center delivery order; Allocating each of the non-initial cluster center delivery orders to the corresponding initial cluster center delivery order with the highest similarity, so as to obtain multiple initial delivery order clusters; For each of the initial outbound order clusters, respectively calculate the similarity between each outbound order in the initial outbound order cluster and other outbound orders, and determine the outbound order with the highest similarity to other outbound orders as a new cluster center outbound order to iterate the cluster center outbound orders; When the cluster center delivery order is continuously updated for a preset number of times or reaches a preset number of iterations, the current cluster center delivery order is determined as the target cluster center delivery order; Calculate the similarity between the non-target cluster center delivery order and each of the target cluster center delivery orders respectively; Each of the non-target cluster center delivery orders is assigned to the corresponding target cluster center delivery order with the highest similarity, so as to obtain multiple delivery order clusters.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Classify multiple pallets to obtain multiple pallet clusters including: Determine any of the trays of a second preset number among the plurality of trays as the initial cluster center tray; For each non-initial cluster center tray among the trays except the initial cluster center tray, respectively calculating the similarity between the non-initial cluster center tray and each of the initial cluster center trays; Allocating each of the non-initial cluster center pallets to the corresponding initial cluster center pallet with the highest similarity, so as to obtain a plurality of initial pallet clusters; For each of the initial pallet clusters, respectively calculating the similarity between each of the pallets in the initial pallet cluster and the other pallets, and determining the pallet with the highest similarity to the other pallets as a new cluster center pallet to iterate the cluster center pallet; When the cluster center tray remains unchanged for a preset number of times or reaches a preset number of iterations, determining the current cluster center tray as the target cluster center tray; Calculate the similarity between the non-target cluster center tray and each of the target cluster center trays respectively; Each of the non-target cluster center trays is allocated to the corresponding target cluster center tray with the highest similarity, so as to obtain a plurality of tray clusters.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of sequentially allocating the materials in each of the outbound order clusters to the pallets in each of the pallet clusters arranged in the second arrangement order according to the first arrangement order to obtain material allocation results of the plurality of pallet clusters includes: For any of the outbound order clusters, determining in sequence according to the second arrangement order whether the quantity of materials in the pallet cluster has reached an upper limit value; Determine the pallet cluster with the highest sorting among the pallet clusters whose material quantity has not reached the upper limit as the first target pallet cluster of the delivery order cluster; Determine a first target pallet in the first target pallet cluster according to the material quantity and material type in the outbound order cluster, wherein the first target pallet is a pallet with the largest number of materials that can satisfy the outbound order cluster; Allocate a first target quantity of materials in the outbound order cluster to the first target pallet, and subtract the first target quantity from the quantity of materials in the first target pallet cluster; The first target quantity is the quantity of materials that the first target pallet can satisfy for the outbound order cluster.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: Determine whether the remaining material quantity in the delivery order cluster is 0, wherein the remaining material quantity in the delivery order cluster is the material quantity after deducting the first target quantity; When it is determined that the remaining material quantity in the outbound order cluster is not 0, the remaining material quantity in the outbound order cluster is sequentially distributed to pallets in at least one second target pallet cluster until the remaining material quantity in the outbound order cluster is 0, wherein the second target pallet cluster is a pallet cluster other than the first target pallet cluster.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The step of sequentially distributing the remaining quantity of materials in the outbound order cluster to pallets in at least one second target pallet cluster includes: sequentially determining the pallet clusters after the first target pallet cluster in the pallet clusters arranged in the second arrangement order as the second target pallet clusters; Determine a second target pallet in the second target pallet cluster according to the remaining material quantity and material type in the outbound order cluster, wherein the second target pallet is a pallet that can satisfy the largest number of remaining materials in the outbound order cluster; Allocate the second target quantity of materials in the outbound order cluster to the second target pallet, and subtract the second target quantity from the quantity of materials in the second target pallet cluster; The second target quantity is the quantity of materials that the second target pallet can satisfy for the outbound order cluster.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The determining, according to the material allocation results of the multiple pallet clusters, the order of the handling tasks corresponding to the target pallets in the multiple outbound order clusters comprises: Determining the quantity of materials allocated to each of the pallet clusters and the quantity of materials allocated to each pallet in each of the pallet clusters according to the material allocation result; Sorting the pallet clusters from large to small according to the amount of materials allocated to them to obtain a third arrangement order of the pallet clusters; sorting the pallets from largest to smallest according to the quantity of materials allocated thereto to obtain a fourth arrangement order of the pallets within the pallet cluster; The order of the transport tasks is the order in which the tray clusters are transported in turn according to the third arrangement order and the trays are transported in turn according to the fourth arrangement order.

8. A processor, characterized in that: The method is configured to perform the method for pallet handling according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A device for pallet handling, characterized in that: include: A classification module, used for classifying a plurality of delivery orders and a plurality of pallets respectively, to obtain a plurality of delivery order clusters and a plurality of pallet clusters; A sorting module, used for sorting the outbound order clusters and the pallet clusters from large to small according to the quantity of materials, so as to obtain a first arrangement order of the outbound order clusters and a second arrangement order of the pallet clusters; an allocation module, configured to allocate materials in each of the outbound order clusters to pallets in each of the pallet clusters arranged in the second arrangement order in sequence according to the first arrangement order, so as to obtain material allocation results of the plurality of pallet clusters; An order determination module, used to determine the order of handling tasks corresponding to the target pallets in the multiple outbound order clusters according to the material allocation results of the multiple pallet clusters, wherein the target pallet is the pallet to which the material is allocated; The control module is used to control the sorting equipment to transport the target pallet according to the order of the transport tasks.

10. A machine-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The machine-readable storage medium stores instructions for causing a machine to execute the method for pallet handling according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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