Method and device for planning carrying operation path of intelligent carrying equipment

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides an intelligent carrying equipment carrying operation path planning method and device, and the method comprises the steps: determining a first horizontal position, a first vertical position, a second horizontal position and a second vertical position in response to a carrying instruction; pre-estimating the duration required by the vertical slide rail to horizontally slide from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail, and taking the duration as first carrying duration; the vertical position where the taking and placing module slides to the first carrying duration from the first vertical position in the target direction according to the maximum vertical sliding speed is determined and serves as a third vertical position; and if the third vertical position is located in the target direction of the second vertical position, controlling the vertical slide rail to horizontally slide from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail, and synchronously controlling the pick-and-place module to slide from the first vertical position to the second vertical position. In this way, time consumed by carrying operation is saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of warehousing technology, and in particular to a method and device for planning a transport operation path for intelligent transport equipment. Background Art

[0002] At present, STU (Sky Transfer Unit) robots are usually used to move items in a storage environment. The STU robot includes a horizontal slide rail, a vertical slide rail arranged on the horizontal slide rail, and a pick-and-place module arranged on the vertical slide rail. The vertical slide rail can slide horizontally along the horizontal slide rail, and the pick-and-place module can slide vertically along the vertical slide rail. Both the horizontal slide rail and the vertical slide rail are arranged near the shelf, so that the pick-and-place module can be aligned with a specific storage location on the shelf in both the horizontal and vertical directions by controlling the horizontal sliding of the vertical slide rail and the numerical sliding of the pick-and-place module, so as to move items on the storage location or place items on the storage location.

[0003] In the prior art, the STU handling efficiency is low. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the embodiment of the present application is to provide a method and device for planning a path for a handling operation of an intelligent handling device to improve the handling efficiency. The specific technical solution is as follows:

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for planning a transport operation path of an intelligent transport device, wherein the intelligent transport device comprises a horizontal slide rail, a vertical slide rail, and a pick-and-place module, wherein the vertical slide rail is arranged on the horizontal slide rail and is used to slide horizontally along the horizontal slide rail, and the pick-and-place module is arranged on the vertical slide rail and is used to slide vertically along the vertical slide rail;

[0006] The method comprises:

[0007] In response to a transport instruction, determining a first horizontal position of the vertical slide rail, a first vertical position of the pick-and-place module, and a second horizontal position and a second vertical position indicated by the transport instruction;

[0008] The time required for the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail is estimated as the first transport time;

[0009] Determine the vertical position where the pick-and-place module is located after sliding from the first vertical position along the target direction to the first handling time at the maximum vertical sliding speed as the third vertical position, wherein the target direction is the direction from the first vertical position to the second vertical position;

[0010] If the third vertical position is located in the target direction of the second vertical position, the vertical slide rail is controlled to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail, and the pick-and-place module is synchronously controlled to slide from the first vertical position to the second vertical position.

[0011] In a possible embodiment, the method further includes:

[0012] If the third vertical position is located in the opposite direction of the target direction of the second vertical position, control the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail, and synchronously control the pick-and-place module to slide from the first vertical position to the third vertical position;

[0013] After the vertical slide rail slides to the second horizontal position, the pick-and-place module is controlled to slide from the third vertical position to the second vertical position.

[0014] In a possible embodiment, determining the vertical position of the pick-and-place module after sliding from the first vertical position along the target direction for the first transport time at the maximum vertical sliding speed as the fourth vertical position includes:

[0015] The fourth vertical position is calculated according to the following formula:

[0016] h t =h0±t×(V 竖直max ×c1)

[0017] Among them, h t is used to indicate the fourth vertical position, h0 is used to indicate the first vertical position, t is used to indicate the first transport time, V 竖直max It is used to represent the maximum vertical sliding speed, and c1 is used to represent the preset first compensation coefficient.

[0018] In a possible embodiment, the estimating the time required for the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail as the first transport time includes:

[0019] Determine the length of the vertical slide rail sliding horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail and the maximum horizontal speed of the vertical slide rail, wherein the maximum horizontal speed is the maximum value of the speed of the vertical slide rail when sliding horizontally along the horizontal slide rail;

[0020] The quotient of the length and the maximum horizontal speed of the vertical slide rail is calculated to obtain a first transport time.

[0021] In a possible embodiment, calculating the quotient of the length and the maximum horizontal speed of the vertical slide rail to obtain the first transport time includes:

[0022] The first handling time is calculated according to the following formula:

[0023] t=c2×L÷V 水平max

[0024] Wherein, t is used to represent the first transport time, L is used to represent the length, V 水平max is used to represent the maximum horizontal speed, and c2 is used to represent a preset second compensation coefficient.

[0025] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a device for planning a transport operation path of an intelligent transport equipment, wherein the intelligent transport equipment comprises a horizontal slide rail, a vertical slide rail, and a pick-and-place module, wherein the vertical slide rail is arranged on the horizontal slide rail and is used to slide horizontally along the horizontal slide rail, and the pick-and-place module is arranged on the vertical slide rail and is used to slide vertically along the vertical slide rail;

[0026] The device comprises:

[0027] a first determining module, for determining, in response to a transport instruction, a first horizontal position of the vertical slide rail, a first vertical position of the pick-and-place module, and a second horizontal position and a second vertical position indicated by the transport instruction;

[0028] A duration estimation module, used to estimate the duration required for the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail as a first transport duration;

[0029] A second determination module is used to determine the vertical position of the pick-and-place module after sliding from the first vertical position along the target direction to the first handling time at the maximum vertical sliding speed as the third vertical position, wherein the target direction is the direction from the first vertical position to the second vertical position;

[0030] A control module is used to control the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail if the third vertical position is located in the target direction of the second vertical position, and synchronously control the pick-and-place module to slide from the first vertical position to the second vertical position.

[0031] In a possible embodiment, the control module is also used to control the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail if the third vertical position is located in the opposite direction of the target direction of the second vertical position, and synchronously control the pick-and-place module to slide from the first vertical position to the third vertical position; and control the pick-and-place module to slide from the third vertical position to the second vertical position after the vertical slide rail slides to the second horizontal position.

[0032] In a possible embodiment, the duration estimation module is specifically used to determine the length of the vertical slide rail sliding horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail and the maximum horizontal speed of the vertical slide rail, wherein the maximum horizontal speed is the maximum value of the speed of the vertical slide rail when sliding horizontally along the horizontal slide rail; calculate the quotient of the length and the maximum horizontal speed of the vertical slide rail to obtain the first transport duration.

[0033] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, including a processor and a memory;

[0034] The memory is used to store computer programs;

[0035] The processor is used to implement the intelligent handling equipment handling operation path planning method described in the present application when executing the program stored in the memory.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the method for planning a transport operation path for an intelligent transport equipment described in the present application is implemented.

[0037] Beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present application:

[0038] The method and device for planning the path of handling operations of intelligent handling equipment provided in the embodiments of the present application decompose the handling operation path planning into a horizontal path (i.e., the path along which the vertical slide rail slides) and a vertical path (i.e., the path along which the pick-and-place module slides) so as to determine whether the pick-and-place module can move to the second horizontal position before the horizontal path is completed according to the time taken for the horizontal path (i.e., the first handling duration). In the case where the pick-and-place module can move to the second horizontal position before the horizontal path is completed, a vertical path is planned to slide from the current position (i.e., the first vertical position) to the second vertical position, and the vertical slide rail is synchronously controlled to slide along the horizontal path and the pick-and-place module is synchronously controlled to slide along the vertical path, so that the pick-and-place module does not need to wait for the vertical slide rail to move into place before starting to slide, thereby effectively improving the handling efficiency of the intelligent handling equipment.

[0039] Of course, implementing any product or method of the present application does not necessarily require achieving all of the advantages described above at the same time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other embodiments can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0041] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a STU robot provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a shelf provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a STU robot and a shelf provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of a method for planning a transport operation path for an intelligent transport device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] Figure 5 Another schematic diagram of a shelf provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] Figure 6 Another schematic diagram of a flow chart of a method for planning a transport operation path for an intelligent transport device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a structure of a transport operation path planning device for intelligent transport equipment provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on the present application belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0050] The terms used in the embodiments of the present application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present application. The singular forms "a", "said" and "the" used in the embodiments of the present application and the appended claims are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates other meanings.

[0051] It should be understood that the term "and / or" used in this article is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0052] First, the professional terms in this application are explained:

[0053] Warehouse robots: Robots used for automated material handling, storage and retrieval in warehouses or logistics.

[0054] STU robot: It is a kind of material box overhead rail transport robot in warehouse automation. Its main feature is that the vertical slide rail can slide in the horizontal direction, and the pick-and-place module can slide in the vertical direction along the vertical slide rail.

[0055] Before explaining in detail the method for planning a transport operation path for an intelligent transport equipment provided in an embodiment of the present application, an application scenario of the method for planning a transport operation path for an intelligent transport equipment provided in an embodiment of the present application is first introduced.

[0056] The intelligent handling equipment handling operation path planning method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be used in the application scenario of warehousing and logistics. Warehousing and logistics refers to the use of self-built or leased warehouses to store, keep, load, unload, and distribute goods.

[0057] At present, STU robots are usually used to move items in a warehouse environment, and how to plan the STU robot's moving path is the basis for using robots to move items in a warehouse environment.

[0058] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a STU robot provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 In the embodiment, the STU robot includes a pick-and-place module 100, a vertical slide rail 200 and a horizontal slide rail (not shown in the figure). The pick-and-place module 100 can move along the vertical slide rail in the vertical direction (i.e. Figure 1 The bottom of the vertical rail 200 cooperates with the horizontal rail so that the vertical rail 200 can be slidably arranged on the horizontal rail. The vertical rail 200 can move along the horizontal rail in the horizontal direction (i.e. Figure 1 Slide in a direction perpendicular to the up and down directions.

[0059] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a shelf provided in an embodiment of the present application, Figure 2 The shelf 400 shown includes 4 layers and 4 columns of storage locations, wherein the first storage location 401 is the storage location in the 4th column of the 1st layer, and the second storage location 402 is the storage location in the 4th column of the 2nd layer. Figure 2 The figure is only a possible example of a shelf, and does not mean that the shelf in this application only has 4 layers and 4 rows of storage locations. The position relationship between the shelf and the STU robot can be seen in Figure 3 , Figure 3 In order to better illustrate the positional relationship between the shelf and the STU robot, the storage locations in the shelf and the details of the STU robot are not shown. For the structure of the STU robot, please refer to Figure 1 shown.

[0060] Figure 3 The robot comprises a pick-and-place module 100, a vertical slide rail 200, a horizontal slide rail 300, and a shelf 400. Figure 3 It can be seen that by controlling the vertical slide rail 200 to slide horizontally along the horizontal slide rail 300, the pick-and-place module 100 can be aligned with the storage locations of different columns in the shelf 400, and by controlling the pick-and-place module 100 to slide vertically along the vertical slide rail 200, the pick-and-place module 100 can be aligned with the storage locations of different layers in the shelf 400. Furthermore, by controlling the sliding of the vertical slide rail 200 and the pick-and-place module 100, the pick-and-place module 100 can be aligned with the storage location of a specified layer and a specified column in the shelf 400, so as to move the goods on the storage location, or unload the goods to the storage location.

[0061] An example is when you need to Figure 2 The goods stored in the first storage location 401 are transported to the second storage location 402, and it is assumed that the pick-and-place module 100 has been aligned with the first storage location 401 at the beginning. In the related art, the STU robot usually first controls the pick-and-place module 100 to move the goods in the first storage location 401, and then controls the vertical slide rail 200 to slide to the right along the horizontal slide rail 300 until the pick-and-place module 100 is aligned with the 4th column in the shelf 400, and then controls the pick-and-place module 100 to slide downward along the vertical slide rail 200 until the pick-and-place module 100 is aligned with the 2nd layer in the shelf 400. At this time, the pick-and-place module 100 is aligned with the second storage location 402, and finally controls the pick-and-place module 100 to unload the goods to the second storage location. However, in this solution, the pick-and-place module 100 needs to wait for the vertical slide rail 200 to move before it can start to move, resulting in a long time for the STU robot to carry out the operation.

[0062] Next, the implementation environment involved in the embodiments of the present application is introduced.

[0063] In order to solve the technical problems existing in the related technologies, the embodiments of the present application provide a method for planning the path of handling operations of an intelligent handling equipment. The intelligent handling equipment in the present application includes a horizontal slide rail, a vertical slide rail, and a pick-and-place module. The vertical slide rail is arranged on the horizontal slide rail and is used to slide horizontally along the horizontal slide rail. The pick-and-place module is arranged on the vertical slide rail and is used to slide vertically along the vertical slide rail. The intelligent handling equipment in the present application can be the aforementioned STU robot, or it can be other handling equipment having the aforementioned limited features. For the convenience of description below, only the intelligent handling equipment is taken as an example. Figure 1 , Figure 3 The case of the STU robot shown is used as an example for explanation. The principles are the same for other cases and will not be repeated here.

[0064] Methods can be found in Figure 4 , the method comprises the following steps:

[0065] S41, in response to a transport instruction, determining a first horizontal position of the vertical slide rail, a first position of the pick-and-place module, and a second horizontal position and a second vertical position indicated by the transport instruction.

[0066] It should be noted that the transport instruction is an instruction received by the intelligent transport device for indicating a transport task. For example, Figure 2 There are two transport instructions for transporting the goods stored in the first storage location 401 to the second storage location 402. The first transport instruction is used to instruct the goods to be transported from the first storage location 401, and the second transport instruction is used to instruct the goods to be unloaded to the second storage location 402. Correspondingly, the second horizontal position indicated by the first transport instruction is: the horizontal position of the first storage location 401, the second vertical position indicated by the first transport instruction is: the vertical position of the first storage location 401, the second horizontal position indicated by the second transport instruction is: the horizontal position of the second storage location 402, and the second vertical position indicated by the second transport instruction is: the vertical position of the second storage location 402.

[0067] Furthermore, it can be understood that the horizontal position of a storage location can be represented by the horizontal position of any spatial point spatially associated with the storage location (hereinafter referred to as the horizontal position point), and the vertical position of a storage location can also be represented by the vertical position of any spatial point spatially associated with the storage location (hereinafter referred to as the vertical position point of the point). Furthermore, the horizontal position point and the vertical position point of a storage location can be the same or different. However, the relative position of the horizontal position points of all storage locations to the storage location should be the same, and the relative position of the vertical position points of all storage locations to the storage location should be the same.

[0068] For example, see Figure 5For the first storage location 401 in the shelf 400, the first point 401a can be used as the horizontal position point of the first storage location 401, and the first point 401a can be used as the vertical position point of the first storage location 401. The second point 401b can be used as the horizontal position point of the first storage location 401, and the second point 401b can be used as the vertical position point of the first storage location 401. The first point 401a can be used as the horizontal position point of the first storage location 401, and the second point 401b can be used as the vertical position point of the first storage location 401.

[0069] Furthermore, since the third point 402a and the first point 401a have the same relative position in their respective storage positions, and the fourth point 402b and the second point 401b have the same relative position in their respective storage positions, if the first point 401a is used as the horizontal position point of the first storage position 401, the third point 402a needs to be used as the horizontal position point of the second storage position 402, and the fourth point 402b cannot be used as the horizontal position point of the second storage position 402. Similarly, if the second point 401b is used as the vertical position point of the first storage position 401, the fourth point 402b needs to be used as the vertical position point of the second storage position 402, and the third point 402a cannot be used as the horizontal position point of the second storage position 402.

[0070] Similarly to the second horizontal position and the second vertical position, the first horizontal position of the vertical slide rail can also be expressed as the horizontal position of any spatial point spatially associated with the vertical slide rail, and the first vertical position of the pick and place module can also be expressed as the horizontal position of any spatial point spatially associated with the pick and place module.

[0071] However, it should be ensured that: when the horizontal position point of the vertical slide rail is aligned with the horizontal position point of the storage location indicated by the handling instruction (hereinafter referred to as the target storage location) in the horizontal direction, the pick-and-place module should be aligned with the column to which the target storage location belongs, and it should be ensured that: when the vertical position point of the pick-and-place module is aligned with the vertical position point of the target storage location in the vertical direction, the pick-and-place module should be aligned with the layer to which the target storage location belongs. In the case where goods need to be moved, the target storage location is the storage location where the goods to be moved are stored, and in the case where goods need to be unloaded, the target storage location is the storage location to which the goods need to be unloaded.

[0072] For example, Figure 3 The vertical slide rail 200 shown in the figure is composed of two slide rails. The slide rail on the left side is referred to as the left vertical slide rail, and the slide rail on the right side is referred to as the right vertical slide rail. It is assumed that the horizontal interval between the left vertical slide rail and the right vertical slide rail is the same as the width of the storage position (i.e., the size in the horizontal direction), and it is assumed that the target storage position is Figure 5When the left vertical rail is aligned with the second point 401b in the horizontal direction, the pick-and-place module 100 is aligned with the column (i.e., the first column) to which the first storage position 401 belongs. Therefore, if the second point 401b is used as the horizontal position point of the first storage position 401, the point on the left vertical rail should be used as the horizontal position point of the vertical rail 200, and the point on the right vertical rail cannot be used as the horizontal position point of the vertical rail 200.

[0073] Similarly, when the right vertical slide rail is aligned with the first point 401a in the horizontal direction, the pick-and-place module 100 is aligned with the first column. Therefore, if the first point 401a is used as the horizontal position point of the first storage position 401, the point on the right vertical slide rail should be used as the horizontal position point of the vertical slide rail 200, and the point on the left vertical slide rail cannot be used as the horizontal position point of the vertical slide rail 200.

[0074] S42, estimating the time required for the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail as the first transport time.

[0075] The first transport time may be calculated based on the theoretical speed of the vertical rail when sliding horizontally along the horizontal rail and the interval between the first horizontal position and the second horizontal position, or may be obtained by searching for the first transport time from the corresponding relationship between the interval between the first horizontal position and the second horizontal position and the preset interval and the transport time. How to calculate the first transport time will be exemplified below and will not be described in detail here.

[0076] S43, determining a vertical position where the pick-and-place module is located after sliding from the first vertical position along the target direction to the first transport time according to the maximum vertical sliding speed, as a third vertical position.

[0077] The target direction is the direction from the first vertical position to the second vertical position. Figure 2 , Figure 3 Take the scenario shown as an example, assuming the target storage location is Figure 2 The second storage position 402 in Figure 3 It can be seen that the vertical slide rail is obviously on the left side of the second storage position 402, so the target direction is to the right along the horizontal slide rail 300. Figure 2 The first storage position 401 in Figure 3 It can be seen that the vertical slide rail is obviously on the right side of the second storage position 402, so the target direction is to the left along the horizontal slide rail 300.

[0078] The maximum vertical sliding speed may refer to: the theoretical maximum speed when the pick-and-place module slides vertically along the vertical slide rail, or may refer to: the maximum speed pre-set for the pick-and-place module, or may refer to: the maximum value of the actual sliding speed of the vertical slide rail in the historical time period. Exemplarily, for example, assuming that the rated speed of the pick-and-place module when sliding vertically along the vertical slide rail is am / s – bm / s, where b>a, then b can be used as the maximum vertical sliding speed. For another example, although the rated speed of the pick-and-place module when sliding vertically along the vertical slide rail is am / s – bm / s, the user has pre-set that the sliding speed of the pick-and-place module cannot be higher than cm / s, where b>c>a, then c can be used as the maximum vertical sliding speed. For another example, the sliding speed of the pick-and-place module at each moment in the last day or 12 hours can be obtained, and the maximum value thereof can be used as the maximum vertical sliding speed.

[0079] Since the third vertical position is the position that the pick-and-place module can reach by sliding at the maximum vertical sliding speed, and it can be considered that the sliding speed of the pick-and-place module will not be greater than the maximum vertical sliding speed, the third vertical position can be considered to be the farthest vertical position in the target direction that can be reached within the first transport duration. The first transport duration is the time required for the vertical slide rail to slide from the current position (i.e., the first horizontal position) to the horizontal position of the column to which the target storage location belongs (i.e., the second horizontal position), so the third vertical position can be regarded as: when the vertical slide rail moves into place, the farthest vertical position that the pick-and-place module can reach in the target direction.

[0080] S44, if the third vertical position is located in the target direction of the second vertical position, control the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail, and synchronously control the pick-and-place module to slide from the first vertical position to the second vertical position.

[0081] If the third vertical position is located in the target direction of the second vertical position, it means that the third vertical position is farther than the second vertical position in the target direction. Since the third vertical position can be regarded as: the farthest vertical position that the pick-and-place module can reach in the target direction when the vertical slide rail moves into place, the pick-and-place module can slide to the second vertical position when the vertical slide rail moves into place. Therefore, while controlling the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail, the pick-and-place module is controlled to slide from the first vertical position to the second vertical position.

[0082] The method for planning the transport operation path of intelligent transport equipment provided in the embodiment of the present application decomposes the transport operation path planning into a horizontal path (i.e., the path along which the vertical slide rail slides) and a vertical path (i.e., the path along which the pick-and-place module slides) so as to determine whether the pick-and-place module can move to the second horizontal position before the horizontal path is completed according to the time taken for the horizontal path (i.e., the first transport duration). In the case where the pick-and-place module can move to the second horizontal position before the horizontal path is completed, a vertical path is planned to slide from the current position (i.e., the first vertical position) to the second vertical position, and the vertical slide rail is synchronously controlled to slide along the horizontal path and the pick-and-place module is synchronously controlled to slide along the vertical path, so that the pick-and-place module does not need to wait for the vertical slide rail to move into place before starting to slide, thereby effectively improving the transport efficiency of the intelligent transport equipment.

[0083] The above has briefly described the operation path planning method of the intelligent handling equipment provided by the present application. The following will provide an illustrative explanation of how to calculate the first handling time. In a possible embodiment, the length of the vertical slide rail sliding horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail and the maximum horizontal speed of the vertical slide rail can be determined; the difference between the length and the maximum horizontal speed of the vertical slide rail is calculated as the first handling time.

[0084] The maximum horizontal speed may refer to: the theoretical maximum speed of the vertical slide when sliding horizontally along the horizontal slide, or may refer to: the maximum speed pre-set for the vertical slide, or may refer to: the maximum value of the actual sliding speed of the vertical slide in the historical time period. Exemplarily, for example, assuming that the rated speed of the vertical slide when sliding horizontally along the horizontal slide is dm / s-em / s, where e>d, then e can be used as the maximum horizontal sliding speed. For another example, although the rated speed of the vertical slide when sliding horizontally along the horizontal slide is dm / s-em / s, the user has pre-set that the sliding speed of the pick-and-place module cannot be higher than fm / s, where e>f>d, then f can be used as the maximum horizontal sliding speed. For another example, the sliding speed of the vertical slide at each moment in the last day or 12 hours can be obtained, and the maximum value thereof can be used as the maximum horizontal sliding speed.

[0085] If the time required for the vertical slide to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide is determined as the first transport time according to the average speed of the vertical slide, and the third vertical position to which the pick-and-place module slides within the first transport time is determined, during the actual transport operation of the intelligent transport equipment, the sliding speed of the intelligent transport equipment is greater than the average speed of the vertical slide, then the time required for the vertical slide to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide is less than the first transport time, and the pick-and-place module may not have slid to the second vertical position after the vertical slide has horizontally slid from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide.

[0086] In this embodiment, the time required for the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail is estimated as the first transport time, and the vertical position where the pick-and-place module is located after sliding from the first vertical position along the target direction at the maximum vertical sliding speed to the first transport time is determined as the third vertical position.

[0087] Therefore, by adopting the method of this embodiment, since the actual sliding speed of the intelligent handling equipment is less than the maximum horizontal speed of the vertical slide rail, the minimum time required for the intelligent handling equipment to slide from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position is determined according to the maximum horizontal speed, and the pick-and-place module is determined to slide from the first vertical position along the target direction to the vertical position after the first handling time at the maximum vertical sliding speed within the minimum time. This can reduce the possibility that the vertical slide rail moves from the first horizontal position to the second sliding position while the pick-and-place module has not yet reached the second vertical position from the first vertical position.

[0088] Of course, in other possible embodiments, the first transport time can also be determined based on the length of the vertical slide rail sliding horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail, the maximum horizontal speed of the vertical slide rail, the maximum horizontal acceleration of the vertical slide rail, and the maximum horizontal deceleration of the vertical slide rail. The present application does not limit this.

[0089] Furthermore, in a possible embodiment, the first transport time may be calculated specifically according to the following formula:

[0090] t=c2×L÷V 水平max

[0091] Wherein, t is used to represent the first transport time, L is used to represent the length of the vertical slide rail sliding horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail, and V 水平max It is used to indicate the maximum horizontal speed of the vertical slide rail, and c2 is used to indicate the second compensation coefficient.

[0092] The value of c2 can be determined according to actual conditions, but should be greater than 1. For example, it can be 2 or 4 / 3, which are values ​​greater than 1.

[0093] With the method of the embodiment of the present application, since the actual sliding speed of the vertical slide rail does not reach the maximum sliding speed of the vertical slide rail, the second compensation coefficient is introduced to compensate for the sliding speed of the vertical slide rail.

[0094] In order to quickly and accurately obtain the third vertical position, in a possible embodiment, the third vertical position is calculated according to the following formula:

[0095] h t =h0±t×(V 竖直max ×c1)

[0096] Among them, h t is used to indicate the third vertical position, h0 is used to indicate the first vertical position, t is used to indicate the first transport time, V 竖直max It is used to indicate the maximum vertical sliding speed, c1 is used to indicate the first compensation coefficient, when the height of the second vertical position is higher than the height of the first vertical position, the ± in the formula takes a + sign, and when the height of the second vertical position is lower than the height of the first vertical position, the ± in the formula takes a - sign.

[0097] The value of c1 can be a positive number less than 1, and the specific value can be determined according to actual conditions, for example, it can be 1 / 2 or 3 / 4.

[0098] Of course, in other possible embodiments, the fourth vertical position may also be determined based on the first transport duration, the first vertical position, the maximum vertical sliding speed, the maximum vertical sliding acceleration, and the maximum vertical sliding deceleration, and the present application does not limit this.

[0099] The above example only illustrates that the third vertical position is located in the target direction of the second vertical position. For the case where the third vertical position is located in the opposite direction of the target direction of the second vertical position, the following example can be used: Figure 6 As shown, including:

[0100] S41, in response to a transport instruction, determining a first horizontal position of the vertical slide rail, a first position of the pick-and-place module, and a second horizontal position and a second vertical position indicated by the transport instruction.

[0101] S42, estimating the time required for the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail as the first transport time.

[0102] S43, determining a vertical position where the pick-and-place module is located after sliding from the first vertical position along the target direction to the first transport time according to the maximum vertical sliding speed, as a third vertical position.

[0103] S44, if the third vertical position is located in the target direction of the second vertical position, control the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail, and synchronously control the pick-and-place module to slide from the first vertical position to the second vertical position.

[0104] S45, if the third vertical position is located in the opposite direction of the target direction of the second vertical position, control the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail, and synchronously control the pick-and-place module to slide from the first vertical position to the third vertical position.

[0105] If the third vertical position is located in the opposite direction of the target direction of the second vertical position, it means that the second vertical position is farther than the third vertical position in the target direction. Since the third vertical position can be regarded as: the farthest vertical position that the pick and place module can reach in the target direction when the vertical slide rail moves into place, the pick and place module cannot slide to the second vertical position when the vertical slide rail moves into place, that is, it is impossible to control the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail while controlling the pick and place module to slide from the first vertical position to the second vertical position.

[0106] In order to make the pick-and-place module as close to the target storage position as possible after the vertical slide rail completes the horizontal trajectory, in this embodiment, while controlling the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail, the pick-and-place module is controlled to slide from the first vertical position to the third vertical position.

[0107] S46, after the vertical slide rail slides to the second horizontal position, controlling the pick-and-place module to slide from the third vertical position to the second vertical position.

[0108] Since in this case, the pick-and-place module is located at the third vertical position after the vertical slide rail slides to the second horizontal position, the pick-and-place module is obviously not aligned with the target storage location, and thus the handling operation cannot be performed. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is necessary to further control the pick-and-place module to continue sliding from the third vertical position to the second vertical position so that the pick-and-place module is aligned with the target storage location, so that the handling operation can be performed.

[0109] Depend on Figure 6 It can be seen from the illustrated embodiment that if the vertical position of the pick-and-place module when the slide rail slides horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail is recorded as the fourth vertical position, then when the third vertical is in the target direction of the second vertical position, the fourth vertical position is the second vertical position, and when the third vertical is in the opposite direction of the target direction of the second vertical position, the fourth vertical position is the third vertical position.

[0110] Therefore, if the height value of the first vertical position is greater than the height value of the second vertical position, the fourth vertical position can be expressed by the following formula:

[0111] h 第四竖直位置 =min(h 第三竖直位置 ,h 第二竖直位置 ), if h 第二竖直位置 >h 第一竖直位置

[0112] Among them, h 第三竖直位置 is the height of the third vertical position, h 第四竖直位置 is the height of the fourth vertical position, h 第二竖直位置 is the height of the second vertical position, h 第一竖直位置 is the height of the first vertical position.

[0113] When the height value of the first vertical position is less than the height value of the second vertical position, the fourth vertical position can be expressed by the following formula:

[0114] h 第四竖直位置 =max(h 第三竖直位置 ,h 第二竖直位置 ), if h 第二竖直位置 <h 第一竖直位置

[0115] Among them, h 第三竖直位置 is the height of the third vertical position, h 第四竖直位置 is the height of the fourth vertical position, h 第二竖直位置 is the height of the second vertical position, h 第一竖直位置 is the height of the first vertical position.

[0116] In another example, when the vertical slide rail does not need to slide horizontally, that is, the first horizontal position is the same as the second horizontal position, the pick and place module is directly slid from the first vertical position to the second vertical position.

[0117] For example, when the vertical slide rail does not need to slide horizontally, the pick-and-place module is directly controlled to slide from the first vertical position to the second vertical position. At this time, the fourth vertical position can be expressed by the following formula:

[0118] h 第四竖直位置 = h 第二竖直位置 , if t=0

[0119] Among them, h 第四竖直位置 is the height of the third vertical position, h 第二竖直位置 is the height of the fourth vertical position, and t is the first transport time.

[0120] The embodiment of the present application further provides a device for planning a transport operation path of an intelligent transport equipment, wherein the intelligent transport equipment comprises a horizontal slide rail, a vertical slide rail and a pick-and-place module, wherein the vertical slide rail is arranged on the horizontal slide rail and is used to slide horizontally along the horizontal slide rail, and the pick-and-place module is arranged on the vertical slide rail and is used to slide vertically along the vertical slide rail;

[0121] The device is as Figure 7 As shown, including:

[0122] A first determination module 701 is used to determine, in response to a transport instruction, a first horizontal position of the vertical slide rail, a first vertical position of the pick-and-place module, and a second horizontal position and a second vertical position indicated by the transport instruction;

[0123] The duration estimation module 702 is used to estimate the duration required for the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail as a first transport duration;

[0124] A second determination module 703 is used to determine the vertical position of the pick-and-place module after sliding from the first vertical position along the target direction to the first handling time at the maximum vertical sliding speed as the third vertical position, wherein the target direction is the direction from the first vertical position to the second vertical position;

[0125] The control module 704 is used to control the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail if the third vertical position is in the target direction of the second vertical position, and synchronously control the pick-and-place module to slide from the first vertical position to the second vertical position.

[0126] In a possible embodiment, the control module 704 is also used to control the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail if the third vertical position is located in the opposite direction of the target direction of the second vertical position, and synchronously control the pick-and-place module to slide from the first vertical position to the third vertical position; and control the pick-and-place module to slide from the third vertical position to the second vertical position after the vertical slide rail slides to the second horizontal position.

[0127] In a possible embodiment, the duration estimation module 702 is specifically used to determine the length of the vertical slide rail sliding horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail and the maximum horizontal speed of the vertical slide rail, wherein the maximum horizontal speed is the maximum value of the speed of the vertical slide rail when sliding horizontally along the horizontal slide rail; calculate the quotient of the length and the maximum horizontal speed of the vertical slide rail to obtain the first transport duration.

[0128] The present application also provides an electronic device, such as Figure 8 As shown, including:

[0129] Memory 801, used for storing computer programs;

[0130] The processor 802 is used to execute the program stored in the memory 801, and implements the following steps:

[0131] In response to a transport instruction, determining a first horizontal position of the vertical slide rail, a first vertical position of the pick-and-place module, and a second horizontal position and a second vertical position indicated by the transport instruction;

[0132] The time required for the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail is estimated as the first transport time;

[0133] Determine the vertical position where the pick-and-place module is located after sliding from the first vertical position along the target direction to the first handling time at the maximum vertical sliding speed as the third vertical position, wherein the target direction is the direction from the first vertical position to the second vertical position;

[0134] If the third vertical position is located in the target direction of the second vertical position, the vertical slide rail is controlled to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail, and the pick-and-place module is synchronously controlled to slide from the first vertical position to the second vertical position.

[0135] The memory may include a random access memory (RAM) or a non-volatile memory (NVM), such as at least one disk memory. Optionally, the memory may also be at least one storage device located away from the aforementioned processor.

[0136] The above-mentioned processor can be a general-purpose processor, including a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), etc.; it can also be a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components.

[0137] In another embodiment provided in the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of any of the above-mentioned intelligent handling equipment handling operation path planning methods are implemented.

[0138] In another embodiment provided in the present application, a computer program product including instructions is also provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute any one of the intelligent transport equipment transport operation path planning methods in the above embodiments.

[0139] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a solid-state hard disk (SSD), etc.

[0140] It should be noted that, in this article, relational terms such as first and second, etc. are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article 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, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprise a ..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the elements.

[0141] Each embodiment in this specification is described in a related manner, and the same or similar parts between the embodiments can be referred to each other, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. In particular, for the device, electronic device and storage medium embodiments, since they are basically similar to the method embodiments, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the partial description of the method embodiments.

[0142] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application are included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for planning a transport operation path of an intelligent transport equipment, characterized in that: The intelligent handling equipment comprises a horizontal slide rail, a vertical slide rail and a pick-and-place module, wherein the vertical slide rail is arranged on the horizontal slide rail and is used to slide horizontally along the horizontal slide rail, and the pick-and-place module is arranged on the vertical slide rail and is used to slide vertically along the vertical slide rail; The method comprises: In response to a transport instruction, determining a first horizontal position of the vertical slide rail, a first vertical position of the pick-and-place module, and a second horizontal position and a second vertical position indicated by the transport instruction; The time required for the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail is estimated as the first transport time; Determine the vertical position where the pick-and-place module is located after sliding from the first vertical position along the target direction to the first handling time at the maximum vertical sliding speed as the third vertical position, wherein the target direction is the direction from the first vertical position to the second vertical position; If the third vertical position is located in the target direction of the second vertical position, the vertical slide rail is controlled to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail, and the pick-and-place module is synchronously controlled to slide from the first vertical position to the second vertical position.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: If the third vertical position is located in the opposite direction of the target direction of the second vertical position, control the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail, and synchronously control the pick-and-place module to slide from the first vertical position to the third vertical position; After the vertical slide rail slides to the second horizontal position, the pick-and-place module is controlled to slide from the third vertical position to the second vertical position.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The determining, as the fourth vertical position, a vertical position at which the pick-and-place module is located after sliding from the first vertical position along the target direction for the first transport time at the maximum vertical sliding speed includes: The fourth vertical position is calculated according to the following formula: h t =h0±t×(V 竖直max ×c1) Among them, h t is used to indicate the fourth vertical position, h0 is used to indicate the first vertical position, t is used to indicate the first transport time, V 竖直max It is used to represent the maximum vertical sliding speed, and c1 is used to represent the preset first compensation coefficient.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The estimating the time required for the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail as the first transport time includes: Determine the length of the vertical slide rail sliding horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail and the maximum horizontal speed of the vertical slide rail, wherein the maximum horizontal speed is the maximum value of the speed of the vertical slide rail when sliding horizontally along the horizontal slide rail; The quotient of the length and the maximum horizontal speed of the vertical slide rail is calculated to obtain a first transport time.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The calculating the quotient of the length and the maximum horizontal speed of the vertical slide rail to obtain a first transport time comprises: The first handling time is calculated according to the following formula: t=c2×L÷V 水平max Wherein, t is used to represent the first transport time, L is used to represent the length, V 水平max is used to represent the maximum horizontal speed, and c2 is used to represent a preset second compensation coefficient.

6. A device for planning a transport operation path for intelligent transport equipment, characterized in that: The intelligent handling equipment comprises a horizontal slide rail, a vertical slide rail and a pick-and-place module, wherein the vertical slide rail is arranged on the horizontal slide rail and is used to slide horizontally along the horizontal slide rail, and the pick-and-place module is arranged on the vertical slide rail and is used to slide vertically along the vertical slide rail; The device comprises: a first determining module, for determining, in response to a transport instruction, a first horizontal position of the vertical slide rail, a first vertical position of the pick-and-place module, and a second horizontal position and a second vertical position indicated by the transport instruction; A duration estimation module, used to estimate the duration required for the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail as a first transport duration; A second determination module is used to determine the vertical position of the pick-and-place module after sliding from the first vertical position along the target direction to the first handling time at the maximum vertical sliding speed as the third vertical position, wherein the target direction is the direction from the first vertical position to the second vertical position; A control module is used to control the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail if the third vertical position is located in the target direction of the second vertical position, and synchronously control the pick-and-place module to slide from the first vertical position to the second vertical position.

7. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that The control module is also used to control the vertical slide rail to slide horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail if the third vertical position is located in the opposite direction of the target direction of the second vertical position, and synchronously control the pick-and-place module to slide from the first vertical position to the third vertical position; and control the pick-and-place module to slide from the third vertical position to the second vertical position after the vertical slide rail slides to the second horizontal position.

8. The device according to claim 7, characterized in that The duration estimation module is specifically used to determine the length of the vertical slide rail sliding horizontally from the first horizontal position to the second horizontal position along the horizontal slide rail and the maximum horizontal speed of the vertical slide rail, wherein the maximum horizontal speed is the maximum value of the speed of the vertical slide rail when sliding horizontally along the horizontal slide rail; calculate the quotient of the length and the maximum horizontal speed of the vertical slide rail to obtain the first transport duration.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: Memory, used to store computer programs; A processor, for implementing any of the methods described in claims 1-5 when executing a program stored in a memory.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is implemented.

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