Warehouse-in and warehouse-out system, warehouse-in method and warehouse-out method

Abstract

The invention provides a warehouse-in and warehouse-out system, a warehouse-in method and a warehouse-out method, and the warehouse-in and warehouse-out system comprises a carrying robot which is used for storing one or more material boxes, and the carrying robot is used for carrying a material box to be delivered out of a warehouse and a material box to be warehoused; and the robot connection station is used for receiving the to-be-delivered workbins provided by the transfer robot and providing the to-be-warehoused workbins for the transfer robot.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of warehousing and logistics, and more specifically, relates to a warehousing and outbound system, a warehousing method and a warehousing and outbound method in a warehousing and logistics scenario. Background Art

[0002] In existing warehouses, robots are installed in relevant warehouses to realize the transportation of goods in and out of the warehouse. Due to the various storage locations of goods and the complex storage conditions of goods, the process of goods in and out of the warehouse is complicated, which makes the efficiency of goods in and out of the warehouse low. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of this, the present invention provides a storage-in and storage-out system, a storage-in method and a storage-out method to solve the technical problem of how to improve the storage-in and storage-out efficiency of goods in a warehouse.

[0004] The technical solution of the present invention is achieved in this way:

[0005] The embodiment of the present invention provides a storage system, including:

[0006] A handling robot, used to store one or more material boxes, and the handling robot is used to carry material boxes to be shipped out and material boxes to be shipped in;

[0007] The robot docking station is used to receive the material boxes to be shipped out provided by the transport robot, and to provide the material boxes to be shipped in to the transport robot.

[0008] In some embodiments, the transport robot includes a first robot, the first robot is provided with one or more cache positions, and the first robot further includes a first transport mechanism and a second transport mechanism;

[0009] The first transport mechanism is used to lift the box group above the target outbound box, and the box group includes at least one box; the second transport mechanism is used to transport the target outbound box and store the target outbound box in the cache position; the second transport mechanism is also used to transport multiple target outbound boxes to the robot docking station; the robot docking station or the first robot lifts a single target outbound box or a whole stack of target outbound boxes on the cache position to the stacking position of the robot docking station, and the robot docking station is also used to disassemble the whole stack of target outbound boxes on the stacking position from a stacked state into single boxes and ship them out one by one.

[0010] In some embodiments, the robot docking station stacks multiple target incoming material boxes to form a unit of a whole stack of target incoming material box groups, and the robot docking station or the first robot lifts the target incoming material box group from the stacking position to the cache position of the first robot; the first transporting mechanism in the first robot is used to lift the material box group above the current target incoming material box, and the second transporting mechanism is used to transport the current target incoming material box to the corresponding incoming material box position in the warehouse.

[0011] In some embodiments, the transport robot includes a second robot, the second robot is provided with a stacking area, the bottom of the stacking area forms a stacking position, and the second robot includes a third transport mechanism;

[0012] The third transport mechanism is used to lift the target outbound material box group in the warehouse to the stacking area, and the target outbound material box group includes at least one target outbound material box. The third transport mechanism of the second robot or the robot docking station is used to transport the target outbound material box group in the stacking area to the palletizing area of ​​the robot docking station, and the robot docking station is used to disassemble the entire stack of the target outbound material box group in the palletizing area from a stacked state into single boxes and ship them out one by one.

[0013] In some embodiments, the robot docking station stacks multiple target incoming material boxes in the palletizing area to form a unit of a whole stack of target incoming material box groups; the third transport mechanism of the second robot or the robot docking station is used to lift the target incoming material box group in the palletizing area to the stacking area, and the second robot is also used to transport the target incoming material box group in the stacking area to the corresponding warehousing position in the warehouse.

[0014] The embodiment of the present invention further provides a warehousing method, which is used in any of the above-mentioned warehousing systems, including:

[0015] Determine whether the storage positions of the target storage boxes in the target storage box group for palletizing in the stacking area of ​​the robot docking station are consistent;

[0016] If they are consistent, the third transport mechanism or robot docking station in the second robot lifts the target incoming material box group in the palletizing area to the stacking area, and the second robot transports the entire stack of target incoming material box group in the stacking area to the storage position in the warehouse;

[0017] If they are inconsistent, the robot docking station or the first robot moves the entire stack of the target incoming material box group in the stacking area to the cache position of the first robot, and the first robot moves the target incoming material boxes on the cache position to the corresponding incoming storage position in turn.

[0018] The embodiment of the present invention further provides a method for removing a warehouse from a warehouse, which is used in any one of the above-mentioned warehouse entry and exit systems, comprising:

[0019] Determine whether the storage locations of multiple target outbound material boxes in the order are consistent;

[0020] If there is inconsistency, the first robot transports the target outbound material boxes at different storage locations to the temporary storage locations in the warehouse, and stacks multiple target outbound material boxes into a target outbound material box group, and the second robot transports the target outbound material box group at the temporary storage location to the robot docking station.

[0021] In some embodiments, if the storage locations of multiple target outbound bins in the order are consistent, the method further includes:

[0022] Determine whether all the boxes in the whole stack of boxes at the same storage location belong to the target outbound boxes;

[0023] If so, the second robot moves the entire stack of material boxes at the storage location to the robot docking station.

[0024] In some embodiments, if the bins in the stacked bin group at the same storage location do not completely belong to the target outbound bins, the method further includes:

[0025] Determine whether all target outbound bins in the stacked bin group are stacked on top of all non-target outbound bins;

[0026] If yes, the second robot directly carries the multiple target outbound material boxes in the material box group to the robot docking station;

[0027] If not, the first robot takes out the non-target outbound material boxes in the whole stack of material boxes to stack the remaining material boxes to form a target outbound material box group, and the second robot transports the target outbound material box group to the robot docking station.

[0028] In some embodiments, it also includes:

[0029] When the delivery time of an order is greater than the set value, the first robot stacks the scattered target delivery boxes in the warehouse into a whole stack of target delivery box groups. When the delivery time of the order is reached, the second robot transports the whole stack of target delivery box groups to the robot docking station.

[0030] The embodiment of the present invention provides a storage system, which includes a handling robot and a robot docking station. The handling robot is used to store one or more material boxes, and the handling robot is used to carry material boxes to be shipped out and material boxes to be stored in. The robot docking station is used to receive material boxes to be shipped out provided by the handling robot and to provide material boxes to be stored in for the handling robot. The handling robot in the embodiment of the present invention can be used to store and carry one or more material boxes. When the target material box to be carried is located in the middle of a whole stack of material boxes, the handling robot can take out the target material box from the whole stack of material boxes and carry the target material box to the robot docking station. When the whole stack of material boxes are all target handling material boxes, the handling robot can carry the whole stack of material boxes to the robot docking station. The handling by the handling robot and the robot docking station is conducive to adapting to the storage conditions of different material boxes, realizing the automation of material box storage and warehousing, and improving the efficiency of material box storage and warehousing in the warehouse. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a storage-in / out system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a first robot according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a robot docking station and a second robot according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a second robot according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 5 A flowchart of the steps of the method for sending out goods in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 6 The figure is a flowchart of the steps of the warehousing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] Description of reference numerals:

[0038] 100, first robot; 101, mobile support; 102, first transport mechanism; 103, second transport mechanism; 104, first lifting mechanism; 105, second lifting mechanism; 106, cache position; 200, second robot; 210, stacking area; 211, stacking position; 201, second support; 202, third transport mechanism; 203, second lifting mechanism; 300, robot docking station; 301, third rack; 302, fourth transport mechanism; 304, fourth lifting mechanism; 310, palletizing area; 311, palletizing position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0040] The various specific technical features described in the specific embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without contradiction, for example, different embodiments and technical solutions can be formed by combining different specific technical features. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, various possible combinations of the specific technical features in the present invention will not be described separately.

[0041] In the following description, the terms "first\second\..." are only used to distinguish different objects, and do not mean that the objects have the same or related points. It should be understood that the directions "above", "below", "outside" and "inside" are all directions in normal use, and the directions "left" and "right" refer to the left and right directions shown in the corresponding schematic diagrams, which may or may not be the left and right directions in normal use.

[0042] It should be noted that the terms "comprises", "includes" 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 includes other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element. "Multiple" means greater than or equal to two.

[0043] It should be noted that the warehousing and warehousing system in the embodiment of the present invention is used to manage the goods in and out of the warehouse, wherein the stored goods in the warehouse can be contained in boxes. For simplicity, boxes are used to represent the goods, and the boxes are not limited to parameters such as shape and size. All the boxes in the warehouse can be one or more standard parts. Of course, in other embodiments, the stored goods can also be directly represented by the goods themselves or in other forms without being contained in boxes. Multiple boxes are stacked in the vertical direction to form a stack of boxes, and multiple stacks of boxes can also be stored in the warehouse. The stacking of multiple boxes in the warehouse described in the embodiment of the present invention means that the stacking of boxes does not need to be supported by shelves, and the surfaces of adjacent boxes in the same row of boxes are at least partially in contact with each other in the vertical direction. It is understandable that the floor of a warehouse is generally a horizontal plane, that is, the extension direction of each row of material boxes is perpendicular to the ground; of course, the floor of the warehouse may be uneven in some areas, that is, the horizontal plane is not required to be absolutely horizontal, so the corresponding vertical direction is not required to be absolutely vertical, and the existence of errors in ground levelness and material box processing errors is allowed.

[0044] The embodiment of the present invention provides a storage-in / out system, which can be applied to the storage-in and storage-out management of material boxes in a warehouse. Figure 1 As shown, the warehousing system of the embodiment of the present invention includes a transport robot ( Figure 1 The first robot 100 and the second robot 200) and the robot docking station 300. The handling robot is used to store one or more material boxes, and the handling robot is used to carry the stored material boxes to be shipped out and the material boxes to be stored. The robot docking station 300 is used to receive the material boxes to be shipped out from the warehouse carried by the handling robot. The robot docking station 300 is also used to provide the material boxes to be stored for the handling robot. The handling robot transports the material boxes to be stored provided by the robot docking station 300 to the designated storage location in the warehouse. Among them, the robot docking station 300 is also used to dock with the conveying mechanism in the storage workstation. The storage workstation is used for the transportation of material boxes in the warehouse, and the transportation includes the outbound and / or inbound storage of material boxes in the warehouse. The storage workstation can divide the warehouse into a first area and a second area. The handling robot carries the material boxes in the first area, and the workers can move freely in the second area to realize the sorting of the inbound and outbound material boxes. The robot docking station 300 is used to receive the material box groups to be shipped out of the warehouse brought by the handling robot, and transport the material box groups to the second area through the conveying mechanism for workers to sort. After the workers sort, the conveying mechanism can transport the sorted material boxes to the shipping location for storage, so that the workers or robots can carry them out of the warehouse; the robot docking station 300 is also used to stack the material boxes to be stored that are transported by the conveying mechanism to form material box groups to be stored. The handling robot in the warehouse moves to the robot docking station, and the handling robot transports the entire stack of material box groups stacked in the robot docking station to the designated storage location in the warehouse to realize the storage of the material boxes.

[0045] It should be noted that the handling robot in the embodiment of the present invention can be used to store one or more material boxes. Specifically, the handling robot can handle scattered material boxes or handle whole stacks of material boxes. For example, in the case of handling scattered material boxes, the target outbound material box to be handled in the order is located in the middle of the whole stack of material boxes. The handling robot in the embodiment of the present invention can take out the target outbound material box in the middle of the whole stack of material boxes and carry the target outbound material box to the robot docking station. The handling robot in the embodiment of the present invention can also carry a whole stack of material boxes at one time. That is to say, when a whole stack of material boxes are all target outbound material boxes, the handling robot can lift a whole stack of target material boxes at one time and carry the whole stack of target material boxes to the robot docking station, or carry a whole stack of target inbound material boxes in the robot docking station to a designated inbound location.

[0046] The embodiment of the present invention provides a storage system, which includes a handling robot and a robot docking station. The handling robot is used to store one or more material boxes, and the handling robot is used to carry material boxes to be shipped out and material boxes to be stored in. The robot docking station is used to receive material boxes to be shipped out provided by the handling robot and to provide material boxes to be stored in for the handling robot. The handling robot in the embodiment of the present invention can be used to store and carry one or more material boxes. When the target material box to be carried is located in the middle of a whole stack of material boxes, the handling robot can take out the target material box from the whole stack of material boxes and carry the target material box. When the whole stack of material boxes are all target handling material boxes, the handling robot can carry the whole stack of material boxes. The handling by the handling robot and the robot docking station is conducive to adapting to the storage conditions of different material boxes, realizing the automation of material box storage and warehousing, and improving the efficiency of material box storage and warehousing in the warehouse.

[0047] In some embodiments, Figure 2 As shown, the transport robot includes a first robot 100, and the first robot is provided with one or more cache positions 106. Figure 2 The first robot 100 shown is provided with a plurality of cache positions 106 , each of which can hold a material box; Figure 3 The first robot 100 shown is provided with a cache position 106 , which is located at the bottom of the first robot 100 . The cache position 106 can store a whole stack of material boxes at one time.

[0048] like Figure 2 As shown, the first robot 100 in the embodiment of the present invention further includes a first transport mechanism 102 and a second transport mechanism 103. The first robot 100 in the embodiment of the present invention can carry scattered boxes in the warehouse. The scattered boxes refer to that only some boxes in the whole stack of boxes are target boxes. The first robot can take out the target boxes in the whole stack of boxes. Figure 2 The material box a in the figure is taken as an example to illustrate that the first transport mechanism 102 can be used to transport the material boxes stacked in the target outbound material box ( Figure 2 The material box group above the target outbound material box a) is shown, and the material box group includes at least one material box. After the material box group above the target outbound material box a is lifted away from the target outbound material box a, the second transport mechanism 103 is used to move out the target outbound material box ( Figure 2 As shown in the material box a), and the target outbound material box ( Figure 2 The material box a) is stored in the cache position 106; Figure 3 In the case where the first robot 106 is set as a cache position 106, multiple target outbound material boxes can be stacked on the cache position 106, and the first robot 100 can transport the multiple target outbound material boxes to the robot docking station 300 at one time. The robot docking station 300 lifts the target outbound material box group on the cache position 106 into the robot docking station 300 at one time, or, the target outbound material box group on the cache position 106 is lifted into the robot docking station 300 at one time through the conveying mechanism on the first robot 100. It should be noted that the embodiment of the present invention does not limit what equipment is used to transport the target outbound material box group on the cache position 106 of the first robot 100 to the robot docking station 300 at one time during the docking process between the first robot 100 and the robot docking station 300. As described in the above embodiment, it can be a one-time lifting by the fourth transport mechanism of the robot docking station 300, or it can be a one-time transfer by the conveying mechanism in the first robot. Of course, in other embodiments, the same action can also be achieved by other mechanisms. No matter what method is used, as long as the docking of the first robot and the robot docking station can be achieved. By using the robot docking station to lift the entire stack of target outbound material box groups on the first robot, it is beneficial to improve the utilization rate of the robot docking station, reduce the steps of setting the conveying mechanism on the first robot, and thus reduce the cost of the entire in-and-out system layout. After the target outbound material box group on the cache position 106 is transported to the robot docking station 300, the robot docking station 300 can disassemble the entire stack of target outbound material boxes from the stacked state into single boxes and out of the warehouse one by one.

[0049] The following is an explanation of the handling principle of the first robot 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention:

[0050] like Figure 2 As shown, the first robot 100 includes a first mobile support 101, a first transport mechanism 102, a second transport mechanism 103, a first lifting mechanism 104, a second lifting mechanism 105 and a cache mechanism ( Figure 2Cache position 106 is shown). Among them, the mobile bracket 101 extends in the vertical direction, and a chassis is provided at the bottom of the mobile bracket 101, and the chassis can drive the mobile bracket 101 to move relative to the ground. The direction in which the mobile bracket 101 extends represents the maximum dimension direction of the mobile bracket 101. In the embodiment of the present invention, the maximum dimension direction of the mobile bracket 101 represents the height direction of the mobile bracket 101, that is, under normal working conditions, the height direction of the mobile bracket 101 extends in the vertical direction in the absolute coordinate system. After responding to the storage instruction or the outbound instruction of the target material box, the first robot 100 moves to a position close to the target material box or near the position where the target material box is to be stored according to the position information in the instruction. The first transport mechanism 102 is used to transport the target material box ( Figure 2 The group of boxes above the box a) shown in the figure or the group of boxes stacked above the position where the target box is to be stored, the group of boxes includes at least one box. After responding to the outbound instruction of the target box, the first robot 100 moves to a position close to the target box according to the position information of the target box in the outbound instruction, and then transfers the target box ( Figure 2 The material box group on the material box a) shown in the figure is lifted, so that the material box group is out of contact with the target material box, which is convenient for the second conveying mechanism 103 to move the target material box out. After responding to the storage instruction of the target material box, the robot docking station 300 or the first robot 100 lifts the material box group from the stacking position of the robot docking station 300 to the cache position 106 of the first robot 100. The first robot 100 transports the material box group on the cache position 106 to the storage position in the warehouse. When reaching the storage position of the current target storage box, if the target storage box is located in the middle of the entire stack of material box groups, the first conveying mechanism 102 of the first robot 100 lifts the material box group above the storage position of the target storage box, so that the storage position of the target storage box is free, which is convenient for the second conveying mechanism 103 to move the target storage box to the storage position. The second conveying mechanism 103 is used to transport the target storage box ( Figure 2 The second transport mechanism 103 in the embodiment of the present invention is located below the first transport mechanism 102, wherein the lower part represents the lower part of the first robot 100 in a normal use state ( Figure 2 By arranging the second transport mechanism 103 below the first transport mechanism 102, during the process of the target bin being unloaded, a bin group with at least one bin stacked above the target bin can be lifted by the first transport mechanism 102, so that the second transport mechanism 103 can lift the target bin ( Figure 2 The material box a) shown is transported away separately.

[0051] Reference Figure 2As shown, the first lifting mechanism 104 is used to drive the first transport mechanism 102 to move in the vertical direction. The first transport mechanism 102 can move in the vertical direction relative to the mobile bracket 101 to achieve the positioning of the first transport mechanism 102 and the lowest layer of the material box in the material box group. The first lifting mechanism 104 can be installed on the mobile bracket 101. The first transport mechanism 102 and the mobile bracket 101 are movably connected, and the first lifting mechanism 104 can drive the first transport mechanism 102 to move along the extension direction of the mobile bracket 101 ( Figure 2 The second lifting mechanism 105 is used to drive the second transporting mechanism 103 to move in the vertical direction independently of the first transporting mechanism 102. Among them, the second lifting mechanism 105 is a mechanism independent of the first lifting mechanism 104, that is, the first lifting mechanism 104 and the second lifting mechanism 105 work separately, and the first lifting mechanism 104 and the second lifting mechanism 105 do not interfere with each other. The cache mechanism is used to store the target material box transported by the second transporting mechanism 103. In other words, after the second transporting mechanism 103 transports the target material box from a plurality of stacked material boxes, the second transporting mechanism 103 can place the target material box in the cache mechanism, so that the second transporting mechanism 103 does not need to immediately transport the target material box to the specified position to start the transport work of the next target material box. The cache position 106 in the embodiment of the present invention is located on the cache mechanism, and the cache position 106 in the first robot 100 can be multiple or one. By increasing the number of cache positions 106, it is beneficial to improve the transport efficiency of the first robot.

[0052] The movements of the first conveying mechanism and the second conveying mechanism in the first robot of the embodiment of the present invention are independent of each other, so that the first conveying mechanism can cooperate with the conveying of the second conveying mechanism. When there is a material box group above the target material box, the first conveying mechanism can lift the material box group to facilitate the second conveying mechanism to carry the target material box, and in the process of the target material box being put into storage, the first conveying mechanism can lift the material box group to be put into storage. In the process of the material box being put into storage and out of storage, the first robot can carry a separate target material box group in the whole stack of material box groups in the warehouse, which is suitable for the situation where the target material boxes are scattered in the warehouse, and the first robot can also store the target material box at any position in the warehouse, which improves the flexibility of the storage and out-of-stock process and the robot's adaptability to complex storage situations.

[0053] In some embodiments, in combination Figure 1 and Figure 3As shown, the first robot 100 is provided with a cache position 106 as an example for explanation. The cache position 106 is located at the bottom of the first robot 100, and the cache position 106 can stack multiple material boxes at one time. The robot docking station 300 stacks multiple target incoming material boxes to form a target incoming material box group, and the robot docking station 300 or the first robot 100 lifts the entire stack of target incoming material box groups on the stacking position of the robot docking station 300 to the cache position 106 of the first robot 100. The first robot 100 is used to transport the target incoming material box groups on the cache position 106 to the corresponding storage positions in sequence. After the first robot 100 reaches the storage position of the current target incoming material box, the first transport mechanism 102 in the first robot 100 is used to lift the material box group above the current target incoming material box on the cache position, and the second transport mechanism 103 is used to transport the current target incoming material box to the corresponding storage position in the warehouse. The embodiment of the present invention adopts a first robot to carry the whole stack of material box groups on the robot docking station into the warehouse. When the storage positions of the whole stack of target storage box groups are different, the first robot can store the whole stack of material box groups in sequence to meet different storage requirements.

[0054] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the working principle of the robot docking station 300 in the embodiment of the present invention is described below: the robot docking station 300 includes a third frame 301, a fourth transport mechanism 302 and a fourth lifting mechanism 304. The third frame 301 has a stacking position 311, and the fourth lifting mechanism 304 in the embodiment of the present invention is used to drive the fourth transport mechanism 302 to move (rise or fall) to the height of the target material box in the material box group on the stacking position 311; the fourth transport mechanism 302 grabs the target material box, and the fourth lifting mechanism 304 drives the fourth transport mechanism 302 to rise, so that the fourth transport mechanism 302 lifts the target material box group, the target material box group includes the target material box and the material box on the target material box, the fourth transport mechanism 302 extends, and drives the entire stack of target material box groups to move from the stacking area 10 in the third frame 301 to the cache position 106 of the first robot 100, and the fourth lifting mechanism 304 drives the fourth transport mechanism 302 to descend, so that the entire stack of target material box groups is placed on the cache position 106 waiting for the first robot 100 to transport into the warehouse. The robot docking station of the embodiment of the present invention can realize the one-time transportation of the target material box group without the need to transport multiple material boxes in batches.

[0055] It should be noted that the scattered material boxes described in the embodiment of the present invention mean that the storage locations or outbound locations of the various material boxes in the order are inconsistent and need to be transported individually rather than being transported in a whole stack.

[0056] In some embodiments, Figure 4As shown, the transport robot includes a second robot 200, the second robot is provided with a stacking area 210, the bottom of the stacking area 210 forms a stacking position 211, and the second robot 200 includes a third transport mechanism 202. The third transport mechanism 202 is used to transport the target outbound material box group to the stacking area 210, and the target outbound material box group includes at least one target outbound material box; Figure 3 As shown, the third transport mechanism 202 in the second robot 200 is also used to carry the whole stack of target outbound material boxes in the stacking area 210 to the palletizing area of ​​the robot docking station 300, or the whole stack of target outbound material boxes in the stacking area 210 can be carried to the palletizing area by the robot docking station. After carrying the whole stack of target outbound material boxes to the palletizing area, the robot docking station 300 is used to disassemble the whole stack of target outbound material boxes in the palletizing area from the stacked state into single boxes and carry them out one by one.

[0057] The working principle of the second robot 200 of the embodiment of the present invention is described below. The second robot 200 includes a second bracket 201, a third transport mechanism 202 and a second lifting mechanism 203. The second bracket 201 extends in the vertical direction, and a mobile chassis is provided at the bottom of the second bracket 201. The mobile chassis can drive the second bracket 201 to move relative to the ground. After responding to the storage instruction or the outbound instruction of the target material box group, the second robot 200 moves to a position close to the target material box or near the position where the target material box is to be stored according to the position information in the instruction. A stacking area 210 is formed in the second bracket 201, and the bottom of the stacking area 210 is a stacking position 211. Refer to Figure 4 As shown, the stacking position 211 is used for stacking material box groups to be stored or unstored, and the material box group includes at least one material box. The third transport mechanism 202 is movably connected to the second bracket 201, and the third transport mechanism 202 is used to transport the material box group to the stacking position 211, or to move the material box group on the stacking position 211 away from the stacking area 210. The stacking position 211 is used to store material box groups to be stored or unstored, that is, the second robot 200 in the embodiment of the present invention is able to stack and transport multiple material boxes at one time. Among them, the stacking area 210 in the second robot 200 represents the virtual space enclosed by the second bracket 201 inside, and the stacking position 211 represents the physical position at the bottom of the virtual space, that is, the stacking position 211 is a placement position located at the bottom of the stacking area 210. Figure 4 The stacking position 211 in the illustrated embodiment is located on the top surface of the base at the bottom of the stacking area 210. The stacking position 211 is located at the bottom of the stacking area 210, and the front and rear sides of the second bracket 201 are open, so that the third transport mechanism 202 can move relative to the second bracket in the front and rear directions ( Figure 4 The Y-axis direction) can be extended and retracted to realize the lifting of the material box group.

[0058] like Figure 4As shown, the third transport mechanism 202 is used to transport a target material box group, and the target material box group includes at least one material box ( Figure 4 In the figure, there are multiple boxes stacked, represented by a, b, c...i respectively). After responding to the outbound instruction of the target box group, the second robot 200 needs to move to a position close to the target outbound box group according to the position information of the target outbound box group in the outbound instruction, and then use the third transport mechanism 202 to move the target box ( Figure 4 The middle material box a) is lifted, so that the target material box is separated from the surface below, so as to further drive the target material box and multiple material boxes above the target material box ( Figure 4 There are multiple material boxes stacked in the middle, which are represented by a, b, c...i respectively), and the third transport mechanism 202 is lifted, and the third transport mechanism 202 is retracted, so that the entire stack of target outbound material box groups is moved to the stacking area 210, and the second lifting mechanism 203 drives the third transport mechanism 202 to descend, so that the entire stack of target outbound material box groups is placed on the stacking position 211, so that the second robot 200 can transport the target outbound material box group to the robot docking station at one time.

[0059] The third transport mechanism 202 in the embodiment of the present invention is disposed in the stacking area 210, and the third transport mechanism 202 and the second bracket 201 are in the vertical direction ( Figure 4 The third transport mechanism 202 can also be movably connected in the first direction (Z direction) relative to the second bracket 201. Figure 4 Extension and contraction in the Y direction as shown.

[0060] The second robot 200 in the embodiment of the present invention is used to carry a stack of material boxes in a warehouse. The following is an explanation of the carrying process of the second robot 200 in the embodiment of the present invention:

[0061] Reference Figure 4 As shown, during the process of outbound delivery of the material box, the second robot needs to carry the entire stack of material boxes out of the warehouse, and the second robot 200 moves to the position of the target outbound material box group to be delivered in the warehouse, and the second lifting mechanism 203 in the second robot 200 drives the third carrying mechanism 202 to descend to the target material box in the target material box group ( Figure 4The height of the box a) in the middle, there are multiple boxes stacked at the position to be shipped out, the bottom box is a, box b is stacked on top of box a, box c is stacked on top of box d, and multiple boxes are stacked in sequence to form a target box group, and the top layer of the box group is box i. The third transporting mechanism 202 lifts the bottom box a at the position to be shipped out, so as to realize the transportation of the entire target shipping box group. The third transporting mechanism 202 can transport the target shipping box group as a whole to the inside of the second bracket 201, and the second lifting mechanism 203 drives the third transporting mechanism 202 to descend to the stacking position 211. The third transporting mechanism 202 releases box a, so that the entire target shipping box group is stacked in the stacking area 210. The second robot 200 can transport the entire stack of target shipping box groups in the stacking area 210 to the robot docking station 300. In other words, combined with Figure 3 As shown, when the second robot 200 moves to the vicinity of the robot docking station 300, the third transport mechanism 202 in the second robot 200 lifts the entire stack of target outbound material boxes on the stacking position 211 to the palletizing area 310 of the robot docking station 300. After the third transport mechanism 202 places the entire stack of target outbound material boxes on the palletizing position 311, the third transport mechanism 202 retracts into the second bracket 201. The robot docking station 300 can disassemble the target outbound material boxes stacked in the palletizing area 310 from a stacked state into single boxes and outbound them one by one.

[0062] In some embodiments, in combination Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the robot docking station 300 stacks a plurality of target incoming material boxes in the palletizing area 310 to form a target incoming material box group, and the third transport mechanism 202 of the second robot 200 is used to carry the target incoming material box group in the palletizing area 301 to the stacking area 210. Alternatively, the robot docking station can be used to carry the target incoming material box group in the palletizing area 301 to the stacking area 210. The second robot is used to carry the target incoming material box group in the stacking area 210 to the corresponding storage position in the warehouse. Specifically, during the process of warehousing the material boxes, the second robot 200 transports the entire stack of target incoming material boxes to the position to be stored, the third transport mechanism 202 grabs the material box a at the bottom of the stacking position 211, the second lifting mechanism 203 drives the third transport mechanism 202 to rise, and then lifts the material box a away from the stacking position 211, so that the entire stack of target incoming material boxes is lifted, the third transport mechanism 202 extends to transport the target incoming material box group to the position to be stored outside the second bracket 201, the third transport mechanism 202 releases the material box a, so that the entire stack of target incoming material boxes is placed at the position to be stored, so as to realize the warehousing of the entire stack of the target incoming material box group.

[0063] The embodiment of the present invention uses the third transport mechanism of the second robot to transport multiple material boxes on the stacking position, or transports multiple material boxes to the stacking position at one time. The material box group can be stacked on the stacking position of the second bracket, and the stacking area in the second bracket can store multiple material boxes at one time. In the process of goods entering and exiting the warehouse, the second robot can lift multiple stacked material boxes to the stacking position or lift them away from the stacking position at one time, thereby shortening the time for the second robot to lift material boxes during the process of entering and exiting the warehouse; in the process of the second robot handing over to the robot docking station, the second robot can lift the entire stack of material boxes to the robot docking station at one time, or lift the entire stack of material boxes in the robot docking station to the stacking position of the second robot, thereby shortening the handover time between the second robot and the robot docking station, improving the docking efficiency of the second robot and the robot docking station, and also improving the transport efficiency of the second robot.

[0064] The embodiment of the present invention provides a storage method, such as Figure 5 As shown, for the warehousing system described in any of the above embodiments, the warehousing method includes:

[0065] Step S101, determining whether the storage positions of the target storage box groups stacked in the stacking area of ​​the robot docking station are consistent; wherein the robot docking station can be used to output a whole stack of target storage box groups to be stored, wherein the target storage box group has multiple target storage boxes, and each target storage box has a corresponding storage position.

[0066] Step S111, if the storage positions of the target incoming material boxes in the target incoming material box group stacked in the robot docking station are consistent, the second robot is used to dock with the robot docking station for storage. Specifically, the second robot moves to the vicinity of the robot docking station, and the third transport mechanism in the second robot extends into the stacking area of ​​the robot docking station. The third transport mechanism lifts the entire stack of target incoming material box groups in the stacking area to the stacking area of ​​the second robot, and places the entire stack of target incoming material box groups on the stacking position. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the entire stack of target incoming material box groups in the stacking area can be lifted to the stacking area of ​​the second robot by the robot docking station. The second robot transports the entire stack of target incoming material box groups in the stacking area to the corresponding storage position in the warehouse; wherein, the consistency of the storage positions of the target incoming material boxes in the target incoming material box group means that the coordinates of the target incoming material boxes on the X-axis and the Y-axis are the same. That is to say, when the storage positions of the entire stack of target incoming material boxes are the same, after the second robot transports the entire stack of material boxes to the storage position at one time, the third transport mechanism places the entire stack of target incoming material boxes at the corresponding storage position to realize the one-time storage of the entire stack of target incoming material boxes.

[0067] Step S112, if the storage positions of the target incoming material boxes in the target incoming material box group stacked in the robot docking station are inconsistent, the first robot is used to dock with the robot docking station for storage. Specifically, the fourth transporting mechanism in the robot docking station lifts the entire stack of target incoming material box groups in the stacking area to the cache position of the first robot, and the first robot transports the target incoming material box groups on the cache position to the corresponding storage positions in the warehouse in sequence.

[0068] The embodiment of the present invention realizes the process of material box warehousing through the cooperation of the first robot, the second robot and the robot docking station. The first robot can realize the warehousing of scattered material boxes, and the second robot can realize the one-time warehousing of whole stacks of material boxes. While meeting the warehousing needs of different material boxes, it can also improve the efficiency of material box warehousing.

[0069] The embodiment of the present invention provides a method for removing a product from a warehouse. Figure 6 As shown, the outbound method is used in the inbound and outbound system described in any of the above embodiments, and the outbound method includes:

[0070] Step S212, determining whether the storage locations of multiple target outbound material boxes in the same order are consistent;

[0071] Step S213, if the storage positions of multiple target outbound boxes in the same order are inconsistent, the first robot will transport the target outbound boxes at different storage positions to the temporary storage positions in the warehouse, and stack the multiple target outbound boxes into a target outbound box group. When the number of boxes in the target outbound box group reaches a certain value, the second robot will transport the target outbound box group on the temporary storage position to the palletizing area of ​​the robot docking station at one time. It should be noted that the temporary storage position in the embodiment of the present invention can be any position in the warehouse. In order to improve the palletizing efficiency of the first robot, the temporary storage position can be set according to different handling strategies. In other words, the temporary storage position is a temporary placement position, not a fixed storage position. The embodiment of the present invention does not limit the handling strategy, as long as the handling strategy is conducive to improving the palletizing efficiency of the first robot.

[0072] In the case where the material boxes in the order are scattered, the embodiment of the present invention uses a first robot to stack multiple target outbound material boxes scattered in the warehouse at a temporary storage location, and uses a second robot to transport the target outbound material box group at the temporary storage location out of the warehouse at one time, which saves the transportation time of the first robot and improves the transportation efficiency of the second robot.

[0073] In some embodiments, if the storage locations of multiple target outbound containers in the order are consistent, the method further includes:

[0074] Step S214, determines whether the boxes in the whole stack of box groups at the same storage location all belong to the target outbound boxes; specifically, the boxes in the warehouse are stored in whole stacks, and multiple boxes are stacked in each stack of box groups. Multiple target outbound boxes need to be shipped out in the same order. When multiple target outbound boxes in the same order are located in the same stack of box groups in the warehouse, it is necessary to determine whether all the boxes in the stack of box groups belong to the target outbound boxes.

[0075] Step S215: If all the bins in the same stack of bins in the warehouse are target outbound bins, the second robot is preferably used to directly transport the entire stack of bins at the storage location to the robot docking station. The embodiment of the present invention directly transports the entire stack of target outbound bins to the robot docking station by the second robot, which is conducive to improving the efficiency of outbound bins in the warehouse.

[0076] In some embodiments, if the bins in the entire stack of bins at the same storage location do not completely belong to the target outbound bins, that is, the same stack of bins contains both all the target outbound bins and non-target bins, the method further includes:

[0077] Step S216, determining whether all target outbound material boxes in the stack of material boxes are stacked above all non-target outbound material boxes; that is, determining whether all target outbound material boxes are located on top of the stack of material boxes.

[0078] Step S217, if all the target outbound material boxes are stacked on top of the non-target outbound material boxes, then the second robot will not be disturbed by the non-target outbound material boxes when carrying all the target outbound material boxes. The second robot can directly carry multiple target outbound material boxes on the top of the material box group and transport them to the robot docking station. It should be noted that directly means that the second robot can directly carry multiple material boxes to the robot docking station at one time in one action.

[0079] Step S218, if not all target outbound material boxes are located above all non-target outbound material boxes, for example, individual non-target outbound material boxes are interspersed and stacked between target outbound material boxes, then the second robot cannot lift all target outbound material boxes at one time, and the first robot takes out the non-target outbound material boxes in the whole stack of material boxes, so as to stack the remaining material boxes to form a target outbound material box group, and the second robot transports the target outbound material box group to the robot docking station. In the embodiment of the present invention, the first robot and the second robot cooperate to pick out the non-target outbound material boxes in the whole stack of material boxes, and transport the target outbound material box group in the whole stack of material boxes, so that the efficiency of material box transportation can be improved even when the material box storage position is complex.

[0080] In some embodiments, when the warehousing and outbound system receives an outbound order, the outbound order records the location where the target outbound material box is stored in the warehouse and the time when the target outbound material box is outbound.

[0081] Determine whether the order delivery time is greater than the set value. It should be noted that the set value in the embodiment of the present invention represents the distance between the current time and the delivery time of the target delivery box in the order, and the distance can be a fixed value or a variable value.

[0082] If the outbound delivery time of the order is less than the set value, the first robot or the second robot will directly carry the target outbound delivery boxes in the order to the robot docking station according to the placement of the above embodiment. In other words, when time is tight, the first robot and the second robot can directly carry the scattered target outbound delivery boxes in the warehouse out of the warehouse. For example, when the storage locations of multiple target outbound delivery boxes in the order are consistent and the outbound delivery time of the order is less than the set value, the second robot can directly carry the target outbound delivery box group at the storage location corresponding to the order out of the warehouse at one time.

[0083] If the outbound time of an order is greater than the set value, for example, if the order is for tomorrow or a certain day in the future, the first robot can be used to sort the warehouse during off-peak hours, that is, the first robot stacks the target outbound material boxes scattered in the warehouse in the future order into a whole stack of target outbound material boxes, and when the order outbound time is reached, the second robot transports the whole stack of target outbound material boxes to the robot docking station. This is beneficial to saving the outbound time of the target outbound material boxes and improving the outbound efficiency of the warehouse.

[0084] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A storage and retrieval system, characterized in that: include: A handling robot, used to store one or more material boxes, and the handling robot is used to carry material boxes to be shipped out and material boxes to be shipped in; The robot docking station is used to receive the material boxes to be shipped out provided by the transport robot, and to provide the material boxes to be shipped in to the transport robot.

2. The storage and retrieval system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transport robot comprises a first robot, the first robot is provided with one or more cache positions, and the first robot further comprises a first transport mechanism and a second transport mechanism; The first transport mechanism is used to lift the box group above the target outbound box, and the box group includes at least one box; the second transport mechanism is used to transport the target outbound box and store the target outbound box in the cache position; the second transport mechanism is also used to transport multiple target outbound boxes to the robot docking station; the robot docking station or the first robot lifts a single target outbound box or a whole stack of target outbound boxes on the cache position to the stacking position of the robot docking station, and the robot docking station is also used to disassemble the whole stack of target outbound boxes on the stacking position from a stacked state into single boxes and ship them out one by one.

3. The storage and retrieval system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The robot docking station stacks multiple target incoming material boxes to form a unit of a whole stack of target incoming material box groups, and the robot docking station or the first robot lifts the target incoming material box group from the stacking position to the cache position of the first robot; the first transporting mechanism in the first robot is used to lift the material box group above the current target incoming material box, and the second transporting mechanism is used to transport the current target incoming material box to the corresponding incoming material box position in the warehouse.

4. The storage and retrieval system according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that: The transport robot comprises a second robot, the second robot is provided with a stacking area, the bottom of the stacking area forms a stacking position, and the second robot comprises a third transport mechanism; The third transport mechanism is used to lift the target outbound material box group in the warehouse to the stacking area, and the target outbound material box group includes at least one target outbound material box. The third transport mechanism of the second robot or the robot docking station is used to transport the target outbound material box group in the stacking area to the palletizing area of ​​the robot docking station, and the robot docking station is used to disassemble the entire stack of the target outbound material box group in the palletizing area from a stacked state into single boxes and ship them out one by one.

5. The storage and retrieval system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The robot docking station stacks multiple target incoming material boxes in the palletizing area to form a unit of a whole stack of target incoming material box groups; the third transport mechanism of the second robot or the robot docking station is used to lift the target incoming material box group in the palletizing area to the stacking area, and the second robot is also used to transport the target incoming material box group in the stacking area to the corresponding warehousing position in the warehouse.

6. A warehousing method, used in the warehousing-in and -out system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: include: Determine whether the storage positions of the target storage boxes in the target storage box group for palletizing in the stacking area of ​​the robot docking station are consistent; If they are consistent, the third transport mechanism or robot docking station in the second robot lifts the target incoming material box group in the palletizing area to the stacking area, and the second robot transports the entire stack of target incoming material box group in the stacking area to the storage position in the warehouse; If they are inconsistent, the robot docking station or the first robot moves the entire stack of the target incoming material box group in the stacking area to the cache position of the first robot, and the first robot moves the target incoming material boxes on the cache position to the corresponding incoming storage position in turn.

7. A method for removing goods from storage, used in the storage-in / out system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: include: Determine whether the storage locations of multiple target outbound material boxes in the order are consistent; If there is inconsistency, the first robot transports the target outbound material boxes at different storage locations to the temporary storage locations in the warehouse, and stacks multiple target outbound material boxes into a target outbound material box group, and the second robot transports the target outbound material box group at the temporary storage location to the robot docking station.

8. The method for removing goods from storage according to claim 7, characterized in that: If the storage locations of multiple target outbound material boxes in the order are consistent, the method further includes: Determine whether all the boxes in the whole stack of boxes at the same storage location belong to the target outbound boxes; If so, the second robot moves the entire stack of material boxes at the storage location to the robot docking station.

9. The method for removing goods from storage according to claim 8, characterized in that: If the boxes in the stacked box group at the same storage location do not completely belong to the target outbound box, the method further includes: Determine whether all target outbound bins in the stacked bin group are stacked on top of all non-target outbound bins; If yes, the second robot directly carries the multiple target outbound material boxes in the material box group to the robot docking station; If not, the first robot takes out the non-target outbound material boxes in the whole stack of material boxes to stack the remaining material boxes to form a target outbound material box group, and the second robot transports the target outbound material box group to the robot docking station.

10. The method for removing goods from storage according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that: Also includes: When the delivery time of an order is greater than the set value, the first robot stacks the scattered target delivery boxes in the warehouse into a whole stack of target delivery box groups. When the delivery time of the order is reached, the second robot transports the whole stack of target delivery box groups to the robot docking station.

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