Exception handling method, device and equipment for ex-warehouse task and storage medium

Abstract

The invention provides a warehouse-out task exception handling method, device and equipment and a storage medium, and can be applied to the technical fields of warehouse logistics, intelligent supply chains and industrial robots. The ex-warehouse task exception handling method applied to the warehouse management system comprises the steps that in response to received difference information representing ex-warehouse task exception, the difference information is sent to an order processing center, an ex-warehouse task is used for taking out M cargoes included in a task list from a warehouse, and the difference information comprises N cargoes which fail in ex-warehouse in the task list; in response to the respective position information of the N cargoes received from the order processing center, an additional picking task is generated based on the respective position information of the N cargoes, and the additional picking task is used for taking out the N cargoes from the warehouse through at least one picking operation; and combining the N cargoes taken out based on the at least one picking operation in the additional picking task with other cargoes taken out from the M cargoes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the fields of warehousing logistics, smart supply chain, industrial robots, and artificial intelligence technology, and specifically to an exception handling method, device, equipment, and storage medium for a warehouse outbound task. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of warehousing logistics, smart supply chain, and industrial robot technology, robots are increasingly being used in many fields such as industrial and agricultural production, construction, logistics, and daily life. For example, in the field of warehousing logistics, robots can be used to pick, pack, and ship goods out of the warehouse.

[0003] In the process of implementing the concept of the present disclosure, the inventors found that there are at least the following problems in the related technology: when the inventory of goods in the warehouse is insufficient, the robot cannot take out all the goods in the order, resulting in abnormal delivery tasks. The cooperation between robots and manual labor to handle abnormalities will lead to low delivery efficiency. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, the present disclosure provides a method, device, equipment and storage medium for handling exceptions in a delivery task.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method for handling exceptions in a delivery task is provided, which is applied to a warehouse management system. The method comprises:

[0006] In response to receiving the difference information indicating the abnormality of the outbound task, the difference information is sent to the order processing center, wherein the outbound task is used to take out M goods included in the task order from the warehouse, and the difference information includes N goods in the task order that failed to be outbound, M≥N≥1;

[0007] In response to receiving location information of each of the N goods from the order processing center, generating an additional picking task based on the location information of each of the N goods, wherein the additional picking task is used to take out the N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation; and

[0008] The N goods taken out based on at least one picking operation in the additional picking task are merged with other goods taken out from the M goods.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, merging the N goods taken out based on at least one picking operation in the additional picking task with other goods taken out from the M goods includes:

[0010] Obtain the return message of at least one picking operation; and

[0011] According to the return message of at least one picking operation, the N goods are merged with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, obtaining a return message of at least one picking operation includes:

[0013] Determine the task execution subject type, wherein the task execution subject type includes a robot;

[0014] In response to determining that the task execution subject type is a robot, sending an additional picking task to a control system so that the control system controls at least one picking operation to take out N goods; and

[0015] Receive at least one return message of each picking operation returned by the control system.

[0016] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the step of combining N goods with other goods taken out of M goods according to the return message of at least one picking operation comprises: for each return message of the picking operation,

[0017] Determine the number of containers carrying N goods according to the returned message; and

[0018] In response to determining that the number of containers is 1, the N goods carried by the first container are combined with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods, completing the abnormal processing of the outbound task.

[0019] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, determining the number of containers carrying N goods according to the returned message includes:

[0020] The field value of the total number of containers field in the return message is determined as the number of containers carrying N goods.

[0021] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, it also includes:

[0022] For each return message of the picking operation, in response to determining that the number of containers is greater than 1, modifying the task order identifier of the outbound task to merge; and

[0023] In response to receiving a return message of the last picking operation and determining that the task list is marked as merging, merging the goods carried by the second containers of at least one picking operation to obtain N goods;

[0024] Combine N goods with other goods that have been taken out of M goods to complete the exception handling of the outbound task.

[0025] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, generating an additional picking task based on the location information of each of N goods includes:

[0026] According to the respective location information of the N goods, each of the N goods is relocated in the warehouse to obtain a relocation result;

[0027] In response to determining that the repositioning result indicates that the N goods are all successfully positioned, generating an additional picking task based on the position information of each of the N goods;

[0028] In response to the repositioning result indicating that one of the N goods fails to be positioned, the outbound task is determined as an abnormal task.

[0029] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: after merging the N goods with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods, reviewing the merged goods according to the task order to obtain a review result.

[0030] A second aspect of the present disclosure provides an exception handling method for a delivery task, which is applied to a control system, and the method includes:

[0031] In response to receiving an additional picking task sent by the warehouse management system, taking out N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation;

[0032] Generate at least one return message for each picking operation;

[0033] Sending the return message of at least one picking operation to the warehouse management system, so that the warehouse management system can merge the N goods with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods according to the return message of at least one picking operation;

[0034] Among them, the additional picking task is generated by the warehouse management system in response to receiving the respective location information of N goods from the order processing center; the respective location information of N goods is determined by the order processing center based on the difference information characterizing the abnormality of the outbound task sent by the warehouse management system; the outbound task is used to take out the M goods included in the task order from the warehouse, and the difference information includes the N goods in the task order that failed to be shipped out, M≥N≥1.

[0035] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in response to receiving an additional picking task sent by a warehouse management system, taking out N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation includes:

[0036] Determine at least one picking operation according to the total height of the N goods in the additional picking task; and

[0037] Perform at least one picking operation to take N items out of the warehouse.

[0038] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, determining at least one picking operation according to the total height of N goods in the additional picking task includes:

[0039] In response to determining that the total height of the goods is greater than the height of the container for carrying the goods, determining at least two picking operations according to the height of the container, so as to take out N goods from the warehouse through at least two picking operations;

[0040] In response to determining that the total height of the goods is less than or equal to the height of the container, at least one picking operation is determined according to the height of the container, so as to take out N goods from the warehouse through the at least one picking operation.

[0041] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in response to receiving an additional picking task sent by a warehouse management system, taking out N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation further includes:

[0042] Determine at least one optimal picking path according to the location information of each of the N goods in the additional picking task in the warehouse, wherein the optimal picking path includes the location of at least one of the N goods;

[0043] Determine a picking operation corresponding to at least one picking path to obtain at least one picking operation; and

[0044] Perform at least one picking operation to take N items out of the warehouse.

[0045] A third aspect of the present disclosure provides an exception handling device for a delivery task, which is applied to a warehouse management system, and includes:

[0046] A first sending module is used for sending the difference information representing the abnormality of the outbound task to the order processing center in response to receiving the difference information, wherein the outbound task is used to take out M goods included in the task order from the warehouse, and the difference information includes N goods in the task order that failed to be outbound, and M≥N≥1;

[0047] A first generating module, configured to generate, in response to receiving respective location information of N goods from an order processing center, an additional picking task based on the respective location information of the N goods, wherein the additional picking task is used to take out the N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation; and

[0048] The merging module is used to merge the N goods taken out based on at least one picking operation in the additional picking task with other goods taken out from the M goods.

[0049] A fourth aspect of the present disclosure provides an exception handling device for a delivery task, which is applied to a control system, and includes:

[0050] A task acquisition module, configured to, in response to receiving an additional picking task sent by a warehouse management system, take out N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation;

[0051] The second generating module is used to generate a return message for at least one picking operation;

[0052] A second sending module is used to send the return message of at least one picking operation to the warehouse management system, so that the warehouse management system can merge the N goods with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods according to the return message of at least one picking operation;

[0053] Among them, the additional picking task is generated by the warehouse management system in response to receiving the respective location information of N goods from the order processing center; the respective location information of N goods is determined by the order processing center based on the difference information characterizing the abnormality of the outbound task sent by the warehouse management system; the outbound task is used to take out the M goods included in the task order from the warehouse, and the difference information includes the N goods in the task order that failed to be shipped out, M≥N≥1.

[0054] The fifth aspect of the present disclosure further provides an exception handling system for a delivery task, including a warehouse management system and a control system; the warehouse management system includes:

[0055] A first sending module is used for sending the difference information representing the abnormality of the outbound task to the order processing center in response to receiving the difference information, wherein the outbound task is used to take out M goods included in the task order from the warehouse, and the difference information includes N goods in the task order that failed to be outbound, and M≥N≥1;

[0056] A first generating module is configured to generate, in response to receiving respective location information of N goods from an order processing center, an additional picking task based on the respective location information of the N goods, wherein the additional picking task is used to take out the N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation;

[0057] A message acquisition module, used to acquire a return message of at least one picking operation from the control system; and

[0058] A merging module, used for merging the N goods taken out based on at least one picking operation in the additional picking task with other goods taken out from the M goods;

[0059] Control systems are used to:

[0060] A task acquisition module, configured to, in response to receiving an additional picking task sent by a warehouse management system, take out N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation;

[0061] The second generating module is used to generate a return message for at least one picking operation;

[0062] The second sending module is used to send the return message of at least one picking operation to the warehouse management system.

[0063] The sixth aspect of the present disclosure provides an electronic device, comprising: one or more processors; a memory for storing one or more programs, wherein when the one or more programs are executed by one or more processors, the one or more processors execute the above-mentioned exception handling method for the outbound task.

[0064] The seventh aspect of the present disclosure further provides a computer-readable storage medium having executable instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to execute the above-mentioned exception handling method for the outbound task.

[0065] The eighth aspect of the present disclosure also provides a computer program product, including a computer program, which implements the above-mentioned exception handling method for the outbound task when executed by a processor.

[0066] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, since the additional picking task can take out N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation, it is possible to avoid the failure of the additional picking task due to a single picking failure, and there is no need to further manually handle the additional picking task exception, thereby affecting the outbound efficiency. In response to receiving the difference information representing the outbound task exception, the embodiment of the present disclosure sends the difference information to the order processing center; in response to receiving the position information of each of the N goods from the order processing center, the additional picking task is generated based on the position information of each of the N goods, and the N goods taken out based on at least one picking operation in the additional picking task are merged with the other goods that have been taken out of the M goods, which can at least partially solve the technical problem of low outbound efficiency caused by handling exceptions through robot and manual cooperation, split the additional picking task into at least one picking operation, which can avoid the failure of the additional picking task due to inventory and height limit reasons, and no manual participation is required, so as to achieve the technical effect of improving outbound efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0067] The above contents and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent through the following description of the embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0068] Figure 1 The application scenario of the exception handling method for the outbound task according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown;

[0069] Figure 2 A flowchart schematically shows an exception handling method for a warehouse outbound task applied to a warehouse management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0070] Figure 3 A flowchart schematically shows how to merge N goods taken out in an additional picking task with other goods taken out of M goods according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0071] Figure 4 A flowchart of a method for generating additional picking tasks according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown;

[0072] Figure 5 A flowchart schematically shows an exception handling method for a warehouse outbound task applied to a control system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0073] Figure 6 The interactive scene diagram of the exception handling method of the outbound task according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown;

[0074] Fig. 7A A schematic diagram shows a scenario of determining the number of picking operations according to the height of a container according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0075] Figure 7B A schematic diagram shows a scenario of determining the number of picking operations according to an optimal picking path according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0076] Figure 8 The overall interaction diagram for implementing a delivery task according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown;

[0077] Fig. 9 The structure block diagram of the exception handling device for outbound tasks applied to a warehouse management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown;

[0078] Fig.10 The structure block diagram of the abnormality handling device for the outbound task applied to the control system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown;

[0079] Fig.11 The structural block diagram of the exception handling system for outbound tasks according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown;

[0080] Fig.12 A block diagram of an electronic device according to an exception handling method suitable for a warehouse outbound task according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0081] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that these descriptions are exemplary only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In the following detailed description, for ease of explanation, many specific details are set forth to provide a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it is apparent that one or more embodiments may also be implemented without these specific details. In addition, in the following description, descriptions of known structures and technologies are omitted to avoid unnecessary confusion of the concepts of the present disclosure.

[0082] The terms used herein are only for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The terms "comprise", "include", etc. used herein indicate the existence of the features, steps, operations and / or components, but do not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations or components.

[0083] All terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art, unless otherwise defined. It should be noted that the terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the context of this specification, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly rigid manner.

[0084] When using expressions such as "at least one of A, B, and C, etc.", they should generally be interpreted according to the meaning of the expression commonly understood by those skilled in the art (for example, "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" should include but is not limited to a system having A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B, A and C, B and C, and / or A, B, C, etc.).

[0085] In the technical solution of the present invention, the user information (including but not limited to user personal information, user image information, user device information, such as location information, etc.) and data (including but not limited to data used for analysis, stored data, displayed data, etc.) involved are all information and data authorized by the user or fully authorized by all parties, and the collection, storage, use, processing, transmission, provision, disclosure and application of relevant data comply with the relevant laws, regulations and standards of relevant countries and regions, take necessary confidentiality measures, do not violate public order and good morals, and provide corresponding operation entrances for users to choose to authorize or refuse.

[0086] With the continuous development of computer technology, users can place orders for multiple types and quantities of goods at the same time through shopping software. The warehouse management system can generate outbound tasks to control robots to take out multiple goods from the same order and pack them into one package. However, the amount of goods stored in the warehouse changes in real time. When the inventory of goods is insufficient, the robot cannot obtain all the goods in the same order, which leads to abnormal outbound tasks.

[0087] In the related technology, when the outbound task is abnormal, the goods that failed the outbound task can be retrieved through manual and robot cooperation. For example, the robot performs an additional picking task to retrieve the goods that failed to be outbound. If the goods inventory is still insufficient, the additional picking task fails to be executed, or the number of goods taken out at one time is too large for the robot to pass through the scanning warehouse, the robot will report an error, and then the subsequent additional picking task will be performed by manual.

[0088] In actual application, since large warehouses provide services to multiple regions and multiple users at the same time, they face tens of thousands of orders every day, and the number of abnormal outbound tasks is also very large. It is difficult for warehouse managers to handle abnormal outbound tasks in a timely manner. Therefore, the method of using robots and manual labor to handle exceptions will lead to low outbound efficiency.

[0089] In order to at least partially solve the technical problem of low outbound efficiency, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an exception handling method for outbound tasks, which is applied to a warehouse management system, the method comprising: in response to receiving difference information characterizing an outbound task exception, sending the difference information to an order processing center, wherein the outbound task is used to take out M goods included in the task order from the warehouse, and the difference information includes N goods that failed to be outbound in the task order, M≥N≥1; in response to receiving position information of each of the N goods from the order processing center, generating an additional picking task based on the position information of each of the N goods, wherein the additional picking task is used to take out N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation; and merging the N goods taken out based on at least one picking operation in the additional picking task with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods.

[0090] Figure 1 The application scenario of the exception handling method for a warehouse outbound task according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically illustrated.

[0091] like Figure 1 As shown, the application scenario 100 according to this embodiment may include a first terminal device 101, a second terminal device 102, a third terminal device 103, a fourth terminal device 104, a network 105, and a server 106. The network 105 is used to provide a medium for a communication link between the first terminal device 101, the second terminal device 102, the third terminal device 103, the fourth terminal device 104, and the server 106. The network 105 may include various connection types, such as wired, wireless communication links, or optical fiber cables, etc.

[0092] The user may use at least one of the first terminal device 101 and the second terminal device 102 to interact with the server 105 through the network 104 to receive or send messages, etc. Various communication client applications may be installed on the first terminal device 101 and the second terminal device 102, such as shopping applications, web browser applications, search applications, instant messaging tools, email clients, social platform software, etc. (only for example).

[0093] The server 106 can control one of the third terminal device 103 and the fourth terminal device 104 to implement the picking operation.

[0094] The first terminal device 101 and the second terminal device 102 may be various electronic devices having display screens and supporting web browsing, including but not limited to smart phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, desktop computers, and the like.

[0095] The third terminal device 103 and the fourth terminal device 104 can be handling robots, conveyor belts and other equipment to facilitate the handling, transmission and packaging of goods.

[0096] The server 106 can be a server that provides various services, such as receiving orders completed by users using the first terminal device 101 and the second terminal device 102, and processing the orders into task orders, and controlling robots to perform picking operations and packing and outbound operations through a warehouse management system or control system.

[0097] It should be noted that the exception handling method for the outbound task provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure can generally be executed by the server 106. Accordingly, the exception handling device for the outbound task provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure can generally be set in the server 106. The exception handling method for the outbound task provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure can also be executed by a server or server cluster that is different from the server 106 and can communicate with the first terminal device 101, the second terminal device 102, the third terminal device 103, the fourth terminal device 104 and / or the server 106. Correspondingly, the exception handling device for the outbound task provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure can also be set in a server or server cluster that is different from the server 106 and can communicate with the first terminal device 101, the second terminal device 102, the third terminal device 103, the fourth terminal device 104 and / or the server 106.

[0098] It should be understood that Figure 1 The number of terminal devices, networks and servers in the embodiment is only for illustration. Any number of terminal devices, networks and servers may be provided according to the implementation requirements.

[0099] The following will be based on Figure 1 The scene described by Figure 2 to Figure 8 The exception handling method of the outbound task in the disclosed embodiment is described in detail.

[0100] Figure 2 The flowchart of the exception handling method for the outbound task applied to the warehouse management system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0101] like Figure 2 As shown, the method 200 includes operations S210 to S230.

[0102] In operation S210, in response to receiving difference information characterizing an abnormality in an outbound task, the difference information is sent to an order processing center, wherein the outbound task is used to take out M goods included in the task order from the warehouse, and the difference information includes N goods in the task order that failed to be outbound, and M≥N≥1.

[0103] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a user can purchase goods or merchandise online through a shopping software or a web-based shopping application and generate an order. The shopping software or the web-based shopping application can send the order to a warehouse management system to generate a delivery task and execute the delivery task to take out all the goods in the order. In the warehouse management system, the order can be received and processed in the form of a task order.

[0104] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, since the inventory of goods in the warehouse changes in real time, when the inventory of a certain goods is insufficient, the outbound task including the goods will be abnormal. When the outbound task is abnormal, the warehouse management system will obtain difference information representing the abnormal outbound task from the robot or inventory system. The difference information includes one or more goods that failed to be outbound.

[0105] For example, order A includes daily necessities B, furniture C, and food D. When the stock of food D is insufficient, the outbound task corresponding to order A can only obtain daily necessities B and furniture C from the warehouse, but cannot obtain food D. At this time, the outbound task is abnormal, and the failed outbound food D is reported to the warehouse management system.

[0106] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the order management center can manage the inventory of multiple goods in the warehouse. In response to receiving the difference information representing the abnormality of the outbound task, the warehouse management system sends the difference information to the order processing center, which replenishes the warehouse and returns the location information of the goods after replenishment to the warehouse management system.

[0107] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the same warehouse may store the same type of goods in multiple areas. After receiving the difference information sent by the warehouse management system, the order management center may return other location information of the goods in the difference information to the warehouse management system.

[0108] In operation S220, in response to receiving the location information of each of the N goods from the order processing center, an additional picking task is generated based on the location information of each of the N goods, wherein the additional picking task is used to take out the N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation.

[0109] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in response to receiving the location information of each of N goods from the order processing center, the warehouse management system may generate an additional picking task to retrieve the N goods that failed to be shipped out.

[0110] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the robot can re-take N goods from the warehouse by performing an additional picking task. The additional picking task can be implemented by at least one robot through at least one picking operation.

[0111] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, in the related art, the additional picking task can only be implemented by a single robot through a single picking operation. When a single robot obtains goods that exceed the height of the container, although the goods will not fall out of the container, due to the height limit of the scanning bin in the warehouse, the robot cannot pass through the scanning bin and cannot scan the goods, which causes the additional picking task to be abnormal and requires manual intervention.

[0112] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, multiple goods in the additional picking task can be divided into multiple containers through at least one picking operation, and the goods that failed to be shipped out can be obtained through multiple picking operations, thereby avoiding the failure of the additional picking task and improving the shipping efficiency.

[0113] In operation S230 , the N goods taken out based on at least one picking operation in the additional picking task are merged with other goods taken out of the M goods.

[0114] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, after N goods are taken out based on at least one picking operation in the additional picking task, the re-acquired N goods can be merged with other goods that have been taken out to complete the outbound task corresponding to the order.

[0115] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, since the additional picking task can take out N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation, it is possible to avoid the failure of the additional picking task due to a single picking failure, and there is no need to further manually handle the additional picking task exception, thereby affecting the outbound efficiency. In response to receiving the difference information representing the outbound task exception, the embodiment of the present disclosure sends the difference information to the order processing center; in response to receiving the position information of each of the N goods from the order processing center, the additional picking task is generated based on the position information of each of the N goods, and the N goods taken out based on at least one picking operation in the additional picking task are merged with the other goods that have been taken out of the M goods, which can at least partially solve the technical problem of low outbound efficiency caused by handling exceptions through robot and manual cooperation, split the additional picking task into at least one picking operation, which can avoid the failure of the additional picking task due to inventory and height limit reasons, and no manual participation is required, so as to achieve the technical effect of improving outbound efficiency.

[0116] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, merging N goods taken out based on at least one picking operation in an additional picking task with other goods taken out from M goods includes: obtaining a return message of each at least one picking operation; and merging the N goods with other goods taken out from M goods based on the return message of each at least one picking operation.

[0117] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a feedback message is generated after each picking operation is completed, which is used to feed back the picking result of each picking operation and the container information used in the picking operation to the warehouse management system.

[0118] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, after receiving the return message of at least one picking operation, the M goods taken out of the N goods and the M goods can be merged in various forms according to the return message of at least one picking operation.

[0119] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the warehouse management system can directly control at least one robot to perform at least one picking operation and generate a return message; thereafter, the N goods are merged with other goods that have been successfully shipped out of the warehouse.

[0120] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the warehouse management system can also cooperate with other systems to complete additional picking tasks so as to obtain N goods from the warehouse. For example, the warehouse management system can send the additional picking task to other systems, such as the control system, and the control system takes out the N goods through at least one picking operation and generates a return message for each of the at least one picking operations. After generating the return message for each of the at least one picking operation, the control system can return the return message for each of the at least one picking operation to the warehouse management system. The warehouse management system merges the N goods with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods according to the return message for each of the at least one picking operation.

[0121] Figure 3 The flowchart of merging N goods taken out in the additional picking task with other goods taken out of M goods according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0122] like Figure 3 As shown, after receiving the order, the warehouse management system converts the order into a task list 301, and generates a delivery task based on the task list 301. The task list includes M goods. In the case that N goods in the task list fail to be delivered, difference information 302 including the N goods that failed to be delivered is generated. In the case that (MN) goods in the task list are delivered successfully, (MN) goods 306 can be taken out from the warehouse.

[0123] The warehouse management system may report the difference information 302 to the order management center, and the order management center returns the location information of the N goods. The warehouse management system further generates an additional picking task 303 based on the location information of the N goods. The warehouse management system or control system may divide the additional picking task into multiple picking operations to take out the N goods 307 from the warehouse, for example, 304_1, 304_2...304_S. Each picking operation corresponds to a return message, for example, 305_1, 305_2...305_S.

[0124] The warehouse management system merges (MN) goods 306 and N goods 307 according to the return message of at least one picking operation, and the outbound task is completed 308.

[0125] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the picking results can be promptly returned to the warehouse management system through the return message, ensuring that the data of the warehouse management system is consistent with the data of the picking operation process, and avoiding the failure of additional picking tasks due to missing some goods.

[0126] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, obtaining the return message of each at least one picking operation includes: determining the type of task execution subject, wherein the task execution subject type includes a robot; in response to determining that the task execution subject type is a robot, sending an additional picking task to the control system so that the control system controls at least one picking operation to take out N goods; and receiving the return message of each at least one picking operation returned by the control system.

[0127] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, before sending a picking task to a control system, a subject to perform an additional picking task is determined by determining the type of task execution subject. The task execution subject types include robots and humans. When a robot is undergoing maintenance in a warehouse, an additional picking task can be performed manually.

[0128] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the execution subject of the additional picking task is generally set to a robot. In order to deal with emergencies in the warehouse, the warehouse management system can flexibly deal with it by setting the task execution subject type.

[0129] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the additional picking tasks can be performed by robots controlled by a control system or can be performed manually. The control system is only used to control at least one robot to perform at least one picking operation.

[0130] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in response to determining that the task execution subject type is a robot, an additional picking task is sent to the control system so that the control system controls at least one picking operation to take out N goods.

[0131] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, by determining the type of the task execution subject, when the task execution subject type is a robot, the additional picking task is sent to the control system so that the control system controls at least one picking operation to take out N goods. Since the outbound task and the picking operation are respectively implemented by the warehouse management system and the control system, on the one hand, the processing pressure of the warehouse management system can be reduced; on the other hand, the picking plan can also be flexibly determined by the control system. In addition, by determining the type of the task execution subject, it is also possible to flexibly respond to emergencies in warehousing and logistics, and to manually perform additional picking tasks.

[0132] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, merging N goods with other goods that have been taken out of M goods according to the return message of at least one picking operation includes: determining the number of containers carrying the N goods according to the return message for each picking operation; and in response to determining that the number of containers is 1, merging the N goods carried by the first container with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods, thereby completing the exception handling of the outbound task.

[0133] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a robot can carry at least one container to obtain goods from a storage location in a warehouse. Each container can carry at least one item, and each container corresponds to a picking operation. When the control system adds a picking task to be executed, a feedback message is returned to the warehouse management system to feed back the data of the container carrying N items, so that the warehouse management system can merge the containers carrying N items to avoid missing items.

[0134] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the return message includes information for characterizing the number of containers. After the return message is obtained, the number of containers carrying N goods can be determined by parsing the return message.

[0135] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of containers is 1, which indicates that N items are obtained through only one picking operation. There is no need to merge the containers of the additional picking operation process. It is only necessary to merge the N items carried by the first container with the other items that have been taken out of the M items to complete the exception handling of the outbound task.

[0136] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of containers being greater than 1 indicates that N goods are obtained through two or more picking operations, and therefore, the containers of the additional picking operation process need to be merged.

[0137] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, determining the number of containers carrying N goods according to the return message includes: determining the field value of the total number of containers field in the return message as the number of containers carrying N goods.

[0138] According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the control system can execute the picking operations of multiple task orders at the same time, and the number of picking operations of the additional picking task in each task order is also different, and the warehouse management system can receive multiple task orders or the operations of the same additional picking task at the same time. Therefore, each time a return message of a picking operation is received, the number of containers carrying N goods is determined so as to merge the goods of the picking operation goods of the same additional picking task.

[0139] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, for the return message of each picking operation, in response to determining that the number of containers is greater than 1, the task order identifier of the outbound task is modified to merge; in response to receiving the return message of the last picking operation and determining that the task order identifier is merged, the goods carried by the second containers of at least one picking operation are merged to obtain N goods; the N goods are merged with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods, and the exception handling of the outbound task is completed.

[0140] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, for the return message of each picking operation, when it is determined that the number of containers is greater than 1, the task order identifier of the outbound task is modified to merge, so that the goods obtained by multiple picking operations under the task order can be merged subsequently.

[0141] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when it is determined that the number of containers is greater than 1 and the task order identifier of the outbound task has been merged, the task order identifier may not be modified.

[0142] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one picking operation under the same additional picking operation has the same task order number. After receiving the return message of the last picking operation and determining that the task order is identified as a merge, the goods carried by the second containers of the at least one picking operation can be merged to obtain N goods.

[0143] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in a control system, multiple task orders and at least one picking operation of multiple additional picking tasks are arranged in chronological order. At least one picking operation under the same additional picking operation has the same task order number. After receiving the return message of the last picking operation and determining that the task order is marked as confluence, the goods carried by the second container of each of the at least one picking operation are merged, and N goods of the same additional picking task can be merged to avoid missing goods and improve the efficiency of outbound delivery.

[0144] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, generating an additional picking task based on the respective position information of N goods includes: relocating each of the N goods in the warehouse according to the respective position information of the N goods to obtain a relocation result; in response to determining that the relocation result indicates that the N goods are all successfully located, generating an additional picking task based on the respective position information of the N goods; in response to the relocation result indicating that one of the N goods fails to be located, determining the outbound task as an abnormal task.

[0145] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the warehouse management system can detect the inventory of each product and reposition it. For example, according to the location information of the product returned by the order management center, it can detect whether there is any product inventory in the warehouse at the location information and return the repositioning result.

[0146] According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, if the relocation result is successful, it means that the goods are still in stock in the warehouse and can be re-obtained by adding a picking task; if the relocation result is failed, it means that the goods are not in stock in the warehouse and a prompt message of "No goods in the warehouse" can be reported to the warehouse management system. At the same time, the outbound task is determined as an abnormal task and there is no need to generate an additional picking task.

[0147] Figure 4 The flowchart of the method for generating additional picking tasks according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0148] like Figure 4 As shown, based on the difference information 401, N goods that failed to be shipped out can be obtained, for example, 402_1, 402_2...402_N, and each of the goods has its own location information, such as 403_1, 403_2...403_N. Among them, 403_1 is the location information 1 of the goods 1, 403_2 is the location information 2 of the goods 2...403_N is the location information N of the goods N. Each of the N goods is relocated, and N relocation results can be obtained, for example, 404_1, 404_2...404_N. According to the N relocation results, it can be determined whether to generate an additional picking task 405.

[0149] For example, if N goods are all located successfully, an additional picking task 405 is generated based on the location information of each of the N goods; if one of the N goods fails to be located, the outbound task is determined as an abnormal task.

[0150] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, since the inventory information of the goods in the warehouse changes in real time, after obtaining the location information of each of the N goods from the order management center, by relocating each of the goods, it is possible to avoid the failure of the additional task due to insufficient goods inventory again. At the same time, relocating between the generation of additional picking tasks can also avoid manual intervention to handle exceptions after the execution of the picking task fails, thereby improving the efficiency of exception handling.

[0151] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, after the N goods are combined with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods, the combined goods are reviewed according to the task order to obtain a review result.

[0152] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, after the N goods are combined with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods, the combined M goods can be transported to the review station through a conveyor belt. The review station is provided with a scanning device, and the review station can use the scanning device to review and pack the combined M goods.

[0153] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the missing of goods can be further avoided through the review operation.

[0154] The embodiments of the present disclosure generate additional picking tasks based on the location information of each of N goods, and merge the N goods taken out based on at least one picking operation in the additional picking tasks with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods. This can at least partially solve the technical problem of low warehouse delivery efficiency caused by handling anomalies through the cooperation of robots and manual labor. The additional picking tasks are split into at least one picking operation, which can avoid the failure of the additional picking tasks due to inventory and height restrictions, and no manual participation is required, thereby achieving the technical effect of improving warehouse delivery efficiency.

[0155] Figure 5 The flowchart of the abnormality handling method of the outbound task applied to the control system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0156] like Figure 5 As shown, the method 500 includes operations S510 to S530.

[0157] In operation S510, in response to receiving an additional picking task sent by a warehouse management system, N goods are taken out from the warehouse through at least one picking operation.

[0158] In operation S520, a return message of at least one picking operation is generated.

[0159] In operation S530, the return message of at least one picking operation is sent to the warehouse management system, so that the warehouse management system merges the N goods with other goods taken out of the M goods according to the return message of at least one picking operation.

[0160] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the additional picking task is generated by the warehouse management system in response to receiving the respective location information of N goods from the order processing center; the respective location information of the N goods is determined by the order processing center based on the difference information characterizing the abnormality of the outbound task sent by the warehouse management system; the outbound task is used to take out the M goods included in the task order from the warehouse, and the difference information includes the N goods in the task order that failed to be shipped out, M≥N≥1.

[0161] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the control system can interact with the warehouse management system, obtain and execute the additional picking task sent by the warehouse management system, and generate a return message. The control system can split the additional picking task into at least one picking operation according to the container limit of the robot, so as to obtain N goods.

[0162] According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the control system receives the additional picking task sent by the warehouse management system, takes out N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation; generates a return message for each of the at least one picking operation; sends the return message for each of the at least one picking operation to the warehouse management system, which can decouple the warehouse control system from the control system, and the control system can flexibly determine the number of picking operations. The picking results can be returned to the warehouse management system in a timely manner through the return message, ensuring that the data of the warehouse management system and the picking operation process are consistent, and avoiding the failure of the additional picking task due to the omission of some goods due to inconsistent information.

[0163] Figure 6 The interactive scenario diagram of the exception handling method for the outbound task according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0164] like Figure 6 As shown, the exception handling method for the outbound task can be completed by the warehouse management system and the control system.

[0165] For example, the warehouse management system receives the difference information reported by the picking, and reports the difference information to the order management center. After receiving the difference information reported by the warehouse management system, the order management center returns the location information of the N goods that failed to be shipped out of the warehouse in the difference information to the warehouse management system. In response to receiving the location information of each of the N goods from the order processing center, the warehouse management system triggers relocation, and the warehouse management system performs the relocation operation to obtain the relocation result. Afterwards, it is determined whether the relocation is successful based on the relocation result. In the case of relocation failure, "No in the entire warehouse" is returned; in the case of relocation success, the relocation result is returned.

[0166] After the relocation is successful, the warehouse management system automatically generates additional picking tasks. If the task execution subject type determines that the task is to be performed by a robot, the additional picking task is sent to the control system. If the task execution subject type determines that the task is not to be performed by a robot, manual picking is performed.

[0167] After receiving the additional picking task, the control system schedules production and picks goods according to the additional picking task. For example, the number of picking operations and the robot that performs the picking task are planned according to the additional picking task; then at least one robot is controlled to perform at least one additional picking operation. After the control system completes the picking, it returns the feedback message to the warehouse management system.

[0168] After receiving the return message, the warehouse management system determines whether there are multiple containers for the same task based on the total number of containers field in the return message. If it is determined that there are multiple containers for the same task, modify the task order identifier, merge by container, and obtain N goods. After that, the N goods obtained by the additional picking task can be combined with other goods that have been taken out and sent to the review station for review and packaging operations. If it is determined that there are no multiple containers for the same task, the N goods carried by one container can be directly combined with other goods that have been taken out and sent to the review station for review and packaging operations.

[0169] After the packaging is successfully reviewed, the outbound task is completed.

[0170] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in response to receiving an additional picking task sent by a warehouse management system, taking out N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation includes: determining at least one picking operation based on the total height of the N goods in the additional picking task; and performing at least one picking operation to take out the N goods from the warehouse.

[0171] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the control system may divide the additional picking task into at least one picking operation, and each picking operation may obtain at least one item.

[0172] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, transport channels such as scanning warehouses, review tables, and conveyor belts have restrictions on the height of containers. When the total height of goods carried by a container exceeds the height of the container, the container cannot carry the goods to the designated picking location, resulting in the failure of the additional picking task.

[0173] As a specific embodiment, the additional picking task may be divided into at least one picking operation according to the total height of the N goods, and at least one picking operation may be performed to take out the N goods from the warehouse.

[0174] Determining at least one picking operation based on the total height of N goods in the additional picking task includes: in response to determining that the total height of the goods is greater than the container capacity height of the container used to carry the goods, determining at least two picking operations based on the container capacity height, so as to take out N goods from the warehouse through at least two picking operations; in response to determining that the total volume height of the goods is less than or equal to the container capacity height, determining at least one picking operation based on the container capacity height, so as to take out N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation.

[0175] Fig. 7A A scenario diagram schematically illustrates determining the number of picking operations based on container height according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0176] like Fig. 7A As shown, goods 1, 2 and 3 are placed in the left container. In the related art, goods 1, 2 and 3 are obtained through one picking operation. Since the cumulative height of goods 1 and 2 is higher than the height of the container, the container cannot pass through the scanning warehouse, the review table, the conveyor belt and other transportation channels, resulting in the failure of the additional picking task.

[0177] In the embodiment on the right, the additional picking task is divided into two picking operations according to the height of the container, and each is performed by two containers. For example, the first container includes goods 1 and goods 2, and the second container includes goods 3.

[0178] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, by taking out at least one cargo in the additional picking task from the warehouse through at least one picking operation, it is possible to avoid the phenomenon that the container cannot carry the cargo to the designated picking location due to excessive quantity of cargo and the total height of the cargo carried by a container exceeding the height of the container, thereby reducing the probability of manual intervention and improving the efficiency of warehouse delivery.

[0179] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one picking operation may also be determined based on the relationship between the cargo volume and the container capacity to ensure that the volume restriction is met.

[0180] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in response to receiving an additional picking task sent by a warehouse management system, taking out N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation also includes: determining at least one optimal picking path based on the location information of the N goods in the additional picking task in the warehouse, wherein the optimal picking path includes the location of at least one of the N goods; determining the picking operation corresponding to the at least one picking path to obtain at least one picking operation; and performing at least one picking operation to take out N goods from the warehouse.

[0181] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, multiple goods in an order are placed in different positions in the warehouse. For a planned path for performing an additional picking task through a single picking operation, the planned path may be an optimal path for simultaneously acquiring N goods, but it is not necessarily an optimal path for acquiring N goods through multiple picking operations.

[0182] Figure 7B A scenario diagram schematically illustrates determining the number of picking operations based on an optimal picking path according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0183] like Figure 7B As shown, the additional picking task requires taking out goods A, goods B, and goods C from the warehouse. A planned path for taking out goods A, goods B, and goods C in sequence and transporting the containers carrying goods A, goods B, and goods C to the picking area requires the robot to travel 100 meters.

[0184] Robot S1 is located near cargo A. The planned path for robot S1 to take out cargo A and transport it to the picking area is 10 meters. Robot S2 is located near cargo B. The planned path for robot S2 to take out cargo B and cargo C in turn and transport the container carrying cargo B and cargo C to the picking area is 60 meters. That is, the planned path for cargo A, cargo B, and cargo C obtained through two picking operations is 70 meters in total.

[0185] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one optimal picking path is determined based on the location information of N goods in the additional picking task in the warehouse; and N goods are taken out from the warehouse by controlling at least one robot to perform corresponding picking operations along at least one optimal picking path.

[0186] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one good in an additional picking task is taken out from a warehouse through at least one optimal picking path, and the additional picking task can be performed with the shortest driving path, which can not only achieve the technical effect of improving the outbound efficiency, but also further improve the utilization rate of the robot.

[0187] Under the existing mode, the warehouse management system can only return the entire box when processing additional picking tasks, that is, all the goods in the additional picking tasks are carried by one container, and all the goods in the additional picking tasks cannot be carried by multiple containers, which places extremely high demands on the real-time performance of inventory. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, multiple picking operations can be performed by multiple robots or carried by multiple containers. Therefore, it is possible to obtain goods that failed to be shipped out through multiple picking operations under the additional picking tasks, and merge the goods obtained multiple times without manual participation, thereby improving the shipping efficiency. For the control system, the additional picking tasks can be split according to the container capacity, container height, and robot driving path, further improving the shipping efficiency.

[0188] Figure 8 The overall interaction diagram for implementing a warehouse outbound task according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0189] like Figure 8 As shown, operation S801, the outbound task is issued. The warehouse management system issues the outbound task in the form of an order, and then performs operation S802 to determine whether the order is issued successfully. If the order is issued successfully, the control system performs operation S804 to receive the task according to the order; if the order is issued unsuccessfully, the control system performs operation S803 to receive the task according to the task.

[0190] The control system executes operation S804 to receive the task according to the order, executes operation S805 to system-assemble the order, converts the order into a task order, and returns the outbound assembly order completion information to the warehouse management system. At this time, the warehouse control system executes operation S806 to complete the outbound assembly order and returns it. While returning the outbound assembly order completion information to the warehouse management system, the control system also executes operation S807 to allocate workstations and slots.

[0191] After the control system executes operation S803 to receive the task according to the task, it directly processes the outbound task in the form of a task order, that is, the control system directly executes operation S807 to allocate the workstation and the slot.

[0192] When the user cancels the order, the warehouse management system receives the order cancellation information and executes operation S809 to cancel the order. The control system receives the order cancellation information returned by the warehouse management system and executes operation S808 to cancel the order if the order is not allocated. At the same time, the control system also sends feedback to the warehouse management system to issue the order cancellation. The warehouse management system executes operation S810 to issue the order cancellation.

[0193] After the control system executes operation S807, it can execute operation S811 to bind the container according to the assigned workstation and slot. The bound container is used to take out the goods in the task order. After binding the container, the control system sends a container occupation application to the warehouse management system; after the warehouse management system executes operation S812 to receive the container occupation application, it modifies the occupation status of the container. The control system can execute operation S813 according to the occupation status returned by the warehouse management system to determine whether the occupation is successful. If the occupation is not successful, execute operation S814 to change another container and repeat the process of binding the container. If the occupation is successful, continue to execute the outbound task.

[0194] If the container is occupied successfully, the picking stage is entered. In the picking stage, a picking list can be generated according to the task order so that the robot can perform the picking task. If the container is occupied successfully, continue to perform operation S815 to determine whether there is a picking list for the outbound task. If there is a picking list, continue to perform operation S816 to determine whether it is issued according to the task. If it is issued according to the task, a robot start picking notification is sent to the warehouse management system according to the task list, and the warehouse management system performs operation S817 to receive the robot start picking notification (according to the task list). If it is not issued according to the task, a robot start picking notification is sent to the warehouse management system according to the order, and the warehouse management system performs operation S818 to receive the robot start picking notification (according to the order). If there is no picking list, after performing operation S816, perform operation S819 to allocate robots to carry containers.

[0195] Operation S819 is executed to allocate the robot to carry the container. At operation S820, the container arrives at the picking position, and the control system performs operation S821 to determine whether there is a difference in the goods. If there is a difference, operation S822 is executed to mark the difference and send the difference to the warehouse management system so that the warehouse management system performs operation S824 to register the difference. While sending the difference to the warehouse management system, the control system performs operation S823 to reallocate. After operation S823 reallocation, return to operation S819 to re-execute the operation of carrying the container.

[0196] In the case where there is no difference in the goods, proceed to operation S825 to complete the task or the container picking is completed. After that, execute operation S826 to see if it is a picking list. If there is a picking list, continue to execute operation S827 to see if it is issued according to the task. In the case of issuing according to the task, send the robot picking and unloading to the warehouse management system according to the task list, and the warehouse management system executes operation S828 to receive the robot picking and unloading (according to the task list). In the case of not issuing according to the task, send the robot picking and unloading to the warehouse management system according to the order, and the warehouse management system executes operation S829 to receive the robot picking and unloading (according to the order). In the case of no picking list, send the removal result to the warehouse management system, and the warehouse management system executes operation S830 to receive the removal result.

[0197] Fig. 9 The structural block diagram of the exception handling device for outbound tasks applied to a warehouse management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0198] like Fig. 9 As shown, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an exception handling device 900 for a warehouse outbound task applied to a warehouse management system includes a first sending module 910 , a first generating module 920 , and a merging module 930 .

[0199] The first sending module 910 is used to send the difference information representing the abnormality of the outbound task to the order processing center in response to receiving the difference information, wherein the outbound task is used to take out M goods included in the task order from the warehouse, and the difference information includes N goods in the task order that failed to be outbound, M≥N≥1. In one embodiment, the first sending module 910 can be used to perform the operation S210 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0200] The first generating module 920 is configured to generate an additional picking task based on the location information of the N goods in response to receiving the location information of the N goods from the order processing center, wherein the additional picking task is used to take the N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation. In one embodiment, the first generating module 920 can be used to perform the operation S220 described above, which will not be described in detail here.

[0201] The merging module 930 is used to merge the N goods taken out based on at least one picking operation in the additional picking task with other goods taken out of the M goods. In one embodiment, the merging module 930 can be used to perform the operation S230 described above, which will not be described in detail here.

[0202] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the merging module 930 includes an acquiring submodule and a merging submodule.

[0203] The acquisition submodule is used to obtain the return message of at least one picking operation.

[0204] The merging submodule is used to merge the N goods with other goods that have been taken out from the M goods according to the return message of at least one picking operation.

[0205] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the acquisition submodule includes: a first determination unit, a first response unit and a receiving unit.

[0206] The first determination unit is used to determine the type of the task execution subject, wherein the task execution subject type includes a robot.

[0207] The first response unit is used for sending the additional picking task to the control system in response to determining that the task execution subject type is a robot, so that the control system controls at least one picking operation to take out N goods.

[0208] The receiving unit receives the return message of at least one picking operation returned by the control system.

[0209] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the merging submodule includes: a second determining unit and a second responding unit.

[0210] The second determining unit is used to determine the number of containers carrying N goods according to the returned message of each picking operation.

[0211] The second response unit is used for merging the N goods carried by the first container with other goods taken out of the M goods in response to the return message of each picking operation and determining that the number of containers is 1, so as to complete the abnormal processing of the outbound task.

[0212] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second determining unit includes a first determining subunit configured to determine a field value of a total number of containers field in the return message as the number of containers carrying N goods.

[0213] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the merging submodule further includes a third response unit, a fourth response unit, and a merging unit.

[0214] The third response unit is configured to modify the task order identifier of the outbound task to merge in response to determining that the number of containers is greater than 1 in response to the return message of each picking operation.

[0215] The fourth responding unit is configured to, in response to receiving a return message of the last picking operation and determining that the task list is marked as a merge, merge the goods carried by the second containers of at least one picking operation to obtain N goods.

[0216] The merging unit is used to merge N goods with other goods that have been taken out of M goods to complete the exception handling of the outbound task.

[0217] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first generation module 920 includes a repositioning unit, a fifth response unit, and a sixth response unit. :

[0218] The repositioning unit is used to reposition each of the N goods in the warehouse according to the respective position information of the N goods to obtain a repositioning result.

[0219] A fifth responding unit is configured to generate an additional picking task based on the position information of each of the N goods in response to determining that the re-positioning result indicates that the N goods are all successfully positioned.

[0220] The sixth response unit is configured to determine the outbound task as an abnormal task in response to the repositioning result indicating that one of the N goods has failed to be positioned.

[0221] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the exception handling device 900 for the outbound task applied to the warehouse management system also includes: a review module, which is used to review the merged goods according to the task order after merging N goods with other goods taken out from M goods to obtain a review result.

[0222] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, any multiple modules among the first sending module 910, the first generating module 920, and the merging module 930 can be combined into one module for implementation, or any one of the modules can be split into multiple modules. Alternatively, at least part of the functions of one or more of these modules can be combined with at least part of the functions of other modules and implemented in one module.

[0223] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one of the first sending module 910, the first generating module 920, and the merging module 930 may be at least partially implemented as a hardware circuit, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic array (PLA), a system on a chip, a system on a substrate, a system on a package, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or may be implemented by hardware or firmware such as any other reasonable way of integrating or packaging the circuit, or by any one of the three implementation methods of software, hardware, and firmware, or by an appropriate combination of any of them. Alternatively, at least one of the first sending module 910, the first generating module 920, and the merging module 930 may be at least partially implemented as a computer program module, and when the computer program module is run, the corresponding function may be executed.

[0224] Fig.10 The structural block diagram of the abnormality handling device for the outbound task applied to the control system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0225] like Fig.10 As shown, the exception handling device 1000 for a warehouse outbound task applied to a control system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a task acquisition module 1010 , a second generation module 1020 , and a second sending module 1030 .

[0226] The task acquisition module 1010 is used to take out N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation in response to receiving an additional picking task sent by the warehouse management system. In one embodiment, the task acquisition module 1010 can be used to perform the operation S510 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0227] The second generating module 1020 is used to generate a return message of at least one picking operation. In one embodiment, the second generating module 1020 can be used to perform the operation S520 described above, which will not be described in detail here.

[0228] The second sending module 1030 is used to send the return message of at least one picking operation to the warehouse management system, so that the warehouse management system can merge the N goods with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods according to the return message of at least one picking operation. In one embodiment, the second sending module 1030 can be used to perform the operation S530 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0229] Among them, the additional picking task is generated by the warehouse management system in response to receiving the respective location information of N goods from the order processing center; the respective location information of N goods is determined by the order processing center based on the difference information characterizing the abnormality of the outbound task sent by the warehouse management system; the outbound task is used to take out the M goods included in the task order from the warehouse, and the difference information includes the N goods in the task order that failed to be shipped out, M≥N≥1.

[0230] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the task acquisition module 1010 includes: a first operation determination submodule and a first execution submodule.

[0231] The first operation determination submodule is used to determine at least one picking operation according to the total height of N goods in the additional picking task.

[0232] The first execution submodule is used to execute at least one picking operation to take out N goods from the warehouse.

[0233] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first operation determination submodule overall height includes: a first operation determination unit and a second operation determination unit.

[0234] The first operation determining unit is used to determine at least two picking operations according to the height of the container in response to determining that the total height of the goods is greater than the height of the container for carrying the goods, so as to take out N goods from the warehouse through at least two picking operations.

[0235] The second operation determination unit is used to determine at least one picking operation according to the container height in response to determining that the total height of the goods is less than or equal to the container height, so as to take out N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation.

[0236] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the task acquisition module 1010 further includes: a path determination submodule, a second operation determination submodule, and a second execution submodule.

[0237] The path determination submodule is used to determine at least one optimal picking path according to the location information of each of the N goods in the additional picking task in the warehouse, wherein the optimal picking path includes the location of at least one of the N goods.

[0238] The second operation determination submodule is used to determine a picking operation corresponding to at least one picking path to obtain at least one picking operation.

[0239] The second execution submodule is used to execute at least one picking operation to take out N goods from the warehouse.

[0240] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, any multiple modules among the task acquisition module 1010, the second generation module 1020, and the second sending module 1030 can be combined into one module for implementation, or any one of the modules can be split into multiple modules. Alternatively, at least part of the functions of one or more of these modules can be combined with at least part of the functions of other modules and implemented in one module.

[0241] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one of the task acquisition module 1010, the second generation module 1020, and the second sending module 1030 can be at least partially implemented as a hardware circuit, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic array (PLA), a system on a chip, a system on a substrate, a system on a package, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or can be implemented by hardware or firmware such as any other reasonable way of integrating or packaging the circuit, or implemented in any one of the three implementation methods of software, hardware, and firmware, or in an appropriate combination of any of them. Alternatively, at least one of the task acquisition module 1010, the second generation module 1020, and the second sending module 1030 can be at least partially implemented as a computer program module, and when the computer program module is run, the corresponding function can be executed.

[0242] Fig.11 The structural block diagram of the exception handling system for outbound tasks according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0243] The exception handling system includes the warehouse management system and the control system.

[0244] The warehouse management system includes a first sending module 1110 , a first generating module 1120 , a message acquiring module 1130 , and a merging module 1140 . The control system includes a task acquiring module 1150 , a second generating module 1160 , and a second sending module 1170 .

[0245] The first sending module 1110 is used to send the difference information representing the abnormality of the outbound task to the order processing center in response to receiving the difference information, wherein the outbound task is used to take out M goods included in the task order from the warehouse, and the difference information includes N goods in the task order that failed to be outbound, M≥N≥1.

[0246] The first generation module 1120 is used to generate an additional picking task based on the location information of the N goods in response to receiving the location information of the N goods from the order processing center, wherein the additional picking task is used to take out the N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation.

[0247] The message acquisition module 1130 is used to obtain the return message of each of the at least one picking operations from the control system.

[0248] The merging module 1140 is configured to merge the N goods taken out based on the at least one picking operation in the additional picking task with other goods taken out of the M goods.

[0249] The task acquisition module 1150 is used to take out the N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation in response to receiving the additional picking task sent by the warehouse management system.

[0250] The second generating module 1160 is used to generate a return message for each of the at least one picking operations.

[0251] The second sending module 1170 is used to send the return message of the at least one picking operation to the warehouse management system.

[0252] Fig.12 A block diagram of an electronic device according to an exception handling method suitable for a warehouse outbound task according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0253] like Fig.12 As shown, the electronic device 1200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a processor 1201, which can perform various appropriate actions and processes according to a program stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 1202 or a program loaded from a storage part 1208 into a random access memory (RAM) 1203. The processor 1201 may include, for example, a general-purpose microprocessor (e.g., a CPU), an instruction set processor and / or a related chipset and / or a special-purpose microprocessor (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), etc. The processor 1201 may also include an onboard memory for caching purposes. The processor 1201 may include a single processing unit or multiple processing units for performing different actions of the method flow according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0254] In RAM 1203, various programs and data required for the operation of electronic device 1200 are stored. Processor 1201, ROM 1202 and RAM 1203 are connected to each other through bus 1204. Processor 1201 performs various operations of the method flow according to the embodiment of the present disclosure by executing the program in ROM 1202 and / or RAM 1203. It should be noted that the program can also be stored in one or more memories other than ROM 1202 and RAM 1203. Processor 1201 can also perform various operations of the method flow according to the embodiment of the present disclosure by executing the program stored in the one or more memories.

[0255] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic device 1200 may further include an input / output (I / O) interface 1205, which is also connected to the bus 1204. The electronic device 1200 may further include one or more of the following components connected to the input / output I / O interface 1205: an input portion 1206 including a keyboard, a mouse, etc.; an output portion 1207 including a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), etc., and a speaker, etc.; a storage portion 1208 including a hard disk, etc.; and a communication portion 1209 including a network interface card such as a LAN card, a modem, etc. The communication portion 1209 performs communication processing via a network such as the Internet. A drive 1210 is also connected to the I / O interface 1205 as needed. A removable medium 1211, such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, etc., is installed on the drive 1210 as needed, so that a computer program read therefrom is installed into the storage portion 1208 as needed.

[0256] The present disclosure also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which may be included in the device / apparatus / system described in the above embodiments; or may exist independently without being assembled into the device / apparatus / system. The above computer-readable storage medium carries one or more programs, and when the above one or more programs are executed, the method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is implemented.

[0257] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium may be a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, for example, may include but is not limited to: a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof. In the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium containing or storing a program, which may be used by or in combination with an instruction execution system, an apparatus, or a device. For example, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium may include the ROM 1202 and / or RAM 1203 described above and / or one or more memories other than ROM 1202 and RAM 1203.

[0258] The embodiment of the present disclosure also includes a computer program product, which includes a computer program, and the computer program contains program code for executing the method shown in the flowchart. When the computer program product is run in a computer system, the program code is used to enable the computer system to implement the above method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0259] The above functions defined in the system / device of the embodiment of the present disclosure are performed when the computer program is executed by the processor 1201. According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the system, device, module, unit, etc. described above can be implemented by a computer program module.

[0260] In one embodiment, the computer program may rely on tangible storage media such as optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, etc. In another embodiment, the computer program may also be transmitted and distributed in the form of signals on a network medium, and downloaded and installed through the communication part 1209, and / or installed from the removable medium 1211. The program code contained in the computer program may be transmitted using any appropriate network medium, including but not limited to: wireless, wired, etc., or any suitable combination of the above.

[0261] In such an embodiment, the computer program can be downloaded and installed from the network through the communication part 1209, and / or installed from the removable medium 1211. When the computer program is executed by the processor 1201, the above functions defined in the system of the embodiment of the present disclosure are performed. According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the system, device, means, module, unit, etc. described above can be implemented by a computer program module.

[0262] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the program code for executing the computer program provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. Specifically, these computing programs can be implemented using high-level process and / or object-oriented programming languages, and / or assembly / machine languages. Programming languages ​​include, but are not limited to, Java, C++, python, "C" language or similar programming languages. The program code can be executed entirely on the user computing device, partially on the user device, partially on the remote computing device, or entirely on the remote computing device or server. In the case of a remote computing device, the remote computing device can be connected to the user computing device through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or can be connected to an external computing device (for example, using an Internet service provider to connect through the Internet).

[0263] The flow charts and block diagrams in the accompanying drawings illustrate the possible architecture, functions and operations of the systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each box in the flow chart or block diagram can represent a module, a program segment, or a part of a code, and the above-mentioned module, program segment, or a part of a code contains one or more executable instructions for realizing the specified logical function. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions marked in the box can also occur in a different order from the order marked in the accompanying drawings. For example, two boxes represented in succession can actually be executed substantially in parallel, and they can sometimes be executed in the opposite order, depending on the functions involved. It should also be noted that each box in the block diagram or flow chart, and the combination of the boxes in the block diagram or flow chart can be implemented with a dedicated hardware-based system that performs a specified function or operation, or can be implemented with a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

[0264] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the features described in the various embodiments and / or claims of the present disclosure may be combined and / or combined in a variety of ways, even if such combinations and / or combinations are not explicitly described in the present disclosure. In particular, the features described in the various embodiments and / or claims of the present disclosure may be combined and / or combined in a variety of ways without departing from the spirit and teachings of the present disclosure. All of these combinations and / or combinations fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0265] The specific embodiments described above further illustrate the purpose, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the above description is only a specific embodiment of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present disclosure should be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for handling exceptions in a warehouse outbound task, applied to a warehouse management system, comprising: In response to receiving the difference information indicating the abnormality of the outbound task, the difference information is sent to the order processing center, wherein the outbound task is used to take out M goods included in the task order from the warehouse, and the difference information includes N goods in the task order that failed to be outbound, M≥N≥1; In response to receiving the location information of each of the N goods from the order processing center, generating an additional picking task based on the location information of each of the N goods, wherein the additional picking task is used to take out the N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation; and The N goods taken out based on the at least one picking operation in the additional picking task are merged with other goods taken out of the M goods.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The step of merging the N goods taken out based on the at least one picking operation in the additional picking task with other goods taken out of the M goods comprises: Obtaining a return message of each of the at least one picking operations; and The N goods are combined with other goods that have been taken out from the M goods according to the return messages of the at least one picking operation.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The obtaining of the return message of each of the at least one picking operation comprises: Determine the task execution subject type, wherein the task execution subject type includes a robot; In response to determining that the task execution subject type is a robot, sending the additional picking task to a control system so that the control system controls the at least one picking operation to take out the N goods; and Receive a return message of each of the at least one picking operations returned by the control system.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The combining of the N goods with other goods taken out of the M goods according to the return message of each picking operation comprises: for each return message of the picking operation, Determining the number of containers carrying the N goods according to the returned message; and In response to determining that the number of containers is 1, the N goods carried by the first container are combined with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods, and the exception processing of the outbound task is completed.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein: The determining, according to the returned message, the number of containers carrying the N goods comprises: The field value of the total number of containers field in the return message is determined as the number of containers carrying the N goods.

6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: For each return message of the picking operation, in response to determining that the number of containers is greater than 1, modifying the task order identifier of the outbound task to merge; as well as In response to receiving a return message of the last picking operation and determining that the task list is marked as a merge, merging the goods carried by the second containers of the at least one picking operation to obtain the N goods; The N goods are combined with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods to complete the exception handling of the outbound task.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The generating of the additional picking task based on the location information of each of the N goods comprises: relocating each of the N goods in the warehouse according to the respective location information of the N goods to obtain a relocation result; In response to determining that the repositioning result indicates that the N goods are all successfully positioned, generating an additional picking task based on the position information of each of the N goods; In response to the repositioning result indicating that one of the N goods fails to be positioned, the outbound task is determined as an abnormal task.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: After the N goods are combined with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods, the combined goods are reviewed according to the task order to obtain a review result.

9. A method for handling exceptions in a warehouse outbound task, applied to a control system, the method comprising: In response to receiving an additional picking task sent by the warehouse management system, taking out the N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation; Generating a return message for each of the at least one picking operations; sending the return message of each of the at least one picking operation to the warehouse management system, so that the warehouse management system can merge the N goods with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods according to the return message of each of the at least one picking operation; Among them, the additional picking task is generated by the warehouse management system in response to receiving the respective location information of N goods from the order processing center, based on the respective location information of the N goods; the respective location information of the N goods is determined by the order processing center based on the difference information characterizing the abnormality of the outbound task sent by the warehouse management system; the outbound task is used to take out the M goods included in the task order from the warehouse, and the difference information includes the N goods in the task order that failed to be outbound, M≥N≥1.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: In response to receiving the additional picking task sent by the warehouse management system, taking out the N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation includes: Determining at least one picking operation according to the total height of the N goods in the additional picking task; and The at least one picking operation is performed to take out the N goods from the warehouse.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The determining at least one picking operation according to the total height of the N goods in the additional picking task comprises: In response to determining that the total height of the goods is greater than the height of the container for carrying the goods, determining at least two picking operations according to the height of the container, so as to take out the N goods from the warehouse through at least two picking operations; In response to determining that the total height of the goods is less than or equal to the container height, at least one picking operation is determined according to the container height, so as to take out the N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein: In response to receiving the additional picking task sent by the warehouse management system, taking out the N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation further includes: Determine at least one optimal picking path according to the location information of each of the N goods in the additional picking task in the warehouse, wherein the optimal picking path includes the location of at least one of the N goods; Determine a picking operation corresponding to the at least one picking path to obtain at least one picking operation; and The at least one picking operation is performed to take out the N goods from the warehouse.

13. An exception handling device for outbound tasks, applied to a warehouse management system, comprising: A first sending module is used for sending the difference information representing the abnormality of the outbound task to the order processing center in response to receiving the difference information, wherein the outbound task is used to take out M goods included in the task order from the warehouse, and the difference information includes N goods in the task order that failed to be outbound, M≥N≥1; a first generating module, configured to generate, in response to receiving the respective location information of the N goods from the order processing center, an additional picking task based on the respective location information of the N goods, wherein the additional picking task is used to take out the N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation; and A merging module is used to merge the N goods taken out based on the at least one picking operation in the additional picking task with other goods taken out of the M goods.

14. An abnormality handling device for a warehouse outbound task, applied to a control system, comprising: A task acquisition module, configured to, in response to receiving an additional picking task sent by the warehouse management system, take out the N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation; A second generating module, used to generate a return message for each of the at least one picking operations; a second sending module, configured to send the return message of each of the at least one picking operation to the warehouse management system, so that the warehouse management system merges the N goods with other goods that have been taken out of the M goods according to the return message of each of the at least one picking operation; Among them, the additional picking task is generated by the warehouse management system in response to receiving the respective location information of N goods from the order processing center, based on the respective location information of the N goods; the respective location information of the N goods is determined by the order processing center based on the difference information characterizing the abnormality of the outbound task sent by the warehouse management system; the outbound task is used to take out the M goods included in the task order from the warehouse, and the difference information includes the N goods in the task order that failed to be outbound, M≥N≥1.

15. An exception handling system for outbound tasks, comprising a warehouse management system and a control system; the warehouse management system comprises: A first sending module is used for sending the difference information representing the abnormality of the outbound task to the order processing center in response to receiving the difference information, wherein the outbound task is used to take out M goods included in the task order from the warehouse, and the difference information includes N goods in the task order that failed to be outbound, M≥N≥1; a first generating module, configured to generate, in response to receiving the respective location information of the N goods from the order processing center, an additional picking task based on the respective location information of the N goods, wherein the additional picking task is used to take out the N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation; A message acquisition module, used for acquiring a return message of each of the at least one picking operations from the control system; and a merging module, configured to merge the N goods taken out based on the at least one picking operation in the additional picking task with other goods taken out of the M goods; The control system is used to: A task acquisition module, configured to, in response to receiving an additional picking task sent by the warehouse management system, take out the N goods from the warehouse through at least one picking operation; A second generating module, used to generate a return message for each of the at least one picking operations; The second sending module is used to send the return message of the at least one picking operation to the warehouse management system.

16. An electronic device, comprising: one or more processors; a storage device for storing one or more programs, When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors are enabled to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

17. A computer-readable storage medium having executable instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

18. A computer program product, comprising a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 is implemented.

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