Four-way Shuttle Car System Scheduling Method and Equipment under the Integration of Multiple Business Scenarios

Abstract

The present application provides a scheduling method and device for a four-way shuttle vehicle system under the integration of multiple service scenarios. Starting from a four-way vehicle system involved in an actual project, combined with the constraints such as two-way platforms, a single elevator, multiple four-way vehicles, and chain machine caches that appear in it, an automatic switching strategy for two-way platforms, a vehicle path conflict avoidance strategy under a single elevator, a static or dynamic obstacle avoidance strategy for multiple four-way vehicles, and two obstacle avoidance calculation methods are respectively proposed. The proposed solution can not only enrich theoretical knowledge but also be applied in practice.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to a scheduling method and device for a four-way shuttle vehicle system under the integration of multiple business scenarios, belonging to the technical field of new energy. Background Technique

[0002] Due to its advantages such as flexible layout, strong flexibility, and high space utilization rate, the four-way vehicle system has been widely used in three-dimensional warehouses in industries such as medicine and food. The stable operation of the four-way vehicle depends on a reliable scheduling system, which mainly involves aspects such as task allocation, path planning, and obstacle avoidance. Among them, task allocation is to allocate tasks to appropriate four-way vehicles, path planning is to plan a point-to-point path for the four-way vehicle executing the task, and obstacle avoidance is to solve the path conflict phenomenon that occurs during the path execution of each four-way vehicle by adopting appropriate obstacle avoidance strategies.

[0003] In the theoretical research of four-way vehicles, various situations are assumed to be in an ideal state. However, in the actual application of four-way vehicles, due to site or financial restrictions, although some four-way vehicle systems are small in scale, they simultaneously have multiple business scenarios. For example, in addition to obstacle avoidance on the same floor and vehicle cross-floor operation, some four-way vehicle business scenarios only have one elevator, and all cross-floor operations need to be completed through this one elevator. In actual operation, the elevator becomes a bottleneck device, constituting a situation where multiple scenarios coexist. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To solve the problems existing in the prior art, the present application provides a scheduling method and device for a four-way shuttle vehicle system under the integration of multiple business scenarios.[[ID=I7]]

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present application provides the following technical solutions:

[0006] In the first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a scheduling method for a four-way shuttle vehicle system under the integration of multiple business scenarios. The scenario includes multi-layer shelves and only one elevator is provided, and the number of four-way vehicles is less than the number of shelf layers; the method includes:

[0007] Sort all tasks to be executed according to the priority level from high to low, and use the task with the highest priority as the target task;

[0008] According to the current position of the goods corresponding to the target task, request the four-way vehicle or the elevator to execute the target task;

[0009] Among them, when requesting a four-way vehicle to execute, it is determined whether there is an idle four-way vehicle in the task layer. If there is a four-way vehicle in the task layer and it is in an idle state, the idle four-way vehicle is controlled to execute the target task. If there is a four-way vehicle in the task layer but it is not in an idle state, the idle four-way vehicle is controlled to execute the target task when it becomes idle. If there is no four-way vehicle in the task layer, the idle four-way vehicle is controlled to execute the target task when there is an idle four-way vehicle in other layers.

[0010] When requesting the elevator to execute, determine whether the elevator and the corresponding destination station are currently idle. If so, execute the target task through the elevator. Otherwise, continue to wait until the elevator and the corresponding destination station are both idle, and then execute the target task through the elevator.

[0011] Based on the above method, optionally, the scenario includes a bidirectional platform supporting both outbound and inbound storage; the method further includes: switching the outbound and inbound storage status of the bidirectional platform according to the task to be executed, and executing the corresponding outbound task or inbound task;

[0012] The process of executing the outbound task includes:

[0013] Step 1: Get the current task list and check whether there is any outbound task to be executed. If so, proceed to Step 2. Otherwise, release the outbound lock.

[0014] Step 2: Check whether the destination platform of this outbound task is a two-way platform. If so, proceed to Step 3. Otherwise, generate a path to execute the corresponding task.

[0015] Step 3: Check the current status of the two-way platform. If it is neither locked for inbound nor locked for outbound and the platform is idle, first lock it for outbound. Otherwise, proceed to Step 4.

[0016] Step 4: Check whether the current station has been locked for delivery. If so, directly generate a path task for execution. Otherwise, continue to execute the judgment in Step 3 until the delivery can be locked.

[0017] The process of executing the warehousing task includes:

[0018] Step 5: Get the current task list and check whether there are any pending incoming tasks. If so, proceed to Step 6. Otherwise, release the outgoing task lock.

[0019] Step 6: Check whether the destination platform of this warehousing task is a two-way platform. If so, proceed to Step 7. Otherwise, generate a path and execute the corresponding task.

[0020] Step7: Check the status of the current two-way platform. If it is neither locked for inbound nor locked for outbound and the platform is idle, first perform an inbound lock. Otherwise, make the judgment in Step8;

[0021] Step8: Check whether the current platform is already locked for inbound. If it is, directly generate a path task for execution. Otherwise, continue to perform the judgment in Step7 until an inbound lock can be performed.

[0022] Based on the above method, optionally, it further includes:

[0023] When the four-way vehicle executes a task, judge whether there are other four-way vehicles on its current running path; if there are other four-way vehicles, judge whether the other four-way vehicle is in an idle state;

[0024] If it is in an idle state, control the idle four-way vehicle to move to a reasonable position for obstacle avoidance;

[0025] If it is not in an idle state, perform obstacle avoidance according to the set obstacle avoidance strategy based on the work tasks of the two four-way vehicles.

[0026] Based on the above method, optionally, the performing obstacle avoidance according to the set obstacle avoidance strategy based on the work tasks of the two four-way vehicles includes:

[0027] Determine the distances of the two four-way vehicles to their respective nearest obstacle avoidance positions, and control the four-way vehicle with a closer distance to the nearest obstacle avoidance position to move to the nearest obstacle avoidance position for obstacle avoidance.

[0028] Based on the above method, optionally, when controlling a four-way vehicle to execute a target task, the method of generating a task path and performing obstacle avoidance during the task execution includes:

[0029] Step1: Calculate the optimal paths of the four-way vehicles with tasks currently.

[0030] Step2: Execute the optimal paths in sequence and judge whether there are conflicts in the current path; if there are no conflicts, directly execute. If there are conflicts, execute according to the steps in Step3;

[0031] Step3: Search for an obstacle avoidance position inside the shelf, generate an obstacle avoidance path with the current coordinate point as the starting point and the obstacle avoidance position as the ending point. After obstacle avoidance, generate a path with the current position as the starting point and the position before obstacle avoidance as the ending point, and continue to run following the optimal path;

[0032] Step4: Continue to execute each path until all paths are executed.

[0033] Based on the above method, optionally, when controlling a four-way vehicle to execute a target task, the method of generating a task path and performing obstacle avoidance during the task execution includes:

[0034] Step1: Calculate the optimal paths of each four-way vehicle with tasks currently;

[0035] Step2: Execute the optimal paths in sequence and determine whether there are conflicts in the current paths; if there are no conflicts, execute directly, and if there are conflicts, execute according to the steps of Step3;

[0036] Step3: Determine whether this conflict point is a must-pass point for the two vehicles. If so, determine the distances of the two four-way vehicles to their respective nearest obstacle avoidance positions, and control the four-way vehicle with a closer distance to the nearest obstacle avoidance position to move to the nearest obstacle avoidance position for obstacle avoidance. If not, regenerate a path for the vehicle at the non-must-pass point for obstacle avoidance;

[0037] Step4: Continue to execute each path until all paths are executed.

[0038] Based on the above method, optionally, it further includes:

[0039] When multiple four-way vehicles request to use the same elevator at the same time, on the principle that the destination floors of the four-way vehicles requesting the elevator at the same moment cannot be the starting floors of other four-way vehicles using the same elevator, directly cancel the task request of one of the four-way vehicles to use the elevator.

[0040] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides an electronic device, which includes a memory and a processor. When the processor calls and executes a computer program stored in the memory, it implements the four-way shuttle vehicle system scheduling method in any item of the first aspect.

[0041] In the four-way shuttle vehicle system scheduling method and device provided by the present application, considering the constraints such as a single elevator and multiple four-way vehicles in the business scenario, a scheduling scheme that can not only enrich theoretical knowledge but also be applied in practice is proposed, which can solve the problems of the relatively single business scenarios targeted by existing research and the difficulty of direct application in on-site operation due to being divorced from engineering practice. Description of the Drawings

[0042] The drawings here are incorporated into the specification and form a part of this specification, showing embodiments consistent with the present application, and are used together with the specification to explain the principles of the present application. In addition, these drawings and text descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the concept of the present application in any way, but to illustrate the concept of the present application to those skilled in the art by referring to specific embodiments.

[0043] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the four-way vehicle system scenario layout provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Figure 2Schematic flowchart of the scheduling method for a four-way shuttle vehicle system under the integration of multiple service scenarios provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] Figure 3 Schematic flowchart of the process for executing the outbound task provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] Figure 4 Schematic flowchart of the obstacle avoidance process provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the obstacle avoidance principle provided by an embodiment of the present application; wherein, Figure 5 (a) is the position of the four-way vehicle before obstacle avoidance, Figure 5 (b) is the position of the four-way vehicle after obstacle avoidance;

[0048] Figure 6 Another schematic diagram of the obstacle avoidance principle provided by an embodiment of the present application; wherein, Figure 6 (a) is the position of the four-way vehicle before obstacle avoidance, Figure 6 (b) is the position of the four-way vehicle after obstacle avoidance;

[0049] Figure 7 Flowchart of the path calculation method for pre-calculating the obstacle avoidance path provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] Figure 8 Flowchart of the path calculation method for dynamically calculating the obstacle avoidance path provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] Figure 9 Schematic diagram of the obstacle avoidance principle for dynamic obstacle avoidance provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Figure 10 Schematic diagram of multiple four-way vehicles requesting the elevator provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figure 11 Schematic diagram of the structure of the electronic device provided by an embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0054] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application. Apparently, the described embodiments are some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present application without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present application. Without conflict, the following embodiments and the features in the embodiments may be combined with each other.

[0055] The existing technology mainly has two disadvantages. First, the research business scenarios are relatively single, lacking an overall study of the four-way vehicle system. Second, most of the research is carried out under theoretical conditions, divorced from engineering practice, and it is difficult to be directly applied in on-site operation.

[0056] In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a scheduling scheme for a four-way shuttle vehicle system under the integration of multiple business scenarios. This scheme is mainly based on engineering practice and studies the scheduling strategy of four-way vehicles under the integration of multiple business scenarios. By analyzing multiple business scenarios involved in the system, corresponding solutions are proposed, which not only enriches theoretical research but also meets engineering applications. The following provides a non-limiting description of the specific implementation scheme through several examples or embodiments.

[0057] Some embodiments of the present application provide a scheduling method for a four-way shuttle vehicle system under the integration of multiple business scenarios. The layout of a certain actual four-way vehicle system scenario to which this method can be applied is as Figure 1 shown, and the basic parameters are shown in Table 1.

[0058] Table 1 Basic parameters of the four-way vehicle system

[0059]

[0060] Its business scenario characteristics are as follows:

[0061] 1. Vehicle layer change. The number of vehicles is less than the number of layers of the shelves. In some scenarios, the vehicle needs to perform tasks across layers.

[0062] 2. Goods can either directly reach the inner platform through the elevator or be transported to the inner platform by the four-way vehicle, then reach the corresponding inner platform at the destination through the elevator, and then the goods on the inner platform are sent to the corresponding destination by the four-way vehicle.

[0063] 3. Two-way entrances and exits. The same position platform has two functions, which can be used as both an outbound port and an inbound port, and the two modes can be switched manually or automatically.

[0064] 4. Obstacle avoidance for vehicles on the same layer. If the outbound task volume on the first or third layer is large, an obstacle avoidance strategy needs to be adopted to solve the path conflict phenomenon caused by three vehicles running on the same layer.

[0065] 5. Obstacle avoidance for vehicles across layers. There is only one elevator in this business scenario, and it is easy for two vehicles to go up and down the elevator at the same time.

[0066] Based on similar business scenarios, referring to Figure 2 , Figure 2Schematic flowchart of the scheduling method for a four-way shuttle vehicle system under the integration of multiple business scenarios provided by an embodiment of the present application. This scenario includes multi-layer shelves and only one elevator is provided, and the number of four-way vehicles is less than the number of shelf layers. Specifically, in implementation, the solution of this embodiment can be a processing system configured in devices such as a computer or a server. That is, the solution of this embodiment can be implemented through a software system in an electronic device.

[0067] As Figure 2 shown, the scheduling method for a four-way shuttle vehicle system under the integration of multiple business scenarios of this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0068] Sort all tasks to be executed according to their priorities, and take the task with the highest priority as the target task;

[0069] According to the current position of the goods corresponding to the target task, request the four-way vehicle or the elevator to execute the target task;

[0070] Among them, when requesting the four-way vehicle to execute, judge whether there is an idle four-way vehicle on the task layer. If there is a four-way vehicle on the task layer and it is in an idle state, control the idle four-way vehicle to execute the target task. If there is a four-way vehicle on the task layer but it is not in an idle state, wait until it becomes idle, and then control the idle four-way vehicle to execute the target task. If there is no four-way vehicle on the task layer, wait until there is an idle four-way vehicle on other layers, and then control the corresponding idle four-way vehicle to execute the target task across layers;

[0071] When requesting the elevator to execute, judge whether the elevator and the corresponding destination platform are both idle at present. If so, execute the target task through the elevator. Otherwise, continue to wait until both the elevator and the corresponding destination platform are idle, and then execute the target task through the elevator.

[0072] In this way, for a business scenario with multi-layer shelves, the number of four-way vehicles less than the number of shelf layers and only one elevator, the four-way vehicles and the elevator of the system can be reasonably scheduled to improve the operation efficiency.

[0073] In addition, when the business scenario includes a two-way platform supporting both outbound and inbound operations. For the two-way platform, in addition to the traditional method of switching the two functions of outbound and inbound by setting buttons, it can also be controlled automatically. The scheduling method further includes: switching the outbound and inbound states of the two-way platform according to the task to be executed, and executing the corresponding outbound task or inbound task.

[0074] Specifically, referring to Figure 3 , the process of executing the outbound task includes:

[0075] Step 1: Get the current task list and check whether there is any pending outbound task. If so, proceed to Step 2. Otherwise, release the outbound lock (in the outbound lock state, only outbound tasks can be executed. Similarly, in the inbound lock state, only inbound tasks can be executed).

[0076] Step 2: Check whether the destination platform of this outbound task is a two-way platform. If so, proceed to Step 3. Otherwise, generate a path to execute the corresponding task.

[0077] Step 3: Check the current status of the two-way platform. If it is neither locked for inbound nor locked for outbound and the platform is idle, first lock the outbound task (do not immediately generate a path for this outbound task and execute it. Wait until the next cycle to confirm whether it is locked for outbound before executing it, which is the judgment of Step 4). Otherwise, proceed to the judgment of Step 4.

[0078] Step 4: Check whether the current station has been locked for delivery. If so, directly generate a path task for execution. Otherwise, continue to execute the judgment in Step 3 until the delivery can be locked.

[0079] In this way, through outbound locking, the interference of different types of tasks can be effectively avoided and outbound tasks can be executed efficiently.

[0080] Similarly, the process of executing the warehousing task includes:

[0081] Step 5: Get the current task list and check whether there are any pending incoming tasks. If so, proceed to Step 6. Otherwise, release the outgoing task lock.

[0082] Step 6: Check whether the destination platform of this warehousing task is a two-way platform. If so, proceed to Step 7. Otherwise, generate a path and execute the corresponding task.

[0083] Step 7: Check the current status of the two-way platform. If it is neither locked for inbound nor locked for outbound and the platform is idle, first lock it for inbound. Otherwise, proceed to Step 8.

[0084] Step 8: Check whether the current station has been locked for storage. If so, directly generate a path task for execution. Otherwise, continue to execute the judgment of Step 7 until it can be locked for storage.

[0085] Accordingly, through warehousing locking, warehousing tasks can be performed efficiently.

[0086] In addition, in practice, the four-way vehicle also faces the problem of obstacle avoidance when performing tasks. Figure 4 As shown, for the obstacle avoidance problem, the scheduling method may also include:

[0087] When a four-way vehicle executes a task, it determines whether there are other four-way vehicles on its current running path; if there are other four-way vehicles, it determines whether the other four-way vehicle is in an idle state (i.e., whether it has a task).

[0088] If it is in an idle state, control the idle four-way vehicle to move to a reasonable position (such as a cargo location) for obstacle avoidance.

[0089] If it is not in an idle state, perform obstacle avoidance according to the set obstacle avoidance strategy based on the work tasks of the two four-way vehicles.

[0090] The obstacle avoidance strategy mainly includes two forms. One is static obstacle avoidance, which mainly refers to the obstacle avoidance measures when a large number of tasks on the same layer have the same destination, including two specific situations. One is that the destination is the buffer platform, such as 2-3-27, and the other is that the destination is the outbound platform, such as 1-1-30. There is no essential difference between the two obstacle avoidance measures. Before each vehicle executes a task, it pre-judges whether the destination is occupied by a four-way vehicle, and then judges whether it has a task. If it has a task, it continues to execute. The subsequent obstacle avoidance situations can be handled with reference to the conventional obstacle avoidance measures in the shelf. If the four-way vehicle at the destination is idle, first find a cargo location for this four-way vehicle for obstacle avoidance, and then run the task of the other four-way vehicle after the obstacle avoidance is completed. Relevant examples are as Figure 5 (a) shows that after the vehicle at coordinate 1-3-24 picks up goods, it needs to leave the warehouse at the platform at coordinate 1-1-30, but there is an idle four-way vehicle at the destination platform. Therefore, it is necessary to perform obstacle avoidance operations on this idle four-way vehicle first, as Figure 5 (b) shows that a nearby cargo location is selected for the idle four-way vehicle to perform obstacle avoidance. This processing method can also be used to handle the situation where there is an idle four-way vehicle in the inbound or transfer path.

[0091] The other is dynamic obstacle avoidance. There are mainly three obstacle avoidance situations: vertical, same direction, and opposite direction. Among them, the most complex and changeable is the situation where the paths of the two vehicles are opposite. A typical example is as Figure 6 shown Figure 6 (a) shows that after the No. 1 four-way vehicle picks up goods from the buffer platform at coordinate 4-3-27 and walks onto the track, it is about to walk in the negative Y-axis direction. At the same time, another No. 2 four-way vehicle picks up goods from the cargo location at coordinate 4-3-21 and arrives at the track at coordinate 4-2-21 and wants to deliver goods to the buffer platform at 4-3-27. The directions of the two vehicles are opposite. Since the left side of the No. 1 four-way vehicle is an inaccessible position and the right side is the platform, it is not convenient for obstacle avoidance. And the No. 2 vehicle has just picked up goods from the cargo location 4-3-21 and can perform obstacle avoidance here and wait for the No. 1 vehicle to pass before continuing to drive.

[0092] Generally speaking, perform obstacle avoidance according to the set obstacle avoidance strategy based on the work tasks of the two four-way vehicles, including: determining the distances of the two four-way vehicles to their respective nearest obstacle avoidance positions, and controlling the four-way vehicle with a closer distance to the nearest obstacle avoidance position to move to the nearest obstacle avoidance position for obstacle avoidance.

[0093] That is, in the obstacle avoidance strategy, the four-way vehicle with a relatively shorter moving path during obstacle avoidance performs the obstacle avoidance action, allowing the four-way vehicle with a relatively longer moving path during obstacle avoidance to pass first.

[0094] In addition, when controlling the four-way vehicle to perform the target task, there are two ideas for obstacle avoidance. One is to pre-calculate the complete optimized path for the current vehicle to perform the task, and the corresponding flowchart is as Figure 7 shown. The other is to dynamically change the path, and the corresponding flowchart is as Figure 8 shown. The detailed steps are as follows:

[0095] For the first idea, when controlling the four-way vehicle to perform the target task, the method of generating the task path and performing obstacle avoidance during the task execution process includes:

[0096] Step1: Calculate the optimal path of each four-way vehicle with a task currently.

[0097] Step2: Execute the optimal path in sequence and determine whether there is a conflict in the current path; if there is no conflict, execute directly, if there is a conflict, execute according to the steps of Step3;

[0098] Step3: Search for an obstacle avoidance position inside the shelf, generate an obstacle avoidance path with the current coordinate point as the starting point and the obstacle avoidance position as the ending point. After the obstacle avoidance is over, generate a path with the current position as the starting point and the position before obstacle avoidance as the ending point, and continue to run following the optimal path;

[0099] Step4: Continue to execute each path until all paths are executed.

[0100]

[0100] For the second idea, when controlling the four-way vehicle to perform the target task, the method of generating the task path and performing obstacle avoidance during the task execution process includes:

[0101] Step1: Calculate the optimal path of each four-way vehicle with a task currently.

[0102] Step2: Execute the optimal path in sequence and determine whether there is a conflict in the current path; if there is no conflict, execute directly, if there is a conflict, execute according to the steps of Step3;

[0103] Step3: Determine whether this conflict point is a necessary passing point for both vehicles. If it is, determine the distances of the two four-way vehicles to their respective nearest obstacle avoidance positions, and control the four-way vehicle with a closer distance to the nearest obstacle avoidance position to move to the nearest obstacle avoidance position for obstacle avoidance. If not, re-generate a path for the vehicle at the non-necessary passing point for obstacle avoidance; refer to Figure 9As shown in the figure, when the loaded four-way vehicle A and the unloaded four-way vehicle B meet in opposite directions, since vehicle A with cargo must go straight through the intersection, while vehicle B can pass through by driving through the cargo location, after re-planning the path, the unloaded vehicle B can pass through from the bottom of the cargo location to reach the destination without the need for additional obstacle avoidance measures. The dashed line represents the initially planned path of vehicle B, and the solid line represents the actual path after re-planning.

[0104] Step4: Continue to execute each path until all paths are executed.

[0105] In addition, in a business scenario with only one elevator, there are situations where vehicles go up and down the elevator simultaneously.

[0106] In this scenario, the scheduling method further includes:

[0107] When multiple four-way vehicles request to use the same elevator simultaneously, based on the principle that the destination floor of a four-way vehicle's elevator request at the same moment cannot be the starting floor of another four-way vehicle using the same elevator, directly cancel the task request of one of the four-way vehicles to use the elevator.

[0108] For example, one possible situation is as Figure 10 shown. Since there is no charging device on the second floor, the four-way vehicle on this floor needs to charge across floors. Suppose it needs to go to the third floor for charging. At the same time, there is a four-way vehicle on the first floor going to the second floor to perform warehousing tasks. To avoid the two vehicles applying for the elevator simultaneously, it is necessary to make a judgment in advance. When it is detected that such a situation exists, based on the principle that the destination floor of a four-way vehicle's elevator request at the same moment cannot be the starting floor of another four-way vehicle using the same elevator, directly cancel the task request of one of the four-way vehicles to use the elevator. There are many other situations where multiple four-way vehicles request the elevator simultaneously and there are conflicts, which will not be listed one by one here. The essential idea of the solution is similar.

[0109] In addition, it should be noted that the present application only proposes corresponding strategies for key scenarios and does not involve the specific layout method of the four-way vehicle system, that is, the relevant strategies can also be applied in other different warehousing layouts.

[0110] Through the above solutions, starting from a four-way vehicle system involved in an engineering practice, the present application combines the constraints such as two-way platforms, a single elevator, multiple four-way vehicles, and chain machine caches that appear in it, and respectively proposes a two-way platform automatic switching strategy, a vehicle path conflict avoidance strategy under a single elevator, a static or dynamic obstacle avoidance strategy for multiple four-way vehicles, and two obstacle avoidance calculation methods. The proposed solutions can not only enrich theoretical knowledge but also be applied in practice, and can solve the corresponding problems existing in the prior art.

[0111] In addition, the embodiments of the present application provide an electronic device, such as Figure 11As shown, the electronic device includes a memory 11 and a processor 12; wherein, the memory 11 stores a computer program, and when the processor 12 calls and executes the computer program, the scheduling method of the four-way shuttle vehicle system under the multi-service scenario fusion in any of the above embodiments is implemented.

[0112] Among them, the electronic device can be a computer or a server, etc.

[0113] It can be understood that the same or similar parts in the above embodiments can be referred to each other, and the content not detailed in some embodiments can be referred to the same or similar content in other embodiments.

[0114] It should be noted that in the description of the present invention, terms such as "first", "second", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance. In addition, in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "a plurality" refers to at least two.

[0115] Any process or method description shown in the flowchart or described in other ways herein can be understood as representing a module, segment, or part of code including one or more executable instructions for implementing a specific logical function or process, and the scope of the preferred embodiments of the present invention includes additional implementations, where the functions can be executed in a substantially simultaneous manner or in an order opposite to that shown or discussed, according to the functions involved, which should be understood by those skilled in the technical field of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0116] It should be understood that each part of the present invention can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. In the above embodiments, multiple steps or methods can be implemented by software or firmware stored in a memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system. For example, if implemented by hardware, as in another embodiment, any one of the following techniques well known in the art or a combination thereof can be used: discrete logic circuits having logic gate circuits for implementing logical functions on data signals, application specific integrated circuits having appropriate combinational logic gate circuits, programmable gate arrays (PGAs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.

[0117] Those of ordinary skill in the art of the present technology can understand that all or part of the steps carried by the methods in the above embodiments can be completed by instructing relevant hardware through a program, and the program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it includes one or a combination of the steps of the method embodiments.

[0118] In addition, each functional unit in various embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing module, may exist separately as individual physical units, or two or more units may be integrated into one module. The above-mentioned integrated module may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module. When the integrated module is implemented in the form of a software functional module and sold or used as an independent product, it may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The above-mentioned storage medium may be a read-only memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, or the like.

[0119] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example", or "some examples", etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in a suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

[0120] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it can be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the present invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art can make changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations to the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A scheduling method for a four-way shuttle vehicle system under the integration of multiple business scenarios, characterized in that, The scenario includes multi-layer racks and only one elevator, and the number of four-way vehicles is less than the number of rack layers; the method includes: Sort all pending tasks by priority, and select the task with the highest priority as the target task; According to the current location of the goods corresponding to the target task, request the four-way vehicle or elevator to perform the target task; Among them, when requesting a four-way vehicle to execute, it is determined whether there is an idle four-way vehicle in the task layer. If there is a four-way vehicle in the task layer and it is in an idle state, the idle four-way vehicle is controlled to execute the target task. If there is a four-way vehicle in the task layer but it is not in an idle state, the idle four-way vehicle is controlled to execute the target task when it becomes idle. If there is no four-way vehicle in the task layer, the idle four-way vehicle is controlled to execute the target task when there is an idle four-way vehicle in other layers. When requesting the elevator to execute, determine whether the elevator and the corresponding destination station are currently idle. If so, execute the target task through the elevator. Otherwise, continue to wait until the elevator and the corresponding destination station are both idle, and then execute the target task through the elevator. The scenario also includes a bidirectional platform supporting both outbound and inbound storage; the method further includes: switching the outbound and inbound storage status of the bidirectional platform according to the task to be executed, and executing the corresponding outbound task or inbound task; The process of executing the outbound task includes: Step 1: Get the current task list and check whether there is any outbound task to be executed. If so, proceed to Step 2. Otherwise, release the outbound lock. Step 2: Check whether the destination platform of this outbound task is a two-way platform. If so, proceed to Step 3. Otherwise, generate a path to execute the corresponding task. Step 3: Check the current status of the two-way platform. If it is neither locked for inbound nor locked for outbound and the platform is idle, first lock it for outbound. Otherwise, proceed to Step 4. Step 4: Check whether the current station has been locked for delivery. If so, directly generate a path task for execution. Otherwise, continue to execute the judgment in Step 3 until the delivery can be locked. The process of executing the warehousing task includes: Step 5: Get the current task list and check whether there are any pending incoming tasks. If so, proceed to Step 6. Otherwise, release the outgoing task lock. Step 6: Check whether the destination platform of this warehousing task is a two-way platform. If so, proceed to Step 7. Otherwise, generate a path to execute the corresponding task. Step 7: Check the current status of the two-way platform. If it is neither locked for inbound nor locked for outbound and the platform is idle, first lock it for inbound. Otherwise, proceed to Step 8. Step 8: Check whether the current station has been locked for storage. If so, directly generate a path task for execution. Otherwise, continue to execute the judgment in Step 7 until it can be locked for storage. The method further comprises: When a four-way vehicle is performing a task, it is determined whether there are other four-way vehicles in its current running path; if there are other four-way vehicles, it is determined whether the other four-way vehicles are idle; if they are idle, the idle four-way vehicle is controlled to move to a reasonable position to avoid obstacles; if they are not idle, the obstacle avoidance is performed according to the set obstacle avoidance strategy based on the work tasks of the two four-way vehicles; Also, when multiple four-way vehicles request to use the same elevator at the same time, the elevator task request on one of the four-way vehicles will be directly canceled based on the principle that the destination floor of the elevator requested by the four-way vehicle at the same time cannot be the starting floor of the same elevator used by other four-way vehicles.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The obstacle avoidance is performed according to the set obstacle avoidance strategy based on the work tasks of the two four-way vehicles, including: The distances between the two four-way vehicles and their respective nearest obstacle avoidance positions are determined, and the four-way vehicle with a closer distance to the nearest obstacle avoidance position is controlled to move to the nearest obstacle avoidance position for obstacle avoidance.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein When controlling a four-way vehicle to perform a target task, the methods for generating a task path and avoiding obstacles during the task execution include: Step 1: Calculate the optimal path for each four-way vehicle currently on a mission; Step 2: Execute the optimal path in sequence and determine whether the current path has any conflicts. If there are no conflicts, execute directly. If there are conflicts, execute according to Step 3. Step 3: Find the obstacle avoidance position within the shelf, generate an obstacle avoidance path with the current coordinate point as the starting point and the obstacle avoidance position as the end point. After the obstacle avoidance is completed, generate a path with the current position as the starting point and the position before the obstacle avoidance as the end point, and continue running along the optimal path; Step 4: Continue executing each path until all paths are completed.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein When controlling a four-way vehicle to perform a target task, the methods for generating a task path and avoiding obstacles during the task execution include: Step 1: Calculate the optimal path for each four-way vehicle currently on a mission; Step 2: Execute the optimal path in sequence and determine whether the current path has any conflicts. If there are no conflicts, execute directly. If there are conflicts, execute according to Step 3. Step 3: Determine whether the conflict point is a must-pass point for both vehicles. If so, determine the distances between the two four-way vehicles and their respective nearest obstacle avoidance positions, and control the four-way vehicle with the closer distance to the nearest obstacle avoidance position to move to the nearest obstacle avoidance position for obstacle avoidance. If not, regenerate the path for vehicles that are not at the must-pass point for obstacle avoidance. Step 4: Continue executing each path until all paths are completed.

5. An electronic device, characterized in that, It includes a memory and a processor, the memory stores a computer program, and when the processor calls and executes the computer program, it implements the four-way shuttle system scheduling method under the multi-business scenario integration as described in any one of claims 1 to 4.

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