Equipment scheduling method and system, electronic equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of warehousing, and discloses a device scheduling method and system, an electronic device and a storage medium, and the method comprises the steps: obtaining the device operation information of a plurality of carrying devices; when it is determined that blocking carrying equipment exists on the path from the first carrying equipment to the first target equipment area associated with the first carrying equipment, determining second carrying equipment in the blocking carrying equipment based on the equipment operation information, and determining a second target equipment area associated with the second carrying equipment; the association relationship between the second carrying equipment and the first target equipment area is established, a first area updating instruction is sent to the second carrying equipment, and the first area updating instruction is used for indicating the second carrying equipment to move to the first target equipment area so as to replace the first carrying equipment to execute the carrying task in the first target equipment area. According to the technical scheme, the operation efficiency of the carrying equipment can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of warehousing technology, and specifically to an equipment scheduling method, system, electronic equipment and storage medium. Background Art

[0002] In order to improve the efficiency of cargo handling, in some large storage environments, equipment is used to move cargo within the warehouse.

[0003] In this scenario, in order to control the operation of equipment in the warehouse without collision, it is necessary to schedule the global equipment. However, as the number of equipment increases, the amount of calculation required for equipment scheduling will increase greatly. At the same time, since the operation of the equipment depends on the actual operation situation, when the operating status of a device changes, it is necessary to re-plan the operation path of the global equipment, etc., which increases the amount of scheduling calculation. For the equipment, frequent path updates will greatly reduce the work efficiency of the equipment. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a method that can reduce the amount of scheduling calculation and improve the work efficiency of the equipment. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, embodiments of the present invention provide a device scheduling method, system, electronic device and storage medium, which are used to solve the problem of low device working efficiency in the prior art.

[0005] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an equipment scheduling method, the method comprising: acquiring equipment operation information of a plurality of transport devices, the equipment operation information comprising a current equipment area where each of the plurality of transport devices is located, and a target equipment area associated with each of the transport devices, the transport devices being used to perform transport tasks in their associated target equipment areas; when there is a blocking transport device on a path where a first transport device reaches its associated first target equipment area, based on the equipment operation information, determining a second transport device among the blocking transport devices, and determining a second target equipment area associated with the second transport device, the first transport device and the second transport device being different; establishing an association relationship between the second transport device and the first target equipment area, and sending a first area update instruction to the second transport device, the first area update instruction being used to instruct the second transport device to move to the first target equipment area to replace the first transport device in performing the transport task in the first target equipment area.

[0006] In some embodiments, the method further includes: if there is no other transport equipment except the second transport equipment in the blocking transport equipment, establishing an association relationship between the first transport equipment and the second target equipment area, and sending a second area update instruction to the first transport equipment; wherein the second area update instruction is used to instruct the first transport equipment to move to the second target equipment area to replace the second transport equipment to perform the transport task in the second target equipment area.

[0007] In some embodiments, the method also includes: if there are other transport devices besides the second transport device in the blocking transport device, then based on the equipment operation information of the first transport device and the other transport devices, determining a third target equipment area associated with the first transport device and a fourth target equipment area associated with the other transport devices; sending a third area update instruction to the first transport device, wherein the third area update instruction is used to instruct the first transport device to move to the third target equipment area to perform a transport task in the third target equipment area; sending a fourth area update instruction to the other transport devices, wherein the fourth area update instruction is used to instruct the other transport devices to move to the fourth target equipment area to perform a transport task in the fourth target equipment area.

[0008] In some embodiments, the multiple transport devices operate in multiple lanes, the lanes include at least one equipment area, the equipment operation information includes path information of each of the multiple transport devices, and the method further includes: based on the current equipment area where each of the multiple transport devices is located, determining the first current equipment area where the first transport device is located, and determining the lane where the first current equipment area is located as the first current lane, and determining the lane where the first target equipment area is located as the first target lane; based on the path information of the transport devices in the first current lane and the first target lane, determining whether the blocking transport device exists on the path of the first transport device to reach its associated first target equipment area.

[0009] In some embodiments, determining the second transport device in the blocking transport device based on the equipment operation information includes: determining a transport device set and an equipment area set based on the equipment operation information, the transport device set consisting of the first transport device and the blocking transport device, and the equipment area set consisting of the first current equipment area where the first transport device is located and the current equipment area where the blocking transport device is located; determining the predicted distance of each transport device in the transport device set to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set; determining the second transport device in the transport device set based on the predicted distance of each transport device in the transport device set to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set.

[0010] In some embodiments, the determining of the second transport equipment in the transport equipment set based on the predicted distances of each transport equipment in the transport equipment set to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set includes: establishing a distance matrix based on the predicted distances of each transport equipment in the transport equipment set to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set, the distance matrix being used to indicate the predicted distances of any transport equipment in the transport equipment set to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set; performing reduction processing on the distance matrix, and determining a target area allocation rule based on the result of the reduction processing, the target area allocation rule being used to indicate the association relationship between each transport equipment in the transport equipment set and each equipment area in the equipment area set; and determining the transport equipment in the transport equipment set that is allocated to the first target equipment area as the second transport equipment based on the target area allocation rule.

[0011] In some embodiments, determining the predicted distances of each transporting equipment in the transporting equipment set to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set includes: for any transporting equipment in the transporting equipment set, planning a path for the any transporting equipment to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set, and obtaining multiple planned paths corresponding to the any transporting equipment; based on the multiple planned paths, determining the predicted distances of any transporting equipment to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set.

[0012] In some embodiments, the planned path passes through at least one equipment area, and the at least one equipment area includes at least one cell. The determining of the predicted distance of any one of the transport equipment to reach each of the equipment areas in the equipment area set based on the multiple planned paths includes: determining the predicted distance of any one of the transport equipment to reach the equipment area corresponding to the planned path in the equipment area set based on the number of cells in all the equipment areas passed by the planned path.

[0013] In some embodiments, the method further includes: if, based on the result of the reduction processing, it is determined that there are multiple area allocation rules between each of the transporting equipment in the transporting equipment set and each of the equipment areas in the equipment area set, then determining the distance cost corresponding to each of the multiple area allocation rules; and determining the area allocation rule with the smallest distance cost among the multiple area allocation rules as the target area allocation rule.

[0014] In some embodiments, determining the distance cost corresponding to each of the multiple area allocation rules includes: determining the association relationship between each of the transporting equipment in the transporting equipment set and each of the equipment areas in the equipment area set based on the area allocation rule; based on the association relationship between each of the transporting equipment in the transporting equipment set and each of the equipment areas in the equipment area set, using the predicted distance of each of the transporting equipment in the transporting equipment set to reach its associated equipment area as the input of the distance cost function to obtain the cost value corresponding to each of the transporting equipment, and the distance cost function is a nonlinear increasing function; summing the cost values ​​corresponding to each of the transporting equipment to obtain the distance cost corresponding to the area allocation rule.

[0015] In some embodiments, the method of determining the second transport equipment in the transport equipment set based on the predicted distances from each transport equipment in the transport equipment set to each equipment area in the equipment area set includes: determining the transport equipment with the shortest predicted distance from the transport equipment set to the first target equipment area as the second transport equipment based on the predicted distances from each transport equipment in the transport equipment set to each equipment area in the equipment area set.

[0016] In some embodiments, after sending the first area update instruction to the second transport device, the method also includes: generating a first target planned path corresponding to the second transport device based on the second current equipment area where the second transport device is located and the first target equipment area; sending a first path update instruction to the second transport device, the first path update instruction being used to instruct the second transport device to travel along the first target planned path to move from the second current equipment area to the first target equipment area.

[0017] In some embodiments, after sending a second area update instruction to the first transport device, the method further includes: generating a second target planned path corresponding to the first transport device based on the first current equipment area and the second target equipment area where the first transport device is located; sending a second path update instruction to the first transport device, the second path update instruction being used to instruct the first transport device to travel along the second target planned path to move from the first current equipment area to the second target equipment area.

[0018] In some embodiments, after sending a third area update instruction to the first transport device, the method further includes: generating a third target planned path corresponding to the first transport device based on the first current equipment area and the third target equipment area where the first transport device is located; sending a third path update instruction to the first transport device, wherein the third path update instruction is used to instruct the first transport device to travel along the third target planned path to move from the first current equipment area to the third target equipment area.

[0019] In some embodiments, after sending a fourth area update instruction to the other transporting equipment, the method further includes: generating a fourth target planned path corresponding to the other transporting equipment based on the current equipment area where the other transporting equipment is located and the fourth target equipment area; sending a fourth path update instruction to the other transporting equipment, wherein the fourth path update instruction is used to instruct the other transporting equipment to travel along the fourth target planned path to move from the current equipment area where the other transporting equipment is located to the fourth target equipment area.

[0020] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an equipment scheduling system, the system comprising: a plurality of equipment areas, the equipment areas being associated with corresponding handling equipment; a plurality of handling equipment, the handling equipment being used to perform handling tasks in the equipment areas associated therewith; a control device, configured to obtain equipment operation information of the plurality of handling equipment, the equipment operation information comprising a current equipment area where each of the plurality of handling equipment is located, and a target equipment area associated with each of the handling equipment, the plurality of equipment areas comprising the current equipment area and the target equipment area; when there is a blocking handling equipment on a path for a first handling equipment to reach its associated first target equipment area, based on the equipment operation information, a second handling equipment is determined in the blocking handling equipment, and a second target equipment area associated with the second handling equipment is determined; and an association relationship between the second handling equipment and the first target equipment area is established, and a first area update instruction is sent to the second handling equipment; the second handling equipment is different from the first handling equipment, and the second handling equipment is configured to obtain the first area update instruction, and move to the first target equipment area according to the first area update instruction, so as to replace the first handling equipment in performing the handling task at the first target equipment area.

[0021] In some embodiments, the control device is further configured to: when there is no other transport equipment except the second transport equipment in the blocking transport equipment, establish an association relationship between the first transport equipment and the second target equipment area, and send a second area update instruction to the first transport equipment; the first transport equipment is configured to obtain the second area update instruction, and move to the second target equipment area according to the second area update instruction, so as to replace the second transport equipment to perform the transport task in the second target equipment area.

[0022] In some embodiments, the control device is further configured to: when there are other transport devices other than the second transport device in the blocking transport device, determine the third target device area associated with the first transport device and the fourth target device area associated with the other transport devices based on the equipment operation information of the first transport device and the other transport devices, and send a third area update instruction to the first transport device, and send a fourth area update instruction to the other transport devices, the first transport device is configured to obtain the third area update instruction, and move to the third target device area according to the third area update instruction to perform a transport task in the third target device area; the other transport devices are configured to obtain the fourth area update instruction, and move to the fourth target device area according to the fourth area update instruction to perform a transport task in the fourth target device area, and the multiple transport devices include the other transport devices.

[0023] In some embodiments, the plurality of transport devices operate in a plurality of lanes, and the lanes include at least one equipment area among the plurality of equipment areas.

[0024] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electronic device, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to perform the operations of the device scheduling method as described above by executing the executable instructions.

[0025] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the device scheduling method described above are implemented.

[0026] In summary, according to the equipment scheduling method, system, electronic device and storage medium of the embodiments of the present invention, the equipment operation information of multiple transport equipment can be obtained. When there is a blocking transport equipment on the path where the first transport equipment reaches its associated first target equipment area, based on the equipment operation information, the second transport equipment is determined among the blocking transport equipment, and the second target equipment area associated with the second transport equipment is determined, an association relationship between the second transport equipment and the first target equipment area is established, and a first area update instruction is sent to the second transport equipment to move the second transport equipment to the first target equipment area to replace the first transport equipment in performing the transport task in the first target equipment area, which can reduce the waiting time of the transport equipment, improve the operating efficiency of the global transport equipment, and reduce the scheduling calculation amount.

[0027] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention. In order to more clearly understand the technical means of the embodiment of the present invention, it can be implemented in accordance with the contents of the specification. In order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the embodiment of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present invention are listed below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The accompanying drawings are only used to illustrate the embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present invention. In addition, the same reference symbols are used to represent the same components throughout the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings:

[0029] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a device scheduling system provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0030] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing the layout of an operation area provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0031] Figure 3 A flow chart of a device scheduling method provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0032] Figure 4 A sub-flow chart of a device scheduling method provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0033] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of device partitioning provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0034] Figure 6 Another device partition schematic diagram provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0035] Figure 7 Another device partitioning schematic diagram provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0036] Figure 8 A sub-flow chart of another device scheduling method provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0037] Fig. 9 A sub-flow chart of another device scheduling method provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0038] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of an area allocation rule provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0039] Fig.11 A sub-flow chart of another device scheduling method provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0040] Fig.12 Another device partitioning schematic diagram provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0041] Fig.13 A schematic structural diagram of an electronic device provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present invention can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

[0043] The embodiment of the present invention provides an equipment scheduling system, which can improve the operating efficiency of the handling equipment and reduce the calculation amount of the handling equipment scheduling. The equipment scheduling system provided by the embodiment of the present invention is described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0044] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a device scheduling system provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 1 As shown, the equipment scheduling system 100 may include multiple equipment areas 110 , a control device 120 , and multiple handling equipment 130 .

[0045] Among them, in the multiple equipment areas 110, the equipment areas can be associated with corresponding transport equipment, that is, one transport equipment runs and performs transport tasks in the associated equipment area. Exemplarily, one transport equipment can only run in one equipment area to perform the transport tasks in the equipment area, and when the area update is required, the transport equipment can go from one equipment area in the multiple equipment areas 110 to another equipment area. In special cases, one transport equipment can run in multiple equipment areas 110 to perform the transport tasks from one equipment area to another equipment area.

[0046] The multiple transport devices 130 refer to devices that perform transport tasks in the multiple equipment areas 110. In the multiple transport devices 130, each transport device can be used to perform transport tasks such as picking up, releasing, and tallying in its associated equipment area. The transport devices can be transport devices with the same structure or with different structures, which is not limited in this embodiment.

[0047] In some embodiments, multiple transport devices 130 may operate in multiple lanes, and the lanes may include at least one equipment area of ​​the multiple equipment areas 110. That is, multiple lanes include multiple equipment areas 110, and the multiple equipment areas 110 are equipment areas distributed in multiple lanes where multiple transport devices 130 operate. The number of equipment areas distributed in each lane may be the same or different, that is, a lane may include only one area of ​​the multiple equipment areas 110, or may include multiple areas of the multiple equipment areas 110.

[0048] To illustrate the distribution of device areas in this embodiment, Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an operating area provided by this embodiment is shown, such as Figure 2 As shown, a plurality of lanes are provided in the operation area 200, such as lanes 211 and 212, etc., and devices for storing goods such as shelves, cargo boxes, and carriers can be placed between the lanes. The plurality of lanes can be divided into different equipment areas, and the number of areas of these equipment areas distributed in each lane is different, such as Figure 2 As shown, there is only one equipment area in lane 211 , and there are two equipment areas in lane 212 , namely, areas in lane 212 marked with different colors.

[0049] The control device 120 is a device or tool used to monitor, operate and adjust handling equipment and equipment areas, etc. It can be used to control and manage the handling equipment operating in each equipment area. For example, the control device 120 can obtain the operating information of each handling equipment among the multiple handling equipment 130, and control each handling equipment to move to the corresponding equipment area, thereby performing handling tasks in the corresponding equipment area, etc.

[0050] In some embodiments, the control device 120 can set and adjust the correspondence between the multiple equipment areas 110 and the multiple transport equipment 130. For example, the control device 120 can assign each end area to different transport equipment according to the starting area and end area of ​​the multiple tasks to be executed, so that the transport equipment can perform the transport task in the end area. In addition, in order to reduce the movement frequency of the transport equipment, all tasks in the end area can be assigned to the transport equipment in the area for execution.

[0051] Accordingly, in order to improve the operating efficiency of the handling equipment, each handling equipment can move between regions only when a change in regional affiliation occurs. That is to say, each handling equipment can perform handling tasks in the corresponding equipment area respectively. The control device 120 can monitor the task status of the global tasks to be executed and determine whether regional update is required. If necessary, the corresponding handling equipment can be controlled to move from one equipment area to another equipment area, so as to perform the handling task in the arrived equipment area.

[0052] In some embodiments, high-speed passages can be set around the periphery of multiple alleys so that transport equipment can travel in multiple alleys. For example, when the transport equipment reaches another equipment area from one equipment area, it can be determined based on whether the two equipment areas are located in the same alley. If they are located in the same alley, the transport equipment can directly reach the other equipment area along the alley; if the two equipment areas are located in different alleys, the transport equipment can exit the current alley, travel along the high-speed passage to another alley, and enter another equipment area in the alley.

[0053] In some embodiments, the control device 120 can obtain equipment operation information of multiple transport equipment 130; when there is a blocking transport equipment on the path of the first transport equipment to its associated first target equipment area, based on the equipment operation information, the second transport equipment is determined among the multiple transport equipment 130, and the second target equipment area associated with the second transport equipment is determined, and then an association relationship between the second transport equipment and the first target equipment area is established, and a first area update instruction is sent to the second transport equipment.

[0054] The equipment operation information may include the current equipment area where each of the multiple transporting equipment 130 is located, and the target equipment area associated with each of the transporting equipment. The multiple equipment areas 110 include the current equipment area and the target equipment area, that is, the current equipment area and the target equipment area may be any area in the multiple equipment areas 110. The first transporting equipment and the second transporting equipment are different, and may be any two transporting equipment in the multiple transporting equipment 130.

[0055] In some embodiments, each of the multiple transport devices 130 may be equipped with a sensor, a camera, etc., which can collect environmental data in the device area where it is located. For example, when each transport device is running in the corresponding device area, the environmental data in the lane where the device area is located can be collected in real time and reported to the device scheduling system. The device scheduling system can determine whether each transport device is blocked based on the data reported by all transport devices. If so, it can trigger the operation of re-dividing the target device area.

[0056] In some embodiments, the second transport device can be configured to obtain the first area update instruction, and move to the first target device area according to the first area update instruction, so as to replace the first transport device in performing the transport task in the first target device area. Thus, the transport task to be performed by the first transport device can be performed by the second transport device, which can reduce the waiting time caused by the blocking of the first transport device and improve the execution efficiency of the task. In addition, the scheduling process is only related to the first transport device and the second transport device, and will not affect the operation of other transport devices, thereby improving the operation efficiency of the global transport device.

[0057] In order to assign an associated equipment area to the first transport device, in some embodiments, the control device can also establish an association relationship between the first transport device and the second target equipment area when there is no other transport device except the second transport device in the blocked transport device, and send a second area update instruction to the first transport device.

[0058] The first transport device may obtain the second area update instruction, and move to the second target device area according to the second area update instruction, so as to replace the second transport device to perform the transport task in the second target device area.

[0059] In this way, when there is no other transport equipment except the second transport equipment in the blocked transport equipment, the second target equipment area can be allocated to the first transport equipment, so that it can travel to the second target equipment area to replace the second transport equipment to perform the transport task in the second target equipment area, thereby realizing the equipment area update of the transport equipment and improving the operation efficiency of the transport equipment.

[0060] In some embodiments, when there are other transport devices besides the second transport device in the blocked transport devices, the control device can also determine the third target device area associated with the first transport device and the fourth target device area associated with the other transport devices based on the equipment operation information of the first transport device and the other transport devices, and send a third area update instruction to the first transport device and send a fourth area update instruction to the other transport devices.

[0061] Exemplarily, when there are other transport equipment besides the second transport equipment among the blocked transport equipment, the associated target equipment areas can be re-determined for the other blocked transport equipment and the first transport equipment. For example, among the equipment areas associated with the other transport equipment, the equipment area closest to the current equipment area where the first transport equipment is located can be determined as the third target equipment area, and an associated target equipment area can be re-selected for the other transport equipment as the fourth target equipment area to implement equipment area updates for multiple transport equipment.

[0062] In some embodiments, the first transport device may obtain a third area update instruction, and move to a third target device area according to the third area update instruction, so as to perform a transport task in the third target device area. Other transport devices may obtain a fourth area update instruction, and move to a fourth target device area according to the fourth area update instruction, so as to perform a transport task in the fourth target device area. The plurality of transport devices include other transport devices.

[0063] In this way, during the operation of the transport equipment, the equipment area on the travel path of the transport equipment can be reallocated according to whether the transport equipment is blocked, thereby improving the operation efficiency of the global transport equipment.

[0064] The equipment scheduling system provided based on the embodiment of the present invention can realize partial equipment scheduling based on real-time operating status, which can reduce the operating interference to the global handling equipment, improve the overall operating efficiency of the handling equipment, and greatly reduce the calculation amount of the scheduling process, thereby also being able to improve the efficiency of scheduling handling equipment.

[0065] The embodiment of the present invention also provides a device scheduling method, which can be Figure 1 The control device 120 shown is executed so that it can obtain equipment operation information of multiple transport equipment. When there is a blocking transport equipment on the path where the first transport equipment reaches its associated first target equipment area, based on the equipment operation information, the second transport equipment and the second target equipment area associated with the second transport equipment are determined in the blocking transport equipment, thereby establishing an association relationship between the second transport equipment and the first target equipment area, and sending a first area update instruction to the second transport equipment, so that the second transport equipment can move to the first target equipment area to replace the first transport equipment to perform the transport task in the first target equipment area, which can improve the operation efficiency of the global transport equipment and reduce the amount of scheduling calculations.

[0066] Figure 3 A flow chart of a device scheduling method provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 3 As shown, the method may include the following steps 310 to 330:

[0067] Step 310: Obtain equipment operation information of multiple transport equipment.

[0068] The equipment operation information may include the current equipment area where each of the multiple transporting equipment is located and the target equipment area associated with each of the multiple transporting equipment. In some embodiments, the multiple transporting equipment may operate in multiple lanes, and the lane may include at least one equipment area among the multiple equipment areas, and the current equipment area and the target equipment area are any areas among the multiple equipment areas.

[0069] In this embodiment, the equipment area can be the area where the transport equipment travels and performs transport tasks. There is an association relationship between the transport equipment and the equipment area, that is, a transport equipment mainly operates in its associated equipment area, and only moves among multiple equipment areas when the belonging area needs to be updated, or the equipment area where the task to be executed is located is different from the equipment area to which it belongs.

[0070] During the operation of multiple handling equipment, the equipment scheduling system can obtain the equipment operation information of multiple handling equipment. For example, sensors, cameras, etc. can be installed on each handling equipment to collect environmental data within its range. At the same time, the equipment scheduling system can obtain the data collected by the handling equipment through communication connection with the handling equipment, and determine the operating status of the handling equipment based on this, such as the current equipment area at the current moment.

[0071] Furthermore, the equipment scheduling system can send tasks to be executed to the transport equipment, so the equipment scheduling system can obtain the task information of each transport equipment, thereby determining the target equipment area to be reached by each transport equipment.

[0072] By acquiring the equipment operation information of multiple handling equipment, the operation of each handling equipment can be monitored, which facilitates the scheduling of each handling equipment.

[0073] Step 320: When there is a blocking transport device on the path of the first transport device to reach its associated first target device area, based on the device operation information, determine a second transport device among the blocking transport devices and determine a second target device area associated with the second transport device.

[0074] The second transporting equipment is different from the first transporting equipment, and the first transporting equipment and the second transporting equipment may be any two different transporting equipments among a plurality of transporting equipments.

[0075] When the equipment operation information of multiple transport equipment is obtained, the equipment scheduling system can analyze the equipment operation information to determine whether there is a blocking transport equipment on the path of the first transport equipment to reach its associated first target equipment area. If so, the second transport equipment can be determined among the blocking transport equipment based on the equipment operation information, and the second target equipment area associated with the second transport equipment can be determined.

[0076] For example, if each transport equipment only operates in the corresponding equipment area, the equipment scheduling system can determine the first current equipment area where the first transport equipment is located and the first target equipment area associated with the first transport equipment based on the equipment operation information, and judge whether the first current equipment area and the first target equipment area are the same equipment area, and whether there is any transport equipment blocking the first transport equipment on the path where the first transport equipment reaches the first target equipment area; if the first current equipment area and the first target equipment area are different, and there is any transport equipment blocking the first transport equipment on the path where the first transport equipment reaches the first target equipment area, it is determined that the first transport equipment needs to perform an equipment area update, and then the second transport equipment and the second target equipment area associated with the second transport equipment can be further determined among the blocking transport equipment.

[0077] In some embodiments, a plurality of transport devices are operated in a plurality of lanes, the lanes including at least one equipment area, and the equipment operation information may include path information of each of the plurality of transport devices, wherein the path information may include the travel path and path direction of the transport device to reach its associated target equipment area.

[0078] Therefore, when determining whether the first transport device is blocked, the first current equipment area where the first transport device is located can be determined based on the current equipment area where each of the multiple transport devices is located, and the lane where the first current equipment area is located is determined as the first current lane, and the lane where the first target equipment area is located is determined as the first target lane, and then based on the path information of the transport devices in the first current lane and the first target lane, it is determined whether there is a blocking transport device on the path of the first transport device to its associated first target equipment area.

[0079] For example, based on the driving path and driving direction of the transport equipment in the first current lane and the first target lane, it can be determined whether there are other transport equipment in the same driving direction as the first transport equipment. If so, it is determined that there are transport equipment in the first current lane and the first target lane that blocks the operation of the first transport equipment.

[0080] In some embodiments, when determining whether the transport equipment will block the first transport equipment, it can also be determined based on the driving direction and driving speed of the transport equipment in the first current lane and the first target lane and the driving direction and driving speed of the first transport equipment. When the transport equipment in the first current lane and the first target lane is located on the driving path of the first transport equipment and its driving direction is opposite to that of the first transport equipment, or the driving direction of the transport equipment in the first current lane and the first target lane is the same as that of the first transport equipment, but the driving speed of the transport equipment is less than that of the first transport equipment, it can be determined that the transport equipment will block the first transport equipment.

[0081] Through the above method, when the transporting equipment is traveling in the lane, the operating status of the transporting equipment can be monitored to determine whether the transporting equipment needs to update the associated equipment area so as to adjust the ownership relationship of the equipment area.

[0082] In some embodiments, reference Figure 4 As shown, in step 320, based on the equipment operation information, determining the second transport device in the blocked transport device can be achieved by the following method:

[0083] Step 410: Determine a handling equipment set and an equipment area set based on the equipment operation information.

[0084] The transport equipment set is composed of the first transport equipment and the blocking transport equipment, and the equipment area set is composed of the first current equipment area where the first transport equipment is located and the current equipment area where the blocking transport equipment is located.

[0085] According to the equipment operation information, the current equipment area where each of the multiple transport equipment is located can be determined, and then the first transport equipment and the blocking transport equipment can be combined into a transport equipment set, and the first current equipment area where the first transport equipment is located and the current equipment area where the blocking transport equipment is located can be combined into an equipment area set. Figure 5 As shown, lane 1 includes two equipment areas, namely, equipment area 1 and equipment area 2, and the two equipment areas each include 2 cells. For the first transport device, such as transport device A, assuming that the first target equipment area it is to reach is equipment area 2, the transport device set includes transport device A and transport device B, and the equipment area set includes equipment area 1 and equipment area 2.

[0086] For example, refer to Figure 6As shown, for lane 1 and lane 2, lane 1 includes two equipment areas, namely, equipment area 1 and equipment area 2, and lane 2 includes one equipment area, namely, equipment area 3, and equipment area 3 includes 4 cells. For the first transport device, such as transport device C, assuming that its associated first target equipment area is equipment area 3, and the lane where the equipment area 3 is located is lane 2, then the transport device set includes the first transport device and the blocking transport devices on the path to equipment area 3, namely, transport device C, transport device D and transport device E, and the equipment area set includes equipment area 1, equipment area 2 and equipment area 3.

[0087] Step 420: Determine the predicted distances of each transport device in the transport device set to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set.

[0088] The predicted distances of each transport device in the transport device set to each equipment area in the equipment area set can be predicted based on the operation status of each transport device in the operation area at the current moment. For example, for any transport device in the transport device set, the distance of any transport device to each equipment area in the equipment area set can be predicted based on the travel speed of the any transport device, the number of transport devices in the lane where the any transport device is located, the number of transport devices in the lane to which the any equipment area in the equipment area set belongs, etc.

[0089] In some embodiments, the predicted distances of each transport device in the transport device set to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set may be determined by the following method:

[0090] For any transport equipment in the transport equipment set, a path for the transport equipment to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set is planned to obtain multiple planned paths corresponding to the transport equipment, and based on the multiple planned paths, a predicted distance for the transport equipment to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set is determined.

[0091] When performing path planning, a path that is the fastest or closest to each device area in the device area set can be planned for each transport device in the transport device set according to the operating status of each transport device in the operating area at the current moment, thereby obtaining multiple planned paths corresponding to each transport device, and these planned paths indicate the route that a transport device takes to reach each device area in the device area set. In this way, the predicted distance for each transport device to reach each device area can be determined, and the predicted distance can represent the distance that the transport device may need to reach the corresponding device area during actual operation.

[0092] After obtaining multiple planned paths, the predicted distance for each transport device to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set can be determined based on the multiple planned paths. For example, the path length of each planned path can be determined as the corresponding predicted distance.

[0093] In order to facilitate the determination of the location of the handling equipment and the scheduling of the handling equipment, Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the lanes in the operation area can be divided into multiple equipment areas, and each equipment area can be further divided into multiple cells. When generating multiple planned paths, each planned path passes through at least one equipment area, and the at least one equipment area includes at least one cell.

[0094] It should be noted that the cells in the equipment area can be the smallest units pre-divided for locating the equipment area or handling equipment, and are not necessarily real cells. For example, a cell can accommodate at least one handling equipment, that is, the size of a cell is slightly larger than the volume occupied by a handling equipment.

[0095] When determining the predicted distance, the predicted distance of any of the above-mentioned transport equipment to the equipment area corresponding to the centralized planned path of the equipment area can be determined based on the number of cells in all equipment areas through which the planned path passes. Figure 7 In the equipment distribution diagram shown, there are three lanes, namely lane 1, lane 2 and lane 3, and the planned path for the transport equipment A to reach the equipment area 4 in lane 3 is as follows: Figure 7 The route shown passes through lane 1 and lane 2 and reaches equipment area 4 in lane 3. At this time, the predicted distance corresponding to the planned path is the total number of units of all the passed equipment areas, 9.

[0096] Step 430: Determine a second transport device in the transport device set based on the predicted distances of each transport device in the transport device set to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set.

[0097] For example, the transporting equipment closest to the first target equipment area may be determined as the second transporting equipment based on the predicted distances of each transporting equipment in the transporting equipment set to each equipment area in the equipment area set.

[0098] Through the above steps 410 to 430, the transport equipment set and the equipment area set can be determined, and based on the predicted distances of each transport equipment in the transport equipment set to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set, the second transport equipment can be determined in the transport equipment set. By analyzing some equipment and areas, the second transport equipment with higher mobile efficiency can be determined, and there is no need to calculate the global transport equipment. Therefore, the efficiency of the scheduling calculation can be improved, and the impact on other transport equipment can be reduced, thereby improving the operating efficiency of the overall transport equipment.

[0099] Further, in order to maximize the operating efficiency of the global handling equipment, in some embodiments, reference Figure 8 As shown, step 430 can be implemented by the following method:

[0100] Step 810: Establish a distance matrix based on the predicted distances of each transport device in the transport device set to each equipment area in the equipment area set.

[0101] The distance matrix is ​​used to indicate the predicted distance from any transport equipment in the transport equipment set to each equipment area in the equipment area set.

[0102] For example, assuming that the transport equipment set includes three transport equipment and the equipment area set includes three equipment areas, a 3*3 distance matrix can be established based on the predicted distances from each transport equipment in the transport equipment set to each equipment area in the equipment area set, and the element values ​​in the distance matrix are the predicted distance values ​​from the corresponding transport equipment to the corresponding equipment area.

[0103] Step 820: Perform reduction processing on the distance matrix, and determine the target area allocation rule based on the result of the reduction processing. The target area allocation rule is used to indicate the association relationship between each transport device in the transport device set and each equipment area in the equipment area set.

[0104] In order to determine the optimal area allocation rule between each handling equipment in the handling equipment set and each equipment area in the equipment area set, the distance matrix can be reduced, such as by using the Hungarian algorithm to reduce the distance matrix to obtain the result of the reduction process. Then, based on the result of the reduction process, the optimal area allocation rule can be selected as the target area allocation rule. The target area allocation rule can indicate the association relationship between each handling equipment in the handling equipment set and each equipment area in the equipment area set.

[0105] When reducing the distance matrix using the Hungarian algorithm, the distance matrix can be firstly reduced in rows, that is, for each row in the distance matrix, the minimum element of the row is found, and the minimum element is subtracted from all elements of the row to obtain the distance matrix after row reduction; then, the distance matrix after row reduction is reduced in columns, that is, the minimum element of each column is found, and the minimum element is subtracted from all elements of each column, so that the number of zero elements in the matrix after column reduction increases.

[0106] According to the matrix after column reduction, the number of independent zero elements is determined. If the number of independent zero elements is equal to the number of rows or columns of the matrix after column reduction, then the optimal allocation solution is found; if it is insufficient, further processing is required, such as covering all zero elements with the least straight lines and adjusting the matrix, etc., until the optimal solution is found. After finding the optimal solution, the rows and columns of each row of zero elements in the optimal solution indicate the corresponding handling equipment and equipment area respectively. Therefore, according to the optimal solution, the target area allocation rule can be determined.

[0107] Step 830: Based on the target area allocation rule, the transporting equipment that is centrally allocated to the first target equipment area is determined as the second transporting equipment.

[0108] For example, assuming that in the area allocation rule, handling device A is allocated to equipment area 1, handling device B is allocated to equipment area 3, and handling device C is allocated to equipment area 2, and equipment area 2 is the first target equipment area, then the second handling device is handling device C.

[0109] Through the above method, a distance matrix can be established and reduced to obtain the target area allocation rule, and the best area allocation plan can be determined to improve the area update efficiency of the handling equipment and the operating efficiency after the area update.

[0110] In some embodiments, reference Fig. 9 As shown, in step 820, the equipment scheduling system may also perform the following method:

[0111] Step 910: If it is determined based on the result of the reduction processing that there are multiple area allocation rules between each transport device in the transport device set and each equipment area in the equipment area set, then a distance cost corresponding to each area allocation rule in the multiple area allocation rules is determined.

[0112] For example, refer to Fig.10 As shown, assuming that in area allocation rule 1, handling equipment A is assigned to equipment area 2 and it will reach the last cell in equipment area 2, and handling equipment B is assigned to equipment area 1 and it will reach the last cell in equipment area 1, at this time the total predicted distance of the two handling equipment is 4+1=5, and in area allocation rule 2, handling equipment A is assigned to equipment area 1 and it will reach the last cell in equipment area 1, and handling equipment B is assigned to equipment area 2 and it will reach the last cell in equipment area 2, at this time the total predicted distance of the two handling equipment is 2+3=5, which is equal to the total predicted distance of area allocation rule 1. Therefore, there are two area allocation rules between each handling equipment in the handling equipment set and each equipment area in the equipment area set.

[0113] In some embodiments, when determining the distance cost corresponding to each area allocation rule, the association relationship between each handling equipment in the handling equipment set and each equipment area in the equipment area set can be determined based on the area allocation rule. For example, according to the area allocation rule, determine to which equipment area each handling equipment in the handling equipment set is assigned. Then, based on the association relationship between each handling equipment in the handling equipment set and each equipment area in the equipment area set, the predicted distance of each handling equipment in the handling equipment set to reach its associated equipment area is used as the input of the distance cost function to obtain the cost value corresponding to each handling equipment. Finally, the cost value corresponding to each handling equipment is summed to obtain the distance cost corresponding to the area allocation rule.

[0114] The distance cost function is a nonlinear increasing function, such as f(x)=a x , where a can be 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, e, etc.

[0115] For example, in the above-mentioned area allocation rule 1, transport equipment A is allocated to equipment area 2, and transport equipment B is allocated to equipment area 1. Then, according to the allocation rule, the predicted distance of transport equipment A to equipment area 2 can be used as the input of the distance cost function to obtain the cost value corresponding to transport equipment A, and the predicted distance of transport equipment B to equipment area 1 can be used as the input of the distance cost function to obtain the cost value corresponding to transport equipment B. Then, the cost value corresponding to transport equipment A and the cost value corresponding to transport equipment B are added to obtain the distance cost corresponding to area allocation rule 1. Through this method, the distance cost function can be used to amplify the differences between different area allocation rules and determine the optimal target area allocation rule.

[0116] In some embodiments, the distance cost function may also be any one of the following formulas:

[0117] f(x)=e x (1)

[0118] f(x)=x+log(x) (2)

[0119] f(x)=x+μ*x 2 ,x∈(0,1) (3)

[0120] Among them, x is the predicted distance of the handling equipment to the corresponding equipment area, and μ is less than 1, such as 0.005.

[0121] Taking the above formula (3) as an example, the predicted distances of handling equipment A and handling equipment B in each area allocation rule can be input into formula (3) to obtain the distance costs corresponding to the two area allocation rules. For example, the distance cost corresponding to area allocation rule 1 is 4+0.005*4 2 +1+0.005*12 =5.085, the distance cost corresponding to area allocation rule 2 is 2+0.005*2 2 +3+0.005*3 2 =5.065.

[0122] Step 920: Determine the region allocation rule with the minimum distance cost among the multiple region allocation rules as the target region allocation rule.

[0123] For example, among the above-mentioned region allocation rule 1 and region allocation rule 2, the distance cost of region allocation rule 2 is the smallest, and then region allocation rule 2 is the final target region allocation rule.

[0124] In fact, by calculating the distance cost corresponding to each area allocation rule, it is possible to evaluate the impact of each area allocation rule on the operation of other handling equipment, thereby selecting the area allocation rule with the lowest impact as the target area allocation rule to ensure the operating efficiency of each handling equipment.

[0125] In order to improve the calculation efficiency, in some embodiments, the transport equipment with the shortest predicted distance from the transport equipment set to the first target equipment area can be directly determined as the second transport equipment based on the predicted distance from each transport equipment set to each equipment area in the equipment area set. In contrast, the transport equipment with the shortest predicted distance from the first target equipment area can quickly reach the first target equipment area, so it has higher operating efficiency.

[0126] Step 330: Establish an association relationship between the second transport device and the first target device area, and send a first area update instruction to the second transport device.

[0127] The first area update instruction is used to instruct the second transport device to move to the first target device area to replace the first transport device to perform the transport task in the first target device area.

[0128] In order to improve the mobility efficiency of the transport equipment, an association relationship between the second transport equipment and the first target equipment area can be established, and a first area update instruction can be sent to the second transport equipment. The second transport equipment can be scheduled to arrive at the first target equipment area to perform the transport task, which can reduce the waiting time caused by the blocking of the first transport equipment and improve the operating efficiency of the transport equipment.

[0129] In some embodiments, when the second transport equipment arrives at the first target equipment area, when the second current equipment area where the second transport equipment is located and the first target equipment area are located in the same alley, the first target equipment area can be directly reached from the second current equipment area in the alley; if they are located in different alleys, the second transport equipment can drive out of the alley where the second current equipment area is located, and drive along the high-speed channel outside the alley to reach the first target alley where the first target equipment area is located, and enter the first target equipment area.

[0130] In order to facilitate the second transport equipment to reach the first target equipment area, in some embodiments, the equipment scheduling system can also generate a first target planned path corresponding to the second transport equipment based on the second current equipment area and the first target equipment area where the second transport equipment is located, and send a first path update instruction to the second transport equipment. The first path update instruction is used to instruct the second transport equipment to travel along the first target planned path to move from the second current equipment area to the first target equipment area.

[0131] For example, a first target planned path that is the fastest or closest to the first target equipment area can be planned based on information such as the operating status of the transport equipment operating in the second current equipment area and the first target equipment area, other equipment areas passed between the second current equipment area and the first target equipment area, and the operating status of other transport equipment to be driven into other equipment areas, so that the second transport equipment can quickly reach the first target equipment area.

[0132] In order to ensure the execution of all transport tasks, in some embodiments, after establishing the association relationship between the second transport device and the first target device area and sending the first area update instruction to the second transport device, the equipment scheduling system may further execute the following method:

[0133] If there is no other transport equipment except the second transport equipment among the blocked transport equipment, an association relationship between the first transport equipment and the second target equipment area is established, and a second area update instruction is sent to the first transport equipment.

[0134] The second area update instruction is used to instruct the first transport device to move to the second target device area, so as to replace the second transport device to perform the transport task in the second target device area.

[0135] When there are no other transport equipment except the second transport equipment in the blocked transport equipment, the above method can be used to dispatch the first transport equipment to the second target equipment area to perform the transport task. Since there is no obstruction, it is more convenient for the first transport equipment to reach the second target equipment area, so the scheduling of the first transport equipment and the second transport equipment can be achieved, thereby improving the movement efficiency and avoiding affecting other transport equipment.

[0136] In some embodiments, after sending the second area update instruction to the first transport device, a second target planned path corresponding to the first transport device can be generated based on the first current device area and the second target device area where the first transport device is located, thereby sending the second path update instruction to the first transport device.

[0137] The second path update instruction is used to instruct the first transport device to travel according to the second target planned path to move from the first current device area to the second target device area.

[0138] For example, a second target planning path that is the fastest or closest to the second target equipment area can be planned based on information such as the operating status of the transport equipment operating in the first current equipment area and the second target equipment area, other equipment areas passed between the first current equipment area and the second target equipment area, and the operating status of other transport equipment to be driven into other equipment areas, so that the first transport equipment can quickly reach the second target equipment area.

[0139] In some embodiments, after establishing an association relationship between the second transport device and the first target device area and sending a first area update instruction to the second transport device, referring to Fig.11 As shown, the equipment scheduling system can also execute the following methods:

[0140] Step 1110: If there are other transport devices except the second transport device in the blocked transport devices, determine a third target device area associated with the first transport device and a fourth target device area associated with the other transport devices based on device operation information of the first transport device and the other transport devices.

[0141] Exemplarily, the associated target equipment area can be re-determined for all the transport equipment in the first transport equipment and other transport equipment according to the number and equipment positions of other transport equipment in the blocked transport equipment except the second transport equipment. For example, the transport equipment that reaches the corresponding target equipment area can be re-determined by the method corresponding to steps 410 to 430 to achieve the purpose of re-determining the target equipment area for all the transport equipment. For another example, according to the current equipment area where all the transport equipment in the first transport equipment and other transport equipment are located and the equipment areas respectively associated with them at the current moment, the transport equipment closest to the equipment area can be allocated to the equipment area according to the distance between each transport equipment and each equipment area to achieve the purpose of re-determining the target equipment area for all the transport equipment.

[0142] Step 1120: Send a third area update instruction to the first transport device, and send a fourth area update instruction to other transport devices.

[0143] Among them, the third area update instruction is used to instruct the first transport equipment to move to the third target equipment area to perform the transport task in the third target equipment area, and the fourth area update instruction is used to instruct other transport equipment to move to the fourth target equipment area to perform the transport task in the fourth target equipment area.

[0144] After completing the area allocation, the third target equipment area associated with the first transport device and the fourth target equipment area associated with the other transport devices can be determined, so that a third area update instruction is sent to the first transport device, and a fourth area update instruction is sent to the other transport devices, so that the first transport device can be moved to the third target equipment area to perform the transport task in the third target equipment area, and the other transport devices can be moved to the fourth target equipment area to perform the transport task in the fourth target equipment area.

[0145] For example, for Figure 6 After completing the area allocation, the following equipment distribution diagram can be obtained: Fig.12 As shown in the equipment partition diagram, it can be seen that handling equipment A is assigned to equipment area 1, handling equipment B is assigned to equipment area 2, and handling equipment C is assigned to equipment area 3. At this time, handling equipment A, handling equipment B, and handling equipment C can run at the same time and reach their respective associated target equipment areas without waiting for other handling equipment.

[0146] In some embodiments, after sending the third area update instruction to the first transport equipment, the equipment scheduling system can also generate a third target planned path corresponding to the first transport equipment based on the first current equipment area and the third target equipment area where the first transport equipment is located, thereby sending the third path update instruction to the first transport equipment.

[0147] The third path update instruction is used to instruct the first transport device to travel according to the third target planned path to move from the first current device area to the third target device area.

[0148] For example, a second target planned path that is the fastest or closest to the second target equipment area can be planned based on information such as the operating status of the transport equipment operating in the first current equipment area and the second target equipment area, other equipment areas passed between the first current equipment area and the second target equipment area, and the operating status of other transport equipment to be driven into other equipment areas, so that the second transport equipment can quickly reach the second target equipment area.

[0149] In some embodiments, after sending the fourth area update instruction to other transport equipment, the equipment scheduling system can also generate a fourth target planned path corresponding to the other transport equipment based on the current equipment area and the fourth target equipment area where the other transport equipment is located, such as planning a fourth target planned path for the other transport equipment that is the fastest or closest to the fourth target equipment area, thereby sending a fourth path update instruction to the other transport equipment to instruct the other transport equipment to travel along the fourth target planned path and move from the current equipment area where the other transport equipment is located to the fourth target equipment area, thereby improving the operating efficiency of the other transport equipment.

[0150] Therefore, through the above method, the association relationship between the handling equipment and the equipment area can be reallocated, so that the operation efficiency of all the handling equipment is maximized.

[0151] In summary, according to the equipment scheduling method provided by this embodiment, the equipment operation information of multiple transporting equipment can be obtained. When there is a blocking transporting equipment on the path of the first transporting equipment to its associated first target equipment area, based on the equipment operation information, the second transporting equipment is determined among the multiple transporting equipment, and the second target equipment area associated with the second transporting equipment is determined, and the association relationship between the second transporting equipment and the first target equipment area is established, and the first area update instruction is sent to the second transporting equipment, so that the second transporting equipment moves to the first target equipment area to replace the first transporting equipment to perform the transport task in the first target equipment area. It can be seen that through this method, the scheduling of local transporting equipment can be realized, the operation rules of some equipment areas can be optimized, the operation of the global transporting equipment will not be affected, the operation efficiency of the overall transporting equipment can be improved, and the scheduling calculation amount is less.

[0152] Fig.13 A schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The specific embodiment of the present invention does not limit the specific implementation of the electronic device.

[0153] like Fig.13 As shown, the electronic device may be the control device in the above embodiment. Specifically, the electronic device may include: a processor (processor) 1302, a communication interface (Communications Interface) 1304, a memory (memory) 1306, and a communication bus 13013.

[0154] The processor 1302, the communication interface 1304, and the memory 1306 communicate with each other through the communication bus 13013. The communication interface 1304 is used to communicate with other devices such as a client or other server network elements. The processor 1302 is used to execute the program 1310, which can specifically execute the relevant steps in the above-mentioned embodiment of the device scheduling method.

[0155] Specifically, the program 1310 may include program code including computer executable instructions.

[0156] The processor 1302 may be a central processing unit (CPU), or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the embodiments of the present invention. The one or more processors included in the electronic device may be processors of the same type, such as one or more CPUs, or processors of different types, such as one or more CPUs and one or more ASICs.

[0157] The memory 1306 is used to store the program 1310. The memory 1306 may include a high-speed RAM memory, and may also include a non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as at least one disk memory.

[0158] The program 1310 can be specifically called by the processor 1302 to enable the electronic device to execute the steps in the above-mentioned device scheduling method.

[0159] An embodiment of the present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores at least one executable instruction. When the executable instruction is executed on an electronic device / device scheduling system, the electronic device / device scheduling system executes the device scheduling method in any of the above method embodiments.

[0160] The executable instructions can be specifically used to enable the electronic device / device scheduling system to execute the steps in the above-mentioned device scheduling method.

[0161] The algorithms or displays provided herein are not inherently related to any particular computer, virtual system or other device. In addition, the embodiments of the present invention are not directed to any particular programming language.

[0162] In the description provided herein, a large number of specific details are described. However, it is understood that embodiments of the present invention can be practiced without these specific details. Similarly, in order to simplify the present invention and help understand one or more of the various inventive aspects, in the above description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the various features of the embodiments of the present invention are sometimes grouped together into a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. Wherein, the claims that follow the specific embodiment are hereby expressly incorporated into the specific embodiment, wherein each claim itself is a separate embodiment of the present invention.

[0163] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the modules in the devices in the embodiments may be adaptively changed and arranged in one or more devices different from the embodiments. The modules or units or components in the embodiments may be combined into one module or unit or component, and further may be divided into a plurality of submodules or subunits or subcomponents. Except that at least some of such features and / or processes or units are mutually exclusive.

[0164] It should be noted that the above embodiments illustrate the present invention rather than limit it, and that those skilled in the art may devise alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference symbol between brackets shall not be construed as a limitation on the claims. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in the claims. The word "one" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The present invention may be implemented by means of hardware comprising a number of different elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In a unit claim enumerating a number of devices, several of these devices may be embodied by the same hardware item. The use of the words first, second, and third, etc. does not indicate any order. These words may be interpreted as names. The steps in the above embodiments, unless otherwise specified, should not be understood as limitations on the order of execution.

Claims

1. A device scheduling method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Acquire equipment operation information of a plurality of transport devices, the equipment operation information including a current equipment area where each of the plurality of transport devices is located, and a target equipment area associated with each of the transport devices, the transport devices being used to perform transport tasks in their associated target equipment areas; When there is a blocking transport device on the path of the first transport device to reach the first target device area associated with it, based on the device operation information, a second transport device is determined in the blocking transport device, and a second target device area associated with the second transport device is determined, and the first transport device and the second transport device are different; An association relationship between the second transport device and the first target device area is established, and a first area update instruction is sent to the second transport device, wherein the first area update instruction is used to instruct the second transport device to move to the first target device area to replace the first transport device in performing a transport task in the first target device area.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: If there is no other transport device except the second transport device in the blocking transport device, establishing an association relationship between the first transport device and the second target device area, and sending a second area update instruction to the first transport device; The second area update instruction is used to instruct the first transport device to move to the second target device area, so as to replace the second transport device in performing the transport task in the second target device area.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: If there are other transport devices other than the second transport device in the blocking transport devices, determining a third target device area associated with the first transport device and a fourth target device area associated with the other transport devices based on device operation information of the first transport device and the other transport devices; Sending a third area update instruction to the first transport device, wherein the third area update instruction is used to instruct the first transport device to move to the third target device area to perform a transport task in the third target device area; A fourth area update instruction is sent to the other transport equipment, where the fourth area update instruction is used to instruct the other transport equipment to move to the fourth target equipment area to perform a transport task in the fourth target equipment area.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plurality of transport devices are operated in a plurality of lanes, the lanes include at least one equipment area, the equipment operation information includes path information of each of the plurality of transport devices, and the method further includes: Based on the current equipment area where each of the multiple transport equipment is located, determine the first current equipment area where the first transport equipment is located, and determine the lane where the first current equipment area is located as the first current lane, and determine the lane where the first target equipment area is located as the first target lane; Based on the path information of the transport equipment in the first current lane and the first target lane, it is determined whether the blocking transport equipment exists on the path of the first transport equipment to reach its associated first target equipment area.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The determining of the second transport device in the blocking transport device based on the device operation information includes: Based on the equipment operation information, determine a handling equipment set and an equipment area set, wherein the handling equipment set is composed of the first handling equipment and the blocking handling equipment, and the equipment area set is composed of a first current equipment area where the first handling equipment is located and a current equipment area where the blocking handling equipment is located; Determine the predicted distances of each transport device in the transport device set to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set; The second transport equipment is determined in the transport equipment set based on the predicted distances of each transport equipment in the transport equipment set to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The step of determining the second transporting equipment in the transporting equipment set based on the predicted distances of each transporting equipment in the transporting equipment set to each equipment area in the equipment area set comprises: Based on the predicted distances of each transport device in the transport device set to each device area in the device area set, a distance matrix is ​​established, wherein the distance matrix is ​​used to indicate the predicted distances of any transport device in the transport device set to each device area in the device area set; Performing a reduction process on the distance matrix, and determining a target area allocation rule based on a result of the reduction process, wherein the target area allocation rule is used to indicate an association relationship between each of the transporting devices in the transporting device set and each of the equipment areas in the equipment area set; Based on the target area allocation rule, the transporting equipment that is collectively allocated to the first target equipment area is determined as the second transporting equipment.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The determining of the predicted distances of each transport device in the transport device set to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set includes: For any transport equipment in the transport equipment set, planning a path for the any transport equipment to reach each of the equipment areas in the equipment area set, to obtain a plurality of planned paths corresponding to the any transport equipment; Based on the multiple planned paths, a predicted distance for any one of the transport equipment to reach each of the equipment areas in the equipment area set is determined.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The planned path passes through at least one equipment area, and the at least one equipment area includes at least one cell. The step of determining the predicted distance of any transport equipment to reach each of the equipment areas in the equipment area set based on the multiple planned paths includes: Based on the number of cells in all the equipment areas through which the planned path passes, a predicted distance for any one of the transport equipment to reach the equipment area corresponding to the planned path in the equipment area set is determined.

9. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: If it is determined based on the result of the reduction processing that there are multiple area allocation rules between each of the transporting devices in the transporting device set and each of the equipment areas in the equipment area set, then determining a distance cost corresponding to each of the multiple area allocation rules; The area allocation rule having the minimum distance cost among the multiple area allocation rules is determined as the target area allocation rule.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The determining of the distance cost corresponding to each of the plurality of area allocation rules includes: Based on the area allocation rule, determining an association relationship between each of the transporting equipment in the transporting equipment set and each of the equipment areas in the equipment area set; Based on the association relationship between each of the transporting equipment in the transporting equipment set and each of the equipment areas in the equipment area set, the predicted distance of each of the transporting equipment in the transporting equipment set to reach its associated equipment area is respectively used as the input of the distance cost function to obtain the cost value corresponding to each of the transporting equipment, and the distance cost function is a nonlinear increasing function; The cost values ​​corresponding to the transport equipment are summed to obtain the distance cost corresponding to the area allocation rule.

11. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The step of determining the second transporting equipment in the transporting equipment set based on the predicted distances of each transporting equipment in the transporting equipment set to each equipment area in the equipment area set comprises: Based on the predicted distances of each transport device in the transport device set to reach each equipment area in the equipment area set, a transport device having the shortest predicted distance from the transport device set to reach the first target equipment area is determined as the second transport device.

12. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that After sending the first area update instruction to the second handling device, the method further includes: Based on a second current equipment area where the second handling equipment is located and the first target equipment area, generating a first target planning path corresponding to the second handling equipment; A first path updating instruction is sent to the second transport device, where the first path updating instruction is used to instruct the second transport device to travel according to the first target planned path to move from the second current device area to the first target device area.

13. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that After sending the second area update instruction to the first handling device, the method further includes: Based on a first current equipment area where the first handling equipment is located and the second target equipment area, generating a second target planning path corresponding to the first handling equipment; A second path update instruction is sent to the first transport device, where the second path update instruction is used to instruct the first transport device to travel according to the second target planned path to move from the first current device area to the second target device area.

14. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that After sending the third area update instruction to the first handling device, the method further includes: Based on the first current equipment area where the first transport equipment is located and the third target equipment area, generating a third target planning path corresponding to the first transport equipment; A third path update instruction is sent to the first transport device, where the third path update instruction is used to instruct the first transport device to travel according to the third target planned path to move from the first current device area to the third target device area.

15. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that After sending the fourth area update instruction to the other handling equipment, the method further includes: Based on the current equipment area where the other handling equipment is located and the fourth target equipment area, generating a fourth target planning path corresponding to the other handling equipment; A fourth path update instruction is sent to the other transport equipment, where the fourth path update instruction is used to instruct the other transport equipment to travel according to the fourth target planned path to move from the current equipment area where the other transport equipment is located to the fourth target equipment area.

16. A device scheduling system, characterized in that: The system comprises: A plurality of equipment areas, wherein the equipment areas are associated with corresponding handling equipment; A plurality of handling devices, the handling devices being used to perform handling tasks in their associated device areas; The control device is configured to obtain equipment operation information of the multiple transport devices, the equipment operation information including a current equipment area where each of the multiple transport devices is located, and a target equipment area associated with each of the transport devices, the multiple equipment areas including the current equipment area and the target equipment area; when there is a blocking transport device on the path where the first transport device reaches its associated first target equipment area, based on the equipment operation information, determine a second transport device among the blocking transport devices, and determine a second target equipment area associated with the second transport device; and establish an association relationship between the second transport device and the first target equipment area, and send a first area update instruction to the second transport device; The second transport device is different from the first transport device, and is configured to obtain the first area update instruction and move to the first target device area according to the first area update instruction to replace the first transport device to perform the transport task at the first target device area.

17. The system according to claim 16, characterized in that The control device is further configured to: when there is no other transport device except the second transport device in the blocking transport device, establish an association relationship between the first transport device and the second target device area, and send a second area update instruction to the first transport device; The first transport device is configured to obtain the second area update instruction and move to the second target device area according to the second area update instruction to replace the second transport device in performing the transport task in the second target device area.

18. The system according to claim 16, characterized in that The control device is also configured to: When there are other transport devices other than the second transport device in the blocking transport devices, based on the device operation information of the first transport device and the other transport devices, a third target device area associated with the first transport device and a fourth target device area associated with the other transport devices are determined, and a third area update instruction is sent to the first transport device, and a fourth area update instruction is sent to the other transport devices, The first transport device is configured to obtain the third area update instruction, and move to the third target device area according to the third area update instruction to perform a transport task in the third target device area; The other transporting equipment is configured to obtain the fourth area update instruction and move to the fourth target equipment area according to the fourth area update instruction to perform a transport task in the fourth target equipment area. The multiple transporting equipment include the other transporting equipment.

19. The system according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that: The plurality of transport devices operate in a plurality of lanes, and the lanes include at least one equipment area among the plurality of equipment areas.

20. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: processor; as well as A memory, configured to store executable instructions of the processor; The processor is configured to perform the operation of the device scheduling method according to any one of claims 1 to 15 by executing the executable instructions.

21. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the device scheduling method described in any one of claims 1 to 15 are implemented.

Images