Order processing method and device, control equipment, warehousing system and storage medium

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of intelligent warehousing, in particular to an order processing method and device, control equipment, a warehousing system and a storage medium. The order processing method comprises the steps that the number of workbin processing tasks corresponding to a wave is acquired, and the number of the workbin processing tasks corresponding to the wave is defined as a first number; according to the first number, the number of workstations needed for completing the workbin processing task corresponding to the wave number according to the preset time efficiency is determined, and the number of the needed workstations is defined as a second number; the wave is split into the second number of sub-waves, and each sub-wave corresponds to at least one material box processing task; and allocating the second number of wavelets to the second number of workstations in a one-to-one correspondence manner, so that each workstation in the second number of workstations processes the workbin processing task corresponding to the wavelets. The method can improve the performance time efficiency of the order.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of intelligent warehousing, and particularly to an order processing method, apparatus, control device, warehousing system and storage medium. Background Art

[0002] With the gradual improvement of warehousing automation level, the application scale of box robots in the warehousing link is also increasing. In an outbound operation, the actions of the box robot include taking boxes from the storage area and transporting them to the picking station for placing boxes. A larger robot running area means a longer handling distance, which will lead to a decrease in the box handling efficiency of the box robot.

[0003] In the related art, when an order contains multiple pieces of goods, the order can be decomposed into at least one box handling task corresponding to the multiple pieces of goods, and at least one box robot can perform the box handling for the at least one box handling task. To improve the box handling efficiency of the box robot, an undifferentiated box handling method is usually adopted to shorten the handling distance. That is, the box robot can choose any workstation nearby to complete the handling of the bin. In this way, the multiple pieces of goods corresponding to the above order may be transported to multiple workstations, and the fulfillment of the order is completed when all the at least one box handling tasks corresponding to the order are completed.

[0004] However, the related art has the problem of poor fulfillment timeliness of orders. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a bin handling solution that can improve the fulfillment timeliness of orders. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an order processing method, apparatus, control device, warehousing system and storage medium, which can improve the fulfillment timeliness of orders.

[0006] In a first aspect of the present application, an order processing method is provided, which is executed by a control device. Among them, multiple orders are divided into at least one wave, each wave includes at least one order, and each order includes at least one bin processing task. The order processing method includes: obtaining the number of bin processing tasks corresponding to a wave, where the number of bin processing tasks corresponding to the wave is defined as a first number; determining, according to the first number, the number of workstations required to complete the bin processing tasks corresponding to the wave according to a preset timeliness, where the number of workstations required to complete the bin processing tasks corresponding to the wave according to the preset timeliness is defined as a second number; splitting the wave into the second number of sub-waves, where each sub-wave corresponds to at least one bin processing task; and allocating the second number of sub-waves to the second number of workstations one by one, so that each workstation among the second number of workstations processes the bin processing tasks corresponding to the corresponding sub-wave.

[0007] In some embodiments, the step of determining the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling task corresponding to the wave according to the preset time limit based on the first quantity, where in the step of defining the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling task corresponding to the wave according to the preset time limit as the second quantity, the second quantity is the minimum number of workstations required to complete the bin handling task corresponding to the wave according to the preset time limit.

[0008] In some embodiments, the step of determining the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling task corresponding to the wave according to the preset time limit based on the first quantity includes: determining the second quantity according to the first quantity and the average picking capacity of a single workstation.

[0009] In some embodiments, in the step of determining the second quantity according to the first quantity and the average picking capacity of a single workstation, the second quantity is determined according to the following method: S = Q / P, where S represents the second quantity, Q represents the first quantity, and P represents the preset picking capacity of a single workstation.

[0010] In some embodiments, the preset picking capacity of a single workstation includes the maximum number of bins that can be processed by the single workstation per unit time, where the maximum number of bins that can be processed by the single workstation per unit time is defined as the third quantity.

[0011] In some embodiments, the step of splitting the wave into the second quantity of sub - waves includes: determining the positions of the target bins hit by the wave in the storage area; sequentially dividing the storage area into the second quantity of units along the specified direction of the storage area, where each unit contains the third quantity of target bins, and the target bins in each unit are the bins required for the bin handling task corresponding to a sub - wave; correspondingly, the step of allocating the second quantity of sub - waves to the second quantity of workstations one by one includes: allocating the bin handling tasks of each sub - wave among the second quantity of sub - waves to the corresponding workstations according to the principle of proximity.

[0012] In some embodiments, the specified direction is perpendicular to the extending direction of the aisle of the storage area.

[0013] In some embodiments, a plurality of workstations are arranged on one side of the storage area, and the arrangement direction of the plurality of workstations is perpendicular to the extending direction of the aisle.

[0014] In some embodiments, after the step of corresponding and allocating the second number of sub-wave instances to the second number of workstations one by one, the method further includes: determining a handling robot required for the bin handling task corresponding to the sub-wave instance; controlling the handling robot to move the target bin corresponding to the sub-wave instance to the corresponding workstation according to the bin handling task corresponding to the sub-wave instance; and controlling the corresponding workstation to perform picking processing on the target bin corresponding to the sub-wave instance.

[0015] In some embodiments, each workstation processes the bin handling task of one wave instance at the same time.

[0016] In some embodiments, the method further includes: determining the number of wave instances that can be processed simultaneously in the warehouse according to the total number of workstations in the warehouse, where the number of wave instances that can be processed simultaneously in the warehouse is defined as the fourth number.

[0017] In the step of determining the number of wave instances that can be processed simultaneously in the warehouse according to the total number of workstations in the warehouse, where the number of wave instances that can be processed simultaneously in the warehouse is defined as the fourth number, the fourth number is determined according to the following method: B = M / S, where B represents the fourth number, M represents the total number of workstations in the warehouse, and S represents the second number.

[0018] In the step of obtaining the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to one wave instance, obtaining the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to each wave instance in the fourth number of wave instances; in the step of determining the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling task corresponding to the wave instance according to the preset time limit according to the first number, where the number of workstations is defined as the second number, respectively determining the second number corresponding to each wave instance according to the first number of each wave instance in the fourth number of wave instances; in the step of splitting the wave instance into the second number of sub-wave instances, respectively splitting each wave instance into its corresponding second number of sub-wave instances; in the step of corresponding and allocating the second number of sub-wave instances to the second number of workstations one by one, among all the sub-wave instances obtained by splitting the fourth number of wave instances, allocating the sub-wave instances equal to the total number of workstations to the workstations one by one.

[0019] In some embodiments, the workstation is provided with at least one notch, and the notch is used to place the items picked out when the workstation processes the bin handling tasks corresponding to the sub-batches; after the step of correspondingly allocating the sub-batches equal in number to the total number of workstations among all the sub-batches obtained by splitting the fourth number of batches to the workstations, the method further includes: determining whether there are still unallocated sub-batches; if there are unallocated sub-batches, monitoring whether there are released notches among all the workstations in the warehouse; and if there are released notches, allocating an unallocated sub-batch to the workstation corresponding to the released notch.

[0020] In some embodiments, when multiple batches among the fourth number of batches all hit the same bin, the bin is defined as a common target bin, and the method further includes: controlling the handling robot corresponding to one of the batches to move the common target bin back to the storage location corresponding to the aisle where the common target bin was originally located after being processed by the corresponding workstation, so as to facilitate the handling robot corresponding to another batch to handle the common target bin.

[0021] In some embodiments, each workstation is configured to be capable of simultaneously processing the bin handling tasks corresponding to two batches.

[0022] In some embodiments, the workstation is provided with a first notch and a second notch. The first notch is used to place the items picked out when the workstation processes the bin handling tasks corresponding to the first sub-batch, and the second notch is used to place the items picked out when the workstation processes the bin handling tasks corresponding to the second sub-batch; in the step of controlling the corresponding workstation to perform picking processing on the target bin: when the target bin hit by the first sub-batch is simultaneously the target bin hit by the second sub-batch, control the workstation to process the bin handling tasks corresponding to the second sub-batch while processing the bin handling tasks corresponding to the first sub-batch.

[0023] In some embodiments, the step of correspondingly allocating the second number of sub - wave instances to the second number of workstations includes: correspondingly allocating the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the second number of first sub - wave instances in the first wave to the second number of workstations; and correspondingly allocating the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the second number of second sub - wave instances in the second wave to the second number of workstations; wherein, there are the same workstations among the workstations corresponding to the first wave and the workstations corresponding to the second wave; correspondingly, the step of determining the handling robots required for the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the sub - wave instances includes: determining the handling robots required for the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the first wave and the second wave; the step of controlling the handling robots to transport the target bins corresponding to the sub - wave instances to the corresponding workstations according to the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the sub - wave instances includes: controlling the handling robots to transport the target bins corresponding to the first sub - wave instances to the corresponding workstations according to the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the first sub - wave instances; the step of controlling the corresponding workstations to perform picking processing on the target bins corresponding to the sub - wave instances includes: controlling the workstations to perform picking processing on the target bins corresponding to the first sub - wave instances; and when the number of bin - handling tasks of the first sub - wave instances processed by the workstations reaches a preset threshold, controlling the handling robots to transport the target bins corresponding to the second sub - wave instances to the workstations according to the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the second sub - wave instances.

[0024] In some embodiments, in the step of when the number of bin - handling tasks of the first sub - wave instances processed by the workstations reaches a preset threshold, controlling the handling robots to transport the target bins corresponding to the second sub - wave instances to the workstations, the handling tasks of the first sub - wave instances have a higher priority than the handling tasks of the second sub - wave instances.

[0025] In some embodiments, the priority of the handling tasks of the first sub - wave instances gradually increases as time progresses.

[0026] In some embodiments, the method further includes: after the workstations finish processing the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the first sub - wave instances, allocating the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the third sub - wave instances of the third wave to the workstations.

[0027] In some embodiments, the step of controlling the handling robots to transport the target bins corresponding to the wave instances to the corresponding workstations according to the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the wave instances is executed before the workstations go online.

[0028] In some embodiments, it further includes: determining whether there is a single-piece order that is not divided into the wave; if there is such a single-piece order, the processing priority of the orders within the wave is higher than that of the single-piece order.

[0029] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an order processing device. Multiple orders are divided into at least one wave, each wave includes at least one order, and each order includes at least one bin handling task. The order processing device includes: an acquisition module, configured to acquire the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to a wave, where the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave is defined as a first number; a determination module, configured to determine, according to the first number, the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave according to a preset time limit, where the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave according to the preset time limit is defined as a second number; a splitting module, configured to split the wave into the second number of sub-waves, where each sub-wave corresponds to at least one bin handling task; and an allocation module, configured to allocate the second number of sub-waves to the second number of workstations one by one, so that each workstation among the second number of workstations processes the bin handling tasks corresponding to the corresponding sub-wave.

[0030] In a third aspect of the present application, a control device is provided. The control device includes a memory and at least one processor; the memory stores computer execution instructions; the at least one processor executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory, so that the at least one processor executes the above-mentioned order processing method.

[0031] In a fourth aspect of the present application, a warehousing system is provided, including a shelf, a workstation, a handling robot, and the above-mentioned control device; the shelf is used to store bins, and the bins are used to place goods; when the control device executes the order processing method, it controls the handling robot to carry bins between the workstation and the shelf, and controls the workstation to perform picking processing on the bins.

[0032] In a fifth aspect of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. Computer execution instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium. When the computer execution instructions are executed, the order processing method as in the first aspect is implemented.

[0033] In a sixth aspect of the present application, a computer program product is provided, including a computer program. When the computer program is executed, the goods picking method as in the first aspect is implemented.

[0034] The order processing method, apparatus, device, and storage medium provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can adaptively adjust the number of workstations required to process the bin handling tasks corresponding to one wave according to the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to one wave, so as to split one wave into corresponding sub-waves according to the required number of workstations, and allocate the split sub-waves to the corresponding workstations one by one, thereby improving the order processing efficiency and ensuring the order fulfillment timeliness. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] The accompanying drawings herein are incorporated into the specification and form a part of the specification, showing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and used together with the specification to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0036] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a warehousing system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] Figure 2 For the present disclosure Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a workstation provided by the shown embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0038] Figure 3 It is a flowchart of the order processing method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0039] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the storage area and workstation area of a warehouse provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, Figure 4 showing the units of one wave divided in the warehousing area and the corresponding workstations of this wave;

[0040] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the storage area and workstation area of a warehouse provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, Figure 5 showing the units of different waves divided in the warehousing area and the corresponding workstations of different waves;

[0041] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the storage area and workstation area of a warehouse provided by another embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 4 showing the units of one wave divided in the warehousing area and the corresponding workstations of this wave;

[0042] Figure 7 It is a schematic structural diagram of the order processing apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0043] Figure 8 It is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0044] Through the above-mentioned accompanying drawings, specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown, and will be described in more detail hereinafter. These drawings and the written description are not intended to limit the scope of the concept of the present disclosure in any way, but to illustrate the concept of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art by referring to specific embodiments. Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments

[0045] Here, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail, and examples thereof are shown in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. On the contrary, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the present disclosure as detailed in the appended claims.

[0046] The technical solution of the present disclosure and how the technical solution of the present disclosure solves the above technical problems will be described in detail below with specific embodiments. These several specific embodiments below can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be repeated in some embodiments. The embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0047] The terms involved in the present disclosure include:

[0048] Wave: A set of orders with the same outbound delivery time requirement, consisting of multiple orders.

[0049] No difference: The robot outbound task is for any workstation in the entire warehouse.

[0050] Group no difference: Taking multiple workstations as a group, the robot can select any workstation within the group as the destination for moving boxes.

[0051] In the related art, although the no-difference box moving scheme maximizes the box moving efficiency, since a single workstation needs to meet the picking requirements for any task in the entire warehouse, it needs to be used in conjunction with a picking wall, which brings disadvantages to the backend. Therefore, the related art has the following drawbacks:

[0052] (1) It is necessary to pick and sort simultaneously, resulting in low labor efficiency;

[0053] (2) The fulfillment time limit is the completion time of the last task among all workstations in the whole warehouse, resulting in poor order fulfillment time limit;

[0054] (3) It is necessary to meet the release of slots when all workstations in the entire warehouse complete a certain task, resulting in low utilization rate of the picking wall slots;

[0055] (4) There are many turnover containers, resulting in a low full-load rate per box for tasks randomly assigned to different workstations;

[0056] (5) It is necessary to traverse all workstations in the entire warehouse, resulting in great difficulty in goods consolidation.

[0057] Therefore, the present disclosure provides an order processing method. Only 1 picking task is allocated to each workstation at the same time, so that the picker does not need to pick and sort simultaneously, which can ensure the maximization of the picker's efficiency and improve the accuracy of item picking; by adaptively adjusting the number of workstations required for the bin processing tasks corresponding to a single wave, the fulfillment time limit of the order can be ensured; without the need to use a sowing wall, the picking requirements for any task in the entire warehouse can be met; the handling robot only needs to execute the goods handling according to the allocated tasks, without the need to use too many turnover containers; the bin processing tasks corresponding to each wave are allocated to each workstation according to the principle of proximity, which improves the vehicle efficiency and reduces the difficulty of goods consolidation.

[0058] The order processing method of the present application can be applied to a warehousing system, and can specifically be used for the outbound, inbound or inventory management of goods in a warehouse.

[0059] Please refer to Figure 1 , the warehousing system includes a shelf 10, a workstation 20, a handling robot 30 and a control device 40. Usually, this warehousing system is set in a warehouse. There are usually multiple shelves 10 and multiple workstations 20 in the warehouse, and there are also multiple handling robots 30 in the warehouse.

[0060] Among them, the shelf 10 is used to store bins, and the bins are used to place goods. Multiple shelves 100 in the warehouse are arranged in an array, and aisles 50 are formed between adjacent shelves. The extending direction of the aisles 50 is consistent with the length direction of the shelves. The area where multiple shelves are located is defined as the storage area.

[0061] The workstation 20 is provided with one or more slots. The picker or picking robot in the workstation picks the goods in the bin into the slots according to the prompts of the prompting device of the workstation. Please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 As shown, the workstation 20 is provided with two slots, namely the first slot 21 and the second slot 22. Multiple workstations in the warehouse can be arranged in an array, and specifically can be arranged in a straight line. The area where multiple workstations 20 are located is defined as the workstation area.

[0062] The workstation area can be set on one side of the storage area, or the workstation area can be set on both sides or more sides of the storage area. The control device 40 is communicatively connected to the handling robot 30 and the workstation 20, Figure 1In the figure, the control device is communicatively connected to one of the handling robots 30 and one of the workstations 20 by a dashed line. In fact, the control device 40 will be communicatively connected to all the handling robots 30 and all the workstations 20 in the warehouse. When executing the order processing method of the present application, it is used to control the handling robot to carry the bin between the workstation and the shelf, and control the workstation to perform the picking process on the bin. The order processing method executed by the control device will be introduced below.

[0063] Figure 3 It is a flowchart of the order processing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As Figure 3 shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0064] S301: Obtain the number of bin processing tasks corresponding to a wave, where the number of bin processing tasks corresponding to the wave is defined as the first number.

[0065] Specifically, after the control device obtains multiple orders, the multiple orders are usually divided into at least one wave. Each wave includes at least one order, and each order includes at least one bin processing task. The orders can be divided according to the order fulfillment time limit, that is, the completion time required by the order. For example, among the obtained orders, 600 orders are required to be completed at 10 am, then these 600 orders are divided into one wave. It can be understood that the division of orders into waves can also be carried out according to the principle of first come first served or the delivery route, etc., and the present application does not make restrictions.

[0066] In step S301, the bin processing task is the task required to complete the order. An order can include one or more bin processing tasks. The number of bin processing tasks corresponding to a wave is the total number of bin processing tasks of all orders included in the wave. In the present application, the number of bin processing tasks corresponding to the wave is equal to the number of bins hit by the wave. Each bin processing task can include a handling task and a picking task. Among them, the handling task is executed by the handling robot. For example, the handling robot transports the bin from the storage area to the workstation; the picking task is executed by the workstation. For example, the picking personnel or the picking robot at the workstation picks the items in the bin into the slot of the workstation according to the prompt issued by the prompt device at the workstation.

[0067] S302: Determine the number of workstations required to complete the bin processing tasks corresponding to the wave according to the first number, where the number of workstations required to complete the bin processing tasks corresponding to the wave according to the preset time limit is defined as the second number.

[0068] In this step, the orders in each wave have the same or similar requirements for the outbound time limit. After obtaining the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to a wave, that is, the first quantity, the number of workstations required to process the bin handling tasks corresponding to a single wave can be determined according to the first quantity, that is, the second quantity. If the first quantity is different, the second quantity will be adjusted accordingly. Therefore, the second quantity can be adaptively adjusted according to the first quantity, so as to achieve the purpose of the same fulfillment time limit.

[0069] S303: Split the wave into the second quantity of sub-waves, where each sub-wave corresponds to at least one bin handling task.

[0070] In this step, if the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to a single wave is large, the single wave can be divided according to the number of workstations required to process the bin handling tasks corresponding to a single wave, that is, the second quantity, to obtain the second quantity of sub-waves.

[0071] S304: Assign the second quantity of sub-waves to the second quantity of workstations one by one, so that each workstation in the second quantity of workstations processes the bin handling tasks corresponding to the corresponding sub-wave.

[0072] In this step, each workstation can process the bin handling tasks corresponding to each sub-wave in a wave. Thus, after splitting a single wave, the second quantity of sub-waves obtained after splitting can be assigned to the second quantity of workstations one by one, so that each workstation can process the bin handling tasks included in the bin handling task group corresponding to the corresponding sub-wave.

[0073] When the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to a single wave is large, if a wave is assigned to a single workstation, the processing time of a single workstation will be relatively long, and it is difficult to complete the order tasks of the wave according to the preset time limit. The order processing method provided by this application can adaptively adjust the number of workstations required to process the bin handling tasks corresponding to a single wave according to the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to a wave. Thus, according to the required number of workstations, the single wave is split into the corresponding number of sub-waves, and the split sub-waves are assigned to the corresponding workstations one by one, which can improve the processing efficiency of the order and thus ensure the fulfillment time limit of the order.

[0074] In some embodiments, in the step of determining the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling tasks corresponding to a wave according to the preset time limit according to the first quantity, where the number of workstations is defined as the second quantity, the second quantity is the number of workstations required at least to complete the bin handling tasks corresponding to a wave according to the preset time limit.

[0075] In this embodiment, the second quantity may be the number of workstations required at least when processing the bin handling tasks corresponding to a single wave, so that the utilization rate of each workstation can be improved while ensuring the fulfillment time limit requirements of the order, and further, the workstations in the entire warehouse can handle more bin handling tasks.

[0076] In some embodiments, the step of determining the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling tasks corresponding to a wave according to the preset time limit according to the first quantity includes: determining a second quantity according to the first quantity and the average picking capacity of a single workstation.

[0077] In this embodiment, the number of workstations required when processing the bin handling tasks corresponding to a single wave can be determined by the first quantity and the average picking capacity of a single workstation. Among them, the average picking capacity of a single workstation can be obtained in advance through the historical number of bins processed by this workstation. Therefore, the number of workstations required when processing the bin handling tasks corresponding to a single wave can be adaptively adjusted as the first quantity is adjusted, so as to achieve the purpose of the same fulfillment time limit, and thus ensure the fulfillment time limit of the order.

[0078] In some embodiments, in the step of determining the second quantity according to the first quantity and the average picking capacity of a single workstation, the second quantity is determined according to the following method: S = Q / P, where S represents the second quantity, Q represents the first quantity, and P represents the preset picking capacity of a single workstation.

[0079] Specifically, the preset picking capacity of a single workstation may be the average picking capacity of a single workstation.

[0080] In this embodiment, the quotient between the first quantity and the average picking capacity of a single workstation can be determined as the second quantity. For example, the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to this wave, that is, the first quantity is 1500, and the average picking capacity of a single workstation is 300, then the second quantity S = Q / P = 1500 / 300 = 5. That is, the number of workstations required when processing the bin handling tasks corresponding to a single wave is 5. If the first quantity is adjusted, the second quantity will also be adaptively adjusted accordingly, so as to achieve the purpose of the same fulfillment time limit, and thus ensure the fulfillment time limit of the order.

[0081] In some embodiments, the average picking capacity of a single workstation includes the maximum number of bins that a single workstation can process per unit time, where the maximum number of bins that a single workstation can process per unit time is defined as the third quantity.

[0082] In this embodiment, the average picking capacity of a single workstation can be determined by the maximum number of bins that this workstation can process per unit time. For example, the average picking capacity of a single workstation can be expressed as 300 bins / hour.

[0083] In some other embodiments, the preset picking capacity of a single workstation is adjustable. For example, it can be the preset picking capacity of the workstation. For example, if the time for processing the bin handling task in a single wave can be used as the unit time, the average picking capacity of a single workstation can also be directly determined by the maximum number of bins that can be processed within the unit time. For example, if the average picking capacity of a single workstation can be expressed as 300 bins / hour, and if it is necessary to complete the bin handling task corresponding to a wave, which is 1500 bins, 0.5 hours in advance, then the preset picking capacity of a single workstation needs to be set to half of the average picking capacity of a single workstation, such as 150. Thus, the bin handling task corresponding to a wave is processed by 10 workstations, so that these 10 workstations can all complete the corresponding bin handling tasks within 0.5 hours.

[0084] This application determines the second number of workstations required by combining the maximum number of bins that a single workstation can process within the unit time, and distributes the wave to the second number of workstations, so that when each workstation processes the tasks of this wave, the processing tasks are saturated, the workstations can be fully utilized, and the efficiency of each workstation is improved.

[0085] In some embodiments, the step of splitting a wave into the second number of sub-waves includes: determining the positions of the target bins hit by this wave in the storage area; along the specified direction of the storage area, sequentially dividing the storage area into the second number of units, where each unit contains the third number of target bins, and the target bins in each unit are the bins required for the bin handling task group corresponding to a sub-wave. Correspondingly, the step of correspondingly distributing the second number of sub-waves to the second number of workstations includes: distributing the bin handling tasks of each sub-wave among the second number of sub-waves to the corresponding workstations according to the principle of proximity.

[0086] In this embodiment, the storage area in the warehouse for storing bins can be divided according to the number of workstations required when processing the bin handling task corresponding to this wave, that is, the second number, to obtain the second number of units. Each unit contains the third number of target bins, so that the target bins in each unit can meet the maximum number of bins that a single workstation can process within the unit time. The target bins in each unit are the bins required for the bin handling task group corresponding to a sub-wave. Thus, the nearest workstation can be determined according to the position of each unit, and this workstation is used to process the target bins in this unit, reducing the handling distance of the handling robot and improving the handling efficiency.

[0087] In some embodiments, after the step of corresponding and allocating a second quantity of sub-batches to a second quantity of workstations one by one, the method further includes: determining a handling robot required for the bin handling task corresponding to the sub-batch; controlling the handling robot to transport the bin corresponding to the sub-batch to the corresponding workstation according to the bin handling task corresponding to the sub-batch; and controlling the corresponding workstation to perform picking processing on the bin corresponding to the sub-batch.

[0088] In this embodiment, the bin handling task may include a handling task and a picking task. One batch may correspond to at least one handling robot. After splitting a single batch and corresponding and allocating a second quantity of sub-batches to a second quantity of workstations one by one, the handling robot may be controlled to perform the handling task and transport the bin required to be handled for the bin handling task corresponding to each sub-batch to the workstation corresponding to the sub-batch, so that the workstation may perform the picking task and perform picking processing on the bin corresponding to the sub-batch. Completion of the picking task indicates completion of the bin handling task corresponding to the sub-batch. Since the fulfillment time requirements for the orders included in a single batch are the same, by performing the bin handling tasks corresponding to the second quantity of sub-batches through the second quantity of workstations, the execution efficiency of the bin handling tasks can be improved, thereby ensuring the fulfillment time of the orders in a single batch.

[0089] For example, as Figure 4 shown, the number of target bins hit by this batch (i.e., the first quantity) is 1500, and the number of bins that a single workstation can process per unit time is 300. As known from the calculation method in the above embodiment, at least 5 workstations are required to process the bin handling task of this batch according to the preset time limit. Therefore, when dividing the storage area into units, the storage area needs to be divided into 5 units, and each unit needs to contain 300 target bins.

[0090] Specifically, when dividing the storage area into units, first determine the positions of the 1500 bins hit by this batch in the storage area, and lock the 1500 target bins (i.e., record the positions where the 1500 target bins are located in the system). Starting from one end of the storage area as the first starting end, confirm in sequence along the specified direction. For example, in the first lane, confirm that there are 20 target bins in this first lane, continue in the second lane along the specified direction, confirm that there are 50 target bins in this second lane, and so on, until 300 target bins are confirmed, and divide the area between the lane where the 300th target bin is located and the first starting end into one unit. And determine a workstation from the workstation area corresponding to the first unit according to the principle of proximity to process the 300 target bins.

[0091] Then, take the next lane in the specified direction along the lane where the 300th bin is located as the second starting end, confirm the target bin in the same way, and when confirming another 300 bins, divide the area between the lane where the 300th bin is located and the second starting end into a second unit. And determine a workstation from the workstation area corresponding to the second unit according to the principle of proximity to process the 300 target bins in the second unit.

[0092] And so on until all 1500 target bins are confirmed, thus dividing the storage area into 5 units and confirming the corresponding 5 workstations.

[0093] Optionally, the principle of proximity includes: the distance between the handling robot and the position where the bin is stored in the storage area is the shortest, and / or, the distance between the handling robot and the workstation is the shortest. For example, the principle of proximity can be that the distance the handling robot walks when going to the position where the target bin is located and then moving the target bin to the workstation is the shortest. Assigning the bin processing tasks of each sub-wave in the second quantity to the corresponding workstation according to the principle of proximity can improve the handling efficiency of the handling robot.

[0094] As Figure 4 shown in the embodiment, the specified direction is perpendicular to the extending direction of the lane in the storage area.

[0095] In this embodiment, the storage area can be sequentially divided into a second quantity of units in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the lane in the storage area.

[0096] As Figure 4 shown in the embodiment, multiple workstations are arranged on one side of the storage area, and the arrangement direction of the multiple workstations is perpendicular to the extending direction of the lane. By setting like this, the handling robot can carry the target bin within the unit divided in the storage area and directly come out from the lane of this unit to reach the corresponding workstation, without having to go around to the other side of the storage area, thus shortening the distance the handling robot has to walk from the storage area to the workstation.

[0097] In one embodiment, each workstation performs the bin processing task of one wave at the same time. In this way, the picking personnel only need to take out the items from the bin and put them into the slot, without having to pick and sort at the same time, that is, without having to first distinguish which wave the item belongs to and then put the item into the slot corresponding to that wave, reducing the picking pressure of the workstation, reducing the probability of mis-picking at the workstation, and improving the picking efficiency.

[0098] In some embodiments, the order processing method further includes: determining the number of waves that the warehouse can process simultaneously according to the total number of workstations in the warehouse, where the number of waves that the warehouse can process simultaneously is defined as the fourth quantity.

[0099] In this embodiment, the number of waves that can be processed simultaneously in the warehouse can be determined by the total number of workstations in the warehouse and the number of workstations required for processing the bin handling tasks corresponding to a single wave. The total number of workstations in the warehouse can be determined in advance. The number of workstations required for processing the bin handling tasks corresponding to a single wave (i.e., the second quantity) can be adaptively adjusted as the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to a single wave (i.e., the first quantity) is adjusted. Therefore, the number of waves that the warehouse can process simultaneously can also be adaptively adjusted, thereby achieving the maximum labor efficiency while ensuring the fulfillment time limit of orders and improving the processing efficiency of bin handling tasks.

[0100] In some embodiments, in the step of determining the number of waves that the warehouse can process simultaneously according to the total number of workstations in the warehouse, where the number of waves that the warehouse can process simultaneously is defined as the fourth quantity, the fourth quantity is determined according to the following method: B = M / S, where B represents the fourth quantity, M represents the total number of workstations in the warehouse, and S represents the second quantity.

[0101] In this embodiment, the quotient between the total number of workstations in the warehouse and the second quantity can be determined as the fourth quantity, that is, the number of waves that the warehouse can process simultaneously. For example, if the total number of workstations in the warehouse is 40 and the number of workstations required for processing the bin handling tasks corresponding to a single wave, that is, the second quantity, is 5, then the fourth quantity B = M / S = 40 / 5 = 8. That is, the number of waves that the warehouse can process simultaneously is 8.

[0102] In some embodiments, in the step of obtaining the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to a wave, obtain the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to each wave in the waves of the fourth quantity. According to the first quantity, determine the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling tasks corresponding to the waves according to the preset time limit. In the step where the number of workstations is defined as the second quantity, determine the second quantity corresponding to each wave according to the first quantity of each wave in the waves of the fourth quantity respectively. In the step of splitting the waves into sub-waves of the second quantity, split each wave into sub-waves of its respective corresponding second quantity. In the step of allocating the sub-waves of the second quantity to the workstations of the second quantity one by one, among all the sub-waves obtained by splitting the waves of the fourth quantity, allocate the sub-waves with the same number as the total number of workstations to the workstations one by one.

[0103] In this embodiment, according to the execution method of the bin handling tasks corresponding to a single wave, for each wave in the fourth quantity of waves that can be issued in the entire warehouse, execute the corresponding bin handling tasks, so that the entire warehouse can simultaneously execute the bin handling tasks corresponding to the fourth quantity of waves, and thus the processing efficiency of the bin handling tasks can be improved.

[0104] Specifically, the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to each wave in the fourth quantity of waves can be obtained by following the steps of obtaining the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to one wave. According to the first quantity, the steps of determining the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave according to the preset time limit are respectively based on the first quantity of each wave in the fourth quantity of waves to determine the second quantity corresponding to each wave. According to the steps of splitting a single wave into the second quantity of sub-waves, each wave in the fourth quantity of waves is split into the second quantity of sub-waves corresponding to each wave, and all sub-waves corresponding to the fourth quantity of waves are obtained. Finally, according to the steps of correspondingly allocating the second quantity of sub-waves of a single wave to the second quantity of workstations one by one, all sub-waves corresponding to the fourth quantity of waves are correspondingly allocated to the workstations, so that each workstation executes the bin handling tasks corresponding to the corresponding sub-waves.

[0105] For example, the warehouse can handle the bin handling tasks of 8 waves at the same time. For each wave, the way of dividing the storage area unit is the same as that in the Figure 4 shown embodiment. As Figure 5 shown, for the sake of simplicity, Figure 5 only shows the unit division for 3 waves. Among them, the unit divided by "short line - short line" is the unit divided for the first wave; the unit divided by "dot - dot" is the unit divided for the second wave; the unit divided by "dot - short line - dot - short line" is the unit divided for the third wave. Figure 5 In the shown embodiment, each of the 8 waves requires 5 workstations, and the target bins hit by the 8 waves are relatively evenly distributed in the storage area. Therefore, each wave in the Figure 5 storage area is divided into the corresponding 5 units from top to bottom, and among the 8 waves, the workstations corresponding to each wave are also evenly distributed in the workstation area. In the Figure 5 workstations, in the direction from top to bottom, the 1st workstation to the 8th workstation respectively process the sub-waves of the first wave, the sub-waves of the second wave, the sub-waves of the third wave,... the sub-waves of the eighth wave. Then, the 9th workstation to the 16th workstation respectively process another sub-wave of the first wave, another sub-wave of the second wave, another sub-wave of the third wave,... another sub-wave of the eighth wave, and so on.

[0106] It can be understood that the target bins hit by not all waves are evenly distributed in the storage area. As Figure 6 shown, all the target bins hit by the first wave are located in the Figure 6The upper half of the storage area. Therefore, all the divided units are located in the upper half of the storage area. According to the principle of proximity, the workstations corresponding to each sub-wave of the first wave are also in the upper half of the workstations. Most of the target bins hit by the second wave are located in the lower half of the storage area. Therefore, all the divided units are located in the lower half of the storage area. According to the principle of proximity, the workstations corresponding to each sub-wave of the second wave are also in the lower half of the workstations.

[0107] In some embodiments, after the step of correspondingly allocating all the sub-waves obtained by splitting the fourth number of waves to the workstations one by one corresponding to the total number of workstations, it further includes: determining whether there are still unallocated sub-waves; if there are unallocated sub-waves, then monitoring whether there are released slots in all the workstations in the warehouse; if there are released slots, then allocating an unallocated sub-wave to the workstation corresponding to the released slot.

[0108] In this embodiment, if the number of all sub-waves corresponding to the fourth number of waves exceeds the total number of all workstations in the warehouse, then first, the sub-waves corresponding to the total number of all workstations in the warehouse among all the sub-waves corresponding to the fourth number of waves can be allocated to the workstations one by one, so that the workstations can perform the picking task. If there are released slots in the workstations subsequently, then one of the remaining sub-waves among all the sub-waves corresponding to the fourth number of waves can be allocated to the workstation corresponding to the released slot, thereby ensuring the utilization rate of the workstations and improving the processing efficiency of the bin handling task.

[0109] For example, as in the foregoing embodiment, there are 40 workstations in the warehouse. If among the 8 waves processed by the warehouse, each of the first wave to the seventh wave requires 5 workstations, and the eighth wave requires 6 workstations, then after allocating all the sub-waves of the first wave to the seventh wave and 5 sub-waves of the eighth wave to the 40 workstations, there is still one sub-wave of the eighth wave not allocated. At this time, the workstations will be monitored in real time. If it is subsequently monitored that there is 1 released slot in a workstation (that is, the task of the sub-wave corresponding to this slot has been completed), then the remaining one sub-wave of the eighth wave can be allocated to this workstation.

[0110] In one embodiment, when multiple waves among the fourth number of waves all hit the same bin, this bin is defined as a common target bin, and the order processing method further includes: controlling the handling robot corresponding to one wave to move the common target bin back to the storage location corresponding to the aisle where the common target bin was originally located after being processed by the corresponding workstation, for the handling robot corresponding to another wave to move the common target bin.

[0111] Specifically, when the same material box is hit by multiple waves of the fourth number of waves, the handling robot corresponding to one of the waves is controlled to move the common target material box to the corresponding workstation, and after the picking task is completed at the workstation, the handling robot corresponding to the wave moves the common target material box back to the storage location corresponding to the aisle where the common target material box was originally located, so that the units of the storage areas divided for other waves will not change.

[0112] In one embodiment, each workstation is configured to simultaneously process material box processing tasks corresponding to two waves, thereby improving the picking efficiency of each workstation.

[0113] In one embodiment, the workstation is provided with a first slot and a second slot, the first slot is used to place items picked up when the workstation processes the bin processing task corresponding to the first sub-wave, and the second slot is used to place items picked up when the workstation processes the bin processing task corresponding to the second sub-wave. The step of controlling the corresponding workstation to pick and process the bin corresponding to the wave includes: if the target bin hit by the first sub-wave is also the target bin hit by the second sub-wave, then controlling the workstation to process the bin processing task corresponding to the second sub-wave while processing the bin processing task corresponding to the first sub-wave.

[0114] In this embodiment, if Figure 2 As shown, the workstation can process the first sub-wave and the second sub-wave at the same time, and the first slot 21 is used to place the items picked up when processing the bin processing task of the first sub-wave, and the second slot 22 is used to place the items picked up when processing the bin processing task of the second sub-wave. When the first sub-wave and the second sub-wave hit the same bin, and the bin is transported to the workstation for processing, the picker can pick up goods from the bin and place them in the first slot 21, and at the same time, can also pick up goods from the bin and place them in the second slot 22. Therefore, the bin only needs to be transported from the storage area to the workstation once, and there is no need to transport it twice for the first wave and the second wave respectively, which reduces the number of transports, improves the transport efficiency, and also improves the picking efficiency. In addition, each workstation is configured to process the bin processing tasks corresponding to two waves at the same time, which can also avoid the problem of low transport efficiency caused by the unsaturated task of the transport robot corresponding to a wave when the wave is about to be completed.

[0115] In some embodiments, the step of allocating a second quantity of sub - waves to a second quantity of workstations one - to - one includes: allocating the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the second quantity of first sub - waves in the first wave to the second quantity of workstations one - to - one; allocating the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the second quantity of second sub - waves in the second wave to the second quantity of workstations one - to - one; wherein, the workstations corresponding to the first wave and the workstations corresponding to the second wave have the same workstations; correspondingly, after the step of allocating the second quantity of sub - waves to the second quantity of workstations one - to - one, it further includes: determining the handling robots required for the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the first wave and the second wave; controlling the handling robots to transport the bins corresponding to the first sub - wave to the corresponding workstations according to the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the first wave; controlling the workstations to process the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the first sub - wave; when the quantity of the bin - handling tasks of the first sub - wave processed by the workstations reaches a preset threshold, controlling the handling robots to transport the bins corresponding to the second sub - wave to the workstations according to the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the second sub - wave.

[0116] In this embodiment, each workstation can fulfill the orders corresponding to two waves simultaneously. Thus, it can allocate the bin - handling tasks of the second quantity of first sub - waves in the first wave to the second quantity of workstations one - to - one, and allocate the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the second quantity of second sub - waves in the second wave to the second quantity of workstations one - to - one. As the bin - handling tasks of the first wave are being carried out, the handling tasks to be executed by the robots corresponding to the first wave gradually decrease. When the quantity of the bin - handling tasks of the first wave processed by the workstations reaches the preset threshold, among the handling robots corresponding to the first wave, some handling robots may have no handling tasks, resulting in these handling robots being in an idle state and not being fully utilized. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the quantity of the bin - handling tasks of the first wave processed by the workstations reaches the preset threshold, these handling robots are controlled to execute the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the second wave, thereby fully utilizing the handling robots and improving the handling efficiency.

[0117] Specifically, in the above embodiments, the bin handling tasks include handling tasks and picking tasks. Thus, it is possible to control the handling robots required for the bin handling tasks corresponding to the first wave to perform the handling tasks corresponding to the first wave, and transport the bins corresponding to the first sub-wave to the corresponding workstations, so that the workstations perform the picking tasks corresponding to the first sub-wave. If the number of bin handling tasks of the first sub-wave processed by the workstation reaches a preset threshold, for example, the number of bin handling tasks of the first sub-wave is 300 pieces, and the preset threshold is 260 pieces, then when the number of bin handling tasks of the first sub-wave processed by the workstation reaches 260 pieces and there are 40 pieces left, it is possible to control the handling robots corresponding to the first sub-wave to perform the handling tasks corresponding to the second wave, and transport the bins corresponding to the second sub-wave to the corresponding workstations. At this time, the workstation can simultaneously perform the picking tasks corresponding to the first sub-wave and the second sub-wave.

[0118] It can be understood that the preset threshold is dynamically adjustable, that is, in practical applications, the preset threshold can be adjusted according to actual needs.

[0119] In one embodiment, when the number of bin handling tasks of the first sub-wave processed by the workstation reaches the preset threshold, in the step of controlling the handling robot to transport the target bin corresponding to the second sub-wave to the workstation according to the bin handling tasks corresponding to the second sub-wave, the handling tasks of the first sub-wave have a higher priority than the handling tasks of the second sub-wave.

[0120] In this embodiment, the priority between the first sub-wave and the second sub-wave can be determined by the fulfillment time limit of the corresponding order. The earlier the fulfillment time limit, the higher the priority of the wave corresponding to the order, and the higher the processing priority of the corresponding bin handling tasks (including handling tasks and picking tasks). In this embodiment, the priority of the first sub-wave is higher than that of the second sub-wave. The bin handling tasks corresponding to the first sub-wave can be executed first, and when the number of bin handling tasks of the first sub-wave processed by the workstation reaches the preset threshold, while continuing to execute the bin handling tasks of the first sub-wave, the bin handling tasks of the second sub-wave can be started. During the simultaneous execution of the bin handling tasks of the first sub-wave and the second sub-wave, the priority of the first sub-wave is still higher than that of the second sub-wave, so as to ensure the fulfillment time of the order corresponding to the first sub-wave.

[0121] In some embodiments, the priority of the handling tasks of the first sub-wave gradually increases as time progresses.

[0122] In this embodiment, as time progresses, the number of remaining unprocessed bin handling tasks (including handling tasks and picking tasks) of the first sub-wave becomes smaller and smaller. In order to ensure the fulfillment time of the order corresponding to the first sub-wave, the priority of the bin handling tasks of the first sub-wave will gradually increase as time progresses.

[0123] For example, when processing the bin handling tasks corresponding to the first sub-wave and the bin handling tasks corresponding to the second sub-wave, in addition to considering the time efficiency priority, factors such as distance and whether cross-aisle handling is required can also be considered. For example, for the bin handling task A1 corresponding to the first sub-wave, there are still 5 bins left unhandled. There are 4 bins hit in aisle x and another 1 bin hit in aisle y. And there is exactly 1 bin hit by the bin handling task B1 corresponding to the second sub-wave in aisle x. Then the handling robot will consider factors such as distance and cross-aisle handling. In order to reduce the handling distance and avoid cross-aisle handling, the handling robot will first handle the 4 bins of task A1 and the 1 bin of task B1 in aisle x, and then handle the 1 bin of task A1 in aisle y.

[0124] When the time further advances and the preset time efficiency of task A1 is approaching, if task A1 is still not completed at this time, the priority of task A1 is increased. At this time, the handling robot does not consider factors such as distance and cross-aisle handling and directly handles the bins corresponding to task A1.

[0125] In some embodiments, the order processing method further includes: after the workstation finishes processing the bin handling tasks corresponding to the first sub-wave, allocating the bin handling tasks corresponding to the third sub-wave of the third wave to the workstation.

[0126] In this embodiment, a single workstation can fulfill the orders corresponding to two waves at the same time. If the workstation finishes processing the bin handling tasks corresponding to the first sub-wave, in order to ensure the utilization rate of the workstation, reduce the idle time of the workstation, and improve the processing efficiency of the bin handling tasks corresponding to multiple waves, the bin handling tasks corresponding to the third sub-wave of the third wave can be allocated to the workstation with the released slot.

[0127] In one embodiment, the step of controlling the handling robot to transport the bins corresponding to the wave to the corresponding workstation according to the bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave is executed before the workstation goes online.

[0128] In this embodiment, before the workstation goes online, it means before the start of a shift in the warehouse. In order to reduce the waiting time of the workstation for bins after it goes online, the handling robot can be controlled to transport the bins corresponding to the wave of the workstation to the workstation in advance before the workstation goes online, so that the workstation can directly execute the picking task after it goes online.

[0129] In one embodiment, it further includes: determining whether there is a single-piece order divided outside the wave; if there is a single-piece order, the processing priority of the order divided within the wave is higher than the processing priority of the single-piece order.

[0130] In actual application scenarios, there may be some single-piece orders that are not included in a wave. Therefore, the bin handling tasks corresponding to these single-piece orders can be executed after the bin handling tasks of the orders corresponding to the wave. That is, the processing priority of the orders included in the wave is higher than that of the single-piece orders. Moreover, only a few workstations can be retained to execute the bin handling tasks corresponding to the single-piece orders, which can ensure the maximization of the efficiency of the picking personnel.

[0131] Optionally, when the number of bin handling tasks of all orders corresponding to a wave processed by a workstation reaches a preset threshold, the bin handling tasks corresponding to the single-piece orders can be processed, which can improve the utilization rate of the workstation and the picking efficiency per person.

[0132] The order processing method of the present disclosure can shorten the handling distance of the handling robot and improve the handling efficiency of the handling robot; moreover, it can adaptively adjust the number of workstations required to process the bin handling tasks corresponding to a single wave to ensure the fulfillment timeliness; in addition, only 1 picking task is allocated to each workstation at the same time, and each workstation only needs at most 2 picking tasks, which can ensure the maximization of the picking efficiency per person and reduce the probability of picking errors.

[0133] The embodiment of the present disclosure provides an order processing device. Multiple orders are divided into at least one wave, each wave includes at least one order, and each order includes at least one bin handling task. Figure 7 For the structural schematic diagram of the order processing device provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, as Figure 7 shown, the order processing device 1600 includes:

[0134] An acquisition module 1601, configured to acquire the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to a wave, where the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave is defined as a first number;

[0135] A determination module 1602, configured to determine the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave according to the first number, where the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave according to a preset timeliness is defined as a second number;

[0136] A splitting module 1603, configured to split the wave into the second number of sub-waves, where each sub-wave corresponds to at least one bin handling task;

[0137] An allocation module 1604, configured to allocate the second number of sub-waves to the second number of workstations one by one, so that each of the second number of workstations processes the bin handling tasks of the corresponding sub-wave.

[0138] Optionally, the determining module 1602 is configured to determine, according to the first quantity, the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling task corresponding to the wave according to a preset time limit, where when the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling task corresponding to the wave according to the preset time limit is defined as the second quantity, the second quantity is the minimum number of workstations required to complete the bin handling task corresponding to the wave according to the preset time limit.

[0139] Optionally, when the determining module 1602 determines the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling task corresponding to the wave according to the first quantity, it is specifically configured to: determine the second quantity according to the first quantity and the average picking capacity of a single workstation.

[0140] Optionally, when the determining module 1602 determines the second quantity according to the first quantity and the average picking capacity of a single workstation, the second quantity is determined according to the following method: S = Q / P, where S represents the second quantity, Q represents the first quantity, and P represents the average picking capacity of a single workstation.

[0141] Optionally, the average picking capacity of a single workstation includes the maximum number of bins that the single workstation can process per unit time, where the maximum number of bins that the single workstation can process per unit time is defined as the third quantity.

[0142] Optionally, when the splitting module 1603 splits the wave into the second quantity of sub - waves, it is specifically configured to: determine the positions of the target bins hit by the wave in the storage area; along the specified direction of the storage area, sequentially divide the storage area into the second quantity of units, where each unit contains the third quantity of target bins, and the target bins in each unit are the bins required for the bin handling task corresponding to a sub - wave; correspondingly, when the allocation module 1604 allocates the second quantity of sub - waves to the second quantity of workstations one by one, it is specifically configured to: allocate the bin handling tasks of each sub - wave in the second quantity of sub - waves to the corresponding workstations according to the principle of proximity.

[0143] Optionally, the specified direction is perpendicular to the extending direction of the aisle of the storage area.

[0144] Optionally, multiple workstations are arranged on one side of the storage area, and the arrangement direction of the multiple workstations is perpendicular to the extending direction of the aisle.

[0145] Optionally, the order processing device 1600 further includes: a processing module (not shown), configured to determine a handling robot required for the bin handling task corresponding to the sub-wave after the second quantity of sub-waves are respectively assigned to the second quantity of workstations; control the handling robot to move the target bin corresponding to the sub-wave to the corresponding workstation according to the bin handling task corresponding to the sub-wave; and control the corresponding workstation to perform picking processing on the target bin corresponding to the sub-wave.

[0146] Optionally, each workstation processes the bin handling task of one wave at the same time.

[0147] Optionally, the processing module is further configured to determine the number of waves that the warehouse can process simultaneously according to the total number of workstations in the warehouse, where the number of waves that the warehouse can process simultaneously is defined as the fourth quantity.

[0148] Optionally, when the processing module is configured to determine the number of waves that the warehouse can process simultaneously according to the total number of workstations in the warehouse, where the number of waves that the warehouse can process simultaneously is defined as the fourth quantity, the fourth quantity is determined according to the following method: B = M / S, where B represents the fourth quantity, M represents the total number of workstations in the warehouse, and S represents the second quantity.

[0149] Optionally, when the obtaining module 1601 obtains the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to one wave, it is specifically configured to: obtain the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to each of the fourth quantity of waves; when the determining module 1602 determines the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling task corresponding to the wave according to the first quantity, it is specifically configured to: respectively determine the second quantity corresponding to each wave according to the first quantity of each of the fourth quantity of waves; when the splitting module 1603 splits a wave into the second quantity of sub-waves, it is specifically configured to: respectively split each wave into the second quantity of sub-waves corresponding to each; when the assigning module 1604 assigns the second quantity of sub-waves to the second quantity of workstations one by one, it is specifically configured to: assign the sub-waves with the same number as the total number of workstations among all the sub-waves obtained by splitting the fourth quantity of waves to the workstations one by one.

[0150] Optionally, at least one notch is provided in the workstation, and the notch is used to place the items picked out when the workstation processes the bin handling tasks corresponding to the sub-wavelets; the processing module is further configured to determine whether there are still unassigned sub-wavelets after allocating all the sub-wavelets obtained by splitting the fourth number of wavelets to the workstations in a one-to-one correspondence with the total number of sub-wavelets of the workstations; if there are unassigned sub-wavelets, monitor whether there are released notches in all the workstations of the warehouse; and if there are released notches, allocate an unassigned sub-wavelet to the workstation corresponding to the released notch.

[0151] Optionally, when multiple wavelets in the fourth number of wavelets all hit the same bin, the bin is defined as a common target bin, and the method further includes: controlling the handling robot corresponding to one of the wavelets to move the common target bin back to the storage location corresponding to the lane where the common target bin was originally located after being processed by the corresponding workstation, so that the handling robot corresponding to another wavelet can handle the common target bin.

[0152] Optionally, each workstation is configured to simultaneously process the bin handling tasks corresponding to two wavelets

[0153] Optionally, the workstation is provided with a first notch and a second notch. The first notch is used to place the items picked out when the workstation processes the bin handling tasks corresponding to the first wavelet, and the second notch is used to place the items picked out when the workstation processes the bin handling tasks corresponding to the second wavelet; when the processing module controls the corresponding workstation to perform picking processing on the target bin, specifically: when the target bin hit by the first sub-wavelet is also the target bin hit by the second sub-wavelet, control the workstation to process the bin handling tasks corresponding to the second sub-wavelet while processing the bin handling tasks corresponding to the first sub-wavelet.

[0154] Optionally, when the allocation module 1604 allocates the second quantity of sub - waves to the second quantity of workstations one - to - one, it is specifically used for: allocating the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the second quantity of first sub - waves in the first wave to the second quantity of workstations one - to - one; and allocating the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the second quantity of second sub - waves in the second wave to the second quantity of workstations one - to - one; where there are the same workstations among the workstations corresponding to the first wave and the workstations corresponding to the second wave; the processing module is further used for, after allocating the second quantity of sub - waves to the second quantity of workstations one - to - one, determining the handling robots required for the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the first wave and the second wave; controlling the handling robots to move the bins corresponding to the first sub - waves to the corresponding workstations according to the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the first wave; controlling the workstations to process the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the first sub - waves; when the number of bin - handling tasks of the first sub - waves processed by the workstations reaches a preset threshold, controlling the handling robots to move the bins corresponding to the second sub - waves to the workstations according to the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the second sub - waves.

[0155] Optionally, when the processing module is used to control the handling robots to move the bins corresponding to the second sub - waves to the workstations according to the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the second sub - waves when the number of bin - handling tasks of the first sub - waves processed by the workstations reaches a preset threshold, the handling tasks of the first sub - waves have a higher priority than the handling tasks of the second sub - waves.

[0156] Optionally, the priority of the handling tasks of the first sub - waves gradually increases as time progresses.

[0157] Optionally, the processing module is further used to allocate the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the third sub - waves of the third wave to the workstations after the workstations finish processing the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the first sub - waves.

[0158] Optionally, the processing module executes the step of controlling the handling robots to move the bins corresponding to the wave to the corresponding workstations according to the bin - handling tasks corresponding to the wave before the workstations go online.

[0159] Optionally, the processing module is further used to determine whether there are single - piece orders divided outside the waves; if there are single - piece orders, the processing priority of the orders divided within the waves is higher than the processing priority of the single - piece orders.

[0160] The order - processing device provided in this embodiment is used to execute the technical solution of the order - processing method in the foregoing method embodiment, and its implementation principle and technical effects are similar, so they will not be elaborated here.

[0161] This embodiment of the disclosure also provides an electronic device, Figure 8The structural schematic diagram of an electronic device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. Exemplarily, the electronic device may be provided as a computer. Refer to Figure 8 , the electronic device 1700 may include a processing component 1701, which further includes one or more processors, and memory resources represented by a memory 1702 for storing instructions executable by the processing component 1701, such as application programs. The application programs stored in the memory 1702 may include one or more modules each corresponding to a set of instructions. In addition, the processing component 1701 is configured to execute instructions to implement the embodiments of the above order processing method.

[0162] The electronic device 1700 may further include a power supply component 1703 configured to perform power management of the electronic device 1700, a wired or wireless network interface 1704 configured to connect the electronic device 1700 to a network, and an input / output (I / O) interface 1705. The electronic device 1700 may operate based on an operating system stored in the memory 1702, such as Windows ServerTM, Mac OS XTM, UnixTM, LinuxTM, FreeBSDTM or the like.

[0163] The memory may be, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), etc. Among them, the memory is used to store programs, and the processor executes the programs after receiving the execution instructions. Further, the software programs and modules in the above memory may further include an operating system, which may include various software components and / or drivers for managing system tasks (such as memory management, storage device control, power management, etc.) and may communicate with various hardware or software components to provide a running environment for other software components.

[0164] The processor can be an integrated circuit chip with the ability to process signals. The aforementioned processor can be a general-purpose processor, including a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Network Processor (NP), etc. It can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0165] The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer-executable instructions are stored. When the computer-executable instructions are executed, the technical solutions of the order processing method provided in the method embodiments are implemented.

[0166] The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer program product, including a computer program, which is used to implement the technical solutions of the order processing method provided in the method embodiments when the computer program is executed.

[0167] Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the steps of implementing the above method embodiments can be completed by hardware related to program instructions. The aforementioned computer-executable instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When the computer-executable instructions are executed, the steps of the above method embodiments are executed; and the aforementioned storage medium can include various media that can store program codes, such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, or optical discs.

[0168] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present disclosure, rather than to limit them; although the present disclosure has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements on some or all of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An order processing method, which is executed by a control device, wherein, Multiple orders are divided into at least one wave, each wave includes at least one order, and each order includes at least one bin handling task; characterized in that the order processing method includes: Obtain the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to a wave, wherein the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave is defined as the first number; According to the first number, determine the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave according to a preset time limit, wherein the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave according to the preset time limit is defined as the second number; Split the wave into the second number of sub-waves, wherein each sub-wave corresponds to at least one bin handling task; and Correspondingly allocate the second number of sub-waves to the second number of workstations one by one, so that each workstation among the second number of workstations processes the bin handling tasks corresponding to the corresponding sub-wave.

2. The order processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that In the step of determining the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave according to the preset time limit according to the first number, wherein the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave according to the preset time limit is defined as the second number, The second number is the number of workstations required at least to complete the bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave according to the preset time limit.

3. The order processing method according to claim 2, wherein The step of determining the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave according to the first number includes: Determine the second number according to the first number and the average picking capacity of a single workstation.

4. The order processing method according to claim 3, characterized in that In the step of determining the second number according to the first number and the average picking capacity of a single workstation, The second number is determined according to the following method: S = Q / P, where S represents the second number, Q represents the first number, and P represents the preset picking capacity of a single workstation.

5. The order processing method according to claim 3, wherein The preset picking capacity of a single workstation includes the maximum number of bins that can be processed by the single workstation per unit time, wherein the maximum number of bins that can be processed by the single workstation per unit time is defined as the third number.

6. The order processing method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The step of splitting the wave into the second number of sub-waves includes: Determine the position of the target bins hit by the wave in the storage area; Along the specified direction of the storage area, sequentially divide the storage area into the second number of units, wherein each unit contains the third number of target bins, and the target bins in each unit are the bins required for the bin handling tasks corresponding to a sub-wave; Correspondingly, the step of correspondingly allocating the second number of sub-waves to the second number of workstations one by one includes: Allocate the bin handling tasks of each sub-wave among the second number of sub-waves to the corresponding workstations according to the principle of proximity.

7. The order processing method according to claim 6, characterized in that The specified direction is perpendicular to the extending direction of the aisle of the storage area.

8. The order processing method according to claim 7, wherein A plurality of workstations are arranged on one side of the storage area, and the arrangement direction of the plurality of workstations is perpendicular to the extending direction of the aisle.

9. The order processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that After the step of correspondingly allocating the second number of wave sub - orders to the second number of workstations, the following steps are further included: Determine the handling robot required for the bin handling task corresponding to the wave sub - order; Control the handling robot to transport the target bin corresponding to the wave sub - order to the corresponding workstation according to the bin handling task corresponding to the wave sub - order; and Control the corresponding workstation to perform picking processing on the target bin corresponding to the wave sub - order.

10. The order processing method according to claim 9, characterized in that Each workstation processes the bin handling task of one wave at the same time.

11. The order processing method according to claim 10, characterized in that It further includes: Determine the number of waves that the warehouse can process simultaneously according to the total number of workstations in the warehouse, where the number of waves that the warehouse can process simultaneously is defined as the fourth number.

12. The order processing method according to claim 11, wherein In the step of determining the number of waves that the warehouse can process simultaneously according to the total number of workstations in the warehouse, where the number of waves that the warehouse can process simultaneously is defined as the fourth number, The fourth number is determined in the following way: B = M / S, where B represents the fourth number, M represents the total number of workstations in the warehouse, and S represents the second number.

13. The order processing method according to claim 11, wherein, In the step of obtaining the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to one wave, obtain the number of bin handling tasks corresponding to each wave in the fourth number of waves; In the step of determining the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling task corresponding to the wave according to the first number, where the number of workstations is defined as the second number, determine the second number corresponding to each wave according to the first number of each wave in the fourth number of waves respectively; In the step of splitting the wave into the second number of wave sub - orders, split each wave into the second number of wave sub - orders corresponding to it respectively; In the step of correspondingly allocating the second number of wave sub - orders to the second number of workstations, among all the wave sub - orders obtained by splitting the fourth number of waves, allocate the wave sub - orders equal to the total number of workstations to the workstations one by one.

14. The order processing method according to claim 13, wherein The workstation is provided with at least one notch, and the notch is used to place the items picked out when the workstation processes the bin handling task corresponding to the wave sub - order; After the step of correspondingly allocating the wave sub - orders equal to the total number of workstations among all the wave sub - orders obtained by splitting the fourth number of waves to the workstations, the following steps are further included: Determine whether there are still unallocated wave sub - orders; If there are unallocated wave sub - orders, monitor whether there are released notches among all the workstations in the warehouse; and If there are released notches, allocate an unallocated wave sub - order to the workstation corresponding to the released notch.

15. The order processing method according to claim 11, characterized in that, When multiple waves in the fourth number of waves hit the same bin, the bin is defined as a common target bin, and the method further includes: Control the handling robot corresponding to one wave to move the common target bin back to the storage location corresponding to the lane where the common target bin was originally located after being processed by the corresponding workstation, for the handling robot corresponding to another wave to transport the common target bin.

16. The order processing method according to claim 9, characterized in that, Each workstation is configured to simultaneously process the bin handling tasks corresponding to two waves.

17. The order processing method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The workstation is provided with a first notch and a second notch. The first notch is used to place the items picked out when the workstation processes the bin handling task corresponding to the first sub-wave, and the second notch is used to place the items picked out when the workstation processes the bin handling task corresponding to the second sub-wave. In the step of controlling the corresponding workstation to perform picking processing on the target bin: When the target bin hit by the first sub-wave is also the target bin hit by the second sub-wave, control the workstation to process the bin handling task corresponding to the second sub-wave while processing the bin handling task corresponding to the first sub-wave.

18. The order processing method according to claim 16, wherein The step of correspondingly allocating the second number of sub-waves to the second number of workstations includes: Correspondingly allocating the bin handling tasks corresponding to the second number of first sub-waves in the first wave to the second number of workstations; and Correspondingly allocating the bin handling tasks corresponding to the second number of second sub-waves in the second wave to the second number of workstations; wherein, there are the same workstations among the workstations corresponding to the first wave and the workstations corresponding to the second wave. Correspondingly, the step of determining the handling robot required for the bin handling task corresponding to the sub-wave includes: determining the handling robots required for the bin handling tasks corresponding to the first wave and the second wave. The step of controlling the handling robot to transport the target bin corresponding to the sub-wave to the corresponding workstation according to the bin handling task corresponding to the sub-wave includes: controlling the handling robot to transport the target bin corresponding to the first sub-wave to the corresponding workstation according to the bin handling task corresponding to the first sub-wave. The step of controlling the corresponding workstation to perform picking processing on the target bin corresponding to the sub-wave includes: controlling the workstation to perform picking processing on the target bin corresponding to the first sub-wave; and when the number of bin handling tasks of the first sub-wave processed by the workstation reaches a preset threshold, controlling the handling robot to transport the target bin corresponding to the second sub-wave to the workstation according to the bin handling task corresponding to the second sub-wave.

19. The order processing method according to claim 18, wherein In the step of, when the number of bin handling tasks of the first sub-wave processed by the workstation reaches a preset threshold, controlling the handling robot to transport the target bin corresponding to the second sub-wave to the workstation according to the bin handling task corresponding to the second sub-wave, the handling task of the first sub-wave takes precedence over the handling task of the second sub-wave.

20. The order processing method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The priority of the handling task of the first sub-wave gradually increases as time progresses.

21. The order processing method according to claim 18, wherein The method further includes: After the workstation finishes processing the bin handling task corresponding to the first sub-wave, allocating the bin handling task corresponding to the third sub-wave of the third wave to the workstation.

22. The order processing method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The step of controlling the handling robot to transport the target bin corresponding to the wave to the corresponding workstation according to the bin handling task corresponding to the wave is performed before the workstation goes online.

23. The order processing method according to claim 1, wherein It further includes: Determine whether there is a single-piece order divided outside the wave; If there is such a single-piece order, the processing priority of the orders divided within the wave is higher than that of the single-piece order.

24. An order processing device, wherein multiple orders are divided into at least one wave, each wave includes at least one order, and each order includes at least one bin handling task; characterized in that, The order processing device includes: An acquisition module, configured to acquire the quantity of bin handling tasks corresponding to a wave, where the quantity of bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave is defined as the first quantity; A determination module, configured to determine the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave according to the preset timeliness, where the number of workstations required to complete the bin handling tasks corresponding to the wave according to the preset timeliness is defined as the second quantity; A splitting module, configured to split the wave into the second quantity of sub-waves, where each sub-wave corresponds to at least one bin handling task; An allocation module, configured to allocate the second quantity of sub-waves to the second quantity of workstations one by one, so that each workstation among the second quantity of workstations processes the bin handling tasks corresponding to the corresponding sub-wave.

25. A control device, characterized in that, It includes: A memory and at least one processor; The memory stores computer execution instructions; The at least one processor executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory, so that the at least one processor executes the order processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 23.

26. A storage system, characterized in that, It includes a shelf, a workstation, a handling robot, and a control device according to claim 25; The shelf is used to store bins, and the bins are used to place goods; When executing the order processing method, the control device controls the handling robot to transport bins between the workstation and the shelf, and controls the workstation to perform picking processing on the bins.

27. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, Computer execution instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer execution instructions are executed, the order processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 23 is implemented.

28. A computer program product, characterized in that, It includes a computer program, and when the computer program is executed, the order processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 23 is implemented.

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