Warehouse distribution system and control method thereof

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a storage distribution system and a control method of the storage distribution system. A distribution task indicates the corresponding relation among materials, distribution grids and material boxes. And when the material box robot receives the distribution task, the material box corresponding to the distribution task is carried to the corresponding distribution grid opening through the vertical guide rail and the taking and placing assembly, and materials corresponding to the distribution task are distributed to the material box which is carried to the distribution grid opening in advance through the distribution equipment. And when the material box robot receives an off-line instruction of the material box located on the separate sowing grid opening, the material box is carried to the connection position from the separate sowing grid opening through the vertical guide rail and the taking and placing assembly. According to the storage and distribution system, automatic distribution of the materials and automatic replacement of the material boxes used for loading the materials are achieved, manual intervention is not needed in the whole process, the labor cost is reduced, the continuity of the whole distribution process is high, connection of all links is smooth, and therefore the distribution efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of warehousing, and in particular, to a warehousing sorting system and a control method for the warehousing sorting system. Background Art

[0002] In the field of warehousing logistics, it is necessary to perform material sorting according to orders. Specifically, the corresponding quantity of materials is taken from the shelves according to the demand of the materials in the order, and the materials corresponding to the same order are placed in the same bin, thus realizing the processing of the order. In order to improve the sorting efficiency, the prior art generally uses an automated guided vehicle to transport the materials to be sorted to the manual station, and the manual operator sorts each material according to the order, realizing the goods-to-person sorting to improve the sorting efficiency.

[0003] However, this solution requires manual sowing (the operation of manually placing the sorted materials into the corresponding bins), and during the sorting process, when the current bin is full or a new order needs to be picked, manual intervention is required to replace the bin. All these operations require manual intervention, which not only increases the labor cost, but more importantly, affects the continuity of the entire sorting process, and the connection between each link is not smooth enough, resulting in low sorting efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a warehousing sorting system and a control method for the warehousing sorting system to reduce the labor cost and improve the sorting efficiency. The specific technical solutions are as follows:

[0005] In a first aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a warehousing sorting system, which includes a first sorting device, a first storage shelf, and a bin robot;

[0006] The first sorting device includes a plurality of first sorting compartments provided on the first side of the first sorting device;

[0007] The first storage shelf is provided with a first storage location and a first transfer location;

[0008] The bin robot includes a picking and placing component, a horizontal guide rail, and a vertical guide rail. The horizontal guide rail passes through the first side of the first sorting device and the second side of the first storage shelf. The vertical guide rail is horizontally movable on the horizontal guide rail, and the picking and placing component is vertically movable on the vertical guide rail;

[0009] The bin robot is configured to respond to a sorting task for the first sorting compartment, and transport a first bin from the first storage location to the first sorting compartment through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component; wherein, the first bin is the bin indicated by the sorting task for loading the materials required for the sorting task.

[0010] The first sorting device is configured to, in response to the first bin being transported to the first sorting slot, sort the materials required for the sorting task through the first sorting slot into the first bin.

[0011] The bin robot is further configured to, in response to a offline instruction for a second bin at the first sorting slot, transport the second bin from the first sorting slot to the first docking position through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing assembly.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the system further includes a first latent robot and a first conveyor line; the position of the first storage location is higher than the position of the first docking position.

[0013] The first latent robot is configured to, in response to the second bin being transported to the first docking position, transport the second bin to the first conveyor line.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the system further includes a second latent robot and a second storage rack; the first sorting device includes a plurality of second sorting slots provided on the second side of the first sorting device.

[0015] The second storage rack is provided with a second storage location and a second docking position.

[0016] The horizontal guide rail passes through the third side of the second storage rack.

[0017] The bin robot is further configured to, in response to the first sorting slot targeted by the sorting task being changed to the second sorting slot, transport the first bin from the first storage location to the first docking position through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing assembly.

[0018] The second latent robot is configured to, in response to the first bin being transported to the first docking position, transport the first bin from the first docking position to the second docking position.

[0019] The bin robot is further configured to, in response to the first bin being transported to the second docking position, transport the first bin from the second docking position to the second sorting slot through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing assembly.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the system further includes a third latent robot, a third sorting device, and a third storage rack, and the third sorting device includes a plurality of third sorting slots.

[0021] The third storage rack is provided with a third storage location and a third docking position.

[0022] The horizontal guide rail passes through the third storage rack;

[0023] The bin robot is further configured to, in response to the first sorting slot targeted by the sorting task being transformed into the third sorting slot, transport the first bin from the first storage location to the first connection position through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component;

[0024] The third latent robot is configured to, in response to the first bin being transported to the first connection position, transport the first bin from the first connection position to the third connection position;

[0025] The bin robot is further configured to, in response to the first bin being transported to the third connection position, transport the first bin from the third connection position to the third sorting slot through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the system further includes a fourth sorting device and a second conveyor line. The first sorting device and the fourth sorting device include loading ports, and the loading ports of the first sorting device and the fourth sorting device are provided on the second conveyor line;

[0027] The second conveyor line is configured to transport each material to the loading port of the target sorting device, where the target sorting device is the sorting device to which the target sorting slot belongs; the target sorting slot is the sorting slot targeted by the sorting task to which the material belongs;

[0028] The loading port is configured to transfer the material transported to the loading port to the affiliated sorting device for sorting.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the system further includes a fourth latent robot;

[0030] The fourth latent robot is configured to transport the empty bin to the first connection position;

[0031] The bin robot is further configured to, in response to the empty bin being transported to the first connection position, transport the empty bin from the first connection position to the first storage location through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the system further includes a fifth latent robot and a fourth storage rack. The first sorting device includes a plurality of second sorting slots provided on the second side of the first sorting device;

[0033] The fifth latent robot is used to transport an empty bin to the connection position of the target storage shelf; wherein, the target storage shelf is the storage shelf on the same side as the target sorting slot among the first storage shelf and the fourth storage shelf, and the target sorting slot is the one with fewer tasks assigned among the first sorting slot and the second sorting slot.

[0034] In a possible implementation manner, the system further includes a fifth sorting device, a fifth storage shelf, and a sixth latent robot. The fifth sorting device includes a plurality of fourth sorting slots;

[0035] The sixth latent robot is used to transport an empty bin to the connection position of the target storage shelf; wherein, the target storage shelf is the storage shelf on the same side as the target sorting slot among the first storage shelf and the fifth storage shelf, and the target sorting slot is the one with fewer tasks assigned among the first sorting slot and the fourth sorting slot.

[0036] In a possible implementation manner, the offline instruction is sent to the bin robot after the sorting task is completed, or after the materials stored in the second bin meet the preset offline conditions.

[0037] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a control method for a warehousing sorting system. The system includes a first sorting device, a first storage shelf, and a first bin robot; the first sorting device includes a plurality of first sorting slots arranged on the first side of the first sorting device; the first storage shelf is provided with a first storage position and a first connection position; the bin robot includes a picking and placing component, a horizontal guide rail, and a vertical guide rail. The horizontal guide rail passes through the first side of the first sorting device and the second side of the first storage shelf, the vertical guide rail is movably arranged horizontally on the horizontal guide rail, and the picking and placing component is movably arranged vertically on the vertical guide rail; the method includes:

[0038] Controlling the bin robot to respond to the sorting task for the first sorting slot, and transporting the first bin from the first storage position to the first sorting slot through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component; wherein, the first bin is the bin for loading the materials indicated by the sorting task as indicated by the sorting task.

[0039] Controlling the first sorting device to respond to the first bin being transported to the first sorting slot, and sorting the materials required for the sorting task through the first sorting slot into the first bin.

[0040] Control the bin robot to move the second bin from the first sorting slot to the first docking position through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing assembly in response to the offline instruction for the second bin in the first sorting slot.

[0041] In a possible implementation manner, the system further includes a first latent robot and a first conveyor line; the position of the first storage location is higher than the position of the first docking position; the method further includes:

[0042] Control the first latent robot to move the second bin to the first conveyor line in response to the second bin being moved to the first docking position.

[0043] In a possible implementation manner, the system further includes a second latent robot and a second storage rack; the first sorting device includes a plurality of second sorting slots provided on the second side of the first sorting device; a second storage location and a second docking position are provided in the second storage rack; the horizontal guide rail passes through the third side of the second storage rack; the method further includes:

[0044] Control the bin robot to move the first bin from the first storage location to the first docking position through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing assembly in response to the first sorting slot targeted by the sorting task being changed to the second sorting slot;

[0045] Control the second latent robot to move the first bin from the first docking position to the second docking position in response to the first bin being moved to the first docking position;

[0046] Control the bin robot to move the first bin from the second docking position to the second sorting slot through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing assembly in response to the first bin being moved to the second docking position.

[0047] In a possible implementation manner, the system further includes a third latent robot, a third sorting device, and a third storage rack, the third sorting device includes a plurality of third sorting slots; a third storage location and a third docking position are provided in the third storage rack; the horizontal guide rail passes through the third storage rack; the method further includes:

[0048] Control the bin robot to move the first bin from the first storage location to the first docking position through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing assembly in response to the first sorting slot targeted by the sorting task being changed to the third sorting slot;

[0049] Control the third latent robot to move the first bin from the first docking position to the third docking position in response to the first bin being moved to the first docking position;

[0050] Control the bin robot to, in response to the first bin being carried to the third connection position, carry the first bin from the third connection position to the third sorting cell through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing assembly.

[0051] In a possible implementation manner, the system further includes a fourth sorting device and a second conveyor line. The first sorting device and the fourth sorting device include loading ports, and the loading ports of the first sorting device and the fourth sorting device are arranged on the second conveyor line. The method further includes:

[0052] Control the second conveyor line to transfer each material to the loading port of the target sorting device for each material, where the target sorting device is the sorting device to which the target sorting cell belongs; the target sorting cell is the sorting cell targeted by the sorting task to which the material belongs.

[0053] Control the loading port to transfer the material transferred to the loading port to the affiliated sorting device for sorting.

[0054] In a possible implementation manner, the system further includes a fourth latent robot. The method further includes:

[0055] Control the fourth latent robot to carry an empty bin to the first connection position;

[0056] Control the bin robot to, in response to the empty bin being carried to the first connection position, carry the empty bin from the first connection position to the first storage location through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing assembly.

[0057] In a possible implementation manner, the system further includes a fifth latent robot and a fourth storage rack. The first sorting device includes a plurality of second sorting cells arranged on the second side of the first sorting device. The method further includes:

[0058] Control the fifth latent robot to carry an empty bin to the connection position of the target storage rack; where the target storage rack is the storage rack among the first storage rack and the fourth storage rack that is on the same side as the target sorting cell, and the target sorting cell is the one with fewer assigned tasks among the first sorting cell and the second sorting cell.

[0059] In a possible implementation manner, the system further includes a fifth sorting device, a fifth storage rack, and a sixth latent robot. The fifth sorting device includes a plurality of fourth sorting cells. The method further includes:

[0060] Control the sixth latent robot to move the empty material box to the docking position of the target storage shelf; wherein the target storage shelf is the storage shelf between the first storage shelf and the fifth storage shelf which is on the side of the target distribution grid opening, and the target distribution grid opening is the one with the smaller number of tasks allocated between the first distribution grid opening and the fourth distribution grid opening.

[0061] In a possible implementation, the offline instruction is sent to the material box robot after the distribution task is completed, or after the material stored in the second material box meets the preset offline conditions.

[0062] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a control device for a warehouse distribution system, the system comprising a first distribution device, a first storage shelf and a first material box robot; the first distribution device comprises a plurality of first distribution grids arranged on a first side of the first distribution device; a first storage position and a first docking position are arranged in the first storage shelf; the material box robot comprises a pick-and-place assembly, a horizontal guide rail and a vertical guide rail, the horizontal guide rail passes through the first side of the first distribution device and the second side of the first storage shelf, the vertical guide rail is horizontally movably arranged on the horizontal guide rail, and the pick-and-place assembly is vertically movably arranged on the vertical guide rail; the device comprises:

[0063] A material box on-line module, used for controlling the material box robot to move the first material box from the first storage position to the first sowing grid opening through the vertical guide rail and the pick-and-place assembly in response to the sowing task for the first sowing grid opening; wherein the first material box is a material box indicated by the sowing task and used to load the material indicated by the sowing task;

[0064] A first sowing module, configured to control the first sowing device to sow materials required for the sowing task to the first material box through the first sowing grid in response to the first material box being transported to the first sowing grid;

[0065] The material box offline module is used to control the material box robot to respond to the offline instruction of the second material box for the first sowing grid, and transport the second material box from the first sowing grid to the first docking position through the vertical guide rail and the pick-and-place assembly.

[0066] In a possible implementation, the system further includes a first lurking robot and a first conveyor line; the position of the first storage position is higher than the position of the first docking position; the device further includes:

[0067] The material box outbound module is used to control the first latent robot to move the second material box to the first conveying line in response to the second material box being moved to the first docking position.

[0068] In a possible implementation, the system further includes a second latent robot and a second storage rack; the first sorting device includes a plurality of second sorting compartments disposed on the second side of the first sorting device; the second storage rack is provided with a second storage location and a second connection position; the horizontal guide rail passes through the third side of the second storage rack; the device further includes:

[0069] A first unboxing module, configured to control the bin robot to move the first bin from the first storage location to the first connection position through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component in response to the first sorting compartment targeted by the sorting task being changed to the second sorting compartment;

[0070] A first handling module, configured to control the second latent robot to move the first bin from the first connection position to the second connection position in response to the first bin being moved to the first connection position;

[0071] A second handling module, configured to control the bin robot to move the first bin from the second connection position to the second sorting compartment through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component in response to the first bin being moved to the second connection position.

[0072] In a possible implementation, the system further includes a third latent robot, a third sorting device, and a third storage rack, the third sorting device includes a plurality of third sorting compartments; the third storage rack is provided with a third storage location and a third connection position; the horizontal guide rail passes through the third storage rack; the device further includes:

[0073] A second unboxing module, configured to control the bin robot to move the first bin from the first storage location to the first connection position through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component in response to the first sorting compartment targeted by the sorting task being changed to the third sorting compartment;

[0074] A third handling module, configured to control the third latent robot to move the first bin from the first connection position to the third connection position in response to the first bin being moved to the first connection position;

[0075] A fourth handling module, configured to control the bin robot to move the first bin from the third connection position to the third sorting compartment through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component in response to the first bin being moved to the third connection position.

[0076] In a possible implementation, the system further includes a fourth sorting device and a second conveyor line. The first sorting device and the fourth sorting device include loading ports, and the loading ports of the first sorting device and the fourth sorting device are arranged on the second conveyor line. The device further includes:

[0077] A material transfer module, configured to control the second conveyor line to transfer each material to the loading port of the target sorting device, where the target sorting device is the sorting device to which the target sorting cell belongs; the target sorting cell is the sorting cell targeted by the sorting task to which the material belongs.

[0078] A second sorting module, configured to control the loading port to transfer the material transferred to the loading port to the affiliated sorting device for sorting.

[0079] In a possible implementation, the system further includes a fourth latent robot. The device further includes:

[0080] A fifth handling module, configured to control the fourth latent robot to carry an empty bin to the first docking position.

[0081] A sixth handling module, configured to control the bin robot to, in response to the empty bin being carried to the first docking position, carry the empty bin from the first docking position to the first storage position through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component.

[0082] In a possible implementation, the system further includes a fifth latent robot and a fourth storage rack. The first sorting device includes a plurality of second sorting cells arranged on the second side of the first sorting device. The device further includes:

[0083] A seventh handling module, configured to control the fifth latent robot to carry an empty bin to the docking position of the target storage rack; where the target storage rack is the storage rack among the first storage rack and the fourth storage rack that is on the same side as the target sorting cell, and the target sorting cell is the one with a smaller number of tasks assigned among the first sorting cell and the second sorting cell.

[0084] In a possible implementation, the system further includes a fifth sorting device, a fifth storage rack, and a sixth latent robot. The fifth sorting device includes a plurality of fourth sorting cells. The device further includes:

[0085] The eighth handling module is used to control the sixth latent robot to carry an empty bin to the connection position of the target storage shelf; wherein, the target storage shelf is the storage shelf on the same side as the target sorting grid among the first storage shelf and the fifth storage shelf, and the target sorting grid is the one with fewer tasks assigned among the first sorting grid and the fourth sorting grid.

[0086] In a possible implementation manner, the offline instruction is sent to the bin robot after the sorting task is completed, or after the materials stored in the second bin meet the preset offline conditions.

[0087] Fourthly, an electronic device is provided, including:

[0088] A memory for storing a computer program;

[0089] A processor for implementing the method according to any one of the second aspects when executing the program stored on the memory.

[0090] Fifthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, where the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program implements the method according to any one of the second aspects when executed by a processor.

[0091] Advantages of the embodiments of the present application:

[0092] A warehousing sorting system and a control method for the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiments of the present application. The warehousing sorting system integrates sorting equipment, storage shelves, and bin robots. The sorting task indicates which sorting grid each material is sorted by and the specific bin it is sorted into, that is, it indicates the corresponding relationship among the material - sorting grid - bin. When the bin robot receives the sorting task, it transports the bin corresponding to the sorting task to the corresponding sorting grid through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component, and the sorting equipment sorts the material corresponding to the sorting task into the bin that has been previously transported to the sorting grid. When the bin robot receives the offline instruction of the bin located on the sorting grid, it transports the bin from the sorting grid to the connection position through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component. Through this warehousing sorting system, automatic sorting of materials and automatic replacement of bins for loading materials are realized. The entire process does not require manual intervention, which not only reduces labor costs but also makes the continuity of the entire sorting process relatively high, and the connection between each link is smooth, thereby improving the sorting efficiency.

[0093] Of course, implementing any product or method of the present application does not necessarily require achieving all the above-mentioned advantages simultaneously. Description of the Drawings

[0094] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the accompanying drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other embodiments can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0095] Figure 1a It is the first structural schematic diagram of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0096] Figure 1b It is the structural schematic diagram of the first sorting device provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0097] Figure 1c It is the structural schematic diagram of the first storage rack provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0098] Figure 1d It is the structural schematic diagram of the bin robot provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0099] Figure 1e It is the second structural schematic diagram of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0100] Figure 2 It is the third structural schematic diagram of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0101] Figure 3 It is the fourth structural schematic diagram of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0102] Figure 4 It is the fifth structural schematic diagram of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0103] Figure 5 It is the sixth structural schematic diagram of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0104] Figure 6 It is the seventh structural schematic diagram of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0105] Figure 7 It is the eighth structural schematic diagram of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0106] Figure 8 It is the ninth structural schematic diagram of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0107] Figure 9 It is the flow schematic diagram of the control method of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0108] Figure 10Schematic structural diagram of the control device for the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0109] Figure 11 Schematic structural diagram of the electronic device provided by the embodiment of the present application. Specific embodiments

[0110] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the present application belong to the protection scope of the present application.

[0111] To more clearly illustrate a warehousing sorting system and a control method for the warehousing sorting system provided by the present application, the following will explain the relevant terms involved in this article:

[0112] STU (Sky Transfer-Unit, space-air handling unit): A type of orbital bin handling equipment that can achieve vertical bin handling and horizontal movement within a limited range.

[0113] Order bin: The target bin for sorting, referred to as a bin in this article. The materials are sorted into the corresponding bins according to the sorting order.

[0114] Sort (Automatic Sorting Wall Equipment for Sorting): Referred to as the sorting equipment in this article. It contains a shuttle car inside, and the materials are sorted into the order bins in each grid (referred to as sorting grids) by the shuttle car according to the sorting order.

[0115] Q1P (Quiescent 1st Position Storage Box Robot): A small AMR device that can directly carry a bin and connect to a conveyor line or STU.

[0116] Wave: A collection of orders. In the goods-to-person picking system, orders are generally grouped into waves, and the orders within the same wave can be combined for picking and outbound.

[0117] Order combination: It means combining the materials corresponding to multiple orders for processing.

[0118] In the warehousing sorting scenario, material sorting needs to be carried out according to the order. Specifically, the corresponding quantity of materials is taken from the shelf according to the material demand in the order, and the goods corresponding to the same order are summarized, thus realizing the processing of this order. The existing warehousing sorting mainly has the following three problems:

[0119] Problem 1: Existing automation technologies generally use the AMR goods-to-person sorting solution to improve picking efficiency. However, this solution requires manual seeding and changing of order bins. Both the manual seeding and bin-changing methods rely on manual labor, which not only increases labor costs but, more importantly, affects the continuity of the entire sorting process. The connection between each link is not smooth enough, resulting in low sorting efficiency.

[0120] Problem 2: Both manual seeding and bin-changing rely on manual labor. Due to certain limitations of manual operations, such as high labor intensity and limited operation speed, if the seeding wall is too large, the workload of manual seeding and bin-changing will increase significantly. Workers may not be able to complete the corresponding operations in time, and restricted by the height of the workers themselves, they cannot operate on the order bins located at too high positions. Therefore, the height of the seeding wall cannot be too high, which limits the size of the seeding wall and further restricts the number of orders that can be sorted simultaneously by the seeding wall, that is, it affects the sorting efficiency.

[0121] Problem 3: To improve sorting efficiency, in the existing technology, automatic sorting equipment is used to replace manual seeding, and automatic bin-changing equipment is used to replace manual bin-changing. However, in this technology, the number of sorting compartments included in the automatic sorting equipment has an upper limit, and multiple automatic sorting equipment cannot be interconnected, resulting in the inability to fully break through the wave size to maximize sorting efficiency. Moreover, in the warehousing sorting scenario, sometimes it is necessary to combine orders for the materials sorted between multiple storage areas. Due to the limited number of compartments in the automatic sorting equipment, each warehouse or storage area needs to complete the sorting tasks in its own area first, and then concentrate the materials in the consolidation area for order combination. During the waiting for order combination, the materials of each warehouse or storage area need to be temporarily stored in the consolidation area, occupying a large amount of space. And because order combination requires waiting for multiple orders to be sorted separately first, the order combination efficiency is often low.

[0122] Based on this, the embodiments of the present application provide a warehousing sorting system. Refer to Figure 1a , Figure 1a which is the first structural schematic diagram of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiments of the present application. Figure 1a is the top view of the warehousing sorting system. The warehousing sorting system 100 includes a first sorting device 101, a first storage shelf 102, and a bin robot 103.

[0123] Refer to Figure 1b , Figure 1b which is the structural schematic diagram of the first sorting device provided by the embodiments of the present application. Figure 1b is the front view of the first sorting device 101. The first sorting device 101 includes a plurality of first sorting compartments 1011 provided on the first side of the first sorting device 101.

[0124] Refer toFigure 1c , Figure 1c A schematic diagram of the structure of a first storage shelf provided in an embodiment of the present application, Figure 1c It is a front view of the first storage shelf 102 , in which a first storage position 1021 and a first docking position 1022 are provided.

[0125] See also Figure 1d , Figure 1d This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the material box robot provided in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 1d This is a front view of the material box robot 103 hanging on the first storage shelf 102. The material box robot 103 includes a pick-and-place component 1031, a horizontal guide rail 1032 and a vertical guide rail 1033. The horizontal guide rail 1032 passes through the first side of the first broadcasting device 101 and the second side of the first storage shelf 102. The vertical guide rail 1033 is horizontally movably arranged on the horizontal guide rail 1032, and the pick-and-place component 1031 is vertically movably arranged on the vertical guide rail 1033. Figure 1d In the figure, the case where the material box robot 103 includes two horizontal guide rails 1032 is taken as an example. In other embodiments, there may be only one horizontal guide rail 1032 .

[0126] In a possible embodiment, the vertical guide rail 1033 can be horizontally movable on the horizontal guide rail 1032 by means of a slide rail, and the pick-and-place assembly 1031 can be vertically movable on the vertical guide rail 1033 by means of a slide rail. In another possible embodiment, the vertical guide rail 1033 can be horizontally movable on the horizontal guide rail 1032 by means of a pulley and a groove, and the pick-and-place assembly 1031 can be vertically movable on the vertical guide rail 1033 by means of a pulley and a groove, which is not specifically limited herein.

[0127] The first side of the first distribution device 101 and the second side of the first storage shelf 102 may be as follows Figure 1a The two sides facing each other as shown can also be as follows Figure 1e The two sides in the same direction are shown. Figure 1e A second structural schematic diagram of the warehouse distribution system provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0128] For Figure 1aIn the situation shown, "via" may mean that the horizontal guide rail 1032 at least includes a first horizontal sub-guide rail, which is located on the first side of the first sorting device 101 and on the second side of the first storage rack 102. That is, the first horizontal sub-guide rail is located between the first sorting device 101 and the first storage rack 102. The first side of the first sorting device 101 refers to the side of the first sorting device 101 facing the first storage rack 102, and the second side of the first storage rack 102 refers to the side of the first storage rack 102 facing the first sorting device 101. And in this case, the horizontal guide rail 1032 may only include the first horizontal sub-guide rail, or may also include other horizontal sub-guide rails in addition to the first horizontal sub-guide rail.

[0129] And for the situation as Figure 1e shown, "via" may mean that the horizontal guide rail 1032 at least includes the second horizontal sub-guide rail 10321 and the third horizontal sub-guide rail 10322 as Figure 1e shown. The second horizontal sub-guide rail 10321 is located on the second side of the first storage rack 102, and the third horizontal sub-guide rail 10322 is located on the first side of the first sorting device 101. And in this case, the horizontal guide rail 1032 may only include the second horizontal sub-guide rail 10321 and the third horizontal sub-guide rail 10322, or may also include other horizontal sub-guide rails in addition to the second horizontal sub-guide rail 10321 and the third horizontal sub-guide rail 10322. That is, the horizontal guide rail in this article can be set at any position that enables the bin robot to carry and place the bin from one position to another through the vertical guide rail 1033 and the picking and placing component 1031.

[0130] The bin robot 103 is used to respond to the sorting task for the first sorting slot 1011, and carry the first bin from the first storage location 1021 to the first sorting slot 1011 through the vertical guide rail 1033 and the picking and placing component 1031.

[0131] Wherein, the first bin is the bin indicated by the sorting task and used to load the materials required for the sorting task.

[0132] The first sorting device 101 is used to respond to the first bin being carried to the first sorting slot 1011, and sort the materials required for the sorting task through the first sorting slot 1011 into the first bin.

[0133] The bin robot 103 is also used to respond to the offline instruction of the second bin for the first sorting slot 1011, and carry the second bin from the first sorting slot 1011 to the first connection position 1022 through the vertical guide rail 1033 and the picking and placing component 1031.

[0134] Applying the above-mentioned embodiment, the warehouse distribution system integrates distribution equipment, storage shelves and material box robots. The distribution task is used to indicate which distribution grid each material is distributed to, and the specific material box to be distributed to, that is, it indicates the correspondence between the material-distribution grid-material box. When the material box robot receives the distribution task, it transports the material box corresponding to the distribution task to the corresponding distribution grid through the vertical guide rail and the pick-and-place assembly, and the distribution equipment distributes the material corresponding to the distribution task to the material box that has been pre-transported to the distribution grid. When the material box robot receives the offline instruction of the material box located on the distribution grid, it transports the material box from the distribution grid to the docking position through the vertical guide rail and the pick-and-place assembly. The automatic distribution of materials and the automatic replacement of the material box used to load materials are realized through the warehouse distribution system. The whole process does not require human intervention, which not only reduces the labor cost, but also makes the continuity of the whole distribution process higher, and the connection between each link is smooth, thereby improving the distribution efficiency and solving the above-mentioned problem one.

[0135] And because the box replacement is completed by the box robot, the height of the distribution equipment is no longer limited by the height of the worker, and the number of distribution grids can be fully expanded, thereby expanding the number of orders that the distribution equipment can distribute at the same time, that is, expanding the distribution waves, and then improving the distribution efficiency, that is, solving the above-mentioned problem 2. At the same time, because the box replacement is completed by the box robot, the height of the storage shelf is also not limited, expanding the number of storage locations, thereby expanding the storage quantity, and thus improving the storage capacity.

[0136] The above-mentioned storage distribution system will be further described below:

[0137] The distribution equipment in this article can be Sort, or it can be a device with material distribution function. The mobile robot can be Q1P, or AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot), AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle), the material box robot is STU, and it can also be other devices with the same function as STU, which are not specifically limited here.

[0138] The picking task can be split from the current received order by the IWMS (Intelligent Warehouse Management System) system, or by other systems or devices with the same functions as the IWMS system. For the convenience of description, in this article, only the example where the picking task is split by the IWMS system is used for illustration. Exemplarily, when a consumer places an order to purchase goods on an e-commerce platform, the order management system of the e-commerce platform will generate a picking task according to the order, specifically indicating which picking device and which picking grid the current material is to be picked to. An order contains various goods, such as books, electronic products, and daily necessities, and a picking task is generated based on the attribute information such as the type, weight, volume, batch number, etc. of these materials. For example, for small and light electronic components that need to be frequently sorted, bins with a smaller volume can be set specifically for loading such materials. If the materials have special storage requirements, such as moisture-proof and anti-static, the system will set bins that can be moisture-proof and anti-static specifically for loading such materials.

[0139] In a possible embodiment, the offline instruction can be sent by a worker in the warehousing picking scenario when seeing that the bin is full, or when an abnormality occurs during the picking of materials.

[0140] In another possible embodiment, in order to further reduce the dependence on manual labor for material picking, improve the continuity of the entire picking process, and thus improve the picking efficiency, the offline instruction can be sent to the bin robot 103 after the picking task is completed, or after the materials stored in the second bin meet the preset offline conditions.

[0141] Specifically, after the picking device detects that the current picking task has been completed, it sends an offline instruction to the bin robot 103.

[0142] The preset replenishment condition can be a series of specific settings or criteria pre-set for triggering the bin offline process, and can be determined based on factors such as the status of the materials stored in the bin.

[0143] In a possible embodiment, it can be set according to the quantity of materials. The picking device is pre-set with the maximum storage capacity of each material in its corresponding bin. For example, the maximum storage capacity of material A in bin 1 is 20 pieces. When the picking device detects that the maximum storage capacity of material A in bin 1 is 20 pieces according to the current picking progress, it automatically triggers the task of taking this bin offline, that is, sends an offline instruction for this bin to the bin robot 103.

[0144] In another embodiment, it can be set according to the weight of the material. The highest weight of material A in the bin 1 is preset to be 10 kg in the sorting device. A gravity sensing device can be arranged in the sorting device. When it is detected that the highest weight of material A in the bin 1 is 10 kg, the task of taking this bin offline is automatically triggered, that is, a command for instructing this bin to go offline is sent to the bin robot 103.

[0145] The following will describe in detail how the warehousing sorting system 100 of the present application realizes material sorting:

[0146] Each sorting device in the present application is at least one. For the convenience of description, only one sorting device is described herein.

[0147] When performing the sorting task, it is necessary to transport the empty bin to the docking position of the storage shelf. The positions of the storage locations herein are all higher than the position of the docking position, that is, the storage locations are arranged at positions higher than the working height of the latent robot, and the docking position is arranged at a position not higher than the working height. In a possible embodiment, the empty bin can be manually placed at the docking position of the storage shelf in advance.

[0148] In another possible embodiment, in order to reduce the dependence on manual labor, the warehousing sorting system 100 further includes a fourth latent robot 104;

[0149] The fourth latent robot 104 is used to transport the empty bin 105 to the first docking position;

[0150] The bin robot 103 is further used to respond to the empty bin 105 being transported to the first docking position, and transport the empty bin 105 from the first docking position to the first storage position through the vertical guide rail 1033 and the picking and placing component 1031.

[0151] Applying the above embodiment, the latent robot and the bin robot cooperate to transport the empty bin to the storage position on the storage shelf, reducing the dependence on manual labor, and since it is automatically transported by the robot, the limitation of working hours is broken through, thereby improving the efficiency of material sorting.

[0152] As can be seen from the foregoing, the sorting tasks are obtained by the IWMS system through splitting the received orders. During the actual operation, due to the uneven distribution of orders, such as a large number of orders in some storage areas while a small number of orders in other storage areas, or the distribution algorithm used by the IWMS system for splitting the sorting tasks is not optimized enough, it may lead to uneven distribution of the sorting tasks between the sorting bays and the sorting devices. If too many tasks are assigned to certain sorting devices or sorting bays, it will cause excessive operating pressure on the sorting devices, resulting in a decrease in sorting efficiency and even possible backlog of sorting tasks. If too few tasks are assigned to the sorting devices or sorting bays, it will lead to underutilization of the sorting device resources, wasting resources and also reducing the sorting efficiency.

[0153] Based on this, in a possible embodiment, the uneven distribution of the sorting tasks between the sorting bays and the sorting devices can be avoided by optimizing the sorting task distribution algorithm of the IWMS system.

[0154] In another possible embodiment, the IWMS system can dynamically adjust the task distribution strategy according to the number of tasks currently assigned to the sorting bays and the sorting devices to ensure the balanced distribution of the sorting tasks among the sorting bays and the sorting devices. Specifically, the balanced distribution of the sorting tasks among the sorting bays can be ensured in the following way:

[0155] Refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 which is the third structural schematic diagram of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application, Figure 2 is the top view of the warehousing sorting system. The warehousing sorting system 100 further includes a fifth latent robot 106 and a fourth storage rack 107. The first sorting device 101 includes a plurality of second sorting bays 1012 arranged on the second side of the first sorting device 101;

[0156] The fifth latent robot 106 is used to transport the empty bins 105 to the connection positions of the target storage racks.

[0157] Among them, the target storage rack is the storage rack on the same side as the target sorting bay among the first storage rack 102 and the fourth storage rack 107, and the target sorting bay is the one with fewer tasks assigned among the first sorting bay 1011 and the second sorting bay 1012.

[0158] That is, for the first sorting device 101, during the sorting task, the number of tasks assigned to the first sorting slot 1011 and the second sorting slot 1012 is obtained. If the number of tasks assigned to the first sorting slot 1011 is small, the current sorting task to be assigned is assigned to the first sorting slot 1011; if the number of tasks assigned to the second sorting slot 1012 is small, the current sorting task to be assigned is assigned to the second sorting slot 1012.

[0159] When there is no passage between the sorting slots provided on both sides of the sorting device, the storage shelf on the same side as the sorting slot refers to, in the warehouse layout, the storage shelf adjacent to the sorting slot or the shelf facing the sorting slot. Still refer to Figure 2 , the storage shelf on the same side as the first sorting slot 1011 is the first storage shelf 102, and the storage shelf on the same side as the second sorting slot 1012 is the fourth storage shelf 107.

[0160] When there is a passage between the sorting slots provided on both sides of the sorting device, the storage shelf on the same side as the sorting slot refers to, in the warehouse layout, the storage shelf on the same side of the warehouse area as the sorting slot, which enables the material robot 103 to grab materials from the storage shelf and place them on the sorting slot.

[0161] Applying the above embodiments, the warehousing sorting system further includes a latent robot and other storage shelves. The number of tasks currently assigned to each sorting slot in the same sorting device is obtained, and the sorting slot with the smaller number of tasks is used as the target sorting slot. The empty bins are preferentially transported to the corresponding storage shelf connection positions, realizing a dynamic allocation mechanism for sorting tasks, optimizing the task allocation mechanism, alleviating the problem of uneven load on the sorting slots, avoiding resource waste and task backlog, and improving the sorting efficiency. Secondly, the bin handling is completed by the latent robot, reducing manual intervention, reducing labor costs, and improving the automation level of material sorting.

[0162] Since there is still a problem of uneven distribution of sorting tasks among the sorting devices, the following method can be used to ensure the balanced distribution of sorting tasks among the sorting devices:

[0163] Refer to Figure 3 , Figure 3 This is the fourth structural schematic diagram of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application. Figure 3 This is a top view of the warehousing sorting system. The warehousing sorting system 100 further includes a fifth sorting device 108, a fifth storage shelf 109, and a sixth latent robot 110. The fifth sorting device 108 includes a plurality of fourth sorting slots 1081. The fifth sorting device 108 can be provided with sorting slots on both sides or only on one side, and no specific limitation is made here. Figure 3Only the case of setting the sorting compartments on one side is taken as an example for illustration.

[0164] The sixth latent robot 110 is used to transport the empty bins 105 to the connection positions of the target storage shelves.

[0165] Among them, the target storage shelf is the storage shelf on the same side as the target sorting compartment among the first storage shelf 102 and the fifth storage shelf 109, and the target sorting compartment is the one with fewer tasks assigned among the first sorting compartments 1011 and the fourth sorting compartments 1081.

[0166] That is, for the first sorting device 101 and the fifth sorting device 108, during the sorting task, obtain the task quantities assigned to each first sorting compartment 1011 on the first sorting device 101 and each fourth sorting compartment 1081 on the fifth sorting device 108. If the task quantity assigned to the first sorting compartment 1011 is less, then assign the current sorting task to be assigned to the first sorting device 101; if the task quantity assigned to the fourth sorting compartment 1081 is less, then assign the current sorting task to be assigned to the fifth sorting device 108.

[0167] The storage shelves on the same side as the sorting compartments in the warehouse layout have been explained above and will not be elaborated here. Still referring to Figure 3 , the storage shelf on the same side as the first sorting compartment 1011 is the first storage shelf 102, and the storage shelf on the same side as the fourth sorting compartment 1081 is the fifth storage shelf 109.

[0168] Applying the above embodiments, the warehouse sorting system further includes latent robots, multiple storage shelves, and multiple sorting devices. Obtain the currently assigned task quantities of each sorting compartment in different sorting devices, and use the sorting compartment in the sorting device with the fewer task quantity as the target sorting compartment, and preferentially transport the empty bins to the corresponding storage shelf connection positions, realizing a dynamic distribution mechanism for sorting tasks, optimizing the task distribution mechanism, alleviating the problem of uneven load on sorting devices, avoiding resource waste and task backlog, and improving the sorting efficiency. Secondly, the bin handling is completed by the latent robot, reducing manual intervention, reducing labor costs, and improving the automation level of material sorting.

[0169] When the tasks on each sorting device and each sorting compartment are assigned, the empty bins have been transported to the connection positions of the storage shelves. When it is necessary to transport the empty bins to the storage positions of the storage shelves, the bin robot can be used for transportation. When there are empty bins placed on the sorting device assigned with the sorting task and its corresponding sorting compartment, the material sorting starts.

[0170] However, during the execution of material sorting, abnormal material sorting may occur due to malfunctions in sorting bins or sorting equipment, resulting in the inability of the malfunctioning sorting equipment or sorting bins to continue performing sorting tasks. On the one hand, due to malfunctions in sorting bins and sorting equipment, the sorting tasks assigned to them will accumulate over time. On the other hand, the sorting equipment and sorting bins that have completed the sorting tasks are left idle, causing waste of resources. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the currently assigned sorting tasks, that is, reassign the sorting tasks assigned to the malfunctioning sorting bins and sorting equipment to other idle sorting bins or sorting equipment.

[0171] In a possible embodiment, the sorting task can be assigned to other sorting bins on the same sorting equipment:

[0172] When the sorting task is assigned to other sorting bins on the same sorting equipment and on the same side, the bin robot 103 can transport the first bin from the storage location of the storage shelf corresponding to the sorting equipment to other sorting bins through the vertical guide rail 1033 and the picking and placing component 1031.

[0173] When the sorting task is assigned to other sorting bins on the same sorting equipment and on different sides, refer to Figure 4 , Figure 4 which is the fifth structural schematic diagram of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application, Figure 4 is the top view of the warehousing sorting system. The warehousing sorting system 100 further includes a second latent robot 111 and a second storage shelf 112; the first sorting equipment 101 includes a plurality of second sorting bins 1012 provided on the second side of the first sorting equipment 101.

[0174] The second storage shelf 112 is provided with a second storage location and a second connection position 1121;

[0175] The horizontal guide rail 1032 passes through the third side of the second storage shelf 112;

[0176] The bin robot 103 is further configured to, in response to the first sorting bin 1011 targeted by the sorting task being changed to the second sorting bin 1012, transport the first bin from the first storage location to the first connection position 1022 through the vertical guide rail 1033 and the picking and placing component 1031;

[0177] The second latent robot 111 is configured to, in response to the first bin being transported to the first connection position 1022, transport the first bin from the first connection position 1022 to the second connection position 1121;

[0178] The bin robot 103 is further configured to, in response to the first bin being transported to the second connection position 1121, transport the first bin from the second connection position 1121 to the second sorting bin 1012 through the vertical guide rail 1033 and the picking and placing assembly 1031.

[0179] Applying the above embodiments, the warehousing sorting system further includes a second latent robot and a second storage shelf. Sorting bins are provided on both sides of the first sorting device. When the sorting bin corresponding to the sorting task changes from the first sorting bin to the second sorting bin, through the mutual cooperation of each robot, the flexible adjustment of the material sorting path is realized, avoiding the material accumulation caused by the backlog of sorting tasks, reducing the dependence on manual labor. When a certain link fails, other sorting bins can continue to work, reducing the impact of the failure on the entire sorting process and resource waste, thereby improving the material sorting efficiency and enhancing the fault tolerance of the system.

[0180] In a possible embodiment, the sorting task can be assigned to other sorting devices:

[0181] See Figure 5 , Figure 5 which is the sixth structural schematic diagram of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application, Figure 5 is the top view of the warehousing sorting system. The warehousing sorting system 100 further includes a third latent robot 113, a third sorting device 114 and a third storage shelf 115. The third sorting device 114 includes a plurality of third sorting bins 1141; the third sorting device 114 can be provided with sorting bins on both sides or only on one side, and no specific limitation is made here. Figure 5 Only the example of setting sorting bins on one side is used for illustration in

[0182] The third storage shelf 115 is provided with a third storage location and a third connection position 1151;

[0183] The horizontal guide rail 1032 passes through the third storage shelf 115. Here, passing through can mean passing through any one side or multiple sides of the third storage shelf 115, enabling the material robot 103 to grab materials from the third storage shelf 115 and place them on the third sorting bin 1141.

[0184] The bin robot 103 is further configured to, in response to the first sorting bin 1011 targeted by the sorting task changing to the third sorting bin 1141, transport the first bin from the first storage location to the first connection position 1022 through the vertical guide rail 1033 and the picking and placing assembly 1031.

[0185] The third latent robot 113 is configured to, in response to the first bin being transported to the first connection position 1022, transport the first bin from the first connection position 1022 to the third connection position 1151.

[0186] The bin robot 103 is also used to respond to the first bin being transported to the third connection position 1151, and transport the first bin from the third connection position 1151 to the third sorting bin 1141 through the vertical guide rail 1033 and the picking and placing component 1031.

[0187] Applying the above embodiments, the warehousing sorting system further includes a third latent robot, a third sorting device, and a third storage shelf. When the sorting bin corresponding to the sorting task changes from the first sorting bin to the third sorting bin, that is, when the sorting task changes from the first sorting device to the third sorting device, through the mutual cooperation of each robot, the flexible adjustment of the material sorting path is realized, avoiding the material accumulation caused by the backlog of sorting tasks, reducing the dependence on manual labor, and when a certain link fails, other sorting devices can continue to work, reducing the impact of the failure on the entire sorting process and resource waste, thereby improving the material sorting efficiency and enhancing the fault tolerance of the system.

[0188] Through the above reallocation of the sorting task, that is, the transformation of the sorting bin and sorting device to which the bin belongs, each sorting bin and sorting device execute the sorting task to complete the sorting of the material. After the sorting is completed, it is necessary to move the bin loaded with the material away from the sorting bin. In a possible embodiment, the latent robot can transport the second bin (i.e., the bin loaded with the material) to its corresponding storage shelf for storage.

[0189] In another possible embodiment, in order to avoid the abnormal handling caused by multiple latent robots simultaneously handling the second bin, improve the handling efficiency, and promptly move the offline bin away from the sorting device, refer to Figure 6 , Figure 6 which is the seventh structural schematic diagram of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application. Figure 6 As the top view of the warehousing sorting system, the warehousing sorting system 100 further includes a first latent robot 116 and a first conveyor line 117.

[0190] The first latent robot 116 is used to respond to the second bin being transported to the first connection position 1022 and transport the second bin to the first conveyor line 117.

[0191] Applying the above embodiments, by setting the latent robot and the conveyor line, the offline bin can be promptly moved away from the sorting device, avoiding the accumulation of bins at the connection position, thereby ensuring the efficiency and continuity of the material sorting process, reducing manual intervention, and reducing labor costs.

[0192] To solve the aforementioned problem three, refer to Figure 7 , Figure 7 which is the eighth structural schematic diagram of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application. Figure 7It is a top view of the warehousing and sorting system. The warehousing and sorting system 100 further includes a fourth sorting device 118 and a second conveyor line 119.

[0193] The first sorting device 101 and the fourth sorting device 118 include loading ports. The first sorting device 101 includes loading port A, and the fourth sorting device 118 includes loading port B. The loading ports of the first sorting device 101 and the fourth sorting device 118 are arranged on the second conveyor line 119.

[0194] The second conveyor line 119 is used to transfer each material to the loading port of the target sorting device for each material.

[0195] Wherein, the target sorting device is the sorting device to which the target sorting bin belongs, and the target sorting bin is the sorting bin targeted by the sorting task to which the material belongs.

[0196] The loading port is used to transfer the material transferred to the loading port to the affiliated sorting device for sorting.

[0197] As can be seen from the foregoing, the sorting task is split by the IWMS system according to the received order. The loading port can be provided with any acquisition device having an acquisition function. When the second conveyor line transfers the material to the loading port, the acquisition device can acquire attribute information such as the type, weight, volume, batch number, etc. of the material, so as to determine the sorting device and sorting bin to which each material is assigned.

[0198] Exemplarily, when the material attribute information to be acquired is the material weight, the acquisition device can be a device with a weight acquisition function, such as a weight sensor, etc.; when the material attribute information to be acquired is the material volume, the acquisition device can be a device with an image acquisition function, including but not limited to an infrared camera, a visible light camera, etc. The acquisition device can also be a DWS device (Dimensioning Weighing and Scanning, a logistics automation device integrating volume measurement, weighing, and scanning functions), which can simultaneously acquire attribute information such as the material weight, volume, and batch number of the material, and no specific limitation is made here.

[0199] When the loading port transfers the material transferred to the loading port to the affiliated sorting device for sorting, the material can be driven to the corresponding sorting bin through conveyors such as a belt conveyor, a roller conveyor, etc.

[0200] Applying the above embodiments, the loading ports of the sorting devices are all arranged on the conveyor line. The conveyor line can carry the materials of multiple feeding ports simultaneously and transport them to different sorting devices, enabling multiple sorting tasks to be carried out in parallel, thereby improving the overall sorting efficiency. Secondly, the scattered loading ports require a large storage area to arrange the equipment and passages. Arranging the loading ports on the conveyor line can reduce the need for additional equipment and passages, increase the setting of storage shelves, and improve the storage capacity of the bins in the storage area (the area where the sorting devices and their supporting storage shelves are located). Thus, the bins completed with sorting in different storage areas can be stored on the sorting devices or the storage shelves supporting the sorting devices first. When all the materials required for order consolidation are sorted, then order consolidation is carried out, eliminating the need to set up a goods gathering area and reducing space occupancy. And since sorting is performed by multiple sorting devices, order consolidation and sorting can be executed in parallel, so it can effectively handle the order consolidation scenario, improve the order consolidation efficiency, and solve the aforementioned Problem 3.

[0201] To more clearly illustrate the structure of the warehousing sorting system 100, the scenario of the warehousing sorting system including the storage shelf 1, the sorting device 2, the bin robot 3, the latent robot 4, and the conveyor line 5 will be described below. Refer to Figure 8 , Figure 8 This is the ninth structural schematic diagram of the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 This is the top view of the warehousing sorting system. Figure 8 Only the storage shelf 1, the sorting device 2, the bin robot 3, the latent robot 4, the conveyor line 5, the loading port 6, and sorting compartments 21 are provided on both sides of the sorting device 2 are shown, and the specific structures of the storage shelf 1, the bin robot 3, the latent robot 4, and the conveyor line 5 are not shown:

[0202] For the specific description of the storage shelf 1, reference can be made to the foregoing descriptions of the first storage shelf 102, the second storage shelf 112, the third storage shelf 115, the fourth storage shelf 107, and the fifth storage shelf 109.

[0203] For the specific description of the sorting device 2 and the sorting compartments 21, reference can be made to the foregoing descriptions of the first sorting device 101, the third sorting device 114, the fourth sorting device 118, and the fifth sorting device 108.

[0204] For the specific description of the bin robot 3, reference can be made to the foregoing description of the bin robot 103.

[0205] For the specific description of the latent robot 4, reference can be made to the foregoing descriptions of the first latent robot 116, the second latent robot 111, the third latent robot 113, the fourth latent robot 104, the fifth latent robot 106, and the sixth latent robot 110.

[0206] For the specific description of the conveyor line 5, reference can be made to the foregoing description of the first conveyor line 117 and the second conveyor line 119.

[0207] For the specific description of the loading port 6, reference can be made to the foregoing description of the loading ports A and B, and details will not be repeated here.

[0208] Corresponding to the foregoing warehousing sorting system, an embodiment of the present application further provides a control method for a warehousing sorting system. The system includes a first sorting device, a first storage shelf, and a first bin robot. The first sorting device includes a plurality of first sorting compartments provided on the first side of the first sorting device. The first storage shelf is provided with a first storage location and a first connection location. The bin robot includes a picking and placing component, a horizontal guide rail, and a vertical guide rail. The horizontal guide rail passes through the first side of the first sorting device and the second side of the first storage shelf. The vertical guide rail is movably provided horizontally on the horizontal guide rail, and the picking and placing component is movably provided vertically on the vertical guide rail. Refer to Figure 9 , Figure 9 is a schematic flow chart of the control method for the warehousing sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application. The method includes:

[0209] S901, control the bin robot to respond to the sorting task for the first sorting compartment, and transport the first bin from the first storage location to the first sorting compartment through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component.

[0210] Among them, the first bin is the bin for loading the materials indicated by the sorting task as indicated by the sorting task.

[0211] S902, control the first sorting device to respond to the first bin being transported to the first sorting compartment, and sort the materials required for the sorting task through the first sorting compartment into the first bin.

[0212] S903, control the bin robot to respond to the offline instruction of the second bin for the first sorting compartment, and transport the second bin from the first sorting compartment to the first connection location through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component.

[0213] Applying the above-mentioned embodiment, the warehouse distribution system integrates distribution equipment, storage shelves and material box robots. The distribution task is used to indicate which distribution grid each material is distributed to, and the specific material box to be distributed to, that is, it indicates the correspondence between the material-distribution grid-material box. When the material box robot receives the distribution task, it transports the material box corresponding to the distribution task to the corresponding distribution grid through the vertical guide rail and the pick-and-place assembly, and the distribution equipment distributes the material corresponding to the distribution task to the material box that has been pre-transported to the distribution grid. When the material box robot receives the offline instruction of the material box located on the distribution grid, it transports the material box from the distribution grid to the docking position through the vertical guide rail and the pick-and-place assembly. The automatic distribution of materials and the automatic replacement of the material box used to load materials are realized through the warehouse distribution system. The whole process does not require human intervention, which not only reduces the labor cost, but also makes the continuity of the whole distribution process higher, and the connection between each link is smooth, thereby improving the distribution efficiency and solving the above-mentioned problem one.

[0214] And because the box replacement is completed by the box robot, the height of the sowing equipment is not limited, the number of sowing grids is expanded, thereby expanding the sowing waves and improving the sowing efficiency, solving the aforementioned problem 2. At the same time, because the box replacement is completed by the box robot, the height of the storage shelf is also not limited, the number of storage locations is expanded, thereby expanding the storage quantity, thereby improving the storage capacity.

[0215] Corresponding to the control method of the aforementioned warehouse distribution system, the embodiment of the present application also provides a control device for the warehouse distribution system, and the system includes a first distribution device, a first storage shelf and a first material box robot. The first distribution device includes a plurality of first distribution grids arranged on the first side of the first distribution device. The first storage shelf is provided with a first storage position and a first docking position. The material box robot includes a pick-and-place assembly, a horizontal guide rail and a vertical guide rail. The horizontal guide rail passes through the first side of the first distribution device and the second side of the first storage shelf. The vertical guide rail is horizontally movably arranged on the horizontal guide rail, and the pick-and-place assembly is vertically movably arranged on the vertical guide rail. See. Figure 10 , Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a storage distribution system control device provided in an embodiment of the present application, the device includes:

[0216] The material box on-line module 1001 is used to control the material box robot to respond to the sowing task for the first sowing grid, and to move the first material box from the first storage position to the first sowing grid through the vertical guide rail and the pick-and-place assembly.

[0217] The first material box is a material box indicated by the sowing task and is used to load the material indicated by the sowing task.

[0218] The first sorting module 1002 is used to control the first sorting device to sort the materials required for the sorting task through the first sorting grid opening to the first bin in response to the first bin being transported to the first sorting grid opening.

[0219] The bin offline module 1003 is used to control the bin robot to transport the second bin from the first sorting grid opening to the first connection position through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component in response to the offline instruction for the second bin at the first sorting grid opening.

[0220] Applying the above embodiments, the warehousing sorting system integrates sorting devices, storage racks, and bin robots. The sorting task indicates which sorting grid opening each material is sorted through and the specific bin it is sorted to, that is, it indicates the corresponding relationship among the material - sorting grid opening - bin. When the bin robot receives the sorting task, it transports the bin corresponding to the sorting task to the corresponding sorting grid opening through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component, and the sorting device sorts the material corresponding to the sorting task into the bin that has been previously transported to the sorting grid opening. When the bin robot receives the offline instruction for the bin located at the sorting grid opening, it transports the bin from the sorting grid opening to the connection position through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component. Through this warehousing sorting system, automatic sorting of materials and automatic replacement of bins for loading materials are realized. The entire process does not require manual intervention, which not only reduces labor costs but also makes the continuity of the entire sorting process relatively high, and the connection between each link is smooth, thereby improving the sorting efficiency and solving the aforementioned problem one.

[0221] And since the bin replacement is completed by the bin robot, the height of the sorting device is not limited, the number of sorting grid openings is expanded, thereby expanding the sorting wave number and improving the sorting efficiency, solving the aforementioned problem two. At the same time, because the bin replacement is completed by the bin robot, the height of the storage rack is also not limited, the number of storage locations is expanded, thereby expanding the storage quantity and thus improving the warehousing capacity.

[0222] In a possible implementation manner, the system further includes a first AGV robot and a first conveyor line; the position of the first storage location is higher than the position of the first connection position; the device further includes:

[0223] The bin out - of - warehouse module is used to control the first AGV robot to transport the second bin to the first conveyor line in response to the second bin being transported to the first connection position.

[0224] In a possible implementation manner, the system further includes a second AGV robot and a second storage rack; the first sorting device includes a plurality of second sorting grid openings provided on the second side of the first sorting device; the second storage rack is provided with a second storage location and a second connection position; the horizontal guide rail passes through the third side of the second storage rack; the device further includes:

[0225] The first case - inversion module is used to control the bin robot to respond to the transformation of the first sorting slot targeted by the sorting task into the second sorting slot, and through the vertical guide rail and the picking - and - placing assembly, carry the first bin from the first storage position to the first connection position;

[0226] The first handling module is used to control the second latent robot to respond to the first bin being carried to the first connection position, and carry the first bin from the first connection position to the second connection position;

[0227] The second handling module is used to control the bin robot to respond to the first bin being carried to the second connection position, and through the vertical guide rail and the picking - and - placing assembly, carry the first bin from the second connection position to the second sorting slot.

[0228] In a possible implementation manner, the system further includes a third latent robot, a third sorting device, and a third storage shelf. The third sorting device includes a plurality of third sorting slots; the third storage shelf is provided with a third storage position and a third connection position; the horizontal guide rail passes through the third storage shelf; the device further includes:

[0229] The second case - inversion module is used to control the bin robot to respond to the transformation of the first sorting slot targeted by the sorting task into the third sorting slot, and through the vertical guide rail and the picking - and - placing assembly, carry the first bin from the first storage position to the first connection position;

[0230] The third handling module is used to control the third latent robot to respond to the first bin being carried to the first connection position, and carry the first bin from the first connection position to the third connection position;

[0231] The fourth handling module is used to control the bin robot to respond to the first bin being carried to the third connection position, and through the vertical guide rail and the picking - and - placing assembly, carry the first bin from the third connection position to the third sorting slot.

[0232] In a possible implementation manner, the system further includes a fourth sorting device and a second conveyor line. The first sorting device and the fourth sorting device include loading ports, and the loading ports of the first sorting device and the fourth sorting device are arranged on the second conveyor line; the device further includes:

[0233] A material transfer module for controlling the second conveyor line to transfer each material to the loading port of the target sorting device, where the target sorting device is the sorting device to which the target sorting cell belongs; the target sorting cell is the sorting cell targeted by the sorting task to which the material belongs.

[0234] A second sorting module for controlling the loading port to transfer the material transferred to the loading port to the affiliated sorting device for sorting.

[0235] In a possible implementation manner, the system further includes a fourth latent robot; the device further includes:

[0236] A fifth handling module for controlling the fourth latent robot to carry an empty bin to the first docking position;

[0237] A sixth handling module for controlling the bin robot to, in response to the empty bin being carried to the first docking position, carry the empty bin from the first docking position to the first storage position through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing assembly.

[0238] In a possible implementation manner, the system further includes a fifth latent robot and a fourth storage rack, and the first sorting device includes a plurality of second sorting cells arranged on the second side of the first sorting device; the device further includes:

[0239] A seventh handling module for controlling the fifth latent robot to carry an empty bin to the docking position of the target storage rack; where the target storage rack is the storage rack on the same side as the target sorting cell among the first storage rack and the fourth storage rack, and the target sorting cell is the one with fewer tasks assigned among the first sorting cell and the second sorting cell.

[0240] In a possible implementation manner, the system further includes a fifth sorting device, a fifth storage rack, and a sixth latent robot, and the fifth sorting device includes a plurality of fourth sorting cells; the device further includes:

[0241] An eighth handling module for controlling the sixth latent robot to carry an empty bin to the docking position of the target storage rack; where the target storage rack is the storage rack on the same side as the target sorting cell among the first storage rack and the fifth storage rack, and the target sorting cell is the one with fewer tasks assigned among the first sorting cell and the fourth sorting cell.

[0242] In a possible implementation manner, the offline instruction is sent to the bin robot after the sorting task is completed, or after the materials stored in the second bin meet the preset offline conditions.

[0243] An embodiment of the present application also provides an electronic device, such as Figure 11 shown, including:

[0244] A memory 1101 for storing a computer program;

[0245] A processor 1102, when executing the program stored on the memory 1101, implements the following steps:

[0246] Controlling the bin robot to respond to the sorting task for the first sorting grid opening, and transporting the first bin from the first storage location to the first sorting grid opening through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component; wherein, the first bin is the bin indicated by the sorting task for loading the materials indicated by the sorting task;

[0247] Controlling the first sorting device to respond to the first bin being transported to the first sorting grid opening, and sorting the materials required for the sorting task through the first sorting grid opening into the first bin;

[0248] Controlling the bin robot to respond to the offline instruction of the second bin for the first sorting grid opening, and transporting the second bin from the first sorting grid opening to the first connection position through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component.

[0249] And the above-mentioned electronic device may further include a communication bus and / or a communication interface, and the processor 1102, the communication interface, and the memory 1101 complete mutual communication through the communication bus.

[0250] The communication bus mentioned in the above-mentioned electronic device may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. This communication bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For the sake of convenience of representation, only a thick line is used in the figure, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0251] The communication interface is used for communication between the above-mentioned electronic device and other devices.

[0252] The memory may include a Random Access Memory (RAM), and may also include a Non-Volatile Memory (NVM), such as at least one disk memory. Optionally, the memory may also be at least one storage device located far from the aforementioned processor.

[0253] The above-mentioned processor can be a general-purpose processor, including a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Network Processor (NP), etc.; it can also be a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components.

[0254] In another embodiment provided by the present application, there is also provided a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the control method of any of the above storage sorting systems are implemented.

[0255] In another embodiment provided by the present application, there is also provided a computer program product containing instructions, which when running on a computer, causes the computer to execute the control method of any of the above storage sorting systems in the embodiments.

[0256] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired manner (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wirelessly (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that the computer can access, or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more integrated available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, a DVD), or a Solid State Disk (SSD), etc.

[0257] It should be noted that in this text, relational terms such as first and second are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprising", "including" or any other variant thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. Without further limitation, an element defined by the statement "comprising an..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or device comprising the said element.

[0258] Each embodiment in this specification is described in a related manner. For the same or similar parts among the embodiments, reference can be made to each other. Each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. In particular, for the system embodiment, since it is basically similar to the method embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and reference can be made to the relevant part of the method embodiment for the related content.

[0259] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application are all included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A warehousing sorting and distribution system, characterized in that, The system includes a first sorting device, a first storage rack, and a bin robot; The first sorting device includes a plurality of first sorting compartments disposed on a first side of the first sorting device; The first storage rack is provided with a first storage location and a first connection location; The bin robot includes a picking and placing component, a horizontal guide rail, and a vertical guide rail. The horizontal guide rail passes through the first side of the first sorting device and the second side of the first storage rack. The vertical guide rail is horizontally movably disposed on the horizontal guide rail, and the picking and placing component is vertically movably disposed on the vertical guide rail; The bin robot is configured to, in response to a sorting task for the first sorting compartment, transport a first bin from the first storage location to the first sorting compartment through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component; wherein, the first bin is a bin for loading the materials required for the sorting task indicated by the sorting task; The first sorting device is configured to, in response to the first bin being transported to the first sorting compartment, sort the materials required for the sorting task through the first sorting compartment into the first bin; The bin robot is further configured to, in response to a downline instruction for a second bin at the first sorting compartment, transport the second bin from the first sorting compartment to the first connection location through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein The system further includes a first latent robot and a first conveyor line; the position of the first storage location is higher than the position of the first connection location; The first latent robot is configured to, in response to the second bin being transported to the first connection location, transport the second bin to the first conveyor line.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein The system further includes a second latent robot and a second storage rack; the first sorting device includes a plurality of second sorting compartments disposed on a second side of the first sorting device; The second storage rack is provided with a second storage location and a second connection location; the position of the storage location is higher than the position of the connection location; The horizontal guide rail passes through a third side of the second storage rack; The bin robot is further configured to, in response to the first sorting compartment targeted by the sorting task being changed to the second sorting compartment, transport the first bin from the first storage location to the first connection location through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component; The second latent robot is configured to, in response to the first bin being transported to the first connection location, transport the first bin from the first connection location to the second connection location; The bin robot is further configured to, in response to the first bin being transported to the second connection location, transport the first bin from the second connection location to the second sorting compartment through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component.

4. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that The system further includes a third latent robot, a third sorting device, and a third storage rack. The third sorting device includes a plurality of third sorting compartments; The third storage rack is provided with a third storage location and a third connection location; the position of the storage location is higher than the position of the connection location; The horizontal guide rail passes through the third storage rack; The bin robot is further configured to, in response to the first sorting slot targeted by the sorting task being transformed into the third sorting slot, transport the first bin from the first storage location to the first connection position through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing assembly; The third lurking robot is configured to, in response to the first bin being transported to the first connection position, transport the first bin from the first connection position to the third connection position; The bin robot is further configured to, in response to the first bin being transported to the third connection position, transport the first bin from the third connection position to the third sorting slot through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing assembly.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein The system further includes a fourth sorting device and a second conveyor line. The first sorting device and the fourth sorting device include loading ports, and the loading ports of the first sorting device and the fourth sorting device are provided on the second conveyor line; The second conveyor line is configured to transport each material to the loading port of the target sorting device, where the target sorting device is the sorting device to which the target sorting slot belongs; the target sorting slot is the sorting slot targeted by the sorting task to which the material belongs; The loading port is configured to transfer the material transported to the loading port to the affiliated sorting device for sorting.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein The system further includes a fourth lurking robot; the position of the first storage location is higher than the position of the first connection position; The fourth lurking robot is configured to transport an empty bin to the first connection position; The bin robot is further configured to, in response to the empty bin being transported to the first connection position, transport the empty bin from the first connection position to the first storage location through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing assembly.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein The system further includes a fifth lurking robot and a fourth storage rack. The first sorting device includes a plurality of second sorting slots provided on the second side of the first sorting device; the position of the storage location is higher than the position of the connection position; The fifth lurking robot is configured to transport an empty bin to the connection position of the target storage rack; where the target storage rack is the storage rack among the first storage rack and the fourth storage rack that is on the same side as the target sorting slot, and the target sorting slot is the one with a smaller number of tasks assigned among the first sorting slot and the second sorting slots.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein The system further includes a fifth sorting device, a fifth storage rack, and a sixth lurking robot. The fifth sorting device includes a plurality of fourth sorting slots; the position of the storage location is higher than the position of the connection position; The sixth lurking robot is configured to transport an empty bin to the connection position of the target storage rack; where the target storage rack is the storage rack among the first storage rack and the fifth storage rack that is on the same side as the target sorting slot, and the target sorting slot is the one with a smaller number of tasks assigned among the first sorting slot and the fourth sorting slots.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein The offline instruction is sent to the bin robot after the sorting task is completed, or after the materials stored in the second bin meet the preset offline conditions.

10. A control method for a warehousing sorting system, characterized in that, The system includes a first sorting device, a first storage rack, and a first bin robot; the first sorting device includes a plurality of first sorting compartments disposed on a first side of the first sorting device; the first storage rack is provided with a first storage location and a first connection location; the bin robot includes a picking and placing component, a horizontal guide rail, and a vertical guide rail, the horizontal guide rail passes through the first side of the first sorting device and the second side of the first storage rack, the vertical guide rail is horizontally movably disposed on the horizontal guide rail, and the picking and placing component is vertically movably disposed on the vertical guide rail; the method includes: Controlling the bin robot to respond to a sorting task for the first sorting compartment, and transporting a first bin from the first storage location to the first sorting compartment through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component; wherein, the first bin is a bin for loading the materials indicated by the sorting task as indicated by the sorting task; Controlling the first sorting device to respond to the first bin being transported to the first sorting compartment, and sorting the materials required for the sorting task through the first sorting compartment to the first bin; Controlling the bin robot to respond to a downline instruction for a second bin in the first sorting compartment, and transporting the second bin from the first sorting compartment to the first connection location through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component.

11. A control device for a warehousing sorting system, characterized in that, The system includes a first sorting device, a first storage rack, and a first bin robot; the first sorting device includes a plurality of first sorting compartments disposed on a first side of the first sorting device; the first storage rack is provided with a first storage location and a first connection location; the bin robot includes a picking and placing component, a horizontal guide rail, and a vertical guide rail, the horizontal guide rail passes through the first side of the first sorting device and the second side of the first storage rack, the vertical guide rail is horizontally movably disposed on the horizontal guide rail, and the picking and placing component is vertically movably disposed on the vertical guide rail; the device includes: A bin online module, configured to control the bin robot to respond to a sorting task for the first sorting compartment, and transport a first bin from the first storage location to the first sorting compartment through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component; wherein, the first bin is a bin for loading the materials indicated by the sorting task as indicated by the sorting task; A first sorting module, configured to control the first sorting device to respond to the first bin being transported to the first sorting compartment, and sort the materials required for the sorting task through the first sorting compartment to the first bin; A bin offline module, configured to control the bin robot to respond to a downline instruction for a second bin in the first sorting compartment, and transport the second bin from the first sorting compartment to the first connection location through the vertical guide rail and the picking and placing component.

12. An electronic device, characterized in that, Including: A memory, configured to store a computer program; A processor, configured to implement the method according to claim 10 when executing the program stored on the memory.

13. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the method described in claim 10 is implemented.

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