Method and equipment for identifying tobacco shred box number and comparing task information of automatic guided vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a tobacco shred box number identification and task information comparison method and equipment for an automatic guide vehicle. A control system is wirelessly connected with the automatic guide vehicle; the control system sends production scheduling task information to the automated guided vehicle; when the automatic guide vehicle conveys the tobacco shred box according to the production scheduling task information, the control system shoots an image of the current tobacco shred box on the automatic guide vehicle; the control system identifies the current tobacco shred box number of the current tobacco shred box according to the image; the control system compares whether the current tobacco shred box number accords with production scheduling task information or not; and when the current tobacco shred box number does not conform to the production scheduling task information, the control system sends an alarm reminding signal. Compared with the prior art, the capacity of verifying materials in the conveying process is achieved, quality accidents can be found in time easily in the stage, rapid correction is urged through an alarm reminding signal, cigarette box clamping errors caused by system faults, manual operation errors and the like are effectively avoided, and the stability of production quality and the high efficiency of operation are guaranteed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of tobacco automated logistics, and in particular to a method and device for identifying the tobacco bale box number and comparing task information of an automated guided vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Logistics equipment is completely dependent on the records in the database for material information data. In a few cases, when affected by factors such as network anomalies, data residues, and manual warehouse transfers, it will lead to a phenomenon where the database records do not match the actual conveyed materials. Once such a mismatch occurs, it will cause a relatively large quality accident.

[0003] In a tobacco bale warehouse, an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) device is usually used for conveying. The detection of tobacco bales requires movement. The area for placing tobacco bales in the tobacco bale warehouse is large, and there is no relatively fixed inbound and outbound channel, so it is impossible to install a monitoring device at a fixed position.

[0004] Therefore, the AGV device in the tobacco bale warehouse lacks the ability to verify the materials during conveyance, resulting in errors being discovered only when the materials are conveyed to the end. If not discovered at the end, it will cause a major quality accident. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a method and device for identifying the tobacco bale box number and comparing task information of an automated guided vehicle.

[0006] An embodiment of this application is a method for identifying the tobacco bale box number and comparing task information of an automated guided vehicle, which includes the steps of:

[0007] The control system is wirelessly connected to the automated guided vehicle;

[0008] The control system sends production scheduling task information to the automated guided vehicle;

[0009] When the automated guided vehicle transports a tobacco bale box according to the production scheduling task information, the control system takes an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automated guided vehicle;

[0010] The control system identifies the current tobacco bale box number of the current tobacco bale box according to the image;

[0011] The control system compares whether the current tobacco bale box number conforms to the production scheduling task information;

[0012] When the current tobacco bale box number does not conform to the production scheduling task information, the control system issues an alarm reminder signal.

[0013] The method for identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of the above-mentioned automatic guided vehicle realizes the ability to verify the materials in transportation by photographing the image of the current tobacco bale, then identifying and comparing the current tobacco bale number, and determining whether the current tobacco bale meets the production scheduling task. This is conducive to timely detection at the stage of quality accidents, urging quick correction through alarm reminder signals, and effectively avoiding the mixing and mislabeling caused by errors in clamping and holding tobacco boxes due to system failures, manual operation mistakes, etc. Therefore, it is conducive to cooperating with large warehouses to achieve unmanned scheduling, ensuring the error-free operation of production scheduling tasks, and thus better guaranteeing the stability of production quality and the high efficiency of operation.

[0014] Exemplarily, the control system takes a picture of the current tobacco bale on the automatic guided vehicle through the automatic guided vehicle.

[0015] In some embodiments, the production scheduling task information includes inbound task information, in-warehouse transfer task information, and outbound task information.

[0016] Taking a picture of the current tobacco bale on the automatic guided vehicle includes setting no need to take pictures, taking pictures when the full box is out of the warehouse to the platform, taking pictures when the full box is in the warehouse, and taking pictures of the tobacco bales for automatic inventory management.

[0017] Exemplarily, the control system controls the shooting of the automatic guided vehicle according to the production scheduling task information and the load feedback information of the automatic guided vehicle so as not to take pictures when the empty box is inbound.

[0018] In some embodiments, the method for identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle further includes the steps of: installing a camera device on the automatic guided vehicle and carrying a wireless network transmission architecture; wherein, both the camera device and the wireless network transmission architecture obtain power from the power supply device of the automatic guided vehicle.

[0019] In some embodiments, taking a picture of the current tobacco bale on the automatic guided vehicle includes: using the camera device on the automatic guided vehicle to continuously take pictures at preset time intervals.

[0020] In some embodiments, when the control system compares whether the tobacco bale number meets the production scheduling task information, it includes: when comparison is required, retrieving the production scheduling task information from the database to obtain the target tobacco bale number of the production scheduling task information, comparing the current tobacco bale number with the target tobacco bale number, and determining whether the comparison result is consistent.

[0021] In some embodiments, when the current tobacco bale number does not meet the production scheduling task information, the control system also associates with enterprise WeChat and sends a targeted alarm reminder signal to the target responsible person.

[0022] In some of these embodiments, taking an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle includes: taking an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle in a directional manner or taking an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle circumferentially along the automatic guided vehicle; or,

[0023] Taking an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle includes: taking an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle at a preset positioning position.

[0024] In some of these embodiments, when the automatic guided vehicle transports the tobacco bale box according to the production scheduling task information, by controlling the picking and placing position of the current tobacco bale box, the current tobacco bale box number of the current tobacco bale box is made to be at a preset photographing position.

[0025] Exemplarily, the control system includes a main control system, a warehouse management system, and a warehousing control system;

[0026] The main control system is respectively connected to the warehouse management system and the warehousing control system, and the main control system is wirelessly connected to the automatic guided vehicle;

[0027] The main control system obtains the production scheduling task information from the warehouse management system and sends the production scheduling task information to the automatic guided vehicle;

[0028] The warehouse management system sends the production scheduling task information to the warehousing control system, or the warehouse management system sends the production scheduling task information to the warehousing control system through the main control system;

[0029] When the automatic guided vehicle transports the tobacco bale box according to the production scheduling task information, it feeds back the information of completion of transportation to the warehousing control system;

[0030] The warehousing control system feeds back the information of the tobacco bale box in transit to the main control system according to the information of completion of transportation;

[0031] The main control system confirms the current automatic guided vehicle according to the information of the tobacco bale box in transit and takes an image of the current tobacco bale box on the current automatic guided vehicle; including that the main control system controls the imaging device at the preset positioning position to take an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle, or the main control system controls the imaging device on the current automatic guided vehicle to take an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle in a directional manner. This can be applicable to the simultaneous management of multiple automatic guided vehicles.

[0032] In some of these embodiments, when the automatic guided vehicle acquires a tobacco bale box, during the process of transporting the tobacco bale box to the target position by the automatic guided vehicle, and when the automatic guided vehicle unloads the tobacco bale box, the control system captures an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle.

[0033] In some of these embodiments, a device for identifying the tobacco bale box number and comparing task information of an automatic guided vehicle includes a control system and the automatic guided vehicle. The control system is wirelessly connected to the automatic guided vehicle and is used to implement the method for identifying the tobacco bale box number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle in any of the embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or in the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0035] Figure 1 It is a schematic flowchart of the first embodiment of the method for identifying the tobacco bale box number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle described in the present application.

[0036] Figure 2 It is a schematic flowchart of the second embodiment of the method for identifying the tobacco bale box number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle described in the present application.

[0037] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of network segment settings of the third embodiment of the method for identifying the tobacco bale box number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle described in the present application.

[0038] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of production scheduling task information of the fourth embodiment of the method for identifying the tobacco bale box number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle described in the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0039] To make the above objects, features, and advantages of the present application more apparent and understandable, the following will provide a detailed description of the specific embodiments of the present application with reference to the drawings. Many specific details are set forth in the following description to fully understand the present application. However, the present application can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein. Those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without departing from the connotation of the present application. Therefore, the present application is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0040] It should be noted that when a component is referred to as "fixed to" or "disposed on" another component, it can be directly on the other component or there may also be an intermediate component. When a component is considered to be "connected to" another component, it can be directly connected to the other component or there may be an intermediate component at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and similar expressions used in the specification of this application are only for illustrative purposes and do not represent the only implementation.

[0041] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of such features. In the description of this application, the meaning of "a plurality of" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0042] In this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, the first feature may be in direct contact with the second feature "on" or "under" the second feature, or the first feature and the second feature may be in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, the first feature being "above", "over" and "on top of" the second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or only indicates that the first feature has a higher horizontal height than the second feature. The first feature being "under", "below" and "beneath" the second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or only indicates that the first feature has a lower horizontal height than the second feature.

[0043] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in the specification of this application have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the technical field to which this application belongs. The terms used in the specification of this application are only for the purpose of describing specific implementations and are not intended to limit this application. The term "and / or" used in the specification of this application includes any and all combinations of one or more of the related listed items.

[0044] The present application discloses a method and device for identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of an automatic guided vehicle, which includes some or all of the technical features of the following embodiments; for example, the method for identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle includes some or all of the following steps. In an embodiment of the present application, a method for identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of an automatic guided vehicle includes the steps of: the control system is wirelessly connected to the automatic guided vehicle; the control system sends production scheduling task information to the automatic guided vehicle; when the automatic guided vehicle transports a tobacco bale according to the production scheduling task information, the control system captures an image of the current tobacco bale on the automatic guided vehicle; the control system identifies the current tobacco bale number of the current tobacco bale according to the image; the control system compares whether the current tobacco bale number conforms to the production scheduling task information; when the current tobacco bale number does not conform to the production scheduling task information, the control system issues an alarm reminder signal. The above method for identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle realizes the ability to verify the materials in transportation by capturing the image of the current tobacco bale, then identifying and comparing the current tobacco bale number, and determining whether the current tobacco bale conforms to the production scheduling task, which is beneficial to timely discovery at the stage of quality accidents, urges quick correction through the alarm reminder signal, and effectively avoids the mixing and mislabeling caused by the clamping error of the tobacco bales due to system failures, manual operation errors, etc. Therefore, it is beneficial to cooperate with the large warehouse to achieve unmanned scheduling, ensure the error-free operation of the production scheduling task, and thus better guarantee the stability of production quality and the efficiency of operation. The following will be combined with Figures 1 to 4 , the method and device for identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle will be described in detail.

[0045] In some of these embodiments, the method for identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle may also be referred to as the method for automatically identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of the AGV. As an example, it includes the steps of: installing a wireless camera on the AGV car body and providing a suitable power supply; identifying the tobacco bale number of the tobacco bale storing tobacco in a box; comparing the identified tobacco bale number of the tobacco bale storing tobacco in a box with the bale number of this task in the system; alarming when the bale numbers are inconsistent in the comparison. As an example, according to production needs, the Warehouse Control System (WCS) schedules the AGV car to pick up goods. After the pick-up is completed, continuous photos are taken at certain time intervals through the camera on the vehicle, and the taken photos are transmitted to the main control system such as the main control computer through the dedicated wireless access point (Access Point, AP) of the AGV car. The main control computer is linked to the database to obtain the relevant information of this task, and the bale number in the task information is compared with the bale number photographed by the AGV car. Combining with the alarm reminder function when the actual clamped tobacco bale is inconsistent with the system task, and through the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platform such as ThingWorx, etc., it is linked to enterprise WeChat for reminder. Such a design can, on the premise of meeting the normal inbound and outbound goods pick-up, also realize the identification and comparison of the tobacco bale number, effectively avoiding the mixing and mislabeling caused by the wrong clamping of the tobacco bale due to system failures, manual operation errors, etc. Through the application of this technology, the stability of production quality and the high efficiency of operation can be better guaranteed.

[0046] In some of these embodiments, a method for identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of an automatic guided vehicle is as Figure 1As shown, it includes the following steps: S10, the control system is wirelessly connected to the automatic guided vehicle; S20, the control system sends production scheduling task information to the automatic guided vehicle; S30, when the automatic guided vehicle transports the tobacco bale box according to the production scheduling task information, the control system captures an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle; S40, based on the image, the control system identifies the current tobacco bale box number of the current tobacco bale box; S50, the control system compares whether the current tobacco bale box number conforms to the production scheduling task information; S60, when the current tobacco bale box number does not conform to the production scheduling task information, the control system issues an alarm reminder signal. With such a design, by capturing an image of the current tobacco bale box, then identifying and comparing the current tobacco bale box number, it is determined whether the current tobacco bale box conforms to the production scheduling task, thereby realizing the ability to verify the materials during transportation. This is conducive to timely detection at the stage of quality accidents, and urging quick correction through the alarm reminder signal, effectively avoiding the mixing and mislabeling caused by errors in clamping and holding tobacco boxes due to system failures, manual operation mistakes, etc. Therefore, it is conducive to cooperating with large warehouses to achieve unmanned scheduling, ensuring the error-free operation of production scheduling tasks, and thus better guaranteeing the stability of production quality and the high efficiency of operation.

[0047] In some of the embodiments, before step S10, the method for identifying the tobacco bale box number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle further includes step S01: installing a camera device on the automatic guided vehicle and integrating a wireless network transmission architecture; wherein, both the camera device and the wireless network transmission architecture are powered by the power supply device of the automatic guided vehicle. As an example, as Figure 2 shown, the method for identifying the tobacco bale box number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle includes the following steps: S01, installing a camera device on the automatic guided vehicle and integrating a wireless network transmission architecture; wherein, both the camera device and the wireless network transmission architecture are powered by the power supply device of the automatic guided vehicle; S10, the control system is wirelessly connected to the automatic guided vehicle; S20, the control system sends production scheduling task information to the automatic guided vehicle; S30, when the automatic guided vehicle transports the tobacco bale box according to the production scheduling task information, the control system captures an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle; S40, based on the image, the control system identifies the current tobacco bale box number of the current tobacco bale box; S50, the control system compares whether the current tobacco bale box number conforms to the production scheduling task information; S60, when the current tobacco bale box number does not conform to the production scheduling task information, the control system issues an alarm reminder signal. With such a design, a wireless camera and a suitable power supply can be installed on the AGV car body, and a suitable network transmission architecture can be integrated to achieve the function of capturing and uploading images.

[0048] As an example, in step S10, the control system wirelessly connects to the automatic guided vehicle; as an example, a main control system such as a main control computer or an industrial control computer wirelessly connects to the automatic guided vehicle through a router or a wireless relay device. As an example, the control system can directly wirelessly connect to the automatic guided vehicle; in practical applications, for some large warehouses, the control system can wirelessly connect to the automatic guided vehicle through one, two or more wireless access points. During the whole process, the automatic guided vehicle is usually in one of the following states: idle, starting to pick up goods, picking up goods completed, starting to deliver goods, delivering goods completed. Before starting to pick up goods, the automatic guided vehicle can be initialized to ensure the normal execution of subsequent steps.

[0049] As an example, in step S20, the control system sends production scheduling task information to the automatic guided vehicle; as an example, the production scheduling task information includes inbound task information, in-warehouse transfer task information and outbound task information. The production scheduling task information can be applied to inbound and outbound operations, and can also be used for automatic inventory management, automatically moving a tobacco box, that is, a tobacco leaf box, from a certain position in the storage area of the warehouse to another position in the storage area according to the system settings. With such a design, the control system can achieve precise scheduling of the automatic guided vehicle, enabling it to flexibly adjust the driving path and target position according to different task requirements, thereby improving the operation efficiency and space utilization rate of the warehouse. At the same time, the diversity of this task information also provides a clear reference standard for subsequent identification and comparison of tobacco leaf box numbers, further enhancing the intelligence and automation of the entire system, reducing the necessity of manual intervention, contributing to the realization of unmanned operation in the warehousing and logistics links, reducing labor costs, and improving the stability and reliability of the production process.

[0050] As an example, after the control system sends production scheduling task information to the automatic guided vehicle, the automatic guided vehicle receives the production scheduling task information, and then the automatic guided vehicle transports the cut tobacco boxes according to the production scheduling task information. By way of example and not limitation, the cut tobacco storage uses a row-by-row placement of tobacco boxes. The number of tobacco boxes in a row has several types, namely 8, 16, and 20. The tobacco boxes are stacked vertically in 1 to 4 layers. When the automatic guided vehicle, i.e., the AGV, picks up the tobacco boxes on the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th layer, the forklift needs to be raised to clamp the tobacco boxes. When the AGV picks up the tobacco boxes on the 1st layer, the forklift needs to be lowered to clamp the tobacco boxes. After the forklift of the AGV clamps the tobacco boxes and lifts them up a certain distance, it moves horizontally forward. When it reaches the row opening, and when the tobacco boxes will not touch other lower-layer tobacco boxes when descending or ascending, the AGV performs the ascending or descending action until the forklift of the AGV reaches the running height, and then the forklift stops moving and goes to the destination platform. With such a design, the automatic guided vehicle can accurately execute the transportation task according to the task information received in real time, ensuring that the cut tobacco boxes are carried and transferred according to the established production plan and scheduling requirements, thus avoiding the mistakes and delays that may occur in manual scheduling, and improving the transportation efficiency and accuracy. At the same time, the autonomous execution ability of the automatic guided vehicle enables it to seamlessly connect with the production scheduling system, forming an efficient and stable material transportation chain, further enhancing the automation level and reliability of the entire production process.

[0051] As an example, the situations of the AGV picking up and placing goods include: empty box out of the warehouse, empty box into the warehouse, full box out of the warehouse, full box into the warehouse, out of the transfer platform, into the transfer platform, the cigarette packaging station applies to take out full boxes, the cigarette making station applies for full boxes, and automatic warehousing, etc. During the execution of the task, only the height of picking up and placing goods may not be the same. Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, the automatic guided vehicle transports the cut tobacco boxes according to the production scheduling task information. In terms of picking up or unloading goods, the main operations mainly include the following: AGV picking up goods, the forklift lifting and lowering to the running height, and AGV placing goods.

[0052] As an example, in step S30, when the automated guided vehicle transports the tobacco bale boxes according to the production scheduling task information, the control system captures an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automated guided vehicle. As an example, there may be many tobacco bale boxes in the warehouse, some of which may be empty boxes and some may be full boxes. Among them, the empty box is a box with a specific structure made of wood and stainless steel; the full box refers to a box with a specific structure made of wood and stainless steel filled with tobacco. As an example, a wooden tobacco box, i.e., a tobacco bale box, can be used, with dimensions of 1200mm×1200mm×1200mm or other specifications. There is an openable lid on the top of the box, and there is a tobacco box number in the upper right corner area of the four sides of the box. If necessary, the tobacco box number can be set at other positions. Exemplarily, by capturing images of the tobacco bale boxes in real time during transportation, especially directly capturing an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automated guided vehicle, the control system can obtain intuitive information of the tobacco bale boxes, providing an accurate image data basis for subsequent identification of the tobacco box numbers. This real-time image acquisition method ensures the timeliness and accuracy of the identification process, avoiding identification errors caused by unclear images or untimely acquisition. At the same time, the image record can also be used as a basis for tracing the production process, facilitating quick positioning and cause investigation in case of problems, further enhancing the controllability and reliability of the production process.

[0053] Exemplarily, the control system captures an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle. Traditional automatic guided vehicles are not equipped with a camera device and only capture images at specific positions on the conveyor belt, making it impossible to verify the materials during the conveying stage or at the initial stage of conveying. Such a design, on the one hand, is conducive to early error detection. By collecting and identifying images of the tobacco bale box at the initial stage of conveying, it is possible to promptly detect situations where the tobacco bale box number does not match the production scheduling task information in the early stage of the problem, avoiding the further transportation and processing of incorrect tobacco bale boxes, thereby reducing production delays and quality accidents caused by incorrect materials. On the other hand, it is conducive to improving the verification coverage rate. For the traditional method of only capturing images at specific positions on the conveyor belt, there are verification blind spots. This embodiment can collect images throughout the entire transportation process of the tobacco bale box, ensuring the verification of each tobacco bale box, improving the comprehensiveness and reliability of verification. Furthermore, it is conducive to enhancing the degree of automation. By integrating the camera device into the automatic guided vehicle, full-process automation from transportation to verification is achieved, reducing the need for manual intervention and further improving the automation level and efficiency of the production process, which cannot be achieved by traditional conveyor belt detection methods. Additionally, it is conducive to enhancing production stability. Through real-time verification, it is ensured that each tobacco bale box always maintains the correct state during transportation, avoiding material confusion caused by human errors or equipment failures, thereby guaranteeing the continuity and stability of production. Moreover, such on-vehicle verification is also conducive to traceability and management. The captured images can be used as records of the production process, facilitating subsequent quality traceability and production management, providing data support for the optimization and improvement of the production process.

[0054] In some of these embodiments, the production scheduling task information includes inbound task information, in-warehouse transfer task information, and outbound task information; photographing the image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle includes setting no photography required, photographing when a full box is out of the warehouse to the platform, photographing when a full box is inbound, and photographing the tobacco bale boxes during automatic warehouse sorting. Exemplarily, the control system controls the photographing of the automatic guided vehicle according to the production scheduling task information and the load feedback information of the automatic guided vehicle, so as not to take a photo when an empty box is inbound. With such a design, on the one hand, by combining the production scheduling task information and the load feedback information, the control system can intelligently judge whether the current tobacco bale box is an empty box. For the case of an empty box inbound, there is no need to take a photo, thus avoiding unnecessary image acquisition operations, saving system resources and time, and improving the overall photographing efficiency. On the other hand, it reduces the invalid image data generated by photographing empty boxes, reduces the burden on the image recognition system, enables the system to focus more on processing the images of the boxes actually loaded with tobacco, and improves the accuracy and efficiency of data processing. On the still other hand, the control system can accurately judge the load status of the automatic guided vehicle according to the load feedback information, and combine the production scheduling task information to precisely control the photographing operation. This precise control ensures the consistency between the photographing operation and the actual production requirements, and avoids production delays or errors caused by misoperations. On yet another hand, by reducing unnecessary photographing operations, it means that the usage frequency of the imaging device is reduced, thereby reducing the energy consumption and wear of the device, extending the service life of the device, and reducing the maintenance cost. And also by flexibly combining multiple information sources to control the photographing operation, the system can better adapt to different production scenarios and task requirements, improve the versatility and adaptability of the system. On this premise, it is further beneficial to improve the stability of production quality. When an empty box is inbound, no photo is taken, avoiding production scheduling errors caused by misidentification of empty boxes, and further ensuring the stability of the production process and the reliability of quality control.

[0055] In some of these embodiments, when the automatic guided vehicle transports the cut tobacco box according to the production scheduling task information, by controlling the pick-up and placement positions of the current cut tobacco box, the current cut tobacco box number of the current cut tobacco box is made to be at a preset photographing position. The transportation of the cut tobacco box has multiple stages. In some of these embodiments, when the automatic guided vehicle acquires the cut tobacco box, during the process of the automatic guided vehicle transporting the cut tobacco box to the target position, and when the automatic guided vehicle unloads the cut tobacco box, the control system photographs the image of the current cut tobacco box on the automatic guided vehicle. With such a design, on the one hand, by controlling the pick-up and placement positions of the cut tobacco box, ensuring that the cut tobacco box number is at the preset photographing position can improve the clarity and accuracy of the photographed image, thereby enhancing the success rate of cut tobacco box number recognition. On the other hand, photographing at multiple stages of acquiring, transporting, and unloading the cut tobacco box can verify the cut tobacco box number multiple times at different links, further ensuring the accuracy of the cut tobacco box number, and effectively avoiding recognition errors caused by mid-course replacement or incorrect placement. On yet another hand, the multi-stage photographing mechanism provides multiple safeguards for the production process. Even if a problem occurs at a certain stage, it can be promptly discovered and corrected through subsequent photographing, enhancing the reliability of the entire system. On still another hand, by precisely controlling the pick-up and placement positions of the cut tobacco box and the photographing timing, the automatic guided vehicle can complete the transportation task more efficiently, optimize the overall scheduling process, and improve production efficiency.

[0056] In some of these embodiments, photographing the image of the current cut tobacco box on the automatic guided vehicle includes: using the imaging device on the automatic guided vehicle to continuously take pictures at preset time intervals. In some of these embodiments, photographing the image of the current cut tobacco box on the automatic guided vehicle includes: photographing the image of the current cut tobacco box on the automatic guided vehicle at a preset positioning position. With such a design, on the one hand, by continuously taking pictures at preset time intervals, the state of the cut tobacco box during transportation can be monitored in real time, ensuring that the cut tobacco box number always remains correct during transportation, and promptly discovering and correcting possible errors. On the other hand, multiple image samples can be obtained through continuous photographing, increasing the accuracy and reliability of recognizing the cut tobacco box number, and avoiding recognition failures caused by accidental errors in single-shot photography. On yet another hand, the preset time interval can be flexibly adjusted according to actual production requirements and transportation speed, enabling the system to adapt to different production scenarios and task requirements, thereby enhancing the flexibility of the system. Moreover, photographing at the preset positioning position can ensure that the imaging device obtains the image of the cut tobacco box at the best photographing angle and distance, thereby improving the image quality and recognition accuracy.

[0057] In some embodiments, taking an image of the current tobacco box on the automatic guided vehicle includes: taking an image of the current tobacco box on the automatic guided vehicle in a directional manner, that is, taking an image of the current tobacco box on the automatic guided vehicle at a specific position or a specific angle; as an example, the camera device on the automatic guided vehicle takes an image of the current tobacco box on the automatic guided vehicle in a directional manner. Or taking an image of the current tobacco box on the automatic guided vehicle includes: taking an image of the current tobacco box on the automatic guided vehicle in a circumferential direction along the automatic guided vehicle; as an example, the camera device on the automatic guided vehicle moves along a preset track along the periphery of the automatic guided vehicle, and takes an image of the current tobacco box on the automatic guided vehicle in a circumferential direction; or, when the automatic guided vehicle moves to a preset positioning position, such a design can obtain an image of the current tobacco box on the automatic guided vehicle in a variety of ways.

[0058] As an example, in step S40, the control system identifies the current tobacco box number of the current tobacco box according to the image; the current tobacco box number obtained by image recognition can be realized by using a functional module of converting graphics to text, which will not be described in detail here. Exemplarily, when the control system, such as the main control system, cannot identify the current tobacco box number of the current tobacco box, it returns to step S30 and continues to shoot the image of the current tobacco box on the automatic guided vehicle until the image recognition is successful; if the current tobacco box number of the current tobacco box cannot be obtained for N consecutive times, the control system sends an alarm reminder signal, and the automatic guided vehicle interrupts the current production scheduling task information and returns to the preset standby position. Such a design, on the one hand, is conducive to ensuring that the tobacco box number can be successfully identified in the end through multiple shooting attempts, avoiding production interruptions caused by a failed shooting, thereby ensuring the accuracy of recognition. On the other hand, if the tobacco box number cannot be identified for N consecutive times, the system sends an alarm reminder signal, which can promptly discover possible problems, such as damage to the tobacco box number, failure of the camera device, etc. On the other hand, the AGV interrupts the current task and returns to the standby position, preventing the wrong tobacco box from continuing to participate in production scheduling, thereby ensuring the correctness and stability of the production process. After returning to the preset standby position, it is convenient for the staff to inspect and maintain the tobacco box or equipment, which is conducive to quickly solving problems and reducing production delays.

[0059] As an example, in step S50, the control system compares whether the current tobacco bale box number conforms to the production scheduling task information; in some embodiments, the control system compares whether the tobacco bale box number conforms to the production scheduling task information, including: when comparison is required, retrieving the production scheduling task information from the database to obtain the target tobacco bale box number of the production scheduling task information, comparing the current tobacco bale box number with the target tobacco bale box number, and determining whether the comparison results are consistent. As an example, when setting the task of taking pictures for picking up goods, it can be selected according to needs, such as taking pictures and comparing when the full box is out of the warehouse to the platform, taking pictures and comparing when the full box is put into the warehouse, taking pictures and comparing for the automatically sorted tobacco bale boxes, not taking pictures and comparing when the empty box is put into the warehouse, etc. Such a design, on the one hand, ensures the accuracy and reliability of the comparison process by retrieving the accurate target tobacco bale box number from the database and comparing it with the current tobacco bale box number, avoiding misjudgment caused by inaccurate information. On the other hand, by selecting whether to take pictures and compare according to different production scenarios, the flexibility and adaptability of the system are improved, and diverse production requirements can be met. On the third hand, no pictures are taken in scenarios where comparison is not required, reducing unnecessary image acquisition and processing, saving system resources and time, and improving the overall operation efficiency. On the fourth hand, through an accurate comparison mechanism, it is ensured that each tobacco bale box always maintains the correct state during transportation and storage, avoiding production chaos caused by incorrect tobacco bale box numbers, and enhancing the stability and controllability of production.

[0060] As an example, in step S60, when the current tobacco bale box number does not conform to the production scheduling task information, the control system issues an alarm reminder signal. In some embodiments, when the current tobacco bale box number does not conform to the production scheduling task information, the control system also associates with enterprise WeChat and sends a targeted alarm reminder signal to the target responsible person. In this way, the anti-error design of the tobacco bale warehouse AGV when transporting tobacco bale boxes is realized, meeting the requirements of high-quality development, being conducive to continuously improving the logistics integration and coordination ability and the lean management level, helping to promote the improvement of logistics operation quality, efficiency, and cost control, and steadily realizing the transformation from information-based logistics to intelligent logistics.

[0061] For large-scale warehousing, the control system can have multiple subsystems to achieve different design functions respectively. Exemplarily, the control system includes a main control system, a warehouse management system, and a warehousing control system; the main control system is respectively connected to the warehouse management system and the warehousing control system, and the main control system is wirelessly connected to the automatic guided vehicle; the main control system obtains the production scheduling task information from the warehouse management system and sends the production scheduling task information to the automatic guided vehicle; the warehouse management system sends the production scheduling task information to the warehousing control system, or the warehouse management system sends the production scheduling task information to the warehousing control system through the main control system; when the automatic guided vehicle transports the tobacco bale box according to the production scheduling task information, it feeds back the transportation completion information to the warehousing control system; the warehousing control system feeds back the in-transit information of the tobacco bale box to the main control system according to the transportation completion information; the main control system confirms the current automatic guided vehicle according to the in-transit information of the tobacco bale box and captures an image of the current tobacco bale box on the current automatic guided vehicle; including the main control system controlling the imaging device at a preset positioning position to position and capture an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle, or the main control system controlling the imaging device on the current automatic guided vehicle to directionally capture an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle. This can be applicable to simultaneously manage multiple automatic guided vehicles and is suitable for large-scale warehouse management.

[0062] Exemplarily, in step S10, the control system, such as the main control system, is wirelessly connected to the automatic guided vehicle and initialized, and the wireless access point network segment of the automatic guided vehicle is matched and set with the network segment of the warehousing control system; in step S20, when the control system, such as the main control system, receives a production scheduling demand, it notifies the warehouse management system to generate production scheduling task information, and the production scheduling task information includes a starting address, a destination address, and a tobacco bale box number, and may also include other information; wherein, both the starting address and the destination address are virtual addresses; the warehouse management system sends the production scheduling task information to the warehousing control system, and the warehousing control system sends the production scheduling task information to the automatic guided vehicle; in step S30, when the automatic guided vehicle transports the tobacco bale box according to the production scheduling task information, when the automatic guided vehicle moves to a specific position, such as the entrance of the row, the warehousing control system sends the real addresses of the starting address and the destination address to the automatic guided vehicle; or the warehouse management system sends the real addresses to the automatic guided vehicle through the warehousing control system. Exemplarily, the preset positioning position is the specific position.

[0063] The following continues to exemplify the method for identifying the tobacco bale box number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle, which adopts the following steps.

[0064] Step 100): Find a power source on the AGV body, use a transformer to transform the input voltage of the power source into a voltage and current suitable for the wireless camera, install the wireless camera at an appropriate position, and use the existing AP used by the AGV to transmit pictures.

[0065] Step 200): On the main control computer, match and set the AP network segment of the AGV with the network segment of the WCS.

[0066] Step 300): According to the production task requirements, after the station applies for a cigarette box, a task of the WMS warehouse management system is generated. This task has a starting address and a destination address. Among them, the addresses inside the warehouse are initially all virtual addresses, and real addresses are generated only when the trolley runs to the row port. The WMS warehouse management system sends the task to the WCS warehouse control system. After the WCS warehouse control system schedules the on-site AGV clamping trolley to reach the starting address, if the starting address is in the storage area, when the AGV trolley is near the row port, the WCS gives the AGV trolley a real address again. After receiving the instruction, the trolley lowers the lifting fork, then retreats to the specified position to clamp the cigarette box. After clamping the cigarette box, the trolley slightly lifts up to separate the current cigarette box from the lower cigarette box or the floor, and the trolley feeds back to the WCS warehouse control system that the picking is completed. The trolley runs forward until it exits the row port position, and the fork rises or lowers to the running height. At this time, the cigarette box number will be at the center of the field of view of the wireless camera.

[0067] Step 400): After the WCS warehouse control system modifies the task to completed picking, since the program on the main control computer continuously accesses the WCS warehouse control system, after obtaining that the WCS warehouse control system has changed the task to completed picking, the main control computer runs the program and transmits this signal to the wireless camera on the AGV trolley through the AP. The wireless camera will start taking pictures continuously and transmit the pictures to the main control computer through the wireless AP of the trolley. The main control computer will identify the cigarette box number on the picture through the OCR program. After identifying the cigarette box number, it will compare the identified cigarette box number with the cigarette box number of this task in the WCS warehouse control system.

[0068] Step 500): When the cigarette box numbers match, it will feedback to the wireless camera on the AGV trolley that there is no need to continue taking pictures. When the cigarette box numbers do not match, it will continue to take pictures, identify, and compare. When the number of inconsistencies or the time reaches the set value, it will be determined that the cigarette box number is inconsistent with the cigarette box number of the actual task in the WCS warehouse control system.

[0069] Step 600) In the ThingWorx platform, bind and configure the data where the photographed cigarette case number is inconsistent with the cigarette case number in the task of the actual WCS warehousing control system so that it can be acquired and monitored by the ThingWorx platform. When ThingWorx detects an inconsistency, push a notification through the enterprise WeChat application, log in and set relevant permissions in the enterprise WeChat application so that the alarm information can be pushed to the corresponding maintenance personnel for processing.

[0070] Step 700) When the AGV reaches the destination address, the AGV will send a request to start discharging goods to the WCS. Since the photographed cigarette case number is inconsistent with the cigarette case number in the task of the actual WCS warehousing control system, the AGV will not be able to obtain the request for permission to discharge goods from the WCS, and the AGV will stop in front of the destination without moving until the maintenance personnel confirm and process it and give a signal before the trolley starts to discharge goods.

[0071] With such a design, through the solution of visually detecting the cigarette case number by the AGV in the cut tobacco warehouse, it effectively avoids the problem that the cigarette case number clamped by the trolley is inconsistent with the cigarette case number in the system task due to reasons such as system and improper operation, solves the operation mode of the traditional cut tobacco warehouse and the existing error problems, and avoids the occurrence of quality accidents. And during normal production, after each AGV picks up goods, when the forklift of the trolley rises to the operating height, on the premise of the normal inbound and outbound operation mode, it also improves the efficiency of cigarette case inbound and outbound.

[0072] In some of the embodiments, the method for identifying the cigarette case number of the automatic guided vehicle and comparing task information adopts the following steps.

[0073] Step 100) Find a power source on the AGV body, transform the input voltage of the power source into a voltage and current suitable for the wireless camera through a transformer, install the wireless camera, and use the AP used by the AGV to transmit pictures.

[0074] Step 200) Set the AP network segment of the AGV and the network segment of the WCS on the main control computer, as Figure 3 shown.

[0075] Step 300) According to the production task requirements, after the platform applies for a cigarette case, generate a task in the WMS warehouse management system as Figure 4As shown, for example, the WMS task number is T-20241102-00034, and the WCS task code is 30113. This task has a starting address and a destination address. Among them, the address inside the warehouse is initially a virtual address, and a real address is generated only when the trolley runs to the row port. The WMS warehouse management system issues the task to the WCS warehousing control system. After the WCS warehousing control system schedules the on-site AGV clamping trolley to walk 230 rows after reaching the starting address, when the AGV trolley is near the row port, the WCS gives the AGV trolley a real address. After receiving the instruction, the trolley passes through the lifting fork and then retreats to the specified position to clamp the cigarette box. After clamping the cigarette box, the trolley slightly lifts up to separate from the lower cigarette box or the floor, and the trolley gives feedback to the WCS warehousing control system that the picking is completed. After the trolley runs forward until it exits the row port position, the fork rises or descends to the running height. At this time, the cigarette box number will be at the center of the field of view of the wireless camera.

[0076] Step 400) After the WCS warehousing control system modifies the status of the AGV to picking completed, since the program on the main control computer continuously accesses the WCS warehousing control system, after obtaining that the WCS warehousing control system has changed the task to picking completed, the main control computer runs the program and transmits this signal to the wireless camera on the AGV trolley through the AP. The wireless camera will start taking pictures continuously and transmit the pictures to the main control computer through the wireless AP of the trolley. The main control computer will identify the cigarette box number on the picture, such as 1932, through the OCR program. After identifying the cigarette box number, it will compare the identified cigarette box number with the cigarette box number of this task in the WCS warehousing control system.

[0077] Step 500) When the cigarette box numbers are compared and are consistent, it will be fed back that the wireless camera on the AGV trolley does not need to continue taking pictures. When the cigarette box numbers are compared and are inconsistent, continuous taking pictures, identification, and comparison will be carried out. When the number of inconsistencies or the time reaches the set value, it will be determined that the cigarette box number is inconsistent with the cigarette box number of the actual WCS warehousing control system task. By binding and configuring the data with inconsistent cigarette box numbers captured in the ThingWorx platform with the cigarette box numbers of the actual WCS warehousing control system tasks, it can be acquired and monitored by the ThingWorx platform. When the ThingWorx detects an inconsistency, a notification will be pushed through the enterprise WeChat application. Logging in and setting relevant permissions in the enterprise WeChat application enables the alarm information to be pushed to the corresponding maintenance personnel for processing.

[0078] Step 700): When the AGV reaches the destination address, i.e., the destination, the AGV will send a request to start discharging goods to the WCS warehouse control system. When the cigarette box number captured in the photo is the same as the cigarette box number of the task in the actual WCS warehouse control system, the AGV directly discharges the goods to the platform corresponding to the destination address. After discharging the goods, the trolley gives feedback to the WCS that the delivery is completed, and the WCS completes the task. If the cigarette box number captured in the photo is different from the cigarette box number of the task in the actual WCS warehouse control system, then the AGV will not be able to obtain the request from the WCS warehouse control system to allow discharging goods, and the AGV will stop in front of the destination address without any action until the maintenance personnel confirm and process it and give a signal, and then the trolley starts to discharge the goods.

[0079] In some embodiments, a device for identifying the cigarette box number of a tobacco bale and comparing task information of an automated guided vehicle includes a control system and the automated guided vehicle. The control system is wirelessly connected to the automated guided vehicle and is used to implement the method for identifying the cigarette box number of a tobacco bale and comparing task information of the automated guided vehicle in any of the embodiments. It can also be understood that the control system and the automated guided vehicle jointly implement each step of the method for identifying the cigarette box number of a tobacco bale and comparing task information of the automated guided vehicle in any of the embodiments. Or, the device for identifying the cigarette box number of a tobacco bale and comparing task information of the automated guided vehicle has a functional device for implementing each step of the method for identifying the cigarette box number of a tobacco bale and comparing task information of the automated guided vehicle in any of the embodiments. Since the control system and the automated guided vehicle jointly implement each step of the method for identifying the cigarette box number of a tobacco bale and comparing task information of the automated guided vehicle in any of the embodiments, the device for identifying the cigarette box number of a tobacco bale and comparing task information of the automated guided vehicle also has the beneficial technical effects of the method for identifying the cigarette box number of a tobacco bale and comparing task information of the automated guided vehicle, which will not be elaborated here.

[0080] It should be noted that other embodiments of the present application also include methods and devices for identifying the cigarette box number of a tobacco bale and comparing task information of an automated guided vehicle formed by combining the technical features in the above embodiments, which can also be called a method for verifying the efficiency of the tobacco bale transportation task of an automated guided vehicle.

[0081] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. For the sake of brevity of description, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as these combinations of technical features do not conflict, they should all be considered as within the scope described in this specification.

[0082] The above-described embodiments merely represent several implementation manners of the present application. The description thereof is relatively specific and detailed, but it should not be construed as a limitation on the scope of the patent application. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the present application, several modifications and improvements can be made, and these all fall within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the patent protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of an automated guided vehicle, characterized in that, Including the steps: The control system is wirelessly connected to the automatic guided vehicle; The control system sends production scheduling task information to the automatic guided vehicle; When the automatic guided vehicle transports the tobacco bale box according to the production scheduling task information, the control system captures an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle; The control system identifies the current tobacco bale box number of the current tobacco bale box based on the image; The control system compares whether the current tobacco bale box number conforms to the production scheduling task information; When the current tobacco bale box number does not conform to the production scheduling task information, the control system issues an alarm reminder signal.

2. The method for identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, wherein The production scheduling task information includes inbound task information, in-warehouse transfer task information, and outbound task information; Capturing an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle includes setting no need to take pictures, taking pictures when the full box is out of the warehouse to the platform, taking pictures when the full box is inbound, and taking pictures of the tobacco bale boxes for automatic warehouse management.

3. The method for identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, wherein The method for identifying the tobacco bale box number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle further includes the steps: installing a camera device on the automatic guided vehicle and carrying a wireless network transmission architecture; wherein, both the camera device and the wireless network transmission architecture are powered from the power supply device of the automatic guided vehicle.

4. The method for identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, Capturing an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle includes: using the camera device on the automatic guided vehicle to continuously take pictures at a preset time interval.

5. The method for identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control system compares whether the tobacco bale box number conforms to the production scheduling task information, including: when comparison is required, retrieving the production scheduling task information from the database to obtain the target tobacco bale box number of the production scheduling task information, comparing the current tobacco bale box number with the target tobacco bale box number, and determining whether the comparison result is consistent.

6. The method for identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that When the current tobacco bale box number does not conform to the production scheduling task information, the control system also associates with enterprise WeChat and sends a targeted alarm reminder signal to the target responsible person.

7. The method for identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, Capturing an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle includes: directionally capturing an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle or circumferentially capturing an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle along the automatic guided vehicle; or, Capturing an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle includes: capturing an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle at a preset positioning position.

8. The method for identifying the tobacco bale number of an automatically guided vehicle and comparing task information according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the automatic guided vehicle transports the tobacco bale box according to the production scheduling task information, by controlling the picking and placing position of the current tobacco bale box, the current tobacco bale box number of the current tobacco bale box is made to be at a preset photographing position.

9. The method for identifying the tobacco bale number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, When the automatic guided vehicle obtains a tobacco bale box, during the process of the automatic guided vehicle transporting the tobacco bale box to the target position and when the automatic guided vehicle unloads the tobacco bale box, the control system captures an image of the current tobacco bale box on the automatic guided vehicle.

10. An apparatus for identifying the tobacco bale number of an automated guided vehicle and comparing task information, characterized in that, Including a control system and an automatic guided vehicle, the control system is wirelessly connected to the automatic guided vehicle and is used to implement the method for identifying the tobacco bale box number and comparing task information of the automatic guided vehicle as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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