Tray rental based management positioning system

Abstract

The tray leasing-based management positioning system comprises a plurality of glass trays, positioning units fixed to the glass trays and a central controller, the central controller comprises a dynamic election unit, a relative positioning unit, a cluster positioning unit and a display unit, the positioning unit comprises: a first positioning module, which acquires ranging data of relative positions of a plurality of trays in the same vehicle; a second positioning module, which acquires absolute positions of the trays; an acceleration monitoring module, which detects the static / moving state of the glass trays and triggers mode switching of the positioning unit; the dynamic election unit selects a master positioning unit among the positioning units located on the same transport tool; the relative positioning unit calculates the relative positions of slave positioning units and the master positioning unit located on the same transport tool based on a two-way ranging method; the cluster positioning unit converts the positioning data into cluster two-dimensional coordinates and generates a position heat map; and the display unit displays the position heat map. The application improves positioning accuracy and improves resource utilization of the trays.

Description

Pallet rental-based management and positioning system Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of pallet rental technology, and more specifically, to a management and positioning system based on pallet rental. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, pallets are used for the containerization, stacking, handling, and transportation of goods and products. Pallets are now widely used in production, transportation, warehousing, and distribution, and are considered one of the two key innovations in the 20th-century logistics industry. As an important loading, unloading, storage, and transportation device in logistics operations, pallets play a significant role in modern logistics when used in conjunction with forklifts.

[0003] Generally, logistics parks and modern warehouses require a large number of pallets to meet the logistics needs of enterprises, such as warehousing and transportation scheduling. However, if logistics parks and modern warehouses always have a surplus of pallets, it will lead to excessive space occupation. Furthermore, the usage of pallets in logistics parks and modern warehouses has significant temporal fluctuations, meaning that the usage and type of pallets vary greatly at different times. If the number of pallets in reserve is always in surplus, it will greatly increase the storage cost, especially for high-cost glass pallets.

[0004] Furthermore, the existing pallet management methods are relatively traditional, still using a primitive positioning method to manage rented pallets. The positioning data quality is low, and it cannot accurately calculate the number of pallets available for rent at the target location in the next moment.

[0005] Therefore, the existing technology has problems and needs further improvement and development. Summary of the Invention

[0006] (I) Purpose of the invention: In order to solve the problems existing in the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a glass tray management and positioning system that optimizes energy consumption, visualizes management, provides intelligent prediction and enhances environmental adaptability, and is efficient and reliable.

[0007] (II) Technical Solution: To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this technical solution provides a management and positioning system based on pallet rental, including multiple glass pallets, positioning units fixed to the glass pallets, and a central controller. The central controller includes a dynamic election unit, a relative positioning unit, a cluster positioning unit, and a display unit.

[0008] The positioning unit includes: a first positioning module for acquiring distance measurement data of the relative positions of multiple pallets within the same vehicle; a second positioning module for acquiring the absolute position of the pallets, i.e., positioning data; and an acceleration monitoring module for detecting the stationary / moving state of the glass pallets, obtaining acceleration data, and triggering the switching of the positioning unit's working mode or sleep mode.

[0009] The dynamic election unit selects the main positioning unit from among the positioning units located on the same transport vehicle;

[0010] The relative positioning unit calculates the relative position between the slave positioning unit and the master positioning unit located on the same transport vehicle based on the two-way ranging method, and obtains the relative three-dimensional coordinates;

[0011] The cluster positioning unit converts the positioning data into cluster two-dimensional coordinates to generate a location heatmap.

[0012] The display unit displays a heat map of the location.

[0013] The pallet rental-based management and positioning system includes a positioning unit that further comprises a first control module, a power supply module, and a communication module. The first control module is connected to the first positioning module, the second positioning module, the acceleration monitoring module, the communication module, and the power supply module. The power supply module provides power to the positioning unit. The first positioning module, the second positioning module, and the acceleration monitoring module send the real-time acquired information to the first control module and then send it to the central controller through the communication module.

[0014] The pallet rental-based management and positioning system includes a dynamic election unit that selects positioning units on a transport vehicle based on positioning data or acceleration data to obtain a cluster of glass pallets. The dynamic election unit determines the master positioning unit of the cluster of glass pallets based on the signal strength and / or remaining battery power received by the first control module of the positioning units in the cluster of glass pallets. The master positioning unit includes at least three positioning units that are not on the same plane. Apart from the selected master positioning unit, the remaining positioning units in the cluster of glass pallets are all slave positioning units.

[0015] The pallet rental-based management and positioning system, wherein the relative positioning unit calculates the relative position of the slave positioning unit and the master positioning unit located on the same transport vehicle based on a two-way ranging method, obtaining relative three-dimensional coordinates, specifically including,

[0016] The relative positioning unit sends a ranging request command to the positioning unit in the same cluster of glass trays. The positioning unit in the same cluster then sends a ranging request from the first positioning module to the main positioning unit. After the main positioning unit responds, the positioning unit calculates the relative distance to the main positioning unit using a two-way ranging algorithm (TDOA). The formula is as follows: c is the speed of light, and Δt is the round-trip time difference of the signal; the calculated relative distance with the main positioning unit is sent from the positioning unit to the relative positioning unit through the first control module;

[0017] The relative positioning unit calculates the relative coordinates (x, y, z) based on the relative distance between the slave positioning unit and different master positioning units, thus obtaining the relative three-dimensional coordinates.

[0018] The pallet rental-based management and positioning system, wherein the cluster positioning unit converts the positioning data into cluster two-dimensional coordinates and generates a location heatmap, specifically includes the following steps.

[0019] The positioning data is converted into cluster two-dimensional coordinates: the positioning data of the positioning unit is converted into planar coordinates using transverse Mercator projection (UTM) to obtain cluster two-dimensional coordinates, which include the specific coordinates of the target glass tray.

[0020] Convert cluster 2D coordinates to cluster 3D coordinates: Add a z-axis to the cluster 2D coordinates, and the value of the added z-axis for each coordinate point in the cluster 3D coordinates is 0;

[0021] The coordinates of each positioning unit in the relative three-dimensional coordinates are superimposed onto the three-dimensional cluster coordinates: In the relative three-dimensional coordinates, there are multiple positioning units with the same horizontal coordinates but different vertical coordinates. Based on the specific coordinates of the multiple positioning units in the cluster two-dimensional coordinates, the corresponding values ​​of the X-axis and Y-axis in the cluster three-dimensional coordinates are marked on the z-axis of the cluster three-dimensional coordinates in sequence to obtain the cluster three-dimensional coordinates, which include the specific coordinates of the target glass tray.

[0022] The three-dimensional coordinates of the cluster are divided into grid cells on the plane formed by the X and Y axes according to the first division threshold. The location heatmap is generated based on the number of coordinate points in each grid and the corresponding Z-axis region within that grid.

[0023] In the pallet rental-based management and positioning system, when the display unit displays the location heatmap, the display unit selects RGB for rendering based on the number of coordinate points in each grid. When the number of coordinate points in the grid is greater than or equal to a density threshold, the grid is displayed as a first color; when the number of coordinate points in the grid is less than the density threshold, the grid is displayed as a second color.

[0024] The pallet rental-based management and positioning system includes a central controller that further comprises a correlation analysis unit and a rental planning unit. The correlation analysis unit associates each grid block of the location heatmap with the cells of the cluster's two-dimensional coordinates to obtain a location mirror list, and calculates the correlation between different cluster glass pallet sets and the target location to obtain correlation data. The rental planning unit calculates the threshold number of glass pallets available for rent at the target location at the next moment based on the location mirror list and the correlation data.

[0025] The pallet rental-based management and positioning system, wherein the correlation analysis unit associates each grid of the location heatmap with a cell of the cluster's two-dimensional coordinates to obtain a location mirror list, specifically including:

[0026] The two-dimensional coordinates of the cluster are divided into grid cells according to the values ​​of the X and Y axes corresponding to the grid cells formed by the three-dimensional coordinates of the cluster in the plane composed of the X and Y axes, and then the second grid cell division is performed.

[0027] According to the correspondence between the grid cell and the grid block in the location heatmap, the second grid cell is associated with the grid block in the location heatmap to obtain a location mirror list; in the location mirror list, one second grid cell corresponds to one grid block in the location heatmap.

[0028] The pallet-based management and positioning system includes a correlation analysis unit that calculates the correlation between different clusters of glass pallets and the target location to obtain correlation data, specifically including:

[0029] Mark the target location in the cluster's two-dimensional coordinates, and use the second grid cell where the target location is located as the target's second grid cell;

[0030] The destination of all clustered glass tray sets, including the glass trays within the second grid cells centered on the target second grid cell and within a radius of the first radius threshold, is marked in the two-dimensional coordinates of the cluster.

[0031] Select the clustered glass tray set of destinations within a radius range centered on the second grid cell of the target and with the second radius threshold as the radius, and call it the associated clustered glass tray set;

[0032] Calculate the correlation degree between each associated cluster of glass pallets and the target location to obtain the correlation data of the second grid cell where the destination of the associated cluster of glass pallets is located.

[0033] The pallet-based management and positioning system uses the following formula to calculate the correlation between each associated cluster of glass pallets and the target location.

[0034] Correlation degree = (N*L*M) / β;

[0035] N represents the number of glass pallets in the associated cluster set; L represents the distance weight between the destination and the target location in the associated cluster set, L = 1 / d 2 d is the straight-line distance between the destination and the target location of the associated cluster glass pallet set; M is the historical rental frequency; β is the time decay coefficient.

[0036] The pallet-based management and positioning system, wherein the rental planning unit calculates a threshold for the number of leasable glass pallets at a target location at the next moment based on a location mirror list and associated data, specifically including:

[0037] Select the second grid cell containing all glass pallets in the associated cluster glass pallet set as the leasable second grid cell to obtain the leasable grid set;

[0038] The correlation degree of each second grid cell in the rental grid set is normalized to obtain the normalized correlation value of each second grid cell;

[0039] The demand levels of the second grid cells in the rental grid set are divided according to the normalized correlation value to obtain the demand level of each second grid cell in the rental grid set;

[0040] The rental planning unit calculates the threshold for the number of glass pallets available for rent at the target location at the next moment, using the following formula: Q represents the number of idle glass trays at the target location; i represents the i-th second grid cell in the rental grid set; j represents the number of second grid cells in the rental grid set; R represents the number of idle glass trays in the second grid cell; and E represents the normalized correlation value of the second grid cell.

[0041] (III) Beneficial Effects: This invention provides a management and positioning system based on pallet rental. By combining relative and absolute positioning, the positioning accuracy is improved. The three-dimensional coordinates are converted into a planar grid through transverse Mercator projection (UTM), and a location heat map is generated by combining Z-axis stacking data. Managers can intuitively identify the pallet distribution density, which maximizes the response speed. It enables accurate prediction of the number of pallets available for rental at the next moment, improves the pallet turnover rate, and enhances the resource utilization rate of pallets. Attached Figure Description

[0042] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the management and positioning system based on pallet rental of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0043] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to preferred embodiments. More details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a full understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention can obviously be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein. Those skilled in the art can make similar extensions and derivations based on actual application situations without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should not be limited by the content of this specific embodiment.

[0044] The accompanying drawings are schematic diagrams of embodiments of the present invention. It should be noted that these drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not drawn to scale, and should not be construed as limiting the actual scope of protection of the present invention.

[0045] The pallet-based management and positioning system, as shown in Figure 1, includes multiple glass pallets, positioning units, and a central controller. The central controller includes a dynamic election unit, a relative positioning unit, a cluster positioning unit, and a display unit. The number of glass pallets is at least equal to the number of positioning units to ensure that each glass pallet is fixed with a positioning unit. The central controller is connected to each positioning unit, and the positioning units send their real-time acquired positioning information to the central controller.

[0046] The positioning unit is fixed to each glass tray and includes: a first positioning module for acquiring distance measurement data of the relative positions of multiple trays in the same vehicle; a second positioning module for acquiring the absolute position of the tray, i.e., positioning data; and an acceleration monitoring module for detecting the stationary / moving state of the glass tray, obtaining acceleration data, and triggering the mode switching of the positioning unit.

[0047] The positioning unit further includes a first control module, a power supply module, and a communication module. The first control module is connected to the first positioning module, the second positioning module, the acceleration monitoring module, the communication module, and the power supply module. The power supply module provides power to the positioning unit. The first positioning module, the second positioning module, and the acceleration monitoring module send the real-time acquired information to the first control module and then send it to the central controller through the communication module.

[0048] The first positioning module is an ultra-wideband (UWB) positioning module with bidirectional ranging accuracy ≤10cm, used for calculating the relative positions of multiple pallets within the same vehicle, such as the distance between upper and lower layers, and front-to-back and left-to-right offsets. The first positioning module is a high-bandwidth module with strong resistance to multipath interference, with a frequency >500MHz. Specifically, the first positioning module can be the Decawave DW1000, which conforms to the ISO / IEC 802.15.4-2011 standard and can be used for short-range positioning in this application. It measures 3.2mm × 3.2mm, uses a QFN package, and can be integrated into a small-size printed circuit board (PCB). Its power consumption is 8.2mW in receive mode and 27mW in transmit mode (1mW power consumption), and it supports low-power sleep mode. The first positioning module and the first control module can communicate via an SPI interface.

[0049] The second positioning module is a GNSS positioning module with a positioning accuracy of ≤2m. The GNSS positioning module includes GPS positioning and BeiDou positioning, used to obtain the absolute position of the pallet, mapping the positions of glass pallets transported by different vehicles to the same map, achieving unified coordinates for cross-vehicle positioning. The first positioning module can specifically use u-blox's NEO-M8N, suitable for temperatures ranging from -40℃ to 85℃ and applicable to vehicle transportation environments; its dimensions are 5mm × 5mm × 1.1mm, and its weight is 0.2g (≤8g); its power consumption in tracking mode is 25mW, and in power-saving mode, it uses only BeiDou positioning with a power consumption of ≤10mW; its positioning accuracy is 2.5m (in this case, it is dual-mode positioning using GPS + BeiDou positioning), and the positioning accuracy can be improved to 1m; it communicates with the first control module via a UART / I2C interface.

[0050] The acceleration monitoring module has a measurement range of ±2g; resolution ≥1mg; nonlinear error ≤1%FS; dimensions ≤3mm×3mm×1mm; weight ≤0.1g; vibration resistance ≥10000g; and includes motion monitoring interruption with a set interrupt threshold (which can be 0.1g). An interrupt is triggered when acceleration >0.1g, waking up the first control module. The acceleration monitoring module includes a low-pass filter to filter out high-frequency noise, ensuring the accuracy of acceleration judgment results. The acceleration monitoring module can be an accelerometer, specifically models such as STMicroelectronics LIS3DH, Bosch Sensortec BMA220, Analog Devices ADXL345, and Kionix (ROHM) KX023-1025, etc.

[0051] The first control module adjusts the working sequence, communication frequency, and working mode of the first positioning module, the second positioning module, the acceleration monitoring module, and the communication module based on ranging data, positioning data, and acceleration data, thereby reducing overall energy consumption.

[0052] The first control module can use STMicroelectronics' STM32L051C8T6, with an ARM Cortex-M0+ core; the power supply is 2.7V~3.6V; the power consumption in operating mode (16MHz) is 28μA / MHz, and the power consumption in sleep mode (only the clock chip RTC operates) is 0.5μA; it uses SPI, UART, or I2C interfaces and can be directly connected to the first and second positioning modules; the size is 3mm×3mm, using an LQFP32 package, which meets the requirements of small-size printed circuit board layout. The first control module includes a temperature sensor and the clock chip. The temperature sensor collects the ambient temperature and determines the environmental state, and the clock chip records time.

[0053] The first control module adjusts the working sequence, communication frequency, and respective working modes of the first positioning module, the second positioning module, the acceleration monitoring module, and the communication module, specifically including the following steps.

[0054] The first control module enters sleep mode: the first and second positioning modules are powered off, and the acceleration monitoring module enters interrupt mode. When the first control module is in sleep mode, only the clock chip operates. When the acceleration monitoring module is in interrupt mode, it is only awakened when motion is detected, at which time the acceleration data is obtained.

[0055] The first control module is triggered to wake up by an event:

[0056] When motion detection is triggered, the acceleration monitoring module detects that the tray is in a moving state. If the acceleration data detected by the acceleration monitoring module is greater than the interrupt threshold, the acceleration monitoring module sends an interrupt signal to the first control module, which wakes up and enters the working mode, i.e. the running mode.

[0057] The system features a timed wake-up mechanism. When the acceleration data detected by the acceleration monitoring module is all less than or equal to the interrupt threshold within a first time threshold, the clock chip of the first control module sends an interrupt signal to the first control module at a second time threshold, waking the first control module and putting it into working mode. The first time threshold and the second time threshold are preset values, and the first time threshold and the second time threshold may be equal or unequal.

[0058] When the first control module is in working mode, it sequentially starts the first positioning module, the second positioning module, and the communication module. Each sequential startup of the first positioning module, the second positioning module, and the communication module constitutes one positioning workflow. Specifically, one positioning workflow may be as follows: the first control module starts the first positioning module, which acquires ranging data, returns the ranging data to the first control module, and then shuts down; the first control module starts the second positioning module, which acquires positioning data, returns the positioning data to the first control module, and then shuts down; the first control module starts the communication module, which sends the ranging data and positioning data to the central controller, and then shuts down.

[0059] When the first control module sequentially starts the first positioning module, the second positioning module, and the communication module, the start-up time interval for each module is ≥10ms to avoid power fluctuation interference. The total duration of one positioning workflow is ≤32s. When the glass tray is moving, the second time threshold is 1 second, i.e., it is triggered once every 1 second. When the glass tray is stationary, the second time threshold is 10 seconds, i.e., it is triggered once every 10 seconds.

[0060] The communication module may be a 4G communication module.

[0061] The power supply module has a battery life of ≥3 years, preventing insufficient power from affecting the use of the positioning unit. The power supply module includes a vibration energy harvesting circuit that converts the vibration energy from vehicle movement into electrical energy, extending the power supply module's battery life. Specifically, the power supply module can be a lithium manganese battery, such as Panasonic's CR1220 lithium manganese dioxide button battery, with a capacity of 75mAh; dimensions of φ12.5mm × 2.0mm; weight of 1.6g; and a stable discharge platform of 3V. The vibration energy harvesting circuit can use Perpetuum's PMG101 micro piezoelectric generator, with dimensions of 15mm × 10mm × 5mm; capable of outputting 50μW to 200μW under vibration of 10Hz to 100Hz (typical frequency of truck bumps).

[0062] The dynamic election unit selects a master positioning unit from among the positioning units located on the same transport vehicle. Based on the positioning data or the acceleration data, the dynamic election unit selects positioning units on a transport vehicle to obtain a cluster of glass pallets. The dynamic election unit determines the master positioning unit of the cluster of glass pallets based on the signal strength and / or remaining battery power received by the first control module of the positioning units in the cluster of glass pallets. The master positioning unit includes at least three positioning units that are not on the same plane. Apart from the selected master positioning unit, the remaining positioning units in the cluster of glass pallets are all slave positioning units.

[0063] When the glass trays enter the same transport vehicle (i.e., the positioning units enter the same transport vehicle), the dynamic election unit triggers the selection of the main positioning unit based on the overlap of positioning data from different positioning units at the same time, or based on the identical acceleration data from the acceleration monitoring modules of different positioning units at the same time.

[0064] Positioning units concentrated in the same cluster of glass trays (with overlapping positioning data or identical acceleration data at the same time) send the signal strength and / or remaining power received by the first control module to the central controller;

[0065] The dynamic election unit selects a position unit with a remaining power of ≥50% of the first control module from the position units concentrated in the same cluster glass tray (position data overlaps or acceleration data is the same at the same time) as a candidate position unit.

[0066] The dynamic election unit randomly selects three positioning units from the candidate positioning units whose signal strength received by the first control module is greater than the first signal strength threshold, and marks them as the main positioning units of the cluster glass tray set; the three randomly selected positioning units whose signal strength received by the first control module is greater than the first signal strength threshold are not on the same plane;

[0067] Mark other positioning units in the cluster's glass tray set as slave positioning units.

[0068] The relative positioning unit calculates the relative position between the slave positioning unit and the master positioning unit located on the same transport vehicle based on the two-way ranging method, obtaining relative three-dimensional coordinates, specifically including:

[0069] The relative positioning unit sends a ranging request command to the positioning unit in the same cluster of glass trays. The positioning unit in the same cluster then sends a ranging request from the first positioning module to the main positioning unit. After the main positioning unit responds, the positioning unit calculates the relative distance to the main positioning unit using a two-way ranging algorithm (TDOA). The formula is as follows: c is the speed of light, and Δt is the round-trip time difference of the signal; the calculated relative distance with the main positioning unit is sent from the positioning unit to the relative positioning unit through the first control module;

[0070] The relative positioning unit calculates the relative coordinates (x, y, z) based on the relative distance between the slave positioning unit and different master positioning units, thus obtaining the relative three-dimensional coordinates.

[0071] When calculating the relative coordinates of the slave positioning unit, any one of the three master positioning units is taken as the origin (0,0,0), and the distances between the three master positioning units and the slave positioning unit P(x,y,z) are respectively d. O ,d A ,d B Given the numbers, then:

[0072] Where a is the coordinate of anchor point A on the x-axis (distance from the x-axis of the main positioning unit), b is the coordinate of anchor point B on the y-axis (distance from the y-axis of the main positioning unit), c is the coordinate of anchor point B on the z-axis (vertical height difference from the main positioning unit), and a, b, and c are the distance measurement values ​​obtained by the first positioning module, which are known values.

[0073] Formula (2)-Formula (1): Eliminate y 2 , z 2 ,have to:

[0074] Solve directly for the x-coordinate;

[0075] Equation (3) - Equation (1): Eliminating x 2 This yields a linear equation including y and z:

[0076]

[0077] Place b, c, and d O d B Substituting into equation (4), we obtain equation (5) containing y and z;

[0078] Substituting x into equation (1), we get y 2 +z 2 The expression:

[0079]

[0080] By combining equations (5) and (6), we can calculate y and z to obtain the coordinates P(x,y,z) of the positioning unit.

[0081] The relative positioning unit calculates the relative position between the positioning unit and the main positioning unit located on the same transport vehicle based on the two-way ranging method, and obtains the relative three-dimensional coordinates;

[0082] The cluster positioning unit converts the positioning data into cluster two-dimensional coordinates and generates a location heatmap, specifically including the following steps.

[0083] The positioning data is converted into cluster two-dimensional coordinates: the positioning data of the positioning unit is converted into planar coordinates using transverse Mercator projection (UTM) to obtain cluster two-dimensional coordinates, which include the specific coordinates of the target glass tray.

[0084] Convert cluster 2D coordinates to cluster 3D coordinates: Add a z-axis to the cluster 2D coordinates, and the value of the added z-axis for each coordinate point in the cluster 3D coordinates is 0;

[0085] The coordinates of each positioning unit in the relative three-dimensional coordinates are superimposed onto the three-dimensional cluster coordinates: For positioning units in the relative three-dimensional coordinates that have the same horizontal coordinates (i.e., the same X-axis and Y-axis coordinates) but different vertical coordinates (Z-axis), the coordinate points are sequentially marked on the z-axis of the cluster three-dimensional coordinates based on the specific coordinates of these positioning units in the cluster two-dimensional coordinates, corresponding to the X-axis and Y-axis values ​​in the cluster three-dimensional coordinates. This yields the cluster three-dimensional coordinates, which include the specific coordinates of the target glass tray. For example, for positioning units in the relative three-dimensional coordinates that have the same horizontal coordinates but different vertical coordinates (Z-axis), their corresponding relative three-dimensional coordinates are: (2, 3, -1...). (2, 3, 0), (2, 3, 1), (2, 3, 2), (2, 3, 3), based on the specific coordinates of these five positioning units in the cluster's two-dimensional coordinates, and their corresponding values ​​on the X and Y axes in the cluster's three-dimensional coordinates, five coordinate points are obtained sequentially: (x, y, 1), (x, y, 2), (x, y, 3), (x, y, 4), (x, y, 5). If the specific coordinates of the five positioning units in the cluster's two-dimensional coordinates are the same, then any one of the coordinates can be selected. If they are different, the coordinates of the slave positioning unit in the cluster's two-dimensional coordinates can be calculated based on the position of the master positioning unit in the cluster's two-dimensional coordinates. Alternatively, the coordinates of the positioning units that overlap or are centered can be selected; no specific restrictions are imposed here.

[0086] The three-dimensional coordinates of the cluster are divided into grid cells on the plane formed by the X and Y axes according to a first division threshold. A location heatmap is generated based on the number of positioning units or glass trays (i.e., coordinate points) within each grid cell and the corresponding Z-axis region within that grid cell. The first division threshold is a preset value, which can be 50m.

[0087] The location heatmap is a two-dimensional map comprising multiple grid blocks. Each grid block of the location heatmap corresponds to a grid cell in the three-dimensional coordinates of the cluster.

[0088] The display unit displays the location heatmap. When displaying the location heatmap, the display unit can select RGB for rendering based on the number of coordinate points within each grid cell. When the number of coordinate points within a grid cell is greater than or equal to a density threshold, the grid cell is displayed as a first color in the corresponding grid of the location heatmap. When the number of coordinate points within a grid cell is less than the density threshold, the grid cell is displayed as a second color in the corresponding grid of the location heatmap. For example, red indicates high density (the number of positioning units within the grid cell is greater than or equal to the density threshold), and green indicates low density (the number of positioning units within the grid cell is less than the density threshold).

[0089] The central controller also includes a correlation analysis unit and a rental planning unit. The correlation analysis unit associates each grid block of the location heatmap with the cells of the cluster's two-dimensional coordinates to obtain a location mirror list, and calculates the correlation between different cluster glass pallet sets and the target location to obtain correlation data. The rental planning unit calculates the threshold number of glass pallets available for rent at the target location at the next time step based on the location mirror list and the correlation data.

[0090] The display unit of the central controller can display the threshold number of glass trays available for rent at the target location at the next moment.

[0091] The target location refers to the glass pallet rental station. Each station can be equipped with a server, which is used to receive real-time data related to the station from the central controller and display the real-time data related to the station, such as the threshold number of glass pallets that can be rented at the station in the next moment.

[0092] The cluster 3D coordinates are formed by adding a z-axis to the cluster 2D coordinates. Therefore, when dividing the cluster into second grid units according to the X and Y axis values ​​corresponding to the grid units in the plane formed by the X and Y axes of the cluster 3D coordinates, the grid units correspond to the second grid units, meaning the X and Y values ​​corresponding to the grid units are the same as those corresponding to the second grid units. Since the location heatmap is generated based on the number of positioning units or glass trays (i.e., coordinate points) within each grid unit and the corresponding Z-axis region within that grid unit, each grid unit of the cluster 3D coordinates corresponds to each grid block in the location heatmap. That is, each second grid unit in the cluster 2D coordinates has a corresponding grid block in the location heatmap.

[0093] The correlation analysis unit associates each grid of the location heatmap with a cell of the cluster's two-dimensional coordinates to obtain a location mirror list, specifically including:

[0094] The two-dimensional coordinates of the cluster are divided into grid cells according to the values ​​of the X and Y axes corresponding to the grid cells formed by the three-dimensional coordinates of the cluster in the plane composed of the X and Y axes, and then the second grid cell division is performed.

[0095] According to the correspondence between the grid cell and the grid block in the location heatmap, the second grid cell is associated with the grid block in the location heatmap to obtain a location mirror list; in the location mirror list, one second grid cell corresponds to one grid block in the location heatmap.

[0096] When the positioning data is converted into cluster two-dimensional coordinates, glass tray sets in the same cluster are marked with the same set label.

[0097] Each grid block in the location heatmap is marked with the number of idle glass pallets in the next moment, based on the rental status of the corresponding glass pallet in that grid block. The next moment refers to whether there is another rental task after the glass pallet completes its current rental task. If there is another rental task, the glass pallet's rental status in the next moment is "rented," and the number of idle glass pallets in the next moment for that grid block does not include that glass pallet. If there is no next rental task, the glass pallet's rental status in the next moment is "not rented," and the number of idle glass pallets in the next moment for that grid block includes that glass pallet.

[0098] The correlation analysis unit calculates the correlation between different clusters of glass trays and the target location to obtain correlation data, specifically including:

[0099] Mark the target location in the cluster's two-dimensional coordinates, and use the second grid cell where the target location is located as the target's second grid cell;

[0100] The destination of all clustered glass tray sets, including the glass trays within the second grid cells centered on the target second grid cell and within a radius of the first radius threshold, is marked in the two-dimensional coordinates of the cluster.

[0101] Select the clustered glass tray set of destinations within a radius range centered on the second grid cell of the target and with the second radius threshold as the radius, and call it the associated clustered glass tray set;

[0102] Calculate the correlation degree between each associated cluster of glass pallets and the target location to obtain the correlation data of the second grid cell where the destination of the associated cluster of glass pallets is located.

[0103] The following formula is used to calculate the association degree between each associated cluster of glass trays and the target location.

[0104] Correlation degree = (N*L*M) / β;

[0105] Where N is the number of glass pallets in the associated cluster glass pallet set; L is the distance weight between the destination and the target location of the associated cluster glass pallet set, L = 1 / d 2 (d is the straight-line distance between the destination and the target location of the associated cluster glass pallet set); M is the historical rental frequency, that is, the average number of rentals per day in the second grid unit where the destination of the associated cluster pallet set is located within the third time threshold. For example, when the third time threshold is 30 days, if the glass pallets in the second grid unit where the destination of the associated cluster pallet set is located have been rented 150 times, then M = 5 times / day; β is the time decay coefficient, that is, the closer the historical data is to the current time, the higher the weight. Specifically, it can be a preset value. For example, if the historical data is data within 24 hours of the current time, then β = 1; if the historical data is data within 24 to 48 hours of the current time, then β = 0.7; if the historical data is data more than 48 hours of the current time, then β = 0.3.

[0106] The larger N is, the more leasable resources there are, and the greater the potential leasing demand. The larger d is, the closer the clustered glass pallets are to the target location, resulting in lower transportation costs, faster response times, and a higher leasing probability; the larger L is. Conversely, the smaller d is, the farther the clustered glass pallets are from the target location, resulting in higher transportation costs, slower response times, and a lower leasing probability; for example, when d = 1 km, L = 1; when d = 0.5 km, L = 4. M is a prioritized value to ensure the stability of future demand in the second-unit grid where historical leasing is frequent. β is used to avoid interference from outdated data that could affect the reliability of the results; for example, peak leasing seasons may not be applicable to the current off-season.

[0107] The rental planning unit calculates the threshold number of leasable glass trays at the target location in the next moment based on the location mirror list and associated data, specifically including:

[0108] Select the second grid cell containing all glass pallets in the associated cluster glass pallet set as the leasable second grid cell to obtain the leasable grid set;

[0109] The correlation degree of each second grid unit in the rental grid set is normalized to obtain the normalized correlation value of each second grid unit; specifically, this includes calculating the historical maximum and historical minimum values ​​in the first historical time threshold; and calculating the normalized correlation value according to the normalized correlation value calculation formula. The obtained correlation value is a value between 0 and 1. The first historical time threshold can be 90 days.

[0110] The demand levels of the second grid units in the rental grid set are divided according to the normalized correlation value to obtain the demand level of each second grid unit in the rental grid set. When the normalized correlation value of the second grid unit is greater than or equal to the first correlation threshold, the second grid unit is a high-demand grid. When the normalized correlation value of the second grid unit is less than the first correlation threshold but greater than or equal to the second correlation threshold, the second grid unit is a medium-demand grid. When the normalized correlation value of the second grid unit is less than the second correlation threshold, the second grid unit is a low-demand grid. The first correlation threshold and the second correlation threshold are preset values. The first correlation threshold can be set to 0.8 and the second correlation threshold can be set to 0.4.

[0111] The rental planning unit calculates the threshold for the number of glass pallets available for rent at the target location at the next moment, using the following formula:

[0112]

[0113] Where Q represents the number of idle glass trays at the target location; i represents the i-th second grid cell in the rental grid set; j represents the number of second grid cells in the rental grid set; R i E represents the number of idle glass trays in the i-th second grid cell; i This is the normalized correlation value of the i-th second grid cell;

[0114] The number of idle glass trays in the second grid cell of the rental grid set is obtained by determining the number of idle glass trays in the grid block corresponding to the second grid cell at the next moment, based on the association between the second grid cell in the location mirror list and the grid block in the location heatmap.

[0115] The pallet rental-based management and positioning system, through multi-module collaborative design and intelligent algorithm optimization, has achieved the following technical effects:

[0116] 1. Synergistic improvement of positioning accuracy and scene adaptability

[0117] Multi-mode positioning fusion: The first positioning module achieves centimeter-level relative positioning within the vehicle (±10cm), and the second positioning module achieves unified absolute coordinates across different scenarios;

[0118] Dynamic mode switching: The accelerated monitoring module detects the movement state of the tray and triggers adaptive adjustment of the positioning frequency to ensure a balance between positioning continuity and accuracy in different scenarios;

[0119] 2. Breakthrough optimization for low power consumption and long battery life

[0120] Intelligent sleep-wake mechanism: The first control module shuts down the first positioning module and / or the second positioning module when stationary, and wakes up only through the interruption of the acceleration monitoring module. Combined with the vibration energy harvesting circuit, the battery life is increased to more than 3 years, reducing maintenance costs.

[0121] Low-power hardware design: The positioning unit uses miniaturized components, which reduces the total power consumption in operation mode and meets the lightweight requirements of glass trays.

[0122] 3. Significantly improved cluster visualization and management efficiency

[0123] Real-time location heatmap display: The cluster positioning unit converts the three-dimensional coordinates into a planar grid through transverse Mercator projection (UTM), and generates a location heatmap by combining the Z-axis stacked data. Managers can intuitively identify the pallet distribution density and maximize response speed.

[0124] Dynamic master-slave election mechanism: The dynamic election unit elects three non-coplanar master positioning units based on signal strength and remaining power. The slave positioning units only transmit relative distance data, which reduces redundant data transmission and lowers the computational load of the central controller while ensuring the accuracy of relative position.

[0125] 4. Rental Demand Forecast

[0126] Precise correlation calculation: The correlation analysis unit measures the matching degree between the pallet cluster and the target location, accurately matching available pallet clusters;

[0127] Dynamic threshold planning: The leasing planning unit is divided into high / medium / low demand levels based on normalized correlation values. The leasing threshold formula enables accurate prediction of the number of leasable items at the next moment, which improves pallet turnover rate and increases pallet resource utilization.

[0128] 5. High reliability under extreme environments

[0129] Wide temperature range and vibration resistance design: The first and second positioning modules support an operating temperature of -40℃ to 85℃, and the vibration resistance of the accelerated monitoring module is ≥10000g, adapting to extreme scenarios such as truck bumps and high-temperature exposure, thus reducing the failure rate;

[0130] Power supply stability assurance: The power supply module works in conjunction with vibration energy harvesting to avoid power outages caused by continuous vibration, ensuring the stable operation of the positioning unit throughout its entire life cycle.

[0131] The above description illustrates preferred embodiments of the present invention and helps those skilled in the art to more fully understand the technical solution of the present invention. However, these embodiments are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the specific implementation of the present invention to these embodiments. For those skilled in the art, several simple deductions and modifications can be made without departing from the inventive concept, and all such modifications should be considered within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A management and positioning system based on pallet rental, characterized in that, The system includes multiple glass trays, positioning units fixed to the glass trays, and a central controller. The central controller includes a dynamic election unit, a relative positioning unit, a cluster positioning unit, and a display unit. Each positioning unit includes: a first positioning module for acquiring distance measurement data of the relative positions of multiple trays within the same transport vehicle; a second positioning module for acquiring the absolute position of the trays, i.e., positioning data; and an acceleration monitoring module for detecting the stationary / moving state of the glass trays, obtaining acceleration data, and triggering the switching of the positioning unit's working mode or sleep mode. The dynamic election unit selects a master positioning unit from among the positioning units located on the same transport vehicle. Based on the positioning data or the acceleration data, the dynamic election unit selects positioning units located on one transport vehicle to obtain a cluster of glass trays. The dynamic election unit determines the master positioning unit of the cluster of glass trays based on the signal strength and / or remaining battery power received by the first control module of the positioning units in the cluster. The relative positioning unit calculates the relative positions of the slave positioning units and the master positioning unit located on the same transport vehicle based on a two-way distance measurement method, obtaining relative three-dimensional coordinates. The cluster positioning unit converts the positioning data... The process of converting the location data to clustered two-dimensional coordinates and generating a location heatmap includes the following steps: Converting the location data of the positioning units to clustered two-dimensional coordinates: Converting the positioning data of the positioning units to planar coordinates using a horizontal Mercator projection to obtain clustered two-dimensional coordinates, which include the specific coordinates of the target glass tray; Converting the clustered two-dimensional coordinates to clustered three-dimensional coordinates: Adding a z-axis to the clustered two-dimensional coordinates, with each coordinate point in the clustered three-dimensional coordinates having an added z-axis value of 0; Superimposing the coordinates of each positioning unit in the relative three-dimensional coordinates onto the clustered three-dimensional coordinates: For positioning units in the relative three-dimensional coordinates that have the same horizontal coordinates but different vertical coordinates, based on the specific coordinates of these multiple positioning units in the clustered two-dimensional coordinates and their corresponding X-axis and Y-axis values ​​in the clustered three-dimensional coordinates, marking coordinate points sequentially on the z-axis of the clustered three-dimensional coordinates to obtain clustered three-dimensional coordinates, which include the specific coordinates of the target glass tray; Dividing the plane formed by the X-axis and Y-axis of the clustered three-dimensional coordinates into grid units according to a first division threshold, and generating the location heatmap based on the number of coordinate points within each grid and the corresponding Z-axis region within that grid; The display unit displays the location heatmap.

2. The pallet rental-based management and positioning system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The positioning unit further includes a first control module, a power supply module, and a communication module. The first control module is connected to the first positioning module, the second positioning module, the acceleration monitoring module, the communication module, and the power supply module. The power supply module provides power to the positioning unit. The first positioning module, the second positioning module, and the acceleration monitoring module send the real-time acquired information to the first control module and then send it to the central controller through the communication module.

3. The pallet rental-based management and positioning system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The main positioning unit includes at least three positioning units that are not on the same plane; apart from the selected main positioning unit, the remaining positioning units in the clustered glass trays are all slave positioning units.

4. The pallet rental-based management and positioning system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The relative positioning unit calculates the relative position between the slave positioning unit and the master positioning unit located on the same transport vehicle based on a two-way ranging method, obtaining relative three-dimensional coordinates. Specifically, the relative positioning unit sends a ranging request command to the slave positioning units in the same cluster of glass pallets; the slave positioning units in the same cluster of glass pallets send a ranging request from the first positioning module to the master positioning unit; after the master positioning unit responds, the slave positioning unit calculates the relative distance with the master positioning unit using a two-way ranging algorithm, with the formula: relative distance = c is the speed of light, and Δt is the round-trip time difference of the signal; the calculated relative distance between the slave positioning unit and the master positioning unit is sent to the relative positioning unit through the first control module; the relative positioning unit calculates the relative coordinates (x, y, z) based on the relative distance between the slave positioning unit and different master positioning units, thus obtaining the relative three-dimensional coordinates.

5. The pallet rental-based management and positioning system according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the display unit displays the location heatmap, the display unit selects RGB for rendering based on the number of coordinate points in each grid. When the number of coordinate points in the grid is greater than or equal to the density threshold, the grid is displayed in the first color. When the number of coordinate points in the grid is less than the density threshold, the grid is displayed in the second color.

6. The pallet rental-based management and positioning system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The central controller also includes a correlation analysis unit and a rental planning unit. The correlation analysis unit associates each grid block of the location heatmap with the cells of the cluster's two-dimensional coordinates to obtain a location mirror list, and calculates the correlation between different cluster glass pallet sets and the target location to obtain correlation data. The rental planning unit calculates the threshold number of glass pallets available for rent at the target location at the next moment based on the location mirror list and the correlation data.

7. The pallet rental-based management and positioning system according to claim 6, characterized in that, The correlation analysis unit associates each grid of the location heatmap with a cell of the cluster's two-dimensional coordinates to obtain a location mirror list. Specifically, this includes dividing the cluster's two-dimensional coordinates into grid cells according to the values ​​of the X and Y axes corresponding to the grid cells in the plane formed by the cluster's three-dimensional coordinates on the X and Y axes, and then dividing the grid cells into second grid cells. According to the correspondence between the grid cells and the grid blocks in the location heatmap, the second grid cells are associated with the grid blocks in the location heatmap to obtain a location mirror list. In the location mirror list, one second grid cell corresponds to one grid block in the location heatmap.

8. The pallet rental-based management and positioning system according to claim 6, characterized in that, The correlation analysis unit calculates the correlation between different cluster glass tray sets and the target location to obtain correlation data. Specifically, this includes: marking the target location in the cluster two-dimensional coordinates; designating the second grid cell where the target location is located as the target second grid cell; marking the destinations of all cluster glass tray sets containing glass trays within the second grid cells centered on the target second grid cell and within a radius of a first radius threshold in the cluster two-dimensional coordinates; selecting cluster glass tray sets whose destinations are within the second radius threshold centered on the target second grid cell as associated cluster glass tray sets; and calculating the correlation between each associated cluster glass tray set and the target location using the correlation calculation formula to obtain the correlation data of the second grid cell where the destination of the associated cluster glass tray set is located.

9. The pallet rental-based management and positioning system according to claim 6, characterized in that, The rental planning unit calculates the threshold for the number of leasable glass pallets at the target location in the next moment based on the location mirror list and associated data. Specifically, this includes selecting the second grid unit containing all glass pallets in the associated cluster glass pallet set as the leasable second grid unit, thus obtaining a rental grid set; normalizing the correlation degree of each second grid unit in the rental grid set to obtain a normalized correlation value for each second grid unit; and classifying the second grid units in the rental grid set into demand levels based on the normalized correlation values ​​to obtain the demand level for each second grid unit in the rental grid set. The rental planning unit calculates the threshold number of glass trays available for rent at the target location at the next moment based on the calculation formula for the rentable quantity threshold.

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