Warehouse location dynamic allocation method
By constructing multiple planned routes in the warehousing and logistics system and selecting the route with the highest comprehensive score, the problem of traditional storage location allocation methods being unable to balance multi-objective optimization is solved, achieving efficient utilization of equipment and storage locations and conflict avoidance.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-12-16
- Publication Date
- 2026-04-07
AI Technical Summary
In existing warehousing and logistics systems, traditional storage location allocation methods cannot achieve a balanced optimization among multiple competing objectives such as efficiency, balance, safety, and economy, resulting in decreased system throughput, reduced equipment utilization, and frequent operational conflicts.
By constructing multiple planning paths, the path with the highest comprehensive score is selected. Combining multiple objective parameters such as efficiency, balance, safety, and economy, storage locations are dynamically allocated to predict and avoid operational conflicts.
It improved the utilization rate of equipment and storage space, effectively avoided operational conflicts, and optimized the overall efficiency and resource allocation of the warehousing system.
Smart Images
Figure CN121810173A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the technical field of intelligent warehouse location allocation, and more particularly to a method for dynamic allocation of warehouse locations. Background Technology
[0002] In modern warehousing and logistics systems, traditional storage location allocation methods largely rely on static rules, such as fixed-area storage, first-in-first-out (FIFO) strategies, or nearest-location-first-out (NLO) strategies based on Euclidean distance. These methods have significant limitations: they typically employ a single-objective optimization (such as minimizing transport distance) and cannot achieve balanced optimization among multiple competing objectives such as efficiency, balance, safety, and economy. Allocating based solely on a single distance metric while ignoring multi-objective collaborative optimization not only leads to a decrease in overall system throughput but also causes serious problems such as reduced equipment utilization and frequent operational conflicts. Summary of the Invention
[0003] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the purpose of this invention is to provide a method for dynamic allocation of warehouse locations to solve one or more problems in the prior art.
[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows: A method for dynamically allocating warehouse storage locations includes the following steps: Obtain transportation tasks; Obtain real-time warehouse location information and transportation information; Unoccupied storage locations are selected from the storage location information as candidate storage locations; Different planned routes are generated based on each candidate storage location, transportation vehicle information, and cargo origination location; The overall score for each planned path is calculated based on a preset algorithm; Select the planned path with the highest overall score as the optimal path; Generate multiple action instructions arranged sequentially based on the optimal path; Each action instruction is checked sequentially to determine if there are any potential conflicts. If it exists, a waiting instruction is inserted before the corresponding action instruction, and the time window of the conflicting object is obtained. An avoidance instruction is inserted in the time window of the conflicting object, and the avoidance instruction is placed after the conflicting action instruction. After all action instructions have been evaluated, all action instructions and waiting instructions are stored sequentially in the time window of the transportation vehicle.
[0005] Furthermore, the step of filtering unoccupied storage locations from the storage location information as candidate storage locations includes the following steps: Select available storage locations from the storage location information as pre-selected storage locations; Determine whether each pre-selected storage location belongs to a preset associated storage location. Associated storage locations include outer and inner storage locations. If it belongs to the preset associated storage location, then the preset storage location is determined to be an inner location among the associated storage locations. If the pre-selected storage location is an inner location among the associated storage locations, determine whether the corresponding outer location is not occupied; If the corresponding outer position is not occupied, the pre-selected storage position will be used as a candidate storage position. If the corresponding outer location is occupied, the unselected storage location will not be considered as a candidate storage location. If the pre-selected storage location is an outer location among the associated storage locations, then the pre-selected storage location is used as a candidate storage location.
[0006] Furthermore, the transportation task includes the originating location of the goods and the task type; The comprehensive score for each planned path is calculated based on a preset algorithm, including the following steps; The corresponding weight configuration is matched from a preset database according to the task type. The weight configuration includes efficiency weight, balance weight, safety weight and economic weight. Determine the efficiency score, balance score, safety score, and economic score for each planned path; The overall score is calculated using the following formula: Overall score = Efficiency weight × Efficiency score + Balance weight × Balance score + Safety weight × Safety score + Economic weight × Economic score.
[0007] Furthermore, determining the efficiency score for each planned path includes the following steps: Calculate the travel distance of the transportation vehicle corresponding to each planned route as the handling distance; The longest transport distance was selected as the standard distance; An efficiency score is determined based on the difference between the transport distance of each planned route and the standard distance.
[0008] Furthermore, determining the balanced score for each planned path includes the following steps: Calculate the number of used storage units and the total number of storage units in each preset area; A balanced score is determined based on the number of used storage units and the total number of storage units in each region; The corresponding balanced score is assigned to the corresponding planning path based on the region where the candidate storage location is located.
[0009] Furthermore, determining the safety score for each planned path includes the following steps: Determine if there are path conflicts for each planned path. If it exists, the preset first value will be used as the security score; If it does not exist, the preset second value will be used as the security score, and the second value is lower than the first value.
[0010] Furthermore, determining the economic score for each planned path includes the following steps: Determine whether the transportation vehicles assigned to each planned route are in an idle state. If so, the preset third value will be used as the economic score; If not, the preset fourth value will be used as the economic score, which is lower than the third value.
[0011] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial technical effects of the present invention are as follows: by constructing multiple planned paths and then selecting the path with the highest comprehensive score as the actual execution path, the storage location and execution path that best suit the current storage situation can be matched according to the multi-objective parameters in the preset algorithm, which can effectively improve the utilization rate of equipment and warehouse storage locations, and effectively avoid the conflict rate in operation based on conflict prediction. Attached Figure Description
[0012] Figure 1 The flowchart of a dynamic allocation method for warehouse locations provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Detailed Implementation
[0013] A method for dynamic allocation of storage locations, see [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 1 This includes the following steps; S100, Obtain transportation tasks.
[0014] A transportation task includes the origin of the goods and the task type.
[0015] The task types include inbound tasks and transfer tasks.
[0016] When the transportation task is an inbound task, the starting point of the goods is generally the exit of the transmission mechanism connecting the storage workshop and the production workshop.
[0017] When the transportation task is a warehouse transfer task, the starting location of the goods is the original storage location of the goods.
[0018] S200: Obtain real-time warehouse location information and transportation vehicle information.
[0019] The storage location information includes the location and usage status of all storage locations in the entire warehouse, including whether they are available or occupied.
[0020] Transportation vehicle information refers to information about transportation vehicles used in warehouses to perform transportation tasks. This information includes the location and operational status of the vehicles. Operational status includes idle status, operational status, and other statuses, where other statuses refer to non-routine states such as malfunction, maintenance, or repair.
[0021] The acquisition of warehouse location information and transportation vehicle information is an action performed in response to the delivery of transportation tasks, in order to ensure the timeliness and effectiveness of warehouse location information and transportation vehicle information.
[0022] S300. Select unoccupied storage locations from the storage location information as candidate storage locations.
[0023] When there is no connection between storage locations, unoccupied storage locations can be filtered out simply based on their usage status. That is, when the usage status of a storage location is idle, the storage location is considered unoccupied.
[0024] However, if there are connections between some storage locations, such as extendable storage spaces within a warehouse, the two storage locations forming an extendable space create an "outer" and "inner" access dependency relationship, where accessing the inner space requires passing through the outer space. To find suitable unoccupied storage locations in this situation, it's necessary to consider not only the usage status of the storage locations but also the connections between them.
[0025] In one embodiment, selecting unoccupied storage locations from the storage location information as candidate storage locations includes the following steps: S310. Select warehouse locations that are currently idle from the warehouse location information as pre-selected warehouse locations.
[0026] S320. Determine whether each pre-selected storage location belongs to a preset associated storage location. Associated storage locations include outer and inner storage locations.
[0027] S330. If it belongs to the preset associated storage location, then determine whether the preset storage location is the inner location among the associated storage locations.
[0028] S340. If the pre-selected storage location is an inner location among the associated storage locations, determine whether the corresponding outer location is not occupied.
[0029] S341. If the corresponding outer position is not occupied, the pre-selected storage position shall be used as a candidate storage position.
[0030] S342. If the corresponding outer position is occupied, the unselected storage position will not be used as a candidate storage position.
[0031] S350. If the pre-selected storage location is the outermost location among the associated storage locations, then the pre-selected storage location shall be used as a candidate storage location.
[0032] Generally, if both the outer and inner locations within the same associated storage location are vacant, the inner location should be prioritized for storing goods. However, according to the method in the current step, all eligible storage locations will be selected as candidate storage locations to make the generated solutions more diverse. Therefore, in step S350, it is not necessary to consider whether the inner location is vacant; the vacant outer location can be used as a candidate storage location.
[0033] S400 generates different planned routes based on each candidate storage location, transportation information, and cargo origination location.
[0034] Iterate through the combinations of candidate storage locations and transportation vehicles, and then generate a planned route for each combination by combining the starting location of the goods.
[0035] For example, if there are three candidate storage locations A, B, and C, and two transportation vehicles D and F, then there are six combinations: AD, AF, BD, BF, CD, and CF.
[0036] Because the locations of candidate storage sites and transportation vehicles differ, the resulting planned routes will vary significantly.
[0037] The specific method for generating the planned path is as follows: The first segment set is determined based on the location of the transport vehicles and the starting location of the goods in the combination.
[0038] The second segment set is determined based on the starting location of the goods and the location of the candidate storage locations in the combination.
[0039] The planned path is obtained by merging the first set of road segments and the second set of road segments in the order of execution.
[0040] When the location of goods is unique and the transportation routes within the warehouse are limited, there is generally only one route in the first and second route sets. For example, if the goods are small silicon steel sheets with iron cores, which can be processed using only one piece of equipment in the production workshop (such as a shearing line), then the corresponding transmission mechanism has only one exit position, meaning the starting position of the goods is unique. Furthermore, since the warehouse uses railcars as transportation tools, and the railcars have fixed routes, the exit and storage locations of the transmission mechanism are both located on the side of the rails. Therefore, the resulting planned path is singular.
[0041] When the location of the goods is not unique, the first set of routes will contain multiple routes. For example, if the goods are large silicon steel sheets with iron cores, and the production workshop requires two machines to process silicon steel sheets of different shapes, then the exit positions of two transport mechanisms will be marked as the starting positions of the goods, namely positions W and N. The transport vehicle must travel to the two starting positions to collect the goods. The resulting first set of routes includes the route from the transport vehicle's own position to position W and the route from position W to position N. Furthermore, considering that different orders of goods may result in different first set of routes, such as the transport vehicle arriving at position W first and position N first, the paths are different. Therefore, since the location of the goods is not unique, not only will the first set of routes consist of multiple routes, but multiple different first set of routes will also appear.
[0042] When the transportation routes within the workshop are complex, such as when trackless vehicles are used as transportation tools in the warehouse workshop and the various storage locations in the warehouse workshop are distributed in a grid pattern, then there are multiple paths to choose from between two locations, which can easily generate multiple different sets of first road segments and / or sets of second road segments.
[0043] When there are multiple different sets of first road segments and / or second road segments, iterate through the combinations of the first road segment sets and the second road segment sets to form multiple planned routes.
[0044] S500 calculates the overall score for each planned path based on a preset algorithm.
[0045] S600: Select the planned path with the highest comprehensive score as the optimal path.
[0046] The overall score is a comprehensive evaluation of the planned path based on multiple dimensions such as efficiency, balance, safety, and economy. It uses a quantitative approach to more intuitively select the best planned path.
[0047] The algorithm is based on a preset formula: S510. Match the corresponding weight configuration from the preset database according to the task type. The weight configuration includes efficiency weight, balance weight, safety weight and economic weight.
[0048] S520. Determine the efficiency score, balance score, safety score, and economic score for each planned path.
[0049] S530. Calculate the overall score according to the following formula: Overall score = Efficiency weight × Efficiency score + Balance weight × Balance score + Safety weight × Safety score + Economic weight × Economic score.
[0050] The weighting configurations differ for different task types. This is because inbound tasks prioritize balancing storage space usage for subsequent outbound operations, thus giving them a higher weighting for balancing. In contrast, relocation tasks aim to optimize storage space placement and reduce obstructions and congestion between transport vehicles; therefore, the four weights are distributed more evenly.
[0051] In this embodiment, the efficiency weight, balance weight, safety weight, and economic weight in the weight configuration corresponding to the data entry task are 0.2, 0.5, 0.1, and 0.1, respectively; the efficiency weight, balance weight, safety weight, and economic weight in the weight configuration corresponding to the data transfer task are 0.2, 0.3, 0.2, and 0.3, respectively.
[0052] S700 generates multiple action instructions arranged sequentially based on the optimal path.
[0053] When the transportation vehicle is a railcar, the action instructions can be matched one-to-one with the road segments when the planned route is generated. This means that the multiple road segments of the optimal route can be directly converted into corresponding action instructions one by one.
[0054] When the transportation vehicle is a trackless vehicle, the optimal path can be divided into more specific sub-paths. For example, if the path from the location of the transportation vehicle to the starting location of the goods consists of two straight segments and an intersection in the middle of the two straight segments, then it can be divided into three sub-paths: the first straight segment, the intersection, and the second straight segment. These sub-paths can then be converted into corresponding action instructions: go straight through the first straight segment, turn right at the intersection, and go straight through the second straight segment.
[0055] S800. Sequentially determine whether there is a potential conflict for each action instruction. If there is, insert a waiting instruction before the corresponding action instruction, obtain the time window of the conflicting object, insert an avoidance instruction in the time window of the conflicting object, and place the avoidance instruction after the conflicting action instruction.
[0056] S900: After all action instructions have been evaluated, store all action instructions and waiting instructions in sequence into the time window of the transportation vehicle.
[0057] The prerequisite for determining potential conflicts is to estimate the duration of each action command and store the action commands and their corresponding durations within the transportation vehicle's time window. Based on this time window, the location and route of the transportation vehicle within a specific time period can be determined, thereby predicting whether a conflict will occur.
[0058] If the vehicle is idle, the duration of the first action instruction is based on the current time, and the duration of the remaining action instructions is estimated sequentially for the corresponding time period.
[0059] If the vehicle is in operation, the duration of the first action instruction is based on the end time of the vehicle completing the currently performed task.
[0060] Waiting instructions and yielding instructions are corresponding. Once a yielding instruction is completed, the system automatically sends a release instruction to the vehicle with the corresponding waiting instruction, thereby causing the vehicle to stop waiting and begin executing subsequent action instructions.
[0061] In one embodiment, determining the efficiency score for each planned path includes the following steps: Calculate the travel distance of the transportation vehicle corresponding to each planned route as the handling distance.
[0062] The longest transport distance was selected as the standard distance.
[0063] An efficiency score is determined based on the difference between the transport distance of each planned route and the standard distance.
[0064] The efficiency score assesses the speed at which a task is completed. The greater the transport distance, the slower the task is completed, and the lower the efficiency score; conversely, the shorter the transport distance, the higher the efficiency score.
[0065] The specific calculation formula is: Efficiency Score = (1 - Transport Distance / Standard Distance).
[0066] In one embodiment, determining the balanced score for each planned path includes the following steps: The number of used storage units and the total number of storage units in each preset area are counted separately.
[0067] The equilibrium score is determined based on the number of used storage units and the total number of storage units in each region.
[0068] The corresponding balanced score is assigned to the corresponding planning path based on the region where the candidate storage location is located.
[0069] The purpose of setting a balance score is to make the distribution of storage locations more even. The more storage locations are occupied between preset areas, the lower the balance score; the less storage locations are occupied within a preset area, the higher the balance score, thus tending to allocate new goods to preset areas with less occupied storage locations.
[0070] The specific formula is: Balanced score = (1 - Number of units used in the target area / Total number of units in the target area).
[0071] In one embodiment, determining the security score for each planned path includes the following steps: Determine if there are path conflicts for each planned path.
[0072] If it exists, the preset first value will be used as the security score.
[0073] If it does not exist, the preset second value will be used as the security score, and the second value is lower than the first value.
[0074] Setting a safety score is intended to reduce path conflicts and decrease the occurrence of avoidance maneuvers.
[0075] In this embodiment, the first value is 1 and the second value is 0.
[0076] In one embodiment, determining the economic score for each planned path includes the following steps: Determine whether the transportation vehicles assigned to each planned route are in an idle state. If so, the preset third value will be used as the economic score; If not, the preset fourth value will be used as the economic score, and the fourth value will be lower than the third value.
[0077] The purpose of setting an economic score is to improve equipment utilization and prioritize the use of transportation vehicles that are idle.
[0078] In this embodiment, the third value is 1 and the fourth value is 0.
[0079] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.
[0080] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of several implementations of the present invention, and while the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of this invention patent should be determined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A method for dynamic allocation of warehouse storage locations, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Obtain transportation tasks; Obtain real-time warehouse location information and transportation information; Unoccupied storage locations are selected from the storage location information as candidate storage locations; Different planned routes are generated based on each candidate storage location, transportation vehicle information, and cargo origination location; The overall score for each planned path is calculated based on a preset algorithm; Select the planned path with the highest overall score as the optimal path; Generate multiple action instructions arranged sequentially based on the optimal path; Each action instruction is checked sequentially to determine if there are any potential conflicts. If it exists, a waiting instruction is inserted before the corresponding action instruction, and the time window of the conflicting object is obtained. An avoidance instruction is inserted in the time window of the conflicting object, and the avoidance instruction is placed after the conflicting action instruction. After all action instructions have been evaluated, all action instructions and waiting instructions are stored sequentially in the time window of the transportation vehicle.
2. The method for dynamic allocation of storage locations as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The process of selecting unoccupied storage locations from the storage location information as candidate storage locations includes the following steps: Select available storage locations from the storage location information as pre-selected storage locations; Determine whether each pre-selected storage location belongs to a preset associated storage location. Associated storage locations include outer and inner storage locations. If it belongs to the preset associated storage location, then the preset storage location is determined to be an inner location among the associated storage locations. If the pre-selected storage location is an inner location among the associated storage locations, determine whether the corresponding outer location is not occupied; If the corresponding outer position is not occupied, the pre-selected storage position will be used as a candidate storage position. If the corresponding outer location is occupied, the unselected storage location will not be considered as a candidate storage location. If the pre-selected storage location is an outer location among the associated storage locations, then the pre-selected storage location is used as a candidate storage location.
3. The method for dynamic allocation of storage locations as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The transportation task includes the origin of the goods and the task type; The overall score for each planned path is calculated based on a pre-set algorithm. Includes the following steps; The corresponding weight configuration is matched from a preset database according to the task type. The weight configuration includes efficiency weight, balance weight, safety weight and economic weight. Determine the efficiency score, balance score, safety score, and economic score for each planned path; The overall score is calculated using the following formula: Overall score = Efficiency weight × Efficiency score + Balance weight × Balance score + Safety weight × Safety score + Economic weight × Economic score.
4. The method for dynamic allocation of storage locations as described in claim 3, characterized in that, Determining the efficiency score for each planned path includes the following steps: Calculate the travel distance of the transportation vehicle corresponding to each planned route as the handling distance; The longest transport distance was selected as the standard distance; An efficiency score is determined based on the difference between the transport distance of each planned route and the standard distance.
5. The method for dynamic allocation of storage locations as described in claim 3, characterized in that, Determining the balanced score for each planned path includes the following steps: Calculate the number of used storage units and the total number of storage units in each preset area; A balanced score is determined based on the number of used storage units and the total number of storage units in each region; The corresponding balanced score is assigned to the corresponding planning path based on the region where the candidate storage location is located.
6. The method for dynamic allocation of storage locations as described in claim 3, characterized in that, Determining the safety score for each planned path includes the following steps: Determine if there are path conflicts for each planned path. If it exists, the preset first value will be used as the security score; If it does not exist, the preset second value will be used as the security score, and the second value is lower than the first value.
7. The method for dynamic allocation of storage locations as described in claim 3, characterized in that, Determining the economic score for each planned path includes the following steps: Determine whether the transportation vehicles assigned to each planned route are in an idle state. If so, the preset third value will be used as the economic score; If not, the preset fourth value will be used as the economic score, which is lower than the third value.