Intelligent warehouse logistics shuttle positioning method and system
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202610657715.7
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2026-05-13
- Publication Date
- 2026-09-25
AI Technical Summary
[0006]针对上述缺陷，本发明的目的在于提出一种智能仓储的物流穿梭车定位方法及系统，解决现有穿梭车在层级定位效率慢，成本高的问题
[0016]上述技术方案中的一个技术方案具有如下优点或有益效果：本发明不仅实现了穿梭车层级的无移动快速定位，还通过优化感应装置的布局与选取策略降低了设备投入，从而提升了智能仓储的整体运行效率与经济性。
Smart Images
Figure CN122809090A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of intelligent warehousing technology, and in particular to a method and system for positioning logistics shuttles in intelligent warehousing. Background Technology
[0002] Currently, automated storage and retrieval systems (AS / RS) primarily consist of four-way shuttles and the AS / RS itself. The AS / RS has standard storage locations for goods, reaching heights of tens of meters, and typically employs a beam-type structure. The four-way shuttle is an intelligent material handling device, upgraded from the traditional bidirectional shuttle. Under the control of a warehouse management system (WCS / WMS), it can move in four directions (forward, backward, left, and right) within the warehouse floor, thus automating the storage and retrieval of goods. Furthermore, the AS / RS also includes elevators for moving the shuttles between different levels.
[0003] In the existing shuttle dispatching process, the system prioritizes dispatching shuttles at the same or nearest level based on the level of the goods to minimize lifting and lowering displacement. Currently, there are two main methods for shuttle level positioning: The first method involves driving the shuttle to a specific area (usually near the elevator) where a QR code is posted. The shuttle is equipped with a scanning device, which allows users to scan the code to determine their current floor level.
[0004] The second method involves installing multiple sets of sensors on each shelf level. When positioning is needed, the shuttle is driven to move, and when it reaches the corresponding sensor, the sensor is triggered, thus determining the shelf level of the shuttle.
[0005] However, the existing positioning method has the following drawbacks: First, each positioning requires the shuttle to move, which consumes time and results in slow positioning speed, making it impossible to complete the hierarchical judgment in a timely manner; Second, multiple additional sensors or camera devices need to be installed, making the hierarchical positioning of the shuttle more expensive. Summary of the Invention
[0006] To address the aforementioned shortcomings, the present invention aims to propose a method and system for positioning logistics shuttles in intelligent warehousing, thereby solving the problems of slow efficiency and high cost in hierarchical positioning of existing shuttles.
[0007] To achieve this objective, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: a method for positioning a logistics shuttle in intelligent warehousing, comprising the following steps: Step S1: Install a sensor in each row and each column of the automated warehouse at each level, and ensure that the multiple sensors are not in the same vertical position. Step S2: Based on the shuttle's location information, determine the sensing device to be invoked and mark it as the first device; Step S3: Obtain the distance between the first device and the shuttle, sort the first devices from smallest to largest based on the distance, and obtain the top three first devices from the sort and mark them as second devices; Step S4: Based on the distance information between the second device and the shuttle, determine the level where the shuttle is located.
[0008] Preferably, the specific steps of step S4 are as follows: Step S41: Select the second devices that rank first two and mark them as range devices. Mark the other second device as a positioning device. Based on the distance between the range devices and the shuttle, construct a first range and a second range respectively, and use the intersection of the first range and the second range as a candidate point. Step S42: Construct a third range based on the distance between the positioning device and the shuttle, and use the candidate points that fall into the third range as positioning points; Step S43: Based on the coordinate information of the positioning point, the level of the shuttle car is determined by comparing the Y-axis coordinate information with the Y-coordinate information of the level.
[0009] Preferably, the step of constructing the first range or the second range in step S41 is as follows: Construct a planar cross coordinate system; Using the coordinates of the range device as the center point and the distance between the range device and the shuttle as the radius, a circular range is constructed, and the circular range is used as the first range or the second range.
[0010] Preferably, the formula for obtaining the coordinates of the positioning point is as follows: ;
[0011] in r1 and r2 are the distances between the two range devices and the shuttle, respectively, d is the distance between the two range devices, and (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) are the coordinates of the two range devices.
[0012] Preferably, in step S1, the sensing devices in the warehouse in the same column or row are distributed in a stepped manner, and the horizontal distance between adjacent sensing devices is greater than the distance between the layers.
[0013] A smart warehouse logistics shuttle positioning system is characterized by using the smart warehouse logistics shuttle positioning method, which includes an automated warehouse, multiple sensing devices, and a shuttle positioning control module. The automated warehouse has multiple levels, and the multiple sensing devices are respectively installed in each level of the automated warehouse, and the multiple sensing devices are not in the same vertical position. The shuttle positioning control module is used to determine the sensing device to be called and mark it as the first device based on the shuttle's positioning information; obtain the distance between the first device and the shuttle, sort the first devices from smallest to largest based on the distance, obtain the first three first devices from the sort and mark them as the second devices; and determine the level of the shuttle based on the distance information between the second devices and the shuttle.
[0014] Preferably, the specific logic of the shuttle positioning control module in determining the level of the shuttle based on the distance information between the second device and the shuttle is as follows: The first two second devices in the sorting are selected and marked as range devices, and the other second device is marked as positioning device; a first range and a second range are constructed based on the distance between the range devices and the shuttle, and the intersection of the first range and the second range is used as a candidate point; A third range is constructed based on the distance between the positioning device and the shuttle, and candidate points that fall into the third range are used as positioning points. Based on the coordinate information of the positioning point, the level of the shuttle car is determined by comparing the Y-axis coordinate information with the Y-coordinate information of the level.
[0015] Preferably, the logic for the shuttle positioning control module to construct the first or second range is as follows: Construct a planar cross coordinate system; using the coordinates of the range device as the center and the distance between the range device and the shuttle as the radius, construct a circular range, which is the first range or the second range.
[0016] One of the above technical solutions has the following advantages or beneficial effects: This invention not only achieves rapid positioning without movement at the shuttle level, but also reduces equipment investment by optimizing the layout and selection strategy of sensing devices, thereby improving the overall operating efficiency and economy of intelligent warehousing. Attached Figure Description
[0017] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of one embodiment of the method of the present invention.
[0018] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the positioning process in one embodiment of the present invention.
[0019] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of coordinate construction in one embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the construction of the detection range according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0021] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of one embodiment of the system of the present invention. Detailed Implementation
[0022] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.
[0023] In the description of embodiments of the present invention, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the stated features. In the description of embodiments of the present invention, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.
[0024] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this invention, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.
[0025] like Figures 1-5 As shown, a method for locating a logistics shuttle in an intelligent warehouse includes the following steps: Step S1: Install a sensor in each row and each column of the automated warehouse at each level, and ensure that the multiple sensors are not in the same vertical position. Step S2: Based on the shuttle's location information, determine the sensing device to be invoked and mark it as the first device; Step S3: Obtain the distance between the first device and the shuttle, sort the first devices from smallest to largest based on the distance, and obtain the top three first devices from the sort and mark them as second devices; Step S4: Based on the distance information between the second device and the shuttle, determine the level where the shuttle is located.
[0026] To address the issues of high positioning costs and slow response times in existing shuttle systems, this invention uses only one sensor per row and column per level within the automated warehouse, unlike existing positioning systems which require multiple sensors per level. This significantly reduces positioning costs.
[0027] Existing positioning devices can only determine the location of the shuttle, but not its floor level. Therefore, this invention first uses existing positioning devices for location tracking. Based on the coordinate information, it determines which row or column of sensors to use for sensing and positioning of the shuttle. Figure 2 As shown, the circle represents a shuttle. Using a traditional positioning device, shuttle A can be located in column D. At this point, each level in column D communicates with shuttle A to determine its location and the distance between the sensor in each level and shuttle A. Shuttle B is located at the intersection of row E and column F. Shuttle B can choose either the sensor in row E or column F as its first sensor. However, since there are often more shuttles in practice, the sensor in the row or column with the least amount of data can be chosen as the first sensor for shuttle B.
[0028] After selecting the first device, it is sorted by distance. The top three first devices from the sorted list are then designated as second devices. By selecting the three first devices with the shortest distances as second devices, the distance information obtained is more accurate because the shuttle car is closer to them. Finally, a range relationship is constructed using the distance information between the second devices and the shuttle car, thereby determining the floor where the shuttle car is located.
[0029] While the level of the shuttle can be determined by comparing the shortest sensing distance, when the shuttle is far from the sensing devices—for example, if the sensors are all located vertically near column A while the shuttle is located in column J—the distances measured by the sensors of the shuttle and its own level, as well as adjacent levels, are similar. This can easily lead to distance errors and mispositioning. Because this invention uses only one sensing device per level, placing the sensors of each level in the same vertical position significantly increases the difference in measured distances between the shuttle and its adjacent levels, preventing misjudgments. Accurate positioning information is then obtained by dividing the range of the three sensing devices.
[0030] Preferably, the specific steps of step S4 are as follows: Step S41: Select the second devices that rank first two and mark them as range devices. Mark the other second device as a positioning device. Based on the distance between the range devices and the shuttle, construct a first range and a second range respectively, and use the intersection of the first range and the second range as a candidate point. Step S42: Construct a third range based on the distance between the positioning device and the shuttle, and use the candidate points that fall into the third range as positioning points; Step S43: Based on the coordinate information of the positioning point, the level of the shuttle car is determined by comparing the Y-axis coordinate information with the Y-coordinate information of the level.
[0031] Preferably, the step of constructing the first range or the second range in step S41 is as follows: Construct a planar cross coordinate system; Using the coordinates of the range device as the center point and the distance between the range device and the shuttle as the radius, a circular range is constructed, and the circular range is used as the first range or the second range.
[0032] The first two second devices in the sorted sequence are designated as range devices, and the third second device is designated as a positioning device. A first range and a second range are constructed based on the distance between each range device and the shuttle (e.g., circles centered on each range device with a radius equal to the corresponding distance). The intersection of the two ranges is taken as a candidate point (usually there are two intersection points, symmetrically distributed). Then, a third range is constructed based on the distance between the positioning device and the shuttle. Similarly, the third range is also constructed as a circular range based on the distance between the positioning device and the shuttle side. The shuttle will fall into the edge of the third range, thus selecting the positioning point from the two candidate points. Finally, based on the three-dimensional coordinate information of the positioning point, its Y-axis coordinate (or the coordinate in the corresponding floor height direction) is compared with the pre-calibrated Y-coordinates of each floor level to uniquely determine the floor level where the shuttle is currently located. It is worth noting that the obtained Y-coordinate of the positioning point may have a slight error. Therefore, when comparing it with the pre-calibrated Y-coordinates of each floor level, only the floor with the smallest Y-coordinate error needs to be taken as the floor level where the shuttle is located.
[0033] like Figure 3 As shown, firstly, range device A, range device B, and positioning device C are marked based on the distance between the shuttle and the sensing device. At this time, range device A and range device B respectively construct two circular ranges, as shown. Figure 4 The red circle in the image shows candidate points a and b. Then, a third range is constructed based on the distance between the positioning device and the shuttle, as shown below. Figure 4 Within the white circular area, candidate point a will fall onto the edge of the white circle, while candidate point b will not. Therefore, candidate point a is selected as the positioning point.
[0034] This invention not only achieves rapid positioning without movement at the shuttle level, but also reduces equipment investment by optimizing the layout and selection strategy of sensing devices, thereby improving the overall operational efficiency and economy of smart warehousing.
[0035] Preferably, the formula for obtaining the coordinates of the positioning point is as follows: ;
[0036] in r1 and r2 are the distances between the two range devices and the shuttle, respectively, d is the distance between the two range devices, and (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) are the coordinates of the two range devices.
[0037] Preferably, in step S1, the sensing devices in the warehouse in the same column or row are distributed in a stepped manner, and the horizontal distance between adjacent sensing devices is greater than the distance between the layers.
[0038] Because the sensors are arranged in a stepped pattern with a horizontal spacing greater than a vertical spacing, the sensors at each level are misaligned on the horizontal plane. When the shuttle is positioned on different levels within the same vertical column, the distance difference between the sensors at different levels and the shuttle is significantly amplified, thereby greatly improving the numerical stability and accuracy of the triangulation solution. The setting that the horizontal distance between adjacent level sensors is greater than the distance between levels is to avoid a situation where the horizontal distance between adjacent level sensors equals the distance between levels. If the shuttle is directly above the sensor at the next lower level, it is impossible to locate the level using the step-by-step triangulation method. Therefore, both candidate points would fall on the edge of the third range, making it impossible to determine the shuttle's position.
[0039] A smart warehouse logistics shuttle positioning system is characterized by using the smart warehouse logistics shuttle positioning method, which includes an automated warehouse, multiple sensing devices, and a shuttle positioning control module. The automated warehouse has multiple levels, and the multiple sensing devices are respectively installed in each level of the automated warehouse, and the multiple sensing devices are not in the same vertical position. The shuttle positioning control module is used to determine the sensing device to be called and mark it as the first device based on the shuttle's positioning information; obtain the distance between the first device and the shuttle, sort the first devices from smallest to largest based on the distance, obtain the first three first devices from the sort and mark them as the second devices; and determine the level of the shuttle based on the distance information between the second devices and the shuttle.
[0040] Preferably, the specific logic of the shuttle positioning control module in determining the level of the shuttle based on the distance information between the second device and the shuttle is as follows: The first two second devices in the sorting are selected and marked as range devices, and the other second device is marked as positioning device; a first range and a second range are constructed based on the distance between the range devices and the shuttle, and the intersection of the first range and the second range is used as a candidate point; A third range is constructed based on the distance between the positioning device and the shuttle, and candidate points that fall into the third range are used as positioning points. Based on the coordinate information of the positioning point, the level of the shuttle car is determined by comparing the Y-axis coordinate information with the Y-coordinate information of the level.
[0041] Preferably, the logic for the shuttle positioning control module to construct the first or second range is as follows: Construct a planar cross coordinate system; using the coordinates of the range device as the center and the distance between the range device and the shuttle as the radius, construct a circular range, which is the first range or the second range.
[0042] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiment," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.
[0043] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. A method for locating a logistics shuttle in intelligent warehousing, characterized in that, The steps include the following: Step S1: Install a sensor in each row and each column of the automated warehouse at each level, and ensure that the multiple sensors are not in the same vertical position. Step S2: Based on the shuttle's location information, determine the sensing device to be invoked and mark it as the first device; Step S3: Obtain the distance between the first device and the shuttle, sort the first devices from smallest to largest based on the distance, and obtain the top three first devices from the sort and mark them as second devices; Step S4: Based on the distance information between the second device and the shuttle, determine the level where the shuttle is located.
2. A method for positioning a logistics shuttle in intelligent warehousing according to claim 1, characterized in that, The specific steps of step S4 are as follows: Step S41: Select the second devices that rank first two and mark them as range devices. Mark the other second device as a positioning device. Based on the distance between the range devices and the shuttle, construct a first range and a second range respectively, and use the intersection of the first range and the second range as a candidate point. Step S42: Construct a third range based on the distance between the positioning device and the shuttle, and use the candidate points that fall into the third range as positioning points; Step S43: Based on the coordinate information of the positioning point, the level of the shuttle car is determined by comparing the Y-axis coordinate information with the Y-coordinate information of the level.
3. The intelligent warehousing logistics shuttle positioning method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The steps in step S41 for constructing the first or second range are as follows: Construct a planar cross coordinate system; Using the coordinates of the range device as the center point and the distance between the range device and the shuttle as the radius, a circular range is constructed, and the circular range is used as the first range or the second range.
4. The intelligent warehousing logistics shuttle positioning method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The formula for obtaining the coordinates of a location point is as follows: ； in r1 and r2 are the distances between the two range devices and the shuttle, respectively, d is the distance between the two range devices, and (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) are the coordinates of the two range devices.
5. A method for positioning a logistics shuttle in intelligent warehousing according to claim 2, characterized in that, In step S1, the sensing devices in the warehouse in the same column or row are distributed in a stepped manner, and the horizontal distance between adjacent sensing devices is greater than the distance between the layers.
6. A smart warehousing logistics shuttle positioning system, characterized in that, The intelligent warehousing logistics shuttle positioning method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 includes an automated warehouse, multiple sensing devices, and a shuttle positioning control module. The automated warehouse has multiple levels, and the multiple sensing devices are respectively installed in each level of the automated warehouse, and the multiple sensing devices are not in the same vertical position. The shuttle positioning control module is used to determine the sensing device to be called and mark it as the first device based on the shuttle's positioning information; obtain the distance between the first device and the shuttle, sort the first devices from smallest to largest based on the distance, obtain the first three first devices from the sort and mark them as the second devices; and determine the level of the shuttle based on the distance information between the second devices and the shuttle.
7. The intelligent warehousing logistics shuttle positioning system according to claim 6, characterized in that, The specific logic by which the shuttle positioning control module determines the level of the shuttle based on the distance information between the second device and the shuttle is as follows: The first two second devices in the sorting are selected and marked as range devices, and the other second device is marked as positioning device; a first range and a second range are constructed based on the distance between the range devices and the shuttle, and the intersection of the first range and the second range is used as a candidate point; A third range is constructed based on the distance between the positioning device and the shuttle, and candidate points that fall into the third range are used as positioning points. Based on the coordinate information of the positioning point, the level of the shuttle car is determined by comparing the Y-axis coordinate information with the Y-coordinate information of the level.
8. The intelligent warehousing logistics shuttle positioning system according to claim 7, characterized in that, The logic for the shuttle positioning control module to construct the first or second range is as follows: Construct a planar cross coordinate system; using the coordinates of the range device as the center and the distance between the range device and the shuttle as the radius, construct a circular range, which is the first range or the second range.