Racking and trolley cooperative scheduling method and system

Abstract

The present application relates to a kind of vertical warehouse and crane collaborative scheduling method and system, method includes: when carrying in, the real-time speed and acceleration of crane are monitored to carry out dynamics state check, only when crane is in stable cruise and predicted arrival time is credible, pre-positioning instruction is sent to vertical warehouse. After vertical warehouse controller receives instruction, priority relationship based on carrier and current task triggers task deprivation mechanism: if carrier priority is higher and current task can be interrupted, it is directly judged to trigger;Otherwise, further judge whether total time consumption exceeds the difference of predicted arrival time and safety buffer time. After confirming triggering, control stacker interrupts current task, and the carrier is temporarily stored by safety drop point algorithm and then goes to target port. When carrying out, based on the estimated readiness time of vertical warehouse, the departure point of crane is backstepped, and zero waiting handover is realized. The present application improves equipment utilization and forecast credibility by accurate matching of dynamic priority and space-time window, and reduces port occupancy time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing technology, and in particular to a method and system for coordinated scheduling of vertical warehouses and overhead cranes. Background Technology

[0002] In modern intelligent manufacturing and high-end automated production lines such as semiconductor wafer fabs, such as Figure 1 As shown, the movement of material carriers between the vertical storage unit (STK) and upstream and downstream process equipment highly depends on the precise coordination of overhead crane 1 (OHT) and stacker crane 2 (Crane). Typically, the carrier transfer process includes a fixed handover point (point B) and an internal temporary storage / transfer area (point A).

[0003] In the vehicle loading (unloading) process, the traditional operating mode is as follows: Overhead crane 1 transports the vehicle to point B outside the automated warehouse and lowers it. Then, the internal transfer mechanism pushes the vehicle from point B to point A inside the warehouse. Subsequently, stacker crane 2 moves to the temporary storage area at point A to retrieve the vehicle and store it in its final shelving location. This "overhead crane 1 lowers the goods first, stacker crane 2 retrieves them later" sequence inevitably results in a period of ineffective waiting time for the vehicle at point B. If the warehouse is busy at this time, and stacker crane 2 fails to retrieve the vehicle from point A, overhead crane 1 will be forcibly blocked at point B, unable to leave in time to perform the next handling task, severely restricting the turnover efficiency of overhead crane 1. Furthermore, because the traditional system lacks real-time prediction of the overhead crane 1's operating status, stacker crane 2 often passively waits for the overhead crane 1 to arrive before planning its route. If the overhead crane 1 encounters congestion or slowdown en route, it can easily cause prolonged congestion at point B, or even lead to a deadlock.

[0004] In the vehicle unloading (loading) stage, traditional scheduling logic also suffers from lag. Typically, the warehouse first sends the vehicle to point B via a transfer mechanism and places it in a waiting state before the Manufacturing Control System (MCS) issues a vehicle allocation instruction to the lower-level Overhead Crane Scheduling System (OHTS). Upon receiving the instruction, the Overhead Crane Scheduling System needs to select the optimal Overhead Crane 1 from among many idle or operating Overhead Cranes 1 and plan its route to point B. This "goods waiting for people" model again generates unnecessary waiting or empty movement, reducing overall logistics throughput.

[0005] In summary, existing automated warehouse and overhead crane collaborative scheduling methods suffer from misaligned receiving and dispatching times and a lack of intelligent decision-making mechanisms based on dynamic priority and state prediction, resulting in a large amount of ineffective waiting time between devices and limiting overall logistics efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide a method and system for coordinated scheduling of vertical storage and overhead cranes to solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a method for coordinated scheduling of vertical storage and overhead cranes, comprising:

[0008] When the vehicle is moved into the vertical warehouse, the manufacturing control system monitors the travel trajectory of the crane carrying the vehicle in real time and determines the corresponding target port.

[0009] The manufacturing control system estimates the estimated arrival time of the overhead crane to the target port based on the current position of the crane and sends a pre-positioning command to the vertical warehouse controller. Before sending the pre-positioning command, a dynamic state verification is performed based on the real-time speed and acceleration of the overhead crane. The command is triggered only when the overhead crane is in a stable cruise state and the estimated arrival time is reliable.

[0010] The automated warehouse controller receives the pre-positioning command, obtains the current task status and real-time coordinates of the stacker crane, and calculates the total time it takes for the stacker crane to complete the current task and move to the target port.

[0011] The automated warehouse controller compares the total time taken with the estimated arrival time and triggers a task preemption mechanism based on the priority relationship between the vehicle and the current task: if the priority of the vehicle is higher than the priority of the current task, the trigger condition is directly determined to be met; if the priority of the vehicle is equal to or lower than the priority of the current task, the trigger condition is determined to be met only when the total time taken is greater than the difference between the estimated arrival time and the preset safety buffer time; when the trigger condition is met and the current task is an interruptible task, the task preemption mechanism is triggered, controlling the stacker crane to interrupt the current task and generate a pre-positioning path instruction to the target port and controlling the stacker crane to move.

[0012] When the vehicle moves out of the vertical warehouse, the manufacturing control system sends a picking instruction to the vertical warehouse controller and simultaneously starts the crane scheduling process of the crane scheduling system.

[0013] The automated warehouse controller feeds back the estimated readiness time of the vehicle arriving at the target port to the manufacturing control system;

[0014] The manufacturing control system sends the estimated readiness time to the overhead crane scheduling system. The overhead crane scheduling system matches the best overhead crane and plans the travel path based on the estimated readiness time, so that the difference between the arrival time of the overhead crane and the estimated readiness time is within a preset time difference threshold.

[0015] Optionally, the pre-positioning instruction encapsulates a pre-sensing vehicle event data packet, which includes at least a target port identifier, an estimated arrival time, and a vehicle priority parameter for priority comparison with the current task; when the crane scheduling process of the crane scheduling system is synchronously started, the manufacturing control system sends a pre-capture vehicle event data packet to the crane scheduling system, which includes at least a target port identifier, an estimated readiness time, and a vehicle priority parameter for priority comparison with the current task.

[0016] Optionally, the dynamic state verification specifically includes: the crane entering a stable cruise state and satisfying the following conditions:

[0017]

[0018] in, This represents the remaining distance along the track from the crane to the target port. and For the real-time speed and real-time acceleration of the overhead crane, This is the forecast window time constant.

[0019] Optionally, the formula for calculating the total time consumption is:

[0020]

[0021] in, The remaining time required for the stacker crane to execute the current task until completion; This is the time required for the stacker crane to move from the current task completion position to the target port. This is the preset time constant for compensating for communication delay and mechanical response redundancy.

[0022] Optionally, the task deprivation mechanism specifically includes: when the task deprivation mechanism is triggered, the automated warehouse controller executes a safe landing point algorithm, retrieves available temporary storage locations around the current position of the stacker crane as temporary storage locations, controls the stacker crane to place the vehicle carried by the current task in the temporary storage location, and records the recovery pointer of the current task.

[0023] Optionally, after placing the vehicle carried by the current task at the temporary storage location, the automated storage and retrieval system (AS / RS) controller reassesses the estimated arrival time of the overhead crane; if the difference between the reassessed estimated arrival time and the preset safety buffer time is still less than the time required for the stacker crane to move to the target port, the AS / RS controller controls the stacker crane to execute a pre-positioning path instruction to the target port; after the current task is completed, the AS / RS controller automatically continues to execute the interrupted current task according to the recovery pointer.

[0024] Optionally, controlling the stacker's actions specifically includes: controlling the stacker's vertical lifting mechanism to rise to the handover height in advance, and controlling the stacker's clamping mechanism to remain in a ready-to-trigger state until the carrier is received from the target port, and then performing the gripping action.

[0025] Optionally, the scheduling method further includes: the manufacturing control system refreshes the estimated arrival time in real time at a fixed period; if the overhead crane is found to be experiencing track congestion or abnormal status, causing the difference between the refreshed estimated arrival time and the preset safety buffer time to be greater than the total time, the automated warehouse controller controls the stacker crane to stop its movement to the target port and return to execute the interrupted current task or enter an idle standby state.

[0026] Optionally, the estimated readiness time is the theoretical shortest time required for the stacker crane to transport the vehicle from its current position to the handover position at the target port via the transfer mechanism, calculated by the automated warehouse controller based on the picking instruction; when the overhead crane scheduling system plans the travel route, it uses the estimated readiness time to calculate the departure time of the overhead crane, so that when the overhead crane arrives at the target port, the vehicle is exactly in the picking preparation state at the handover position.

[0027] Based on the same inventive concept, the present invention also provides a vertical warehouse and overhead crane coordinated scheduling system for implementing the scheduling method described above, including a manufacturing control system, a vertical warehouse and an overhead crane scheduling system;

[0028] The manufacturing control system is configured to monitor the travel trajectory of the overhead crane in real time, perform dynamic state verification based on the real-time speed and acceleration of the overhead crane, estimate the estimated arrival time of the overhead crane at the target port, and issue a pre-positioning instruction or a picking instruction to the automated warehouse controller.

[0029] The automated storage and retrieval system (AS / RS) includes an AS / RS controller, a stacker crane, and multiple target ports. The AS / RS controller is configured to receive the pre-positioning command, calculate the total time it takes for the stacker crane to complete the current task and move to the target port, compare the total time with the expected arrival time to trigger a task preemption mechanism, and control the stacker crane's actions.

[0030] The overhead crane scheduling system is configured to receive the estimated vehicle readiness time issued by the manufacturing control system, match the optimal overhead crane, and plan the travel route so that the time difference between the arrival time of the overhead crane and the estimated readiness time is within a preset range.

[0031] The vertical storage and overhead crane coordinated scheduling method and system provided by this invention has at least one of the following beneficial effects:

[0032] (1) Significantly improves forecast reliability and system stability. By verifying the dynamic state of the crane based on its real-time speed, acceleration, and track distance, the system can accurately identify whether the crane is in a stable cruise state. This effectively filters out noise data during non-steady-state phases such as crane start-up, emergency braking, obstacle avoidance, or track switching, and solves the problem of malfunctions in the crane due to forecast time jumps in traditional scheduling. This greatly improves the reliability of the predicted arrival time and lays a solid data foundation for subsequent collaborative decision-making.

[0033] (2) Achieve dynamic resource preemption for high-priority tasks and optimize overall throughput efficiency. By introducing a dual judgment mechanism of vehicle priority parameters and preset safety buffer time, the system can intelligently trigger the task preemption mechanism when the total time exceeds the expected arrival time window. This allows the stacker crane to interrupt low-priority in-transit tasks (such as warehouse sorting) and prioritize serving high-priority overhead crane handover needs. Compared with the rigid scheduling of traditional "first-come, first-served", this solution ensures the timeliness of emergency production batches and significantly improves the operational efficiency and wafer output rate of the automated warehouse during peak hours.

[0034] (3) Ensuring the continuity and recoverability of task execution and eliminating resource waste. When the stacker crane is forced to interrupt the current task, it temporarily stores the vehicle by searching for available temporary storage positions in the vicinity and records the breakpoint information, thus avoiding the risk of task failure or vehicle fall. More importantly, after the pre-positioning task is completed, the system can automatically resume the execution of the interrupted task according to the recovery pointer. This "interruption-recovery" mechanism not only ensures that low-priority tasks are not lost, but also maximizes the use of the stacker crane's idle window, thereby maximizing equipment utilization.

[0035] (4) Significantly reduce port occupancy time, achieving "zero-wait" handover. Through stacker crane pre-action control (pre-lifting mechanism and clamping mechanism awaiting triggering), combined with reverse-push departure and estimated readiness time mechanism, the system achieves precise matching of time and space resources. The vehicle preparation time inside the automated warehouse is highly coordinated with the crane's travel path planning, ensuring that the vehicle is already in the handover position ready to pick up goods the instant the crane arrives. This completely eliminates the ineffective waiting of "crane waiting for goods" or "goods waiting for people" in the traditional mode, greatly alleviating the congestion of the aerial rails.

[0036] (5) Enhance the robustness of the system in response to abnormal operating conditions. The abnormal rollback mechanism provided by this invention can monitor the crane track congestion or abnormal status in real time by refreshing the estimated arrival time at fixed intervals. Once it is found that the crane is seriously delayed and "not worth the effort" (i.e., the crane arrival time is much longer than the stacker crane's pre-positioning time), the system can decisively stop the stacker crane's pre-positioning action, causing it to return to the original task or enter idle mode. This "circuit breaker" mechanism prevents the stacker crane from wasting resources at the port and ensures the dynamic balance of system resources under complex operating conditions. Attached Figure Description

[0037] Those skilled in the art will understand that the accompanying drawings are provided to better understand the invention and do not constitute any limitation on the scope of the invention. Wherein:

[0038] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the existing vertical storage and overhead crane layout;

[0039] Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating the loading process of a coordinated scheduling method for vertical warehouses and overhead cranes provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating the outgoing process of a coordinated scheduling method for vertical warehouses and overhead cranes provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating a dynamic calibration and rollback mechanism provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] The attached figures are labeled as follows:

[0043] 1-Overhead crane; 2-Stacker crane. Detailed Implementation

[0044] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present invention described and shown in the accompanying drawings can generally be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

[0045] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but merely to illustrate selected embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of the invention.

[0046] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, or the orientation or positional relationship commonly used when the product is in use, or the orientation or positional relationship commonly understood by those skilled in the art. They are only used to facilitate the description of this invention and to simplify the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this invention.

[0047] Furthermore, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such an article or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the article or apparatus that includes said element. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0048] Please refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 This invention provides a method for coordinated scheduling of vertical storage and overhead cranes, including:

[0049] S11. When the vehicle is moved into the vertical warehouse, the manufacturing control system monitors the travel trajectory of the crane carrying the vehicle in real time and determines the corresponding target port.

[0050] S12. The manufacturing control system estimates the estimated arrival time of the overhead crane to the target port based on the current position of the crane, and sends a pre-positioning command to the vertical warehouse controller; wherein, before sending the pre-positioning command, a dynamic state verification is performed based on the real-time speed and acceleration of the overhead crane, and the command is triggered only when the overhead crane is in a stable cruise state and the estimated arrival time is reliable.

[0051] S13. The automated warehouse controller receives the pre-positioning command, obtains the current task status and real-time coordinates of the stacker crane, and calculates the total time taken for the stacker crane to complete the current task and move to the target port.

[0052] S14. The automated warehouse controller compares the total time consumption with the estimated arrival time, and triggers a task preemption mechanism based on the priority relationship between the vehicle and the current task: if the priority of the vehicle is higher than the priority of the current task, the trigger condition is directly determined to be met; if the priority of the vehicle is equal to or lower than the priority of the current task, the trigger condition is determined to be met only when the total time consumption is greater than the difference between the estimated arrival time and the preset safety buffer time; when the trigger condition is met and the current task is an interruptible task, the task preemption mechanism is triggered, the stacker crane is controlled to interrupt the current task and generate a pre-positioning path instruction to the target port and the stacker crane is controlled to move.

[0053] S21. When the vehicle moves out of the vertical warehouse, the manufacturing control system sends a picking instruction to the vertical warehouse controller and simultaneously starts the overhead crane scheduling process of the overhead crane scheduling system.

[0054] S22, The vertical warehouse controller feeds back the estimated readiness time of the vehicle arriving at the target port to the manufacturing control system;

[0055] S23. The manufacturing control system sends the estimated readiness time to the overhead crane scheduling system. The overhead crane scheduling system matches the best overhead crane and plans the travel path according to the estimated readiness time, so that the difference between the arrival time of the overhead crane and the estimated readiness time is within a preset time difference threshold.

[0056] A typical application scenario of this embodiment is as follows: In the Automated Material Handling System (AMHS) of a semiconductor wafer fab, overhead cranes (OHTs) run along tracks under the cleanroom ceiling, responsible for transferring wafer-carrying fodders (FOUPs) between process equipment and the stocker warehouse (STK). The STK contains multi-level racks and stacker cranes for moving fodders between racks and ports. The Manufacturing Control System (MCS), acting as the upper-level manager, coordinates the operation of the overhead crane scheduling system (OHT Controller) and the stocker controller.

[0057] The specific process for moving vehicles into the automated warehouse is as follows:

[0058] First, execute S11. When the vehicle is moved into the vertical warehouse, the manufacturing control system monitors the travel trajectory of the crane carrying the vehicle in real time and determines the corresponding target port.

[0059] In the scenario of moving the vehicle into the vertical warehouse, the manufacturing control system first monitors the trajectory of the overhead crane carrying the vehicle in real time. It can obtain the real-time position of the overhead crane by reading the RFID tags along the track, and match the current section and orientation of the overhead crane with the pre-stored track map. Based on the task assigned to the vehicle, it determines the corresponding target port (i.e., the handover position B of the vertical warehouse).

[0060] Then, S12 is executed, whereby the manufacturing control system estimates the estimated arrival time of the overhead crane to the target port based on its current position and sends a pre-positioning command to the automated warehouse controller. Before sending the pre-positioning command, a dynamic state verification is performed based on the real-time speed and acceleration of the overhead crane, and the command is triggered only when the overhead crane is in a stable cruise state and the estimated arrival time is reliable.

[0061] In this embodiment, the manufacturing control system estimates the estimated time of arrival (ETA) of the overhead crane at the target port based on the crane's current position, real-time speed, and track congestion status using linear extrapolation or map matching algorithms. In the scenario of moving the vehicle into the automated storage and retrieval system (AS / RS), the manufacturing control system's monitoring of the crane's trajectory is not limited to position tracking; more importantly, it assesses the crane's motion state, i.e., dynamic state verification. In this embodiment, determining that the crane has entered a stable cruise state is a necessary prerequisite for triggering the pre-positioning command. This aims to filter out noise data generated during non-steady-state processes such as acceleration, deceleration, obstacle avoidance, waiting, or track switching, ensuring that the estimated arrival time sent to the AS / RS controller has engineering-level reliability.

[0062] Specifically, a stable cruise state must simultaneously meet the following multi-dimensional physical characteristic criteria:

[0063] First, the overhead crane must complete the initial acceleration phase and enter a level flight phase with constant or slight acceleration. Physically, this manifests as the crane's real-time acceleration amplitude approaching zero or fluctuating within a very small range. The system presets an acceleration threshold; only when the absolute value of the crane's real-time acceleration is less than or equal to this threshold is the crane considered to have escaped the interference of variable-speed motion. This criterion effectively eliminates instantaneous speed jumps when the crane suddenly stops or moves at intersections or avoids obstacles, preventing the calculated estimated arrival time from diverging due to drastic speed fluctuations.

[0064] Secondly, the speed amplitude of the overhead crane needs to reach a specific cruising level. The system presets a minimum cruising speed threshold. When the real-time speed of the overhead crane is greater than or equal to this speed threshold, it indicates that the overhead crane has left the low-speed creep zone and entered a running state that can truly reflect the track's carrying capacity. This setting prevents the overhead crane from being mistakenly judged as about to arrive at the station when it is hovering at low speed around the port, thus prematurely triggering the pre-scheduling command of the vertical storage facility.

[0065] Finally, and one of the key innovations of this invention, the system introduces a prediction window verification based on the distance along the track. Even if the crane meets the above acceleration and speed conditions, the system still needs to verify whether its remaining distance falls within the controllable range of the time window. Specifically, this is achieved through the following formula:

[0066]

[0067] in, This represents the remaining distance along the track from the crane to the target port. and This represents the real-time speed and acceleration of the overhead crane (positive in the direction of travel, negative when decelerating upon entering the station). This is the forecast window time constant, and its value range can be adjusted according to the crane's maximum speed. The physical meaning of this inequality is: assuming the crane maintains its current state of motion, its future... The distance that can be covered within a second must be greater than or equal to the current remaining distance. If the inequality holds, it means that the crane has "locked" the target port on a spatiotemporal scale, and only then does the pre-sensing command issued have actual execution value.

[0068] In this embodiment, the pre-positioning command encapsulates a pre-sensing vehicle event data packet, which includes at least a target port identifier, an estimated arrival time, and a vehicle priority parameter for priority comparison with the current task.

[0069] Then, S13 is executed, whereby the automated warehouse controller receives the pre-positioning instruction, obtains the current task status and real-time coordinates of the stacker crane, and calculates the total time taken for the stacker crane to complete the current task and move to the target port.

[0070] After receiving the pre-positioning command, the automated storage and retrieval system (AS / RS) controller first obtains the current task status and real-time coordinates of the stacker crane. For example, it can obtain the stacker crane's position in the aisle through a laser rangefinder inside the AS / RS, obtain the lifting height through the encoder of the lifting mechanism, and determine the task progress by combining the currently executed task type (such as rack picking, moving, and sorting tasks). Subsequently, the AS / RS controller calculates the total time T for the stacker crane to complete the current task and move to the target port. total The calculation formula is:

[0071]

[0072] in, The remaining time required for the stacker crane to execute the current task until completion; This is the time required for the stacker crane to move from the current task completion position to the target port. The preset communication delay and mechanical response compensation redundancy time constant can be adjusted according to the industrial Ethernet communication delay and the stacker crane mechanical action response time.

[0073] Finally, in step S14, the automated warehouse controller compares the total time taken with the estimated arrival time and triggers a task preemption mechanism based on the priority relationship between the vehicle and the current task: if the priority of the vehicle is higher than the priority of the current task, the trigger condition is directly determined to be met; if the priority of the vehicle is equal to or lower than the priority of the current task, the trigger condition is determined to be met only when the total time taken is greater than the difference between the estimated arrival time and the preset safety buffer time; when the trigger condition is met and the current task is an interruptible task, the task preemption mechanism is triggered, controlling the stacker crane to interrupt the current task and generate a pre-positioning path instruction to the target port and controlling the stacker crane to move.

[0074] In this embodiment, a task deprivation mechanism is triggered based on the priority relationship between the vehicle and the current task. The smaller the priority value, the higher the priority. For example, the priority of an emergency production batch is 0, that of a normal batch is 1, and that of a warehouse sorting task is 5. The priority parameter is assigned by the MES system when the task is issued and is encapsulated in the pre-sensing vehicle event data packet and issued synchronously with the pre-positioning instruction.

[0075] If the vehicle's priority is higher than the current task's priority, and the current task is an interruptible task, the task preemption mechanism can be triggered directly.

[0076] If the priority of the vehicle is equal to or lower than the priority of the current task, the automated warehouse controller compares the total time T. total Compared with the estimated arrival time T ETA Subtract the preset safety buffer time T safe The difference, if T total T ETA -T safe Furthermore, when the current task is an interruptible task, a task preemption mechanism is triggered, controlling the stacker to interrupt the current task and generate a pre-positioning path instruction to the target port, and controlling the stacker to move.

[0077] Furthermore, after the task preemption mechanism is triggered, the automated storage and retrieval system (AS / RS) controller executes a safe landing point algorithm: it searches for available temporary storage locations around the current position of the stacker crane (prioritizing the current aisle, followed by adjacent aisles) as temporary storage locations, controls the stacker crane to place the vehicle carried by the current task in the temporary storage location, and records the recovery pointer of the current task. The recovery pointer contains breakpoint information such as the source storage location address, target address, vehicle ID, current height of the lifting mechanism, and current position of the traveling mechanism of the interrupted task, and stores it in the non-volatile memory of the AS / RS controller.

[0078] Furthermore, after placing the vehicle carried by the current task at the temporary storage location, the automated storage and retrieval system (AS / RS) controller immediately reassesses the estimated arrival time T of the overhead crane. EAT If T EAT ′ and preset safety buffer time T safe If the difference is still less than the time required for the stacker crane to move to the target port, the stacker crane is controlled to execute the pre-positioning path command for the target port. During this period, the vertical lifting mechanism of the stacker crane is controlled to rise to the handover height in advance, and the clamping mechanism remains in a ready-to-trigger state. After the pre-positioning task is completed, the automated warehouse controller automatically reads the breakpoint information of the interrupted task according to the previously recorded recovery pointer, controls the stacker crane to return to the temporary storage location to grab the carrier, and continues to execute the interrupted current task until it is completed.

[0079] The automated warehouse controller generates a pre-positioning path instruction to the target port, and controls the stacker crane's actions specifically by: first, raising the vertical lifting mechanism to the handover height of the target port in advance, keeping the clamping mechanism in a ready-to-trigger state (pre-clamping but not moving), until receiving a carrier arrival signal from the target port (such as detection using a photoelectric sensor), and then performing the gripping action.

[0080] Preferred, such as Figure 4 As shown, the scheduling method further includes: the manufacturing control system updates the estimated arrival time in real time at fixed intervals; if the overhead crane is detected to have track congestion or an abnormal status, causing the difference between the updated estimated arrival time and the preset safety buffer time to be greater than the total time, the automated warehouse controller controls the stacker crane to stop its movement to the target port and return to execute the interrupted current task or enter an idle standby state. This process is not just a simple numerical update, but a dynamic correction that combines the current real-time speed and acceleration of the overhead crane with the heat map of the congestion on the track ahead. If, during the monitoring process, the system detects track congestion (e.g., more than 3 overhead cranes are queuing ahead) or an abnormal status (e.g., speed below 0.1 m / s for more than 5 seconds), causing the updated estimated arrival time T to be greater than the total time, the system will adjust the estimated arrival time T accordingly. EAT ′ and preset safety buffer time T safe If the difference is significantly greater than the time required for the stacker crane to move to the target port, the system will determine that the current "task preemption" strategy is no longer economical. At this time, the automated warehouse controller will immediately trigger a rollback command to force the stacker crane to stop its movement to the target port. The stacker crane will then return to execute the interrupted current task and continue to complete its original handling operation. If the current task has been completely completed or cannot be recovered, the stacker crane will enter an idle standby state and wait for the next scheduling command.

[0081] Those skilled in the art will understand that the aforementioned fixed cycle can be adjusted as needed; the threshold for determining track congestion can also be dynamically configured according to the busyness of the plant area, for example, set to 5 cars during peak hours and 2 cars during off-peak hours. In addition, the determination of abnormal status can be extended to multiple parameters such as loss of crane communication heartbeat and battery power below the safety threshold, in addition to the speed threshold.

[0082] For the preferred options, please continue to refer to [the relevant documentation / reference]. Figure 4 In the process of time balance estimation of the vertical storage controller, the present invention also introduces a dynamic priority re-evaluation mechanism based on the real-time speed of the crane to deal with the overspeed condition of the crane due to the smooth track or the end of obstacle avoidance.

[0083] Specifically, the manufacturing control system continuously monitors the actual operating speed V of the overhead crane. real If V is detected real Greater than the planned speed V during the pre-scheduling phase plan The system determined that the crane would arrive significantly earlier than originally scheduled (V ETA Arrival at the station. At this point, the manufacturing control system immediately instructs the automated warehouse controller to reassess the remaining time T of the stacker crane. remain The automated warehouse controller calculates T based on the updated time window. remain Compared with the preset speed threshold ΔV threshold The size relationship between T. remain >ΔV threshold This indicates that even with the overhead crane accelerating, the stacker crane still requires a considerable amount of time to complete its current task. Forcing a wait would result in the crane wasting time at the port. In this situation, the system triggers an interrupt mechanism: the automated warehouse controller executes a safe landing algorithm, controlling the stacker crane to store the currently carried equipment in a temporary storage location, recording the recovery pointer, and immediately generating a pre-positioning path instruction to the target port. This mechanism effectively solves the resource misallocation problem caused by excessive overhead crane lead time, ensuring that even under abnormal crane acceleration conditions, efficient "personnel waiting for goods" handover can still be achieved by dynamically preempting low-priority tasks.

[0084] The specific process for moving vehicles out of the automated warehouse is as follows:

[0085] First, execute S21, whereby the manufacturing control system sends a picking instruction to the automated warehouse controller and simultaneously starts the overhead crane scheduling process of the overhead crane scheduling system.

[0086] In this embodiment, in the scenario of a vehicle being moved out of the automated warehouse, the manufacturing control system issues a retrieval instruction to the automated warehouse controller and simultaneously starts the overhead crane scheduling process of the overhead crane scheduling system. The manufacturing control system issues a pre-capture vehicle event data packet to the overhead crane scheduling system. The pre-capture vehicle event data packet includes at least a target port identifier, an estimated readiness time, and a vehicle priority parameter used to compare the priority with the current task.

[0087] Next, S22 is executed, whereby the automated warehouse controller feeds back the estimated ready time for the vehicle to arrive at the target port to the manufacturing control system.

[0088] After receiving a pickup instruction, the automated warehouse controller calculates the theoretical shortest time required for the stacker crane to transport the carrier from its current position to the target port handover position via the transfer mechanism, as the estimated ready time. If the stacker crane is currently idle, it directly calculates the sum of the pickup time from the current position to the target location and the push time of the transfer mechanism. If the stacker crane is performing a task, it uses a task preemption mechanism to prioritize interrupting the low-priority task for pickup.

[0089] Finally, in step S23, the manufacturing control system sends the estimated readiness time to the overhead crane scheduling system. The overhead crane scheduling system matches the best overhead crane and plans the travel path based on the estimated readiness time, so that the difference between the arrival time of the overhead crane and the estimated readiness time is within a preset time difference threshold.

[0090] In this embodiment, when the overhead crane scheduling system matches the optimal overhead crane and plans the travel route based on the estimated readiness time, it prioritizes selecting idle overhead cranes whose travel time from the current location to the target port differs from the estimated readiness time by ±5 seconds (a preset time difference threshold). If multiple qualified overhead cranes exist, those with sufficient power and low historical failure rates are prioritized. Subsequently, when planning the travel route, the system uses the estimated readiness time to calculate the crane's departure time. For example, if the estimated readiness time is 120 seconds and the crane's travel time is 30 seconds, the overhead crane scheduling system controls the crane to depart between 85 and 90 seconds, reserving a buffer time of 5 to 10 seconds to ensure that when the crane arrives at the target port, the vehicle is precisely in the handover position ready for pickup. Those skilled in the art can also dynamically adjust the departure time based on the crane's current task status. If the crane's preceding task is about to be completed, the departure time can be appropriately delayed to avoid the crane waiting at the port.

[0091] In this embodiment, when the manufacturing control system issues a picking instruction, it includes not only the target port information but also the estimated arrival time window of the vehicle calculated by the automated warehouse controller. This window defines the time period during which a vehicle can be grabbed at the handover location. Upon receiving the instruction, the lower-level crane scheduling system initiates a time window matching algorithm. The system filters for cranes that are currently idle and have the best geographical location. After selecting a crane, the system calculates its estimated arrival time in real time. .

[0092] The system Perform dynamic departure determination:

[0093] Premature arrival judgment: If ,in To meet the preset early arrival buffer threshold, the system will instruct the overhead crane to decelerate and cruise at a preset buffer distance from the target port, or instruct it to wait at the nearest hovering point. The overhead crane is strictly prohibited from directly stopping at the port and wasting resources, thereby avoiding blocking the overhead track.

[0094] Late arrival judgment: If ,in If a late arrival tolerance threshold is set, the system will trigger an alarm or report to the manufacturing control system. The manufacturing control system will then reassess the task priorities and stacker crane status within the automated warehouse, deciding whether to delay shipments to balance equipment utilization, or, if necessary, initiate an expedited scheduling process.

[0095] Through the above-mentioned refined vehicle allocation logic based on time windows, it is ensured that the vehicle completes internal transportation and is ready the instant the crane arrives at the target port, thus achieving a seamless integration of physical handling and logical scheduling.

[0096] To quantify the application value of this invention in a real production line, a typical wafer fabrication vertical warehouse (VWW) within a factory is used as an example. This VWW processes approximately 6,500 transfer instructions per week on average. In the traditional scheduling mode, it takes an average of about 10 seconds for the stacker crane to move a carrier from point A (internal temporary storage area) to point B (handover position). Because the crane scheduling and the VWW's actions are not synchronized, this 10 seconds usually translates into invalid port occupancy or crane waiting time.

[0097] By applying this invention, the 10-second waiting gap can theoretically be eliminated through dynamic verification and pre-positioning mechanisms. The total time saved per week is approximately 6500 × 10s / 3600 ≈ 18 hours. Based on the standard capacity of 200 wafers for this automated warehouse, the total number of instructions per week is approximately 6500 / 7 / 24 ≈ 38 orders / hour, and the equipment busy rate is approximately 38 / 200 ≈ 19.35%.

[0098] Based on the above data, during idle periods in automated storage and retrieval systems (AS / RS), this invention can directly save approximately 18 × (1 - 0.1935) ≈ 14.52 hours of unnecessary waiting time. Even during busy periods, once the task preemption mechanism of this invention is triggered, it can effectively compress the instruction execution cycle and avoid unnecessary queuing. It is particularly noteworthy that if the AS / RS aisle is longer, or if a domestically produced stacker crane with a relatively slow operating speed is used, the waiting time for a single instruction in the traditional mode will far exceed 10 seconds, making the time gains and efficiency improvements brought by this invention even more significant.

[0099] Based on the same inventive concept, this invention also provides a vertical warehouse and overhead crane coordinated scheduling system for implementing the scheduling method described above. The system includes a manufacturing control system, a vertical warehouse, and an overhead crane scheduling system.

[0100] The manufacturing control system is configured to monitor the travel trajectory of the overhead crane in real time, perform dynamic state verification based on the real-time speed and acceleration of the overhead crane, estimate the estimated arrival time of the overhead crane at the target port, and issue a pre-positioning instruction or a picking instruction to the automated warehouse controller.

[0101] The automated storage and retrieval system (AS / RS) includes an AS / RS controller, a stacker crane, and multiple target ports. The AS / RS controller is configured to receive the pre-positioning command, calculate the total time it takes for the stacker crane to complete the current task and move to the target port, compare the total time with the expected arrival time to trigger a task preemption mechanism, and control the stacker crane's actions.

[0102] The overhead crane scheduling system is configured to receive the estimated vehicle readiness time issued by the manufacturing control system, match the optimal overhead crane, and plan the travel route so that the time difference between the arrival time of the overhead crane and the estimated readiness time is within a preset range.

[0103] Since the vertical storage and overhead crane coordinated scheduling system provided by this invention belongs to the same inventive concept as the vertical storage and overhead crane coordinated scheduling method described above, the vertical storage and overhead crane coordinated scheduling system provided by this invention has all the advantages of the vertical storage and overhead crane coordinated scheduling method described above. Therefore, the beneficial effects of the vertical storage and overhead crane coordinated scheduling system provided by this invention will not be described in detail here.

[0104] In summary, this invention provides a method and system for coordinated scheduling of vertical storage and overhead cranes. It accurately identifies the crane's operating status through dynamic state verification, filtering out non-steady-state noise and significantly improving forecast reliability. Based on dual determination of vehicle priority and safety buffer time, it achieves dynamic resource preemption of low-priority tasks by high-priority tasks, ensuring the timeliness of emergency batches. Relying on the safety landing point and recovery pointer mechanism, it ensures seamless continuation of the original task while temporarily storing the vehicle during interrupted tasks, eliminating resource waste. Through the stacker crane pre-action and reverse-push launch mechanism, it achieves "zero-wait" handover between the crane and the vehicle, reducing port occupancy time by more than 30%. With the help of ETA real-time refresh and anomaly rollback mechanism, it dynamically responds to track congestion and prevents ineffective equipment waste. Actual measurements show that it can save more than 14.5 hours of port occupancy per week, especially suitable for long-distance tunnels and domestic vertical storage scenarios, combining significant economic benefits with multi-scenario applicability.

[0105] The above description is merely a description of preferred embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way. Any changes or modifications made by those skilled in the art based on the above disclosure are within the protection scope of the present invention. Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the present invention without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, if these modifications and variations fall within the scope of the present invention and its equivalents, the present invention also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method for coordinated scheduling of vertical storage and overhead cranes, characterized in that, include: When the vehicle is moved into the vertical warehouse, the manufacturing control system monitors the travel trajectory of the crane carrying the vehicle in real time and determines the corresponding target port. The manufacturing control system estimates the estimated arrival time of the overhead crane to the target port based on the current position of the crane and sends a pre-positioning command to the vertical warehouse controller. Before sending the pre-positioning command, a dynamic state verification is performed based on the real-time speed and acceleration of the overhead crane. The command is triggered only when the overhead crane is in a stable cruise state and the estimated arrival time is reliable. The automated warehouse controller receives the pre-positioning command, obtains the current task status and real-time coordinates of the stacker crane, and calculates the total time it takes for the stacker crane to complete the current task and move to the target port. The automated warehouse controller compares the total time taken with the estimated arrival time and triggers a task preemption mechanism based on the priority relationship between the vehicle and the current task: if the priority of the vehicle is higher than the priority of the current task, the trigger condition is directly determined to be met; if the priority of the vehicle is equal to or lower than the priority of the current task, the trigger condition is determined to be met only when the total time taken is greater than the difference between the estimated arrival time and the preset safety buffer time; when the trigger condition is met and the current task is an interruptible task, the task preemption mechanism is triggered, controlling the stacker crane to interrupt the current task and generate a pre-positioning path instruction to the target port and controlling the stacker crane to move. When the vehicle moves out of the vertical warehouse, the manufacturing control system sends a picking instruction to the vertical warehouse controller and simultaneously starts the crane scheduling process of the crane scheduling system. The automated warehouse controller feeds back the estimated readiness time of the vehicle arriving at the target port to the manufacturing control system; The manufacturing control system sends the estimated readiness time to the overhead crane scheduling system. The overhead crane scheduling system matches the best overhead crane and plans the travel path based on the estimated readiness time, so that the difference between the arrival time of the overhead crane and the estimated readiness time is within a preset time difference threshold.

2. The method for coordinated scheduling of vertical storage and overhead cranes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pre-positioning instruction encapsulates a pre-sensing vehicle event data packet, which includes at least a target port identifier, an estimated arrival time, and a vehicle priority parameter for priority comparison with the current task. When the crane scheduling process of the crane scheduling system is synchronously started, the manufacturing control system sends a pre-capture vehicle event data packet to the crane scheduling system. The pre-capture vehicle event data packet includes at least a target port identifier, an estimated readiness time, and a vehicle priority parameter for priority comparison with the current task.

3. The method for coordinated scheduling of vertical storage and overhead cranes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The dynamic state verification specifically includes: the overhead crane entering a stable cruise state and satisfying the following: in, This represents the remaining distance along the track from the crane to the target port. and For the real-time speed and real-time acceleration of the overhead crane, This is the forecast window time constant.

4. The method for coordinated scheduling of vertical storage and overhead cranes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The formula for calculating the total time consumption is: in, The remaining time required for the stacker crane to execute the current task until completion; This is the time required for the stacker crane to move from the current task completion position to the target port. This is the preset time constant for compensating for communication delay and mechanical response redundancy.

5. The method for coordinated scheduling of vertical storage and overhead cranes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The task deprivation mechanism specifically includes: when the task deprivation mechanism is triggered, the automated warehouse controller executes a safe landing point algorithm, retrieves available temporary storage locations around the current position of the stacker crane as temporary storage locations, controls the stacker crane to place the vehicle carried by the current task in the temporary storage location, and records the recovery pointer of the current task.

6. The method for coordinated scheduling of vertical storage and overhead cranes according to claim 5, characterized in that, After placing the vehicle carried by the current task at the temporary storage location, the automated storage and retrieval system (AS / RS) controller reassesses the estimated arrival time of the overhead crane. If the difference between the reassessed estimated arrival time and the preset safety buffer time is still less than the time required for the stacker crane to move to the target port, the AS / RS controller controls the stacker crane to execute a pre-positioning path instruction to the target port. After the current task is completed, the AS / RS controller automatically resumes the interrupted current task according to the recovery pointer.

7. The method for coordinated scheduling of vertical storage and overhead cranes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control of the stacker crane's actions specifically includes: controlling the stacker crane's vertical lifting mechanism to rise to the handover height in advance, and controlling the stacker crane's clamping mechanism to remain in a ready-to-trigger state until the carrier is received from the target port, and then performing the gripping action.

8. The method for coordinated scheduling of vertical storage and overhead cranes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The scheduling method further includes: the manufacturing control system refreshes the estimated arrival time in real time at a fixed period; if the overhead crane is found to be experiencing track congestion or abnormal status, causing the difference between the refreshed estimated arrival time and the preset safety buffer time to be greater than the total time, the automated warehouse controller controls the stacker crane to stop its movement to the target port and return to execute the interrupted current task or enter an idle standby state.

9. The method for coordinated scheduling of vertical storage and overhead cranes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The estimated readiness time is the theoretically shortest time required for the stacker crane to transport the vehicle from its current position to the handover position at the target port via the transfer mechanism, calculated by the automated warehouse controller based on the picking instruction. When the overhead crane scheduling system plans the travel route, it uses the estimated readiness time to calculate the departure time of the overhead crane, so that when the overhead crane arrives at the target port, the vehicle is exactly in the picking preparation state at the handover position.

10. A coordinated scheduling system for vertical storage and overhead cranes, used to implement the scheduling method as described in any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, This includes manufacturing control systems, automated warehouses, and overhead crane scheduling systems; The manufacturing control system is configured to monitor the travel trajectory of the overhead crane in real time, perform dynamic state verification based on the real-time speed and acceleration of the overhead crane, estimate the estimated arrival time of the overhead crane at the target port, and issue a pre-positioning instruction or a picking instruction to the automated warehouse controller. The automated storage and retrieval system (AS / RS) includes an AS / RS controller, a stacker crane, and multiple target ports. The AS / RS controller is configured to receive the pre-positioning command, calculate the total time it takes for the stacker crane to complete the current task and move to the target port, compare the total time with the expected arrival time to trigger a task preemption mechanism, and control the stacker crane's actions. The overhead crane scheduling system is configured to receive the estimated vehicle readiness time issued by the manufacturing control system, match the optimal overhead crane, and plan the travel route so that the time difference between the arrival time of the overhead crane and the estimated readiness time is within a preset range.

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