Dividing system and warehousing system

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of warehouse logistics, and discloses a separate sowing system which comprises a separate sowing mechanism, a first sowing wall and a second sowing wall. The first seeding wall is arranged on the first side of the separate seeding mechanism and comprises a plurality of first seeding positions and a plurality of second seeding positions; the first seeding position is used for placing an order container for seeding of the separate seeding mechanism, and the second seeding position is used for placing an order container for manual seeding. The second seeding wall is arranged on the second side of the separate seeding mechanism and comprises a plurality of first seeding positions and a reserved area; the reserved area is used for placing at least one container carrier, and the at least one container carrier is used for placing at least one of an empty container, a full container and an order container in which seeding is not completed. The separate sowing mechanism is configured to carry the empty containers placed on the container carrier to the first sowing position or the second sowing position and carry the full containers which are sown on the first sowing position or the second sowing position to the container carrier. According to the distribution system provided by the invention, the sorting efficiency of the warehousing system can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the technical field of warehousing logistics, and particularly to a sorting system and a warehousing system. Background Art

[0002] In a "goods-to-person" warehousing system, a robot can transport a shelf or a container from an inventory area to a workstation, and then an operator at the workstation picks out the goods required for an order from the container and sorts (also known as sowing) them to a sorting wall corresponding to the workstation. Generally, a plurality of compartments are provided on the sorting wall, and each compartment is used to place an order box. The operator can deliver the picked goods into the corresponding order box to complete the sowing of the order.

[0003] When there are a large number of compartments provided on the sorting wall, the distance that the operator needs to walk during sowing is relatively long, thereby reducing the picking efficiency of the warehousing system; when there are a small number of compartments provided on the sorting wall, there will be insufficient tasks for the robots in the warehousing system, so that the full capabilities of the robots cannot be exerted, thus also reducing the picking efficiency of the warehousing system. Summary of the Utility Model

[0004] To solve the above problems, the embodiments of this application provide a sorting system and a warehousing system, which can improve the picking efficiency of the warehousing system. Specifically, the embodiments of this application disclose the following technical solutions:

[0005] In a first aspect of the embodiments of this application, a sorting system is provided, including a sorting mechanism, a first sorting wall, and a second sorting wall. Among them, the sorting mechanism is configured to sort the goods required for a to-be-processed order. The first sorting wall is arranged on a first side of the sorting mechanism. The first sorting wall includes a plurality of first sorting positions and a plurality of second sorting positions; the first sorting positions are used to place the order containers sorted by the sorting mechanism, and the second sorting positions are used to place the order containers manually sorted. The second sorting wall is arranged on a second side of the sorting mechanism. The second sorting wall includes a plurality of first sorting positions and a reserved area; the reserved area is used to place at least one container carrier, and at least one container carrier is used to place at least one of an empty container, a full container, and an order container that has not been fully sorted. The sorting mechanism is configured to transport the empty container placed on the container carrier to the first sorting position or the second sorting position, and transport the full container that has been fully sorted on the first sorting position or the second sorting position to the container carrier.

[0006] In some embodiments, at least one container carrier includes at least one first container carrier and at least one second container carrier. The first container carrier is used to place an empty container and / or an order container that has not been fully sorted, and the second container carrier is used to place a full container and / or an order container that has not been fully sorted.

[0007] In some embodiments, the sorting system further includes a plurality of sowing platforms, which are configured to deliver the goods required for the orders to be processed to the sorting mechanism. The sorting mechanism is configured to, when the first goods required for the order to be processed are picked to the first sowing platform, take out the first order container corresponding to the order to be processed from the first container carrier or the second container carrier; wherein, the plurality of sowing platforms include the first sowing platform; move the first order container to the first preset docking position corresponding to the first sowing platform, so as to receive the first goods delivered by the first sowing platform at the first preset docking position.

[0008] In some embodiments, the sorting mechanism is further configured to: if the first order container is in an uncompleted sowing state after receiving the first goods, move the first order container from the first preset docking position to the first buffer position; wherein, the first buffer position is any idle sowing position among a plurality of first sowing positions, any idle cargo position on the first container carrier, or any idle cargo position on the second container carrier. If the first order container is in a completed sowing state after receiving the first goods, move the first order container from the first preset docking position to the idle cargo position of the second container carrier.

[0009] In some embodiments, the sorting mechanism is further configured to: if the first order container is in an uncompleted sowing state after receiving the first goods, when the second goods required for the order to be processed are picked to the second sowing platform, move the first order container from the first buffer position to the second preset docking position corresponding to the second sowing platform, so as to receive the second goods delivered by the second sowing platform at the second preset docking position; wherein, the plurality of sowing platforms include the second sowing platform. If the first order container is in a completed sowing state after receiving the second goods, move the first order container from the second preset docking position to the idle cargo position of the second container carrier; if the first order container is in an uncompleted sowing state after receiving the second goods, move the first order container from the second preset docking position to the second buffer position. Wherein, the second buffer position is any idle sowing position among a plurality of first sowing positions, any idle cargo position on the first container carrier, or any idle cargo position on the second container carrier.

[0010] In some embodiments, the sorting mechanism is further configured to: when the first order container is in an uncompleted sowing state after receiving the first goods and the second goods required for the order to be processed are picked to the second sowing platform, if the first order container is still in an uncompleted sowing state after the second goods are sown into the first order container, receive the second goods at the second preset docking position corresponding to the second sowing platform, and transfer and deliver the second goods to the first order container on the first buffer position; wherein, the plurality of sowing platforms include the second sowing platform.

[0011] In some embodiments, the sorting and distributing mechanism is further configured to: when the first order container is in an unfinished sowing state after receiving the first goods, and when the second goods required by the order to be processed are picked to the second sowing table, if the first order container is in a completed sowing state after the second goods are sown into the first order container, move the first order container from the first buffer position to the second preset docking position corresponding to the second sowing table, so as to receive the second goods delivered by the second sowing table at the second preset docking position; wherein, the plurality of sowing tables include the second sowing table. After the first order container receives the second goods, move the first order container from the second preset docking position to the idle cargo position of the second container carrier.

[0012] In some embodiments, a prompting device is arranged on each of the plurality of sowing tables, and the prompting device is used to prompt the picking object at the workstation to place the picked goods on the corresponding sowing table.

[0013] In some embodiments, the sorting and distributing mechanism is configured to: if the sowing position corresponding to the order to be processed is the second sowing position, take out the second order container corresponding to the order to be processed from the first container carrier or the second container carrier; move the second order container to the idle second sowing position, so that the picking object at the workstation can deliver the first goods required by the order to be processed to the second order container.

[0014] In some embodiments, the sorting and distributing mechanism is further configured to: if the second order container located at the second sowing position is in a completed sowing state, move the second order container from the second sowing position to the idle cargo position of the second container carrier.

[0015] In some embodiments, if the number of types of goods required by the order to be processed is less than or equal to a preset quantity threshold, or the group wave number of the order to be processed is less than a preset wave threshold, then the sowing position corresponding to the order to be processed is the first sowing position.

[0016] In some embodiments, if the number of types of goods required by the order to be processed is greater than a preset quantity threshold, or the size of the goods required by the order to be processed exceeds a preset size range, or the goods required by the order to be processed are special-shaped goods, or the group wave number of the order to be processed is greater than or equal to a preset wave threshold, then the sowing position corresponding to the order to be processed is the second sowing position.

[0017] In some embodiments, the plurality of first sowing positions on the first sowing wall are located above the plurality of second sowing positions; the reserved area is located below the plurality of first sowing positions on the second sowing wall, or the reserved area is located on the side of the plurality of first sowing positions on the second sowing wall.

[0018] In a second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a warehousing system is provided, including a sorting system, which includes a sorting mechanism, a first sowing wall, and a second sowing wall. The first sowing wall is arranged on the first side of the sorting mechanism. The first sowing wall includes a plurality of first sowing positions and a plurality of second sowing positions; the first sowing positions are used to place the order containers sown by the sorting mechanism, and the second sowing positions are used to place the order containers sown manually. The second sowing wall is arranged on the second side of the sorting mechanism. The second sowing wall includes a plurality of first sowing positions and a reserved area; wherein, the reserved area is used to place at least one container carrier, and the at least one container carrier is used to place at least one of empty containers, full containers, and order containers that have not been completely sown. The sorting mechanism is configured to move the empty containers placed on the container carrier to the first sowing position or the second sowing position, and move the full containers that have been completely sown on the first sowing position or the second sowing position to the container carrier.

[0019] In the sorting system provided by the embodiments of the present application, by respectively arranging the first sowing wall and the second sowing wall on both sides of the sorting mechanism, the first sowing wall is provided with both manual sowing positions and automatic sowing positions, and the second sowing wall is provided with a reserved area for placing container carriers. Thus, the sorting mechanism can move the empty containers on the container carrier to the automatic sowing position or the manual sowing position, and can also move the full containers on the automatic sowing position or the manual sowing position to the container carrier, thereby realizing the automatic sowing and container changing operations of the warehousing system. The present application can increase the number of grid openings on the sowing wall while shortening the walking distance of personnel during sowing, solve the problem of robot idleness caused by insufficient tasks, and improve the picking efficiency of the warehousing system. At the same time, for some goods with special sizes and shapes, the special goods can also be sown into the order containers on the manual sowing positions by manual sowing, further improving the picking efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required to be used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts.

[0021] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a warehousing system provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0022] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of another warehousing system provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0023] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of a sorting system provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0024] Figure 4Schematic diagram of another sub - distribution system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of yet another sub - distribution system provided by an embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0026] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention and make the above - mentioned objects, features, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention more obvious and understandable, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] During the operation process of the warehousing system, the sowing and box - changing processes take up a relatively long time in the entire working process of the warehousing system. For example, in the business - to - customer (also known as 2C) scenario, the time for sowing and box - changing accounts for 40% to 60% of the entire working time of the warehousing system. Among them, the time proportion of the box - changing operation reaches 25% to 35%. In the business - to - business (also known as 2B) scenario, the time for sowing and box - changing accounts for about 50% of the entire working time of the warehousing system. Among them, the time proportion of the box - changing operation reaches 10% to 20%. Since the sowing and box - changing processes account for a relatively high proportion in the working time of the entire warehousing system, the overall working efficiency of the warehousing system can be improved by increasing the efficiency of the sowing and box - changing processes.

[0028] In some examples, after an order is assigned to a workstation, an operator needs to carry an empty box to the sowing wall to receive the goods to be sown; or, when there is a full box on the sowing wall, the operator needs to remove the full box from the sowing wall. When the number of orders is large, the number of required empty boxes and full boxes after sowing is large. The time cost for the operator to perform the box - changing operation is relatively large, and the efficiency of manual box - changing is low. Moreover, when there are many bays set on the sowing wall, the distance that the operator needs to walk during sowing is relatively long, thus reducing the picking efficiency of the warehousing system; when there are few bays set on the sowing wall, there will be insufficient tasks for the robots in the warehousing system, so that the full capabilities of the robots cannot be exerted, which also reduces the picking efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0029] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a warehousing system provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 1 shown, the warehousing system 1 includes a plurality of carriers 10, a plurality of handling devices 20, and a plurality of workstations 30.

[0030] Exemplarily, the carrier 10 may include a plurality of storage locations. Among them, the storage location can be used to place containers, or can place bins, or can directly place goods, or can also place the original boxes of goods. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this. The following embodiments will be described by taking the storage location for placing containers as an example.

[0031] For example, the storage location can be a cuboid-shaped accommodation space, and multiple storage locations on the carrier 10 can be neatly arranged along the length, width, and height directions of the carrier 10. Among them, the container can be a supporting product specially designed for the carrier 10, or an ordinary cargo box (also called a bin), or it can also be the packaging of the goods (also called the original box), and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0032] In some examples, the carrier 10 can be a shelf, a turnover cart, a cage cart, etc. For example, the carrier 10 can be a movable shelf or an immovable carrier. The carrier 10 provided by the embodiments of the present application can refer to any carrier for placing containers.

[0033] Exemplarily, the number of workstations 30 in the warehousing system 1 can be one or multiple. Each workstation 30 can be correspondingly provided with a carrier docking area for docking the carrier 10.

[0034] Exemplarily, the handling device 20 can also be called an automatic handling device or a carrier handling device. The handling device can be used to handle the carrier 10 or the container. For example, the handling device 20 can move the carrier 10 in the shelf area 101 to the carrier docking area corresponding to the workstation 30; or, the handling device 20 can also move the container placed on the bottom layer cache position of the carrier 10 to the workstation 30 for picking.

[0035] In some examples, after the handling device 20 moves the carrier 10 to the carrier docking area corresponding to the workstation 30, the picking object at the workstation 30 can perform a picking operation on the carrier 10. For example, the picking object at the workstation 30 can take out the container to be picked on the carrier 10.

[0036] Exemplarily, the warehousing system 1 further includes a sowing wall 40. The sowing wall 40 corresponds to the workstation 30, and one workstation 30 can correspond to at least one sowing wall 40.

[0037] In some examples, multiple sowing positions 41 are provided on the sowing wall 40, and an order container 42 can be placed on each sowing position 41. The order container 42 is used to place the goods to be sown. For example, the picking object at the workstation 30 can pick out the goods to be sown from the container to be picked according to the order requirements, and the distributing object can sow the goods to be sown into the order container 42 corresponding to the order.

[0038] In some examples, the picking object of the workstation 30 can be an operator (such as a picker), or a picking device, such as a robotic arm. The sorting object can be an operator (such as a sorter), or a sorting device. It should be noted that when both the picking object and the sorting object are operators, the picker and the sorter can be the same person. For example, the picker can pick out the goods required by the order from the container at the workstation 30 and sow the goods into the corresponding order container on the sowing wall.

[0039] For example, when the sorting object is an operator, that is, when manual sowing is used for sowing, if the sowing wall 40 is large, that is, the number of sowing positions 41 (which can also be called compartments) set on the sowing wall 40 is large, the operator needs to move a long distance to sow the goods into the order container 42 on the sowing wall 40. If the sowing wall is small, that is, the number of sowing positions 41 set on the sowing wall 40 is small, in this case, the number of orders allocated to each workstation is small, resulting in insufficient tasks for the handling equipment 20 in the warehousing system 1 and the inability to fully utilize the capabilities of the handling equipment 20. In addition, when the number of sowing positions 41 on the sowing wall 40 is small, multiple workstations 30 are more likely to hit the same container, resulting in a serious phenomenon of container scrambling between workstations.

[0040] Exemplarily, as Figure 1 shown, the warehousing system 1 further includes a plurality of automatic sorting devices 50, which can also be called three-dimensional sorters. Each workstation 30 can correspond to at least one automatic sorting device 50, and the automatic sorting device 50 is used to automatically deliver the goods picked out by the picking object of the workstation 30 into the corresponding order container 42 on the sowing wall 40.

[0041] For example, when the sorting object is the automatic sorting device 50, that is, when automatic sowing is used for sowing, the automatic sorting device 50 can automatically sow the goods to be sown picked out by the picking object into the order container 42 on the sowing wall 40, thereby improving the sowing efficiency. However, the automatic sorting device 50 in the related art (such as the delivery mechanism on the automatic sorting device 50) has great limitations on the shape and size of the goods to be sown. For example, the automatic sorting device 50 cannot sow goods with too large or too small sizes, nor can it sow goods with irregular shapes.

[0042] To solve the above problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a sorting system. The sorting system can increase the number of compartments on the sowing wall while shortening the walking distance of personnel for sowing, and solve the problem of robot idleness caused by insufficient tasks. Moreover, the sorting system can achieve automatic sowing and box changing, thereby shortening the time for personnel to sow and change boxes and improving the picking efficiency of the warehousing system. In addition, for some goods with special sizes and shapes, they can also be sown into the order containers at the manual sowing positions by manual sowing, further improving the picking efficiency.

[0043] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of another warehousing system provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 2 shown, the warehousing system 1 further includes a sorting system 100.

[0044] In some embodiments, the sorting system 100 includes a sorting mechanism 110, a first sowing wall 120, and a second sowing wall 130. Among them, the sorting mechanism 110 is used to sow the goods required for the orders to be processed.

[0045] In some embodiments, the first sowing wall 120 is arranged on one side (such as the first side) of the sorting mechanism 110, and the second sowing wall 130 is arranged on the other side (such as the second side) of the sorting mechanism 110.

[0046] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present application. For example, Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the left view (or right view) of the sorting system 100. As Figure 3 shown, the sorting mechanism 110 is located between the first sowing wall 120 and the second sowing wall 130, and the sorting mechanism 110 can perform box changing operations between the first sowing wall 120 and the second sowing wall 130.

[0047] Exemplarily, the sorting system 100 may further include a motion mechanism, and the motion mechanism is connected to the sorting mechanism 110 to drive the movement of the sorting mechanism 110. For example, the motion mechanism can drive the sorting mechanism 110 to move to any position on the first sowing wall 120 or the second sowing wall 130 later.

[0048] In some examples, the motion mechanism may include a horizontal motion module and a vertical motion module. The horizontal motion module can drive the sorting mechanism 110 to move along the length direction and / or width direction of the sorting system 100, and the vertical motion module can drive the sorting mechanism 110 to move along the height direction of the sorting system 100, so that the sorting mechanism 110 can move to the corresponding position to complete the sowing and box changing operations.

[0049] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of another sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present application. For example,Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the front view of one side (such as the first side) of the dispensing system 100.

[0050] In some embodiments, such as Figure 4 as shown, the first sowing wall 120 includes a plurality of first sowing positions 121 and a plurality of second sowing positions 122.

[0051] Exemplarily, the first sowing position 121 is used to place the order containers for sowing by the dispensing mechanism 110. For example, the dispensing mechanism 110 can place the order containers with the goods required for the sown orders to be processed on the first sowing positions. It should be noted that the first sowing position can also be referred to as the automatic sowing position.

[0052] Exemplarily, the second sowing position 122 is used to place the order containers for manual sowing. For example, the picking personnel can sow the goods required for the order to be processed into the order containers placed on the second sowing positions. It should be noted that the second sowing position can also be referred to as the manual sowing position.

[0053] In some examples, a plurality of sowing grid layers are provided on the first sowing wall 120, and a plurality of sowing positions can be provided on each sowing grid layer. For example, the plurality of sowing positions on the first sowing wall 120 can be neatly arranged in the length direction, width direction, and height direction. Among them, the plurality of sowing positions on the first sowing wall 120 can include a plurality of first sowing positions 121 and a plurality of second sowing positions 122.

[0054] In some embodiments, the first sowing positions on the first sowing wall 120 are located above the second sowing positions. That is to say, the first sowing positions can be set in the upper layer area of the first sowing wall 120, and the second sowing positions can be set in the lower layer area of the first sowing wall 120.

[0055] Such as Figure 4 as shown, the first sowing wall 120 is provided with 6 sowing grid layers, including 4 (the upper 4) first sowing grid layers and 2 (the lower 2) second sowing grid layers. Among them, the second sowing grid layers are located below the first sowing grid layers. A plurality of first sowing positions 121 are provided on each first sowing grid layer, and a plurality of second sowing positions 122 are provided on each second sowing grid layer.

[0056] It should be noted that Figure 4 the shown is only an exemplary schematic diagram of the first sowing wall 120, and the first sowing positions 121 and the second sowing positions 122 can also adopt other setting methods. For example, the number of layers of the first sowing grid layers and the second sowing grid layers can be more or less; or, the sowing grid layers located below can also be provided with first sowing positions and second sowing positions at the same time, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0057] In some examples, the number of the first sowing positions 121 on the first sowing wall 120 may be the same as or different from the number of the second sowing positions 122; the size and shape of the first sowing positions 121 may be the same as or different from the size and shape of the second sowing positions 122. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0058] Exemplarily, with continued reference to Figure 3 , the order containers on the second sowing positions 122 can be placed in an inclined manner. For example, the order containers on the side for the picking personnel to deliver are lower, so that it is more convenient for the picking personnel to deliver the picked goods into the order containers on the second sowing positions.

[0059] In some examples, the size of the first sowing positions 121 may be different from the size of the second sowing positions 122. For example, the size of the second sowing positions 122 may be larger than the size of the first sowing positions 121. When the size of the second sowing positions 122 is larger than the size of the first sowing positions 121, larger-sized order containers can be placed on the second sowing positions 122, so that larger-sized goods or goods with special shapes can be placed in the order containers on the second sowing positions 122.

[0060] That is to say, for some goods with regular sizes and shapes, the regular goods can be sown into the order containers on the first sowing positions 121 (i.e., the automatic sowing positions) through automatic sowing; for some goods with special sizes and shapes, the special goods can be sown into the order containers on the second sowing positions 122 (i.e., the manual sowing positions) through manual sowing, thereby further improving the picking efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0061] The sub-sorting system provided by the embodiments of the present application can realize the combination of automatic sowing and manual sowing by respectively arranging an automatic sowing position (i.e., the first sowing position 121) and a manual sowing position (i.e., the second sowing position 122) on the first sowing wall 120; moreover, the manual sowing position is located below the automatic sowing position, so as to facilitate the picking personnel to perform sowing and further improve the picking efficiency.

[0062] Figure 5 FIG. is a schematic diagram of another sub-sorting system provided by the embodiments of the present application. For example, Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the front view of the other side (such as the second side) of the sub-sorting system 100.

[0063] In some embodiments, as Figure 5 shown, the second sowing wall 130 includes a plurality of first sowing positions 131 and a reserved area 132. Among them, the reserved area 132 is used to place at least one container carrier, and the at least one container carrier is used to place at least one of empty containers, full containers, and order containers that have not completed sowing.

[0064] It should be noted that the container vehicle may be the same as or different from the vehicle 10 in the above embodiments. The handling device 20 can also handle the container vehicle. For example, the handling device can move the container vehicle from a designated area to the reserved area 132, or the handling device can also move the container vehicle from the reserved area 132 to a designated area.

[0065] In some examples, one or more container vehicles can be placed in the reserved area 132. When one container vehicle is placed in the reserved area 132, empty containers, full containers, and order containers that have not completed seeding can be placed on the container vehicle. When multiple container vehicles are placed in the reserved area 132, among the multiple container vehicles, some container vehicles are used to place empty containers and order containers that have not completed seeding, and some container vehicles are used to place full containers and order containers that have not completed seeding; or, empty containers, full containers, and order containers that have not completed seeding can be placed on each of the multiple container vehicles at the same time. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0066] For example, the container vehicle can be used to temporarily store order containers that have not completed seeding. That is, when there is no idle seeding position (such as the first seeding position) on the seeding wall (such as the first seeding wall or the second seeding wall), the order containers that have not completed seeding can be buffered on the idle cargo positions on the container vehicle in the reserved area. When there is an idle seeding position on the seeding wall, the order containers that have not completed seeding can be placed on the corresponding seeding position (such as the first seeding position or the second seeding position) on the seeding wall.

[0067] In some embodiments, as Figure 5 shown, at least one first container vehicle 11 and at least one second container vehicle 12 can be placed in the reserved area 132. Among them, the first container vehicle 11 is used to place empty containers and order containers that have not completed seeding, and the second container vehicle 12 is used to place multiple full containers and order containers that have not completed seeding.

[0068] Exemplarily, an empty container is a container that has not been seeded. When no goods required for the order to be processed are placed in a container, the container can be called an empty container. A full container is a container that has completed seeding. When all the goods required for the order to be processed are placed in a container, the container can be called a full container; or, when the goods placed in a container reach the capacity limit of the container, the container can also be called a full container. In this case, all the goods required for the order to be processed may or may not be placed in the full container. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0069] In some examples, the empty containers placed on the first container carrier 11 may include empty order containers corresponding to the first seeding positions (i.e., empty order containers adapted to the first seeding positions) and / or empty order containers corresponding to the second seeding positions (i.e., empty order containers adapted to the second seeding positions). Among them, the empty order containers corresponding to the first seeding positions and the empty order containers corresponding to the second seeding positions may be the same or different.

[0070] For example, when the sizes of the first seeding position and the second seeding position are different, the empty order containers corresponding to the first seeding position and the empty order containers corresponding to the second seeding position may be different. For example, the size of the empty order container corresponding to the first seeding position may be larger than the size of the empty order container corresponding to the second seeding position.

[0071] In some examples, a plurality of first seeding grid layers are provided on the second seeding wall 130, and a plurality of first seeding positions 131 are provided on the first seeding grid layers. It should be noted that the functions realized by the first seeding positions 131 on the second seeding wall 130 are the same as those of the first seeding positions 121 on the first seeding wall 120.

[0072] In some embodiments, the reserved area 132 of the second seeding wall 130 may be located below the plurality of first seeding positions 131, or the reserved area 132 may also be located beside the plurality of first seeding positions 131.

[0073] In some examples, the reserved area 132 may be provided below the first seeding grid layer (i.e., the plurality of first seeding positions 131). For example, when the reserved area 132 is provided below the first seeding grid layer, the heights of the first container carrier 11 and the second container carrier 12 parked in the reserved area 132 cannot be too high.

[0074] In other examples, the reserved area 132 may also be provided on the left side and / or the right side of the first seeding grid layer (i.e., the plurality of first seeding positions 131). For example, when the reserved area 132 is provided on the left side and / or the right side of the first seeding grid layer, the heights of the first container carrier 11 and the second container carrier 12 parked in the reserved area 132 may be higher.

[0075] As Figure 4 shown, 3 first seeding grid layers and a reserved area 132 are provided on the second seeding wall 130, and each first seeding grid layer includes a plurality of first seeding positions 131; the reserved area 132 is provided below the 3 first seeding grid layers, and the first container carrier 11 and the second container carrier 12 are parked in the reserved area 132.

[0076] In some examples, continue to refer to Figure 3, the number of the first seeding positions 121 on the first seeding wall 120 and the number of the first seeding positions 131 on the second seeding wall 130 may be the same or different, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. It should be noted that the number of the first seeding positions (including the first seeding positions 121 on the first seeding wall 120 and the first seeding positions 131 on the second seeding wall 130) and the number of the second seeding positions (such as the second seeding positions 122 on the first seeding wall 120) can be set according to requirements. For example, the sizes and numbers of the first seeding positions and the second seeding positions can be determined according to the size of the order container.

[0077] For example, taking the size of the order container as 600*400*300 as an example, 35 first seeding positions and 10 second seeding positions, a total of 45 seeding positions, can be set on the sorting system 100. Among them, 20 first seeding positions 121 can be set on the first seeding wall 120, and 15 seeding positions 131 can be set on the second seeding wall 130.

[0078] The processes of the sorting system 100 performing seeding and container changing operations will be described below.

[0079] Exemplarily, after the workstation 30 starts to receive orders, the Warehouse Execution System (WES), which can also be called the picking system, can dispatch orders according to the number of seeding positions on the sorting system 100 corresponding to the workstation 30.

[0080] In some examples, the number of orders allocated by the WES to the workstation 30 may be less than or equal to the number of seeding positions (including the first seeding positions and the second seeding positions) on the sorting system 100. For example, when the number of seeding positions on the sorting system 100 is 45, the WES can allocate at most 45 orders to the workstation 30.

[0081] In some examples, after the WES allocates the orders to be processed to the workstation 30, the Robot Management System (RMS) can dispatch the corresponding handling device 20 to move the container (hereinafter referred to as the hit container) hit by the order to be processed, or the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the hit vehicle) where the hit container is located to the workstation 30. The hit container is a container containing the goods required for the order to be processed.

[0082] For example, the hit container or the hit vehicle can be determined according to the goods required for the order to be processed. The handling device 20 can move from the current position to the position of the hit container or the hit vehicle (such as the shelf area 101) to move the hit container or the hit vehicle to the workstation 30.

[0083] Such as Figure 2As shown, after the handling device 20 transports the hit container or hit vehicle to the workstation 30, the picking object (robotic arm or picker) at the workstation 30 can pick the goods required for the order to be processed, and realize the sowing of the picked goods through the batch sorting system 100.

[0084] In some examples, after receiving multiple orders, the WES can group the multiple orders to divide the multiple orders into different order waves. Among them, the number of orders included in each order wave can be the same or different. For example, the WES can combine multiple orders into at least one order wave according to the attributes of each order, such as the destination, urgency, type of goods required, storage location of the goods required, etc.

[0085] In some examples, after completing the division of the order waves, different order waves can be assigned to each workstation. It should be noted that the order to be processed in the embodiments of the present application can be a single order or an order wave, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0086] Exemplarily, after completing the order dispatching of the workstation 30, the sowing position corresponding to the order to be processed can be determined according to the order to be processed corresponding to the workstation 30.

[0087] In some examples, the type of the sowing position corresponding to the order to be processed can be determined according to the minimum stock keeping unit (SKU) information and goods information required by the order to be processed. Among them, the types of sowing positions include automatic sowing positions (i.e., the first sowing positions) and manual sowing (i.e., the second sowing positions).

[0088] In some embodiments, if the number of types of goods required by the order to be processed is less than or equal to a preset quantity threshold, or the grouped wave number of the order to be processed is less than a preset wave threshold, the sowing position corresponding to the order to be processed is the first sowing position.

[0089] In some examples, the number of types of goods can include the number of types of SKUs, that is, the number of different SUKs. If the number of types of SKUs required by the order to be processed, that is, the number of different SKUs, is small, such as less than or equal to the preset quantity threshold, the order to be processed can be assigned to the first sowing position, that is, the goods required for the order to be processed are sown by the automatic sowing method of the batch sorting system 100.

[0090] In some examples, when the grouped wave number of the order to be processed is small, such as less than the preset wave threshold, the order to be processed can also be assigned to the first sowing position. For example, when the order to be processed is a multi-item and multi-piece small wave order, the automatic sowing method can be adopted to improve the picking efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0091] It should be noted that the preset quantity threshold and the preset wave threshold can be set according to requirements, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0092] In some embodiments, if the number of types of goods required for the order to be processed is greater than the preset quantity threshold, or the size of the goods required for the order to be processed exceeds the preset size range, or the goods required for the order to be processed are special-shaped goods, or the wave number of the order to be processed is greater than or equal to the preset wave threshold, then the sowing position corresponding to the order to be processed is the second sowing position.

[0093] In some examples, if the number of types of SKUs required for the order to be processed, that is, the number of different SKUs is large, such as greater than the preset quantity threshold, the order to be processed can be assigned to the second sowing position, that is, the goods required for the order to be processed are sown by manual sowing. When the number of types of SKUs is large, the manual sowing method can reduce the number of movements of the sorting mechanism, thereby further improving the picking efficiency.

[0094] In other examples, when the wave number of the order to be processed is large, such as greater than or equal to the preset wave threshold, the order to be processed can also be assigned to the second sowing position. For example, when the order to be processed is a multi-item multi-piece large-wave order or a single-item single-piece grouped wave order, since manual sowing can be used, the picking efficiency of the warehousing system can be improved.

[0095] In still other examples, when the size of the goods required for the order to be processed is too large or too small, that is, it exceeds the preset size range, or the goods are special-shaped, such as special goods like circles, the order to be processed can also be assigned to the second sowing position and sown by manual sowing.

[0096] The sorting system provided by the embodiments of the present application can allocate a more suitable sowing method for the order to be processed according to the order to be processed and the goods required for the order to be processed. For example, for normal goods, automatic sowing can be used, and for special goods, manual sowing can be used, further improving the picking efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0097] The sowing process when the order to be processed corresponds to the first sowing position (i.e., the automatic sowing position) will be described below.

[0098] In some embodiments, as Figure 2 shown, the sorting system 100 further includes a plurality of sowing platforms 140. The sowing platform 140 is configured to deliver the goods required for the order to be processed to the sorting mechanism 110.

[0099] In some examples, the sowing platform 140 can be arranged on one side of the first sowing wall 120 or the second sowing wall 130. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the number and setting position of the sowing platforms. As Figure 2As shown, the sowing platform 140 can be arranged on one side of the first sowing wall 120.

[0100] Exemplarily, the sowing platform 140 can be arranged in the form of a tipping plate. The sowing platform 140 arranged in the form of a tipping plate can be called a tipping bucket type sowing platform. When goods are placed on the tipping bucket type sowing platform, the tipping bucket type sowing platform can deliver the goods placed thereon to the corresponding container by flipping up and down. Alternatively, the sowing platform 140 can also be arranged in the form of a conveyor belt. The sowing platform arranged in the form of a conveyor belt can deliver the goods placed thereon to the corresponding container in a conveying manner. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the form of the sowing platform. The embodiments of the present application take the tipping bucket type sowing platform as an example for exemplary illustration.

[0101] In some embodiments, the sub - sowing mechanism is configured to: when the first goods required for the order to be processed are picked to the first sowing platform, take out the first order container corresponding to the order to be processed from the first container carrier or the second container carrier; carry the first order container to the first preset docking position corresponding to the first sowing platform to receive the first goods delivered by the first sowing platform at the first preset docking position.

[0102] In some examples, the first sowing platform is any one of multiple sowing platforms. For example, the first sowing platform is an idle sowing platform among multiple sowing platforms, and the idle sowing platform is used to indicate that no goods are placed on the sowing platform.

[0103] For example, after the handling device transports the hit carrier or the hit container to the workstation, the picking object at the workstation can perform a picking operation on the hit container (such as the hit container transported by the handling device or the hit container taken out from the hit carrier), and pick out the first goods in the hit container. The picking object can place the picked first goods on the first sowing platform.

[0104] In some embodiments, a prompting device is arranged on each of the multiple sowing platforms. The prompting device is used to prompt the picking object at the workstation to place the picked goods on the corresponding sowing platform.

[0105] Exemplarily, the prompting device can be a display screen, an electronic label, a speaker, a projection device, etc. The prompting device can be used to output the prompting information corresponding to each sowing platform. For example, the prompting information can include the placement status of the sowing platform and the placement of goods information, etc.

[0106] In some examples, when the picking object is a picking person, the picking person can place the picked goods on the corresponding sowing platform according to the prompting information displayed by the prompting device of each sowing platform. For example, the prompting information displayed by the prompting device of the first sowing platform can be to place the first goods, etc.

[0107] In some examples, the first order container is the order container corresponding to the order to be processed. The first order container can be an empty container (such as the empty order container corresponding to the first sowing position), or an order container that has been sown with some goods but has not completed sowing.

[0108] Exemplarily, when the first order container is an order container that has not completed sowing, the first order container can be cached on the first container carrier or the second container carrier, or can also be cached on the first sowing position on the first sowing wall or the second sowing wall. If the order to be processed hits the first order container and the first order container is cached on the first container carrier or the second container carrier, the sorting mechanism can take out the first order container from the first container carrier or the second container carrier and transport it to the first preset docking position corresponding to the first sowing table for sowing.

[0109] Exemplarily, when the first order container is an empty container, the empty container can be placed on the first container carrier in the reserved area. When the picking object places the first good on the first sowing table, the sorting mechanism can take out an empty container from the first container carrier in the reserved area and determine it as the first order container. In this case, the first order container can be any empty order container among the empty order containers corresponding to the first sowing position on the first container carrier. For example, the sorting mechanism can move from the current position to the position of the first order container on the first container carrier and take out the first order container.

[0110] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application can be exemplarily described by taking the first order container corresponding to the order to be processed as an empty container as an example.

[0111] In some examples, the first container carrier can be a single-depth carrier or a multi-depth carrier. When the first container carrier is a multi-depth carrier and there are partitions between multiple depths, if there is no empty container on the current surface of the first container carrier, a turning operation can be performed on the first container carrier. For example, the handling device can transport the first container carrier to the turning position for turning, and then transport the turned first container carrier to the reserved area so that the sorting mechanism can take out the first order container from the first container carrier.

[0112] Exemplarily, the sorting mechanism can transport the taken-out first order container to the first preset docking position corresponding to the first sowing table.

[0113] In some examples, the first preset docking position can be below the first sowing table and at a position where the goods delivered by the first sowing table can be received. The first preset docking position can be set and stored in advance. When the first good is placed on the first sowing table, the sorting mechanism can transport the first order container to the first preset docking position.

[0114] For example, after the sorting and distribution mechanism transports the first order container to the first preset docking position, the first sowing platform can use the flip plate method to deliver the first goods placed thereon into the first order container.

[0115] In some examples, when the order to be processed corresponds to the first sowing position, a virtual order container can be bound to the order to be processed in advance. After the sorting and distribution mechanism transports the first order container to the first preset docking position and receives the first goods delivered by the first sowing platform, WES can bind the order to be processed and the first order container.

[0116] In some embodiments, the sorting and distribution mechanism 110 is further configured to: if the first order container is in an unfinished sowing state after receiving the first goods, transport the first order container from the first preset docking position to the first buffer position; if the first order container is in a completed sowing state after receiving the first goods, transport the first order container from the first preset docking position to the idle cargo position of the second container carrier.

[0117] In some examples, the first buffer position is any idle sowing position among multiple first sowing positions, any idle cargo position on the first container carrier, or any idle cargo position on the second container carrier. For example, the first sowing position can be any idle first sowing position on the first sowing wall or any idle first sowing position on the second sowing wall.

[0118] Exemplarily, after the first order container receives the first goods, WES can further determine whether the first order container that has received the first goods has completed sowing, that is, determine the state of the first order container.

[0119] In some examples, when the first order container has not completed sowing after receiving the first goods, that is, when the first order container is in an unfinished sowing state, if there are no idle first sowing positions on both the first sowing wall and the second sowing wall, the sorting and distribution mechanism can transport the first order container from the first preset docking position to any idle cargo position of the first container carrier in the reserved area or any idle cargo position on the second container carrier. That is to say, the first container carrier or the second container carrier can be used to cache the first order container that has not completed sowing.

[0120] In some other examples, if there is at least one idle first sowing position on the first sowing wall or the second sowing wall, the sorting and distribution mechanism can transport the first order container from the first preset docking position to the target sowing position. Among them, the target sowing position is any idle first sowing position on the first sowing wall or the second sowing wall.

[0121] It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the process of moving the first order container from the first preset docking position to any available first sowing position (i.e., the target sowing position) on the first sowing wall or the second sowing wall can be taken as an example for exemplary illustration.

[0122] Since the first order container has not completed sowing after receiving the first goods, it indicates that the first order container still needs to continue sowing. Therefore, the sub - sowing mechanism can place the first order container at the target sowing position so that the goods required by the first order container can continue to be sown after being picked to the sowing table.

[0123] It should be noted that the fact that the first order container has not completed sowing indicates that after receiving the first goods, the first order container has not reached its capacity limit, and in addition to the first goods, the goods required for the order to be processed also include other goods.

[0124] In some examples, if the first order container has completed sowing after receiving the first goods, that is, the first order container is in a state of having completed sowing, the sub - sowing mechanism can directly move the first order container from the first preset docking position to the second container carrier, such as to any available cargo space on the second container carrier.

[0125] Since the first order container has completed sowing after receiving the first goods, it indicates that the first order container does not need to continue sowing. Therefore, the sub - sowing mechanism does not need to move the first order container to the target sowing position, but can directly move the first order container from the first preset docking position to the second container carrier, thereby reducing the number of movements and the moving distance of the sub - sowing mechanism, and further improving the picking efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0126] It should be noted that the completion of sowing of the first order container indicates that the first order container has reached its capacity limit after receiving the first goods; or, the only goods required for the order to be processed that have not been sown are the first goods, so the first order container has completed sowing after sowing the first goods.

[0127] The sub - sowing system provided by the embodiment of the present application moves the first order container to the sowing table by the sub - sowing mechanism to receive the first goods to be sown, and determines whether to move the first order container to the first buffer position (such as the target sowing position) or the second container carrier according to the sowing status of the first order container that has received the first goods. When the first order container has completed sowing after receiving the first goods, the first order container is moved to the second container carrier without moving to the target sowing position, thereby reducing the number of movements and the moving distance of the sub - sowing mechanism, and further improving the picking efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0128] In some examples, the goods required for the order to be processed may include, in addition to the first goods, second goods. Herein, the second goods may be the same as or different from the first goods. When the second goods are the same as the first goods, the first goods and the second goods may correspond to different hit containers or hit carriers. If the goods required for the order to be processed further include the second goods, the first order container remains uncompleted for sowing after receiving the first goods. In this case, it is necessary to continue sowing the first order container.

[0129] Exemplarily, the picking object of the workstation may pick out the second goods from the hit container corresponding to the second goods and place the second goods on the second sowing table according to the prompt information of each sowing table. Herein, the second sowing table may be the same as or different from the first sowing table.

[0130] In some embodiments, the sub - sowing mechanism is further configured to: when the second goods required for the order to be processed are picked to the second sowing table, move the first order container from the first buffer position to the second preset docking position corresponding to the second sowing table, so as to receive the second goods delivered by the second sowing table at the second preset docking position.

[0131] In some examples, when the second goods are placed on the second sowing table by the picking object, the sub - sowing mechanism may move from the current position to the first buffer position (such as the target sowing position), take out the first order container at the target sowing position, and move the first order container to the second preset docking position corresponding to the second sowing table. When the first order container is moved to the second preset docking position by the sub - sowing mechanism, the second sowing table may deliver the second goods placed thereon into the first order container.

[0132] For example, the second preset docking position may be below the second sowing table and a position capable of receiving the goods delivered by the second sowing table, and the second preset docking position may be set and stored in advance.

[0133] In some embodiments, the sub - sowing mechanism is further configured to: if the first order container is in a completed sowing state after receiving the second goods, move the first order container from the second preset docking position to the idle cargo space of the second container carrier; if the first order container is in an uncompleted sowing state after receiving the second goods, move the first order container from the second preset docking position to the second buffer position.

[0134] Herein, the second buffer position is any idle sowing position among a plurality of first sowing positions, any idle cargo space on the first container carrier, or any idle cargo space on the second container carrier.

[0135] For example, the second buffer position may be the same as or different from the first buffer position.

[0136] In some examples, after the first order container receives the second goods, if the target seeding position is idle, the seeding mechanism can put the first order container back to the target seeding position. Alternatively, if the target seeding position is not idle and there are other idle first seeding positions on the first seeding wall or the second seeding wall, the seeding mechanism can move the first order container to any idle first seeding position. Alternatively, if there are no idle first seeding positions on both the first seeding wall and the second seeding wall, the seeding mechanism can also move the first order container to an idle cargo position on the first container carrier or the second container carrier.

[0137] In some examples, when the first order container receives the second goods, the WES may continue to determine whether the first order container has completed seeding after receiving the second goods. If it is determined that the first order container has completed seeding, the seeding mechanism may directly move the first order container from the second preset docking position to an empty cargo position on the second container carrier; if it is determined that the first order container has not completed seeding, the seeding mechanism moves the first order container from the second preset docking position to the second cache position to facilitate subsequent seeding of other goods required for the order.

[0138] The sowing system provided in the embodiment of the present application can determine whether the order container has been sown after each delivery of the goods to the order container when the sowing station realizes automatic sowing of goods through the sowing station. If it is determined that the sowing has been completed, the sowing mechanism can directly move the order container that has been sown to the second container carrier; if it is determined that the sowing has not been completed, the sowing mechanism can move the order container that has not been sown to the second cache position for subsequent continued sowing. The embodiment of the present application can reduce the number of movements and moving distances of the sowing mechanism by determining the sowing status of the order container after sowing through the sowing station, and further improve the picking efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0139] In some embodiments, the distribution mechanism is further configured to: when the second goods required for the order to be processed are picked to the second sowing station, if the first order container is still in an unfinished sowing state after the second goods are sown into the first order container, the second goods will be received at the second preset docking position corresponding to the second sowing station, and the second goods will be transferred and delivered to the first order container on the first cache position.

[0140] For example, when the second goods required for the pending order are picked to the second sowing station, it can be predetermined whether the state of the first order container after the second goods are placed is a sowing completed state, thereby determining further operations of the sowing mechanism.

[0141] In some examples, if it is pre-determined that after the second cargo is placed into the first order container, the first order container is still in an incomplete seeding state, that is, after the second cargo is seeded in the first order container, other cargo still needs to be seeded. In this case, the sorting mechanism can receive the second cargo at the second docking position corresponding to the second seeding table, and transfer and deliver the second cargo to the first order container located at the second buffer position.

[0142] For example, when the first order container is still placed at the target seeding position, the sorting mechanism can transfer the received second cargo to the position of the target seeding position and deliver it to the first order container on the target seeding position.

[0143] Exemplarily, the sorting mechanism can directly receive the cargo delivered by the second seeding table. Among them, the second preset docking position when the sorting mechanism directly receives the second cargo can be the same as or different from the second preset docking position corresponding to when the sorting mechanism transports the first order container.

[0144] In some examples, the sorting mechanism can also be a container picking device, which can be used to transport containers and also to place cargo; when the container picking device moves to the second preset docking position below the second seeding table, it can receive the second cargo delivered by the second seeding table. Or, the sorting mechanism can also be a robotic arm, which can be a grasping device, and this grasping device can also directly move to the position of the second seeding table, grasp the second cargo on the second seeding table, and transfer the second cargo to the first order container at the second buffer position (such as the target seeding position). Or, the sorting mechanism can also be a conveying device, which can directly move to the position of the second seeding table, receive the second cargo delivered by the second seeding table, and transfer and deliver the second cargo to the first order container at the second buffer position.

[0145] Since the first order container is in an incomplete seeding state after the second cargo is seeded and still needs to continue seeding, that is, there is no need to perform a container replacement operation on the first order container. Therefore, the sorting mechanism can transfer and deliver the cargo on the seeding table to the first order container without moving the first order container. Until it is determined that the first order container is in a completed seeding state after seeding a certain cargo, the sorting mechanism can take out the first order container and move it to the second seeding table to receive the cargo, and directly transport the first order container to the second container carrier after receiving the cargo for subsequent outbound operations.

[0146] In some embodiments, the sorting and distributing mechanism is further configured to: when the second goods required by the order to be processed are picked to the second sowing table, if the first order container becomes a sowing-completed state after the second goods are sown into the first order container, move the first order container from the first buffer position to the second preset docking position corresponding to the second sowing table, so as to receive the second goods delivered by the second sowing table at the second preset docking position; after the first order container receives the second goods, move the first order container from the second preset docking position to the empty cargo position of the second container carrier.

[0147] In some examples, if it is predetermined that after the second goods are placed into the first order container, the first order container has completed sowing, that is, after the second goods are sown into the first order container, no other goods need to be sown. In this case, the first order container needs to be moved onto the second container carrier after sowing the second goods. Therefore, when it is determined that the first order container after sowing the second goods can complete sowing, the sorting and distributing mechanism can move the first order container from the first buffer position (i.e., the target sowing position) to the second preset docking position corresponding to the second sowing table.

[0148] For example, when the sorting and distributing mechanism moves the first order container to the second preset docking position, the second sowing table can deliver the second goods placed thereon into the first order container. Since the first order container that has received the second goods has completed sowing, the sorting and distributing mechanism can directly move the first order container that has received the second goods from the second preset docking position to the empty cargo position of the second container carrier.

[0149] Before sowing the goods to be sown on the sowing table, the sorting and distributing system provided by the embodiments of the present application can predetermine the sowing state of the order container after the goods to be sown are sown into the order container. If it is determined that the order container can complete sowing after the goods to be sown are sown into the order container, the sorting and distributing mechanism takes out the order container, moves the order container to the sowing table to receive the goods to be sown, and moves the order container that has completed sowing to the second container carrier. If it is determined that the order container cannot complete sowing after the goods to be sown are sown into the order container, the sorting and distributing mechanism can transfer the goods to be sown on the sowing table into the order container at the buffer position (such as the first sowing position). By predetermining the sowing state of the order container after sowing, the embodiments of the present application can reduce the number of movements and the moving distance of the sorting and distributing mechanism, and further improve the picking efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0150] The sowing process when the order to be processed corresponds to the second sowing table (i.e., the manual sowing position) will be described below.

[0151] In some embodiments, the sorting and distributing mechanism is configured to: if the sowing position corresponding to the order to be processed is the second sowing position, take out the second order container corresponding to the order to be processed from the first container carrier or the second container carrier; move the second order container to an idle second sowing position, so that the picking object at the workstation can deliver the first goods required for the order to be processed to the second order container after picking.

[0152] In some examples, the sorting and distributing mechanism can move the second order container to any idle second sowing position on the first sowing wall.

[0153] It should be noted that the second order container can be an empty container, or an order container that has been sown with some goods but has not completed sowing.

[0154] In some examples, when the second order container is an order container that has not completed sowing and the second order container is cached on the first container carrier or the second container carrier, if the order to be processed hits the second order container, the sorting and distributing mechanism can take out the second order container from the first container carrier or the second container carrier and move the second order container to an idle second sowing position.

[0155] In other examples, if the second order container is an empty order container and the empty order container is placed on the first container carrier in the reserved area, the sorting and distributing mechanism can take out an empty order container from the first container carrier and move it to an idle second sowing position on the first sowing wall. Among them, the second order container can be any empty order container among the empty order containers corresponding to the second sowing position on the first container carrier.

[0156] In some examples, when the WES determines that the order to be processed corresponds to the second sowing position, an empty container, that is, the second order container, can be bound to the order to be processed in advance. The sorting and distributing mechanism can move the second order container from the first container carrier to an idle second sowing position. For example, the sorting and distributing mechanism can move from the current position to the position of the second order container on the first container carrier and take out the second order container.

[0157] When the picking object (such as a picking operator) picks out the first goods from the hit container, the first goods can be delivered to the second order container located at the second sowing position, thereby realizing the sowing of the first goods.

[0158] Exemplarily, output devices are arranged on each second sowing position on the first sowing wall. The output devices can be display screens, electronic tags, speakers, projection devices, etc. The output devices are used to display information about the goods to be sown corresponding to the order containers on each second sowing position, including the names and quantities of the goods to be sown, etc. The picking operator can sow the goods to be sown into the order containers on each second sowing position according to the sowing quantity displayed on the output device.

[0159] In some embodiments, the sorting and distributing mechanism is further configured to: if the second order container located at the second sowing position is in a sowing-completed state, move the second order container from the second sowing position to an idle storage location of the second container carrier.

[0160] For example, when there is an order container with sowing completed on the second sowing wall, such as when the second order container completes sowing, the sorting and distributing mechanism can move from the current position to the position of the second order container, take out the second order container, and move the second order container from the second sowing position to an idle storage location of the second container carrier, thereby completing the operation of replacing the full container at the second sowing position.

[0161] In the embodiment of the present application, in the sorting and distributing system, an artificial sowing position is set on the first sowing wall, and the artificial sowing position is arranged below the automatic sowing position, which is convenient for the picking personnel to sow the goods to be sown into the order container at the artificial sowing position. In addition, when the first goods are special goods with too large or too small size or irregular shape, they can also be sown manually to realize the sowing of such special goods.

[0162] In some embodiments, when full containers are placed on multiple storage locations of the second container carrier, the handling device can move the second container carrier out of the reserved area.

[0163] For example, the full containers placed on the second container carrier include the full containers taken out from the first sowing position and / or the full containers taken out from the second sowing position. It should be noted that when the handling device moves the second container carrier out, only full containers are placed on the storage locations of the second container carrier, and there is no buffered order container with uncompleted sowing.

[0164] In some examples, after the handling device moves the second container carrier out, another handling device can move any empty container carrier to the reserved area as the new second container carrier; or, the handling device can also transfer the full containers on the second container carrier to a designated position and then move the empty second container carrier back to the reserved area. The embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0165] It should be noted that the operation of replacing the container in the sorting and distributing system provided by the embodiment of the present application includes moving the empty container on the first container carrier to the sowing position (also called the operation of replenishing the empty box), and moving the full container at the sowing position to the second container carrier (also called the operation of removing the full box).

[0166] For example, during the operation of replenishing empty containers, the average time for the sorting mechanism to move to the first container carrier is 1.5 s, the average time to take out an empty container is 2 s, the average time to transport the empty container to the preset docking position corresponding to the sowing table is 1.5 s, and the average time for the sowing table to deliver the goods thereon to the first order container is 2 s. During the operation of removing full containers, the average time for the sorting mechanism to transport the full container to the second container carrier is 1.5 s, and the average time to place the full container on the second container carrier is 2 s. Therefore, the total time for the sorting system to complete the container replacement operation is 10.5 s, and the equipment capacity of the sorting system is 342 boxes per hour. If the proportion of manual sowing is 20%, the theoretical equipment capacity of the sorting system is 427 rows per hour, and the comprehensive capacity is 362 rows per hour. Assuming a coupling system number of 0.85, compared with the related technology, the efficiency improvement range of the sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application is 30% - 50%.

[0167] The sorting system provided by the embodiment of the present application is provided with a first sowing wall and a second sowing wall on both sides of the sorting mechanism. The first sowing wall is provided with both manual sowing positions and automatic sowing positions, and the second sowing wall is provided with a reserved area for placing container carriers. Thus, the sorting mechanism can transport the empty containers on the container carriers to the automatic sowing positions or manual sowing positions, and can also transport the full containers on the automatic sowing positions or manual sowing positions to the container carriers, thereby realizing the automatic sowing and container replacement operations of the warehousing system. The present application can increase the number of grid openings on the sowing wall while shortening the walking distance of personnel during sowing, solve the problem of robot idleness caused by insufficient tasks, and improve the picking efficiency of the warehousing system. At the same time, for some goods with special sizes and shapes, the special goods can also be sown into the order containers at the manual sowing positions by means of manual sowing, further improving the picking efficiency.

[0168] The above specific implementation manners further elaborate the purpose, technical solutions, and beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the above are only the specific implementation manners of the embodiments of the present application and are not used to limit the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made on the basis of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A distribution system, characterized in that: include: a sowing mechanism configured to sow goods required for the orders to be processed; A first sowing wall is arranged on a first side of the sowing mechanism, and the first sowing wall comprises a plurality of first sowing positions and a plurality of second sowing positions; wherein the first sowing positions are used to place order containers sown by the sowing mechanism, and the second sowing positions are used to place order containers sown manually; A second sowing wall is arranged on the second side of the sowing mechanism, and the second sowing wall comprises a plurality of the first sowing positions and a reserved area; wherein the reserved area is used to place at least one container carrier, and the at least one container carrier is used to place at least one of an empty container, a full container, and an order container for which sowing has not been completed; The sowing mechanism is configured to transport the empty container placed on the container carrier to the first sowing position or the second sowing position, and to transport the full container on which sowing has been completed at the first sowing position or the second sowing position to the container carrier.

2. The distribution system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The at least one container carrier includes at least one first container carrier and at least one second container carrier, wherein the first container carrier is used to place empty containers and / or order containers with unfinished sowing, and the second container carrier is used to place full containers and / or order containers with unfinished sowing.

3. The distribution system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The distribution system further includes a plurality of distribution stations, which are configured to deliver the goods required for the pending orders to the distribution mechanism; The distribution mechanism is configured as follows: When the first goods required for the pending order are picked to the first seeding station, taking out the first order container corresponding to the pending order from the first container carrier or the second container carrier; wherein the plurality of seeding stations include the first seeding station; The first order container is transported to a first preset docking position corresponding to the first sowing station, so as to receive the first cargo delivered by the first sowing station at the first preset docking position.

4. The distribution system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The distribution mechanism is further configured as follows: If the first order container is in an unfinished sowing state after receiving the first goods, the first order container is moved from the first preset docking position to a first cache position; wherein the first cache position is any idle sowing position among the plurality of first sowing positions, any idle cargo position on the first container carrier, or any idle cargo position on the second container carrier; If the first order container is in a sowing state after receiving the first cargo, the first order container is moved from the first preset docking position to an empty cargo position of the second container carrier.

5. The distribution system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The distribution mechanism is further configured as follows: If the first order container is in an unfinished sowing state after receiving the first goods, then when the second goods required for the pending order are picked up to the second sowing station, the first order container is moved from the first cache position to the second preset docking position corresponding to the second sowing station, so as to receive the second goods delivered by the second sowing station at the second preset docking position; wherein the plurality of sowing stations include the second sowing station; If the first order container is in a completed sowing state after receiving the second goods, the first order container is moved from the second preset docking position to an empty cargo position of the second container carrier; if the first order container is in an uncompleted sowing state after receiving the second goods, the first order container is moved from the second preset docking position to a second cache position; wherein the second cache position is any empty sowing position among the multiple first sowing positions, any empty cargo position on the first container carrier, or any empty cargo position on the second container carrier.

6. The distribution system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The distribution mechanism is further configured as follows: In the case that the first order container is in an unfinished sowing state after receiving the first goods, and the second goods required for the pending order are picked to the second sowing station, if the first order container is still in an unfinished sowing state after the second goods are sown into the first order container, the second goods are received at the second preset docking position corresponding to the second sowing station, and the second goods are transferred and delivered to the first order container on the first cache position; wherein, the multiple sowing stations include the second sowing station.

7. The distribution system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The distribution mechanism is further configured as follows: In the case that the first order container is in an unfinished sowing state after receiving the first goods, and the second goods required for the pending order are picked to the second sowing station, if the first order container is in a completed sowing state after the second goods are sown to the first order container, the first order container is moved from the first cache position to the second preset docking position corresponding to the second sowing station, so as to receive the second goods delivered by the second sowing station at the second preset docking position; wherein the plurality of sowing stations include the second sowing station; After the first order container receives the second goods, the first order container is moved from the second preset docking position to an empty cargo position of the second container carrier.

8. The distribution system according to claim 3, characterized in that: Each of the plurality of sowing tables is provided with a prompting device, and the prompting device is used to prompt a picking object of the workstation to place the picked goods on a corresponding sowing table.

9. The distribution system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The distribution mechanism is configured as follows: If the seeding position corresponding to the pending order is the second seeding position, taking out the second order container corresponding to the pending order from the first container carrier or the second container carrier; The second order container is transported to an idle second seeding position so that the picking object of the workstation can deliver the picked first goods required for the order to be processed to the second order container.

10. The distribution system according to claim 9, characterized in that: The distribution mechanism is further configured as follows: If the second order container located at the second sowing position is in a sowing-completed state, the second order container is moved from the second sowing position to an empty cargo position of the second container carrier.

11. The distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: If the number of types of goods required for the pending order is less than or equal to a preset quantity threshold, or the group wave number of the pending order is less than a preset wave number threshold, then the seeding position corresponding to the pending order is the first seeding position.

12. The distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: If the number of types of goods required for the pending order is greater than the preset quantity threshold, or the size of the goods required for the pending order exceeds the preset size range, or the goods required for the pending order are special-shaped goods, or the group wave number of the pending order is greater than or equal to the preset wave number threshold, then the seeding position corresponding to the pending order is the second seeding position.

13. The distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: The first sowing position on the first sowing wall is located above the second sowing position; the reserved area is located below the first sowing position on the second sowing wall, or the reserved area is located on the side of multiple first sowing positions on the second sowing wall.

14. A storage system, characterized in that: include: A handling device is configured to carry the hit carrier corresponding to the pending order to the workstation; The workstation is configured to pick the goods required for the pending order on the hit carrier; A sowing system comprises a sowing mechanism, a first sowing wall and a second sowing wall; the first sowing wall is arranged on a first side of the sowing mechanism, and the first sowing wall comprises a plurality of first sowing positions and a plurality of second sowing positions; wherein the first sowing positions are used to place order containers sown by the sowing mechanism, and the second sowing positions are used to place order containers sown manually; the second sowing wall is arranged on a second side of the sowing mechanism, and the second sowing wall comprises a plurality of the first sowing positions and a reserved area; wherein the reserved area is used to place at least one container carrier, and the at least one container carrier is used to place at least one of an empty container, a full container and an order container for which sowing has not been completed; The sowing mechanism is configured to transport the empty container placed on the container carrier to the first sowing position or the second sowing position, and to transport the full container on which sowing has been completed at the first sowing position or the second sowing position to the container carrier.

15. The storage system according to claim 14, characterized in that: The at least one container carrier includes at least one first container carrier and at least one second container carrier, the first container carrier is used to place a plurality of empty containers, and the second container carrier is used to place a plurality of full containers.

16. The storage system according to claim 15, characterized in that: The first sowing position on the first sowing wall is located above the second sowing position; the reserved area is located below the first sowing position on the second sowing wall, or the reserved area is located on the side of multiple first sowing positions on the second sowing wall.

17. The storage system according to claim 16, characterized in that: The handling equipment is further configured as: When the multiple cargo spaces of the second container carrier are all full of containers, the second container carrier is moved out of the reserved area.

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