Returning of carrier to warehouse

Abstract

To provide a method of returning a carrier, and to provide an apparatus and a device thereof.SOLUTION: According to one example of the present invention, the method comprises the steps of: determining whether or not a condition under which feature information about a target carrier returns to an original position of a warehouse is satisfied, when it is determined that a task of returning to the warehouse needs to be executed for the target carrier; selecting an initial placement position at a carrier placement site of the target carrier as a target placement position of the target carrier, when the condition is satisfied; and selecting the target placement position of the target carrier from a plurality of placement positions, based on a level-deciding degree of the target carrier, and other level-deciding degrees at each of the plurality of placement positions at the carrier placement site, when the condition is not satisfied. In this manner, delivery efficiency and warehousing efficiency of warehouse management can be improved by rationally using the placement positions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of warehouse logistics technology, and in particular to a method, an apparatus and a device for returning a carrier to a warehouse. [Background technology]

[0002] Warehouse management is the management of warehouses and the items (e.g., goods) stored in the warehouse. A warehouse is a building or place where items are stored, and has the function of storing and protecting the items. To realize warehouse management, mobile robots (e.g., forklifts, automated guided vehicles, bin robots) automatically transport carriers (e.g., bins, shelves, pallets), which are used to load items, and the items are moved from the work bench to the carrier storage area (e.g., the carrier storage area of ​​a warehouse) to realize the entry of items into the warehouse, or the items are moved from the carrier storage area to the work bench to realize the removal of items from the warehouse.

[0003] In the process of receiving an item, it is necessary to load the item onto a carrier from the work bench and move the carrier from the work bench to the carrier storage area. In the process of retrieving an item, it is necessary to move the item from the carrier storage area to the work bench by the carrier, then unload the item from the carrier onto the work bench, and return the carrier from the work bench to the carrier storage area.

[0004] In short, in both the warehousing process and the retrieval process of the goods, the carrier needs to be moved to the carrier storage area. In the related art, when the carrier is moved to the carrier storage area, the carrier is usually moved to an arbitrary position in the carrier storage area, which results in low warehouse management efficiency and makes it difficult to rationally use the storage area position. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present invention provides a method for returning a carrier to a warehouse, comprising the steps of: when it is determined that a return task to the warehouse needs to be executed for the target carrier, determining whether characteristic information of the target carrier satisfies a condition for returning the target carrier to its original position in the warehouse, the characteristic information including at least one of the work type of the target carrier, the transport tool type of the target carrier, and the item type of the target carrier; if the condition is satisfied, selecting an initial placement position of the target carrier as a target placement position of the target carrier, the initial placement position being a placement position in the carrier placement site before the target carrier executed an entry task or an exit task; if the condition is not satisfied, selecting a target placement position of the target carrier from the multiple placement positions based on the heat of the target carrier and the heat of multiple placement positions in the carrier placement site; and controlling a mobile robot to move the target carrier to the target placement position.

[0006] The present invention provides an apparatus for returning a carrier to a warehouse, comprising: a determination module for determining whether characteristic information of the target carrier satisfies a condition for returning the target carrier to its original position in the warehouse when it is determined that a return task to the warehouse needs to be executed for the target carrier, the characteristic information including at least one of the work type of the target carrier, the transport tool type of the target carrier, and the item type of the target carrier; an acquisition module for selecting an initial placement position of the target carrier as a target placement position of the target carrier if the characteristic information satisfies the condition for returning the target carrier to its original position in the warehouse, and selecting a target placement position of the target carrier from a plurality of placement positions based on a heat degree of the target carrier and a heat degree of a plurality of placement positions in a carrier placement site if the characteristic information does not satisfy the condition for returning the target carrier to its original position in the warehouse, the initial placement position being a placement position in the carrier placement site before the target carrier executed a warehousing task or a warehousing outflow task; and a control module for controlling a mobile robot to move the target carrier to the target placement position.

[0007] The present invention provides an electronic device including a processor and a machine-readable storage medium having machine-executable instructions stored thereon that are executable by the processor, the processor being used to execute the machine-executable instructions to implement the method of returning a carrier to a warehouse according to the above example of the present invention.

[0008] From the above technical solution, it can be seen that in the embodiment of the present invention, when a target carrier needs to perform a return task to the warehouse, if the characteristic information of the target carrier meets the return condition to the original position in the warehouse, the initial placement position of the target carrier is set as the target placement position of the target carrier, where the initial placement position is the placement position in the carrier placement site before the target carrier performs the storage task or the delivery task, and if not, the target placement position is selected according to the heat degree of the target carrier and the heat degrees of multiple placement positions in the carrier placement site. In this way, when the target carrier is returned to the carrier placement site, the target placement position in the carrier placement site can be rationally selected, which can improve the efficiency of warehouse management, and the rational use of placement positions can improve the work efficiency and the delivery efficiency and storage efficiency.

[0009] In order to more clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings that need to be used in the description of the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments described in the present invention, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 2 is a schematic flow diagram of a method for returning a carrier to a warehouse according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 2 is a schematic flow diagram of a method for returning a carrier to a warehouse according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4]2 is a schematic flow diagram of a method for returning a carrier to a warehouse according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 5] 2 is a schematic flow diagram of a method for returning a carrier to a warehouse according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a device for returning carriers to a warehouse according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 7] 2 is a hardware structural diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] The terms used in the embodiments of the present invention are merely for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular forms "a," "the," and "the" used in the present invention and claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and / or" used in the present invention means to include any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.

[0012] Although the embodiments of the present invention may use terms such as first, second, and third to describe various pieces of information, it should be understood that the information is not limited to these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish between the same types of information. For example, the first information may be called the second information, and similarly, the second information may be called the first information, without departing from the scope of the present invention. Also, depending on the context, the word "if..." used may be interpreted as "with...", "when...", or "in response to the determination".

[0013] An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for returning a carrier to a warehouse, and as shown in FIG. 1, the method may include the following steps 101 to 104.

[0014] In step 101, if it is determined that the target carrier needs to perform a return task to the warehouse, determine whether the characteristic information of the target carrier meets the return condition to the original position of the warehouse. The characteristic information of the target carrier may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the operation type of the target carrier, the transport tool type of the target carrier, and the article type of the target carrier. If it is met, step 102 may be performed; if it is not met, step 103 may be performed.

[0015] By way of example, the target carrier may be a shelf, a bin on a shelf, a crate, a pallet, or any other type of container for placing items in. In this embodiment, the target carrier is exemplified as a carrier in the form of a bin, crate, pallet, or the like.

[0016] In step 102, an initial putting position of the target carrier is selected as a target putting position of the target carrier, which may be a putting position before the target carrier performs an input task or an output task.

[0017] In step 103, a target placement position of the target carrier is selected from the multiple placement positions of the carrier placement site based on the heat degree of the target carrier and the heat degrees of the multiple placement positions of the carrier placement site.

[0018] Illustratively, step 104 may be performed after step 102 or 103.

[0019] In step 104, the mobile robot is controlled to move the target carrier to the target placement position.

[0020] In one possible embodiment, when the characteristic information of the target carrier includes the operation type of the target carrier, the step of determining whether the characteristic information of the target carrier satisfies the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse may include, but is not limited to, the step of determining that the operation type satisfies the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse if the operation type of the target carrier includes a warehouse switching type and the warehouse switching type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is being switched, the step of determining that the operation type satisfies the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse if the operation type of the target carrier includes a warehouse service type and the warehouse service type indicates that the target carrier is performing a sampling quality inspection service, or the step of determining that the operation type satisfies the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse if the operation type includes a warehouse limit type and the warehouse limit type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located limits the maximum height of the items.

[0021] In one possible embodiment, when the characteristic information of the target carrier includes a transport tool type (i.e., a type of mobile robot for transporting the target carrier), the step of determining whether the characteristic information of the target carrier satisfies the return condition to the original position of the warehouse may include, but is not limited to, the step of determining that the transport tool type of the target carrier satisfies the return condition to the original position of the warehouse when the transport tool type of the target carrier indicates that the transport tool of the target carrier is a target type mobile robot. Here, when the target carrier is transported by the target type mobile robot, the warehouse where the target carrier is located limits the maximum height of the article. Here, the target type mobile robot may include, but is not limited to, a forklift type mobile robot.

[0022] In one possible embodiment, when the characteristic information of the target carrier includes an item type (i.e., the type of item loaded on the target carrier), determining whether the characteristic information of the target carrier satisfies the condition of returning to the original location in the warehouse may include, but is not limited to, determining that the item type satisfies the condition of returning to the original location in the warehouse when the item type of the target carrier indicates that an item of a specified type is loaded on the target carrier, where the item of the specified type may be an item that has requirements for the environment of the placement location, and the initial placement location of the target carrier satisfies the environmental requirements of the item of the specified type.

[0023] In one possible embodiment, determining that a return to warehouse task needs to be executed for the target carrier may include, but is not limited to, when an entry task is acquired, controlling the mobile robot to move the target carrier from its initial placement position in the carrier placement area to the work platform, loading the items to be entered from the work platform onto the target carrier, and then determining that a return to warehouse task needs to be executed for the target carrier; or, when an exit task is acquired, controlling the mobile robot to move the target carrier carrying the items to be removed from the placement area to the work platform, unloading the items to be removed from the target carrier onto the work platform, and then determining that a return to warehouse task needs to be executed for the target carrier.

[0024] In one possible embodiment, after controlling the mobile robot to move away from the initial placement position of the carrier placement area, it may further determine whether the characteristic information of the target carrier meets the condition for returning to the original position in the warehouse, and if so, prohibit carriers other than the target carrier from moving to the initial placement position, and if not, allow carriers other than the target carrier to move to the initial placement position.

[0025] In one possible embodiment, the step of selecting a target placement location of a target carrier from among the plurality of placement locations based on a heat / frequency of the target carrier and heat frequencies of the plurality of placement locations of the carrier placement location includes the steps of: determining a target number of times that each carrier to be returned to the warehouse carries an article; and determining a heat level of the carrier to be returned to the warehouse based on the target number of times, the target number being a sum of a first number and a second number, the first number being a number of times that the article moves from a work platform to the carrier to be returned to the warehouse, the second number being a number of times that the article moves from the carrier to be returned to the warehouse to the work platform, and the larger the target number of times, the larger the heat level of the carrier to be returned to the warehouse; and The method may include, but is not limited to, a step of determining a heat degree of each vacant placement location, where the smaller the distance between the vacant placement location and the work table, the greater the heat degree of the vacant placement location; a step of sorting the carriers to be returned to all warehouses based on the heat degrees of the carriers to be returned to each warehouse, and determining a first sorting position in the carrier sequence to be returned to the warehouse of the target carrier; and a step of sorting all vacant placement locations based on the heat degrees of each vacant placement location, determining a second sorting position in the vacant placement location sequence that matches the first sorting position, and selecting one vacant placement location as a target placement location for the target carrier based on the second sorting position.

[0026] From the above technical solution, it can be seen that in the embodiment of the present invention, when the target carrier needs to execute the task of returning to the warehouse, if the characteristic information of the target carrier meets the condition of returning to the original position in the warehouse, the initial placement position is set as the target placement position, and if not, the target placement position is selected according to the heat degree of the target carrier and the heat degree of the placement position. In this way, when the target carrier is returned to the carrier placement site, the target placement position in the carrier placement site can be reasonably selected, which improves the efficiency of warehouse management, and the reasonable use of the placement position can improve the work efficiency and the efficiency of leaving and entering the warehouse.

[0027] Below, technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to specific application scenarios.

[0028] An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for returning a carrier to a warehouse. As shown in FIG. 2, the method may be performed by an intelligent warehouse management system 210, a center management system 220, and a robot control server 230 in cooperation with each other. The intelligent warehouse management system 210, the center management system 220, and the robot control server 230 may be located in the same device, i.e., the intelligent warehouse management system, the center management system, and the robot control server function as functional modules of the device. Or, the intelligent warehouse management system 210, the center management system 220, and the robot control server 230 may be located in different devices, i.e., the intelligent warehouse management system, the center management system, and the robot control server may function as independent devices, and this is not limited thereto.

[0029] The intelligent warehouse management system 210 is used to realize functions such as managing item batches, managing inventory, managing incoming and outgoing orders, counting, sorting, etc. The center management system 220 is used to obtain a task order and then notify the robot control server 230 to move the carrier from one position to another position through task decomposition. The robot control server 230 is used to schedule and control the mobile robot 240 to move from one position to another position. Of course, the above is only a brief description of the functions of the intelligent warehouse management system, the center management system, and the robot control server, and is not limited thereto.

[0030] Here, the mobile robot 240 is a robot that transports the carrier to a specific location as a carrier transport tool, and may be called an autonomous mobile robot (AMR). The mobile robot may be a forklift, an automated guided vehicle, a bin robot, etc., but is not limited thereto.

[0031] FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The intelligent warehouse management system 210 is used to manage information such as inventory, orders, goods, shippers, etc., and can receive the inbound and outbound order tasks and count order tasks sent from the upstream system, and trigger the AMR to transport the carrier. The center management system 220 is used to manage the map and equipment (e.g., AMR, charging station, etc.) of the warehouse, and can receive the order tasks sent from the intelligent warehouse management system 210 and convert the order tasks into outbound and return tasks of the carrier. After receiving the carrier transport tasks of the center management system 220, the robot control server 230 is used to break down the carrier transport tasks and schedule the AMR to transport the carrier to the corresponding position through algorithms such as path planning and task allocation. The AMR is an autonomous mobile robot 240, and is used to receive the commands of the robot control server 230 and transport the carrier accordingly.

[0032] An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for returning a carrier to a warehouse, which is applicable to an article receiving process, in which an article is transferred from a work station to a carrier storage area via a carrier. Here, the work station, also called a workstation, is a work station for warehouse work, and can perform operations such as retrieval, storage, counting, and sorting. The carrier storage area is a warehouse storage area for storing the carrier, i.e., the warehouse storage area is used to store the carrier.

[0033] FIG. 3 is a schematic flow diagram of a method for returning the carrier to the warehouse, which may include the following steps 301 to 306.

[0034] In step 301, when a warehousing task is acquired, the mobile robot is controlled to move the target carrier from the initial placement position in the carrier placement area to the work table, and the article to be stored is placed from the work table onto the target carrier.

[0035] For example, the warehousing task is used to instruct to put a certain item into the warehouse, and the item is called an item to be put into the warehouse, and a carrier for carrying the item to be put into the warehouse is selected, and the carrier may be called a target carrier. A waiting carrier may be randomly selected as a target carrier for the item to be put into the warehouse, or a waiting carrier may be selected as a target carrier for the item to be put into the warehouse based on a predetermined selection policy, and there is no limitation thereon. The target carrier may be a type of carrier such as a bin, a shelf, a pallet, and the like, and there is no limitation on the type of the carrier.

[0036] For example, after the target carrier is selected, the mobile robot may be controlled to move to an initial placement position where the target carrier is located, and the target carrier may be placed on the mobile robot from the initial placement position.

[0037] For example, the carrier storage may include multiple storage positions, one carrier may be stored in one storage position, or multiple carriers may be stored in one storage position, and this is not limited. For ease of distinction, the storage position for storing the target carrier may be called the initial storage position of the target carrier. If the carrier storage includes 100 storage positions such as storage position A1, storage position A2, ..., storage position A100, and the target carrier is placed in storage position A10, the initial storage position of the target carrier is storage position A10.

[0038] After obtaining the initial placement position of the target carrier, the mobile robot is controlled to move to the initial placement position where the target carrier is located, for example, the mobile robot is controlled to move to placement position A10 in the carrier placement area, and the target carrier is placed on the mobile robot from placement position A10.

[0039] For example, the target carrier may be placed on the mobile robot from the initial placement position, and then the mobile robot may be controlled to move to the work platform, thereby moving the target carrier from the initial placement position in the carrier placement area to the work platform. After the target carrier is moved to the work platform, the item to be stored can be loaded from the work platform onto the target carrier, i.e., the item to be stored can be transferred from the work platform to the target carrier.

[0040] In step 302, it is determined that after the goods to be stored are loaded from the work platform onto the target carrier, a return to warehouse task needs to be executed on the target carrier, that is, the target carrier needs to be returned to the carrier yard.

[0041] In step 303, determine whether the characteristic information of the target carrier meets the condition for returning to the original position in the warehouse. If yes, execute step 304; if not, execute step 305.

[0042] Exemplarily, the characteristic information of the target carrier may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: the operation type of the target carrier, the transport tool type of the target carrier, and the item type of the target carrier. Here, the operation type of the target carrier is used to indicate what operation mode the target carrier works in, and the operation mode may be an operation mode related to an actual scenario. The transport tool type of the target carrier is used to indicate what transport tool the target carrier works with, i.e., the type of mobile robot for transporting the target carrier, such as a forklift, an automated guided vehicle, a bin robot, etc. The item type of the target carrier is used to indicate the type of item loaded on the target carrier, such as fruit, water, meat, and alcohol.

[0043] When the characteristic information of the target carrier includes the operation type of the target carrier, the condition of returning to the original position in the warehouse is a condition related to the operation type of the target carrier, and may be arbitrarily set by the user according to actual needs.When the characteristic information of the target carrier includes the transport tool type of the target carrier, the condition of returning to the original position in the warehouse is a condition related to the transport tool type of the target carrier, and may be arbitrarily set by the user according to actual needs.When the characteristic information of the target carrier includes the item type of the target carrier, the condition of returning to the original position in the warehouse is a condition related to the item type of the target carrier, and may be arbitrarily set by the user according to actual needs.

[0044] For example, the following case is used to determine whether the characteristic information of the target carrier satisfies the condition for returning to the original position in the warehouse.

[0045] Case 1: When the characteristic information of the target carrier includes the operation type of the target carrier, and the operation type of the target carrier includes a warehouse switching type, when the warehouse switching type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is being switched, it is determined that the operation type meets the condition of returning the warehouse to its original position, and when the warehouse switching type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is not being switched, it is determined that the operation type does not meet the condition of returning the warehouse to its original position.

[0046] For example, the warehouse switching type is an operation type for indicating that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is switching or that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is not switching.

[0047] The warehouse switching type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is being switched, when the hardware equipment related to the warehouse (for example, the hardware equipment at each placement location of the carrier placement site, the mobile robot, the hardware equipment of the workbench, etc., not limited thereto) is undergoing software upgrade or hardware upgrade, that is, when the warehouse is being upgraded, the warehouse switching type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is being switched. Or, when the old warehouse is abandoned and a new warehouse is added, that is, when the old warehouse is stopped being used and the new warehouse is activated, the warehouse switching type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is being switched. Or, when a new warehouse is added, that is, when the new warehouse is activated, the warehouse switching type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is being switched. Of course, the above are only some examples of the warehouse being switched, and are not limited thereto.

[0048] When the warehouse where the target carrier is located is being switched (for example, a service scenario in which the old warehouse is switched to a new warehouse), it is necessary to return the target carrier to its initial placement position in order to prevent the carrier position from being disturbed and the system data is abnormal, effectively reduce the risk of going online, and improve the fault tolerance performance of the system. Therefore, the condition for returning the warehouse to its original position may be "the warehouse where the target carrier is located is being switched." In this way, when the warehouse where the target carrier is located is being switched, the target carrier is returned to its initial placement position, that is, the placement position can be prevented from changing, and the position of the carrier is prevented from being disturbed due to the switching operation.

[0049] The warehouse switching type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is not switching, and if the warehouse where the target carrier is located is not switching, the warehouse switching type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is not switching.

[0050] For a warehouse switching type, the condition of returning the warehouse to its original position may be that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is switching, that is, when the warehouse where the target carrier is located is switching, the condition of returning the warehouse to its original position is met. In summary, when the warehouse switching type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is switching, the warehouse switching type meets the condition of returning the warehouse to its original position. When the warehouse switching type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is not switching, the warehouse switching type does not meet the condition of returning the warehouse to its original position.

[0051] Case 2: When the characteristic information of the target carrier includes the operation type of the target carrier, and the operation type of the target carrier includes a warehouse service type, if the warehouse service type indicates that the target carrier is performing a sampling quality inspection service, it may be determined that the operation type meets the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse, and if the warehouse service type indicates that the target carrier is not performing a sampling quality inspection service, it may be determined that the operation type does not meet the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse.

[0052] For example, the warehouse service type is an operation type to indicate that the target carrier is performing sampling quality inspection service (the sampling quality inspection service belongs to the operation mode) or that the target carrier is not performing sampling quality inspection service.

[0053] When the warehouse service type indicates that the target carrier is performing a sampling quality inspection service, it means that the item placed on the target carrier is an item to be quality inspected or an item that has been quality inspected, and when the warehouse service type indicates that the target carrier is not performing a sampling quality inspection service, it means that the item placed on the target carrier is not an item to be quality inspected.

[0054] When the target carrier is performing the sampling quality inspection service, it is necessary to ensure that the placement position before the sampling quality inspection service is consistent with the placement position after the sampling quality inspection service, and in order to prevent the carrier position from being disturbed and the system data from being abnormal, the target carrier needs to be returned to its initial placement position. Therefore, the condition for returning to the original position in the warehouse is that the target carrier is performing the sampling quality inspection service. In this way, when the target carrier is performing the sampling quality inspection service, the target carrier can be returned to its initial placement position, that is, the placement position can be prevented from changing.

[0055] For a warehouse service type, the condition of returning to the original warehouse position may be that the target carrier performs the sampling quality inspection service, that is, when the target carrier performs the sampling quality inspection service, the condition of returning to the original warehouse position is met. In summary, when the warehouse service type indicates that the target carrier performs the sampling quality inspection service, it can be seen that the warehouse service type meets the condition of returning to the original warehouse position. Or, when the warehouse service type indicates that the target carrier does not perform the sampling quality inspection service, it can be seen that the warehouse service type does not meet the condition of returning to the original warehouse position.

[0056] Case 3: If the characteristic information of the target carrier includes a work type of the target carrier, and the work type of the target carrier includes a warehouse restriction type, if the warehouse restriction type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located limits the maximum height of the item, it is determined that the work type meets the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse, and if the warehouse restriction type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located does not limit the maximum height of the item, it is determined that the work type does not meet the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse.

[0057] For example, a warehouse restriction type is an operation type to indicate that the warehouse where the target carrier is located restricts the maximum height of the item, or that the warehouse where the target carrier is located does not restrict the maximum height of the item.

[0058] The warehouse limit type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located limits the maximum height of the item, which means that if the carrier storage location limits the maximum height of the item, the maximum height of the item at different storage locations of the carrier storage location may be the same or different, and the item at this storage location must not exceed the maximum height of the item corresponding to the storage location.

[0059] If the warehouse where the target carrier is located limits the maximum height of the item, it is necessary to ensure that the placement position of the target carrier does not change, so that there is no need to re-measure the height of the target carrier, simplifying the operation and preventing the problem of repeated warehousing. If the initial placement position of the target carrier limits the maximum height of the item to A1 and another placement position limits the maximum height of the item to A2, when the target carrier is returned to the initial placement position, since the target carrier has left the initial placement position, the height of the target carrier meets the A1 limit, and there is no need to measure the height of the target carrier. Conversely, when the target carrier is returned to another placement position, it is necessary to re-measure whether the height of the target carrier meets the A2 limit.

[0060] The warehouse restriction type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located does not restrict the maximum height of the item, which means that if the carrier placement location does not restrict the maximum height of the item, the height of the item at each placement location is not restricted.

[0061] For the warehouse restriction type, the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse may be that the warehouse where the target carrier is located restricts the maximum height of the item, that is, if the warehouse restricts the maximum height of the item, the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse is met. In summary, if the warehouse restriction type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located restricts the maximum height of the item, the warehouse restriction type satisfies the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse, and if the warehouse restriction type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located does not restrict the maximum height of the item, the warehouse restriction type does not satisfy the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse.

[0062] As described above, when the warehouse where the target carrier is located limits the maximum height of the item, the target carrier needs to be returned to the initial placement position of the target carrier, so the condition for returning the target carrier to its original position is "the warehouse where the target carrier is located limits the maximum height of the item." In this way, when the warehouse where the target carrier is located limits the maximum height of the item, the target carrier can be returned to its initial placement position, i.e., the placement position can be prevented from changing.

[0063] Case 4: If the characteristic information of the target carrier includes the transport tool type of the target carrier (i.e., the type of mobile robot for transporting the target carrier, such as a forklift, an automated guided vehicle, a bin robot, etc.), if the transport tool type indicates that the transport tool of the target carrier is a mobile robot of the target type, it is determined that the transport tool type meets the condition of returning to the original position in the warehouse, and if the transport tool type indicates that the transport tool of the target carrier is not a mobile robot of the target type, it is determined that the transport tool type does not meet the condition of returning to the original position in the warehouse.

[0064] Here, when a target carrier is transported by a target type mobile robot, the warehouse in which the target carrier is located limits the maximum height of the goods, and the target type mobile robot may include, but is not limited to, a forklift type mobile robot, and hereinafter, a forklift type mobile robot will be described as an example.

[0065] The transport tool type indicates which type of mobile robot is used to transport the target carrier. For example, when the target carrier is transported by a forklift, the transport tool type indicates that the transport tool of the target carrier is a forklift type mobile robot, when the target carrier is transported by an automated guided vehicle, the transport tool type indicates that the transport tool of the target carrier is an automated guided vehicle type mobile robot, and when the target carrier is transported by a bin robot, the transport tool type indicates that the transport tool of the target carrier is a bin robot type mobile robot. Of course, the above are only some examples of transport tool types and are not limited thereto.

[0066] When using a forklift type mobile robot, it is necessary to ensure that the placement position of the target carrier does not change, so that there is no need to measure the height of the target carrier again, simplifying the operation and preventing the problem of repeated warehousing. For example, when the target carrier is transported by a forklift, the warehouse where the target carrier is located usually limits the maximum height of the goods, that is, it is necessary to ensure that the placement position of the target carrier does not change. Based on this, when the target carrier is transported by a forklift, the target carrier needs to be returned to the initial placement position of the target carrier. In this way, the "forklift type transport tool" may be set as a return condition to the original position in the warehouse. If the transport tool type indicates that the transport tool of the target carrier is a forklift type mobile robot, the target carrier can be returned to the initial placement position, that is, the placement position can be prevented from changing.

[0067] For the transportation tool type, the return condition to the original position in the warehouse may be a forklift type transportation tool, that is, the forklift type transportation tool satisfies the return condition to the original position in the warehouse. In summary, if the transportation tool type indicates that the transportation tool of the target carrier is a forklift type mobile robot, the transportation tool type satisfies the return condition to the original position in the warehouse. If the transportation tool type indicates that the transportation tool of the target carrier is not a forklift type mobile robot, the transportation tool type does not satisfy the return condition to the original position in the warehouse.

[0068] Case 5: if the characteristic information of the target carrier includes the item type of the target carrier (i.e., the type of item loaded on the target carrier), if the item type indicates that an item of a specified type is loaded on the target carrier, determine that the item type meets the condition of returning to the original position in the warehouse, and if the item type indicates that an item of a non-specified type is loaded on the target carrier, determine that the item type does not meet the condition of returning to the original position in the warehouse. Here, the item of the specified type may be an item that has requirements for the environment of the placement location, and the initial placement location of the target carrier meets the environmental requirements of the item of the specified type.

[0069] The item type indicates the type of the item placed on the target carrier, and all item types can be divided into designated type and undesignated type. If an item of item type A has requirements for the environment of the place where it is placed, for example, if it needs to be placed in a static electricity environment, then item type A is designated type; if an item of item type B has requirements for the environment of the place where it is placed, then item type B is designated type; if an item of item type C does not have requirements for the environment of the place where it is placed, then item type C is undesignated type, and so on.

[0070] When an item of item type A is loaded onto the target carrier, i.e., when the item type of the target carrier is item type A, item type A indicates that an item of the specified type is loaded onto the target carrier. When an item of item type B is loaded onto the target carrier, i.e., when the item type of the target carrier is item type B, item type B indicates that an item of the specified type is loaded onto the target carrier. When an item of item type C is loaded onto the target carrier, i.e., when the item type of the target carrier is item type C, item type C indicates that an item of an unspecified type is loaded onto the target carrier.

[0071] When a specified type of item is loaded on the target carrier, it is necessary to ensure that the placement position of the target carrier does not change, so that there is no need to detect whether other placement positions meet the environmental requirements of the placement position of the specified type of item, and the operation is simplified. The specified type of item has requirements for the environment of the placement position, and the initial placement position of the target carrier meets the environmental requirements of the specified type of item, but other placement positions may not meet the environmental requirements of the specified type of item. Based on this, in order to ensure that the placement position of the specified type of item meets the environmental requirements, when the specified type of item is loaded on the target carrier, it is necessary to return the target carrier to the initial placement position of the target carrier. In this way, "the specified type of item is loaded on the target carrier" may be set as a condition for returning to the original position in the warehouse. If the item type indicates that the specified type of item is loaded on the target carrier, the target carrier can be returned to the initial placement position, i.e., the placement position can be prevented from changing.

[0072] For an item type, the condition for returning to the original location in the warehouse may be that an item of a specified type is loaded on the target carrier, i.e., when an item of the specified type is loaded on the target carrier, the condition for returning to the original location in the warehouse is met. In summary, when an item type indicates that an item of a specified type (i.e., an item having requirements for the environment of the storage location) is loaded on the target carrier, the item type meets the condition for returning to the original location in the warehouse. When an item type indicates that an item of a non-specified type is loaded on the target carrier, the item type does not meet the condition for returning to the original location in the warehouse.

[0073] Case 6: If the characteristic information of the target carrier includes a warehouse switching type of the target carrier, a warehouse service type of the target carrier, a warehouse restriction type of the target carrier, a transport tool type of the target carrier, and an item type of the target carrier, it may be determined that the condition for returning to the original position of the warehouse is met if at least one of the following conditions is met, and it may be determined that the condition for returning to the original position of the warehouse is not met if any of the following conditions is not met. 1) Warehouse Switch Type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is switching. 2) The warehouse service type indicates that the target carrier is performing a sampling quality inspection service. 3) Warehouse Limit Type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located limits the maximum height of the item. 4) The transportation tool type indicates that the transportation tool of the target carrier is a mobile robot of the target type. 5) Item Type indicates that the target carrier is carrying an item of the specified type.

[0074] For example, if the characteristic information of the target carrier includes at least two of the warehouse switching type of the target carrier, the warehouse service type of the target carrier, the warehouse restriction type of the target carrier, the conveying tool type of the target carrier, and the item type of the target carrier, the implementation method is similar to case 6, and the description is omitted here.

[0075] Of course, the above are only some examples of determining whether the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse is met based on the characteristic information of the target carrier. As can be understood by those skilled in the art, the user can set the characteristic information of the target carrier and the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse according to actual needs, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0076] In step 304, the initial placement position of the target carrier is selected as the target placement position of the target carrier.

[0077] For example, when a warehousing task is acquired, a mobile robot is controlled to move a target carrier from an initial placement position (e.g., placement position A10) in the carrier placement area to a workbench, and when a return task to the warehouse needs to be executed for the target carrier, the initial placement position of the target carrier may be the target placement position of the target carrier, i.e., the target placement position of the target carrier may be placement position A10.

[0078] In one possible embodiment, after controlling the mobile robot to leave the initial placement position of the carrier placement site (see step 301), to make the initial placement position of the target carrier the target placement position of the target carrier, it may be determined whether the characteristic information of the target carrier meets the return condition to the original position of the warehouse. The specific determination manner can be referred to in step 303, and is not described here.

[0079] When the characteristic information of the target carrier satisfies the return condition to the original position in the warehouse, carriers other than the target carrier are prohibited from moving to the initial placement position of the target carrier. In this way, the initial placement position of the target carrier is not occupied by other carriers, so that the target carrier can return to the initial placement position of the target carrier.

[0080] If the characteristic information of the target carrier does not meet the condition for returning to the original position in the warehouse, carriers other than the target carrier are allowed to move to the initial placement position of the target carrier, and each placement position is used rationally.

[0081] In step 305, a target placement location of the target carrier is selected from the multiple placement locations of the carrier placement location based on the heat degree of the target carrier and the heat degrees of the multiple placement locations of the carrier placement location.

[0082] For example, a target placement position of a target carrier may be selected in steps 3051 to 3054 below.

[0083] In step 3051, a target number of times that each carrier to be returned to the warehouse carries the article is determined. Here, the target number may be the sum of a first number and a second number, where the first number is the number of times that the article moves from the work platform to the carrier to be returned to the warehouse, and the second number is the number of times that the article moves from the carrier to be returned to the warehouse to the work platform.

[0084] For example, a task of returning a plurality of carriers to the warehouse may be executed, each of which is a target carrier, and if the characteristic information of each target carrier does not satisfy the condition for returning the target carrier to its original position in the warehouse, the target carrier is determined as a carrier to be returned to the warehouse, and if the characteristic information of the target carrier satisfies the condition for returning the target carrier to its original position in the warehouse, the target carrier is not determined as a carrier to be returned to the warehouse. In this way, a plurality of carriers to be returned to the warehouse can be obtained.

[0085] For each carrier to be returned to the warehouse, a target number of times that the carrier to be returned to the warehouse carries the article may be determined, and the target number may be the sum of the first number and the second number. For example, the number of times that the article moves from the work table to the carrier to be returned to the warehouse (i.e., the number of times that the physical distribution enters the warehouse) may be counted, and the number may be recorded as the first number. The number of times that the article moves from the carrier to be returned to the warehouse to the work table (i.e., the number of times that the physical distribution leaves the warehouse) may be counted, and the number may be recorded as the second number. In this way, the sum of the first number and the second number is set as the target number.

[0086] In step 3052, for each carrier to be returned to the warehouse, a heat level of the carrier to be returned to the warehouse is determined based on a target number of times that the carrier to be returned to the warehouse transports articles, where the larger the target number, the higher the heat level of the carrier to be returned to the warehouse, and the smaller the target number, the lower the heat level of the carrier to be returned to the warehouse.

[0087] For example, a function may be preset, the input of which is the target number of times, the output of which is the heat degree, and the function may represent a positive correlation, i.e., the higher the target number of times, the higher the heat degree, so that the target number of times can be substituted into the function to obtain the heat degree of the carrier to be returned to the warehouse.

[0088] Also, for example, a curve may be preset, the abscissa of the curve being the target number of times, the ordinate of the curve being the heat degree, and the curve may represent a positive correlation, i.e., the higher the target number of times, the higher the heat degree, so that the curve can be referenced with the target number of times to obtain the heat degree of the carrier to be returned to the warehouse.

[0089] Of course, the above is merely an example, and the method of determining the heat level is not limited.

[0090] In step 3053, the heat level of each vacant location in the carrier repository is determined.

[0091] For example, for each empty placement position in the carrier placement area, the smaller the distance between the empty placement position and the work table, the greater the heat level of the empty placement position, and the greater the distance between the empty placement position and the work table, the smaller the heat level of the empty placement position.

[0092] For example, a function may be preset, the input of which is the distance between the empty placement position and the worktable, the output of which is the heat degree, and the function may represent a negative correlation, i.e., the larger the distance between the empty placement position and the worktable, the smaller the heat degree. Based on this, the distance between the empty placement position and the worktable can be substituted into the function to obtain the heat degree of the empty placement position.

[0093] Also, for example, a curve may be preset, the abscissa of the curve is the distance between the empty placement position and the worktable, the ordinate of the curve is the heat degree, and the curve may represent a negative correlation, that is, the greater the distance between the empty placement position and the worktable, the smaller the heat degree. Based on this, the curve can be referenced with the distance between the empty placement position and the worktable to obtain the heat degree of the empty placement position.

[0094] Of course, the above is merely an example, and the method of determining the heat level is not limited.

[0095] In step 3054, all the carriers to be returned to the warehouse are sorted based on the heat of the carriers to be returned to each warehouse to obtain a sequence of carriers to be returned to the warehouse, and a first sorting position in the sequence of carriers to be returned to the warehouse of the target carrier is determined. All the vacant storage positions are sorted based on the heat of each vacant storage position to obtain a sequence of vacant storage positions, and a second sorting position in the vacant storage position sequence that matches the first sorting position is determined. Based on the second sorting position, one vacant storage position is selected as a target storage position of the target carrier.

[0096] For example, if the carriers to be returned to the warehouse include carrier X1, carrier X2, and carrier X3, when selecting a target placement position for carrier X1, carrier X1 is the target carrier, when selecting a target placement position for carrier X2, carrier X2 is the target carrier, and when selecting a target placement position for carrier X3, carrier X3 is the target carrier.

[0097] For example, based on the heat of the carrier to be returned to each warehouse, the carriers to be returned to all warehouses are sorted in descending order of heat. Based on the heat of each vacant storage location, all vacant storage locations are sorted in descending order of heat. Or, based on the heat of the carrier to be returned to each warehouse, the carriers to be returned to all warehouses are sorted in descending order of heat to obtain a carrier sequence to be returned to the warehouse. Based on the heat of each vacant storage location, all vacant storage locations are sorted in descending order of heat to obtain a vacant storage location sequence. The sorting position of the target carrier in the carrier sequence to be returned to the warehouse (i.e., the first sorting position) is N, and N may be a positive integer, that is, if the target carrier is the Nth carrier after sorting, the sorting position of the storage location matching the target carrier in the vacant storage location sequence (i.e., the second sorting position) should also be N. In this way, the Nth vacant storage location after sorting may be the target storage location of the target carrier.

[0098] Illustratively, step 304 is followed by step 306, and step 305 is followed by step 306.

[0099] In step 306, the mobile robot is controlled to move the target carrier to the target placement position.

[0100] For example, the mobile robot may be controlled to move from the work platform to a target placement position in the carrier placement area and place the target carrier at the target placement position, thereby completing the return of the target carrier to the warehouse, and may also control the mobile robot to unload the item to be stored at the target placement position, thereby completing the storage of the item to be stored.

[0101] An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for returning a carrier to a warehouse, which is applicable to an article retrieval process in which an article is moved from a carrier storage location to a work platform via a carrier. Figure 4 is a schematic flow diagram of the method for returning a carrier to a warehouse, which may include the following steps:

[0102] In step 401, when a retrieval task is acquired, the mobile robot is controlled to move the target carrier from the initial placement position in the carrier placement area to the work platform, and the article to be retrieved is unloaded from the target carrier onto the work platform.

[0103] For example, the out-of-stock task is used to instruct to out-stock a certain item, and the item is referred to as an item to be out-stocked, and a carrier for carrying the item to be out-stocked is referred to as a target carrier. The mobile robot may be controlled to move to an initial placement position where the target carrier is located, and the target carrier may be placed on the mobile robot from the initial placement position.

[0104] After placing the target carrier on the mobile robot from the initial placement position, the mobile robot may be controlled to move to the work platform, thereby moving the target carrier from the initial placement position in the carrier placement area to the work platform. After the target carrier is moved to the work platform, the article to be removed from the target carrier can be removed to the work platform to complete the removal of the article.

[0105] In step 402, it is determined that after the articles to be shipped are unloaded from the target carrier onto the work platform, a return-to-warehouse task needs to be executed on the target carrier, ie, the target carrier needs to be returned to the carrier yard.

[0106] In step 403, determine whether the characteristic information of the target carrier meets the condition for returning to the original position in the warehouse. If yes, execute step 404; if not, execute step 405.

[0107] In step 404, the initial placement position of the target carrier is selected as the target placement position of the target carrier.

[0108] In step 405, a target placement location of the target carrier is selected from the multiple placement locations of the carrier placement location based on the heat degree of the target carrier and the heat degrees of the multiple placement locations of the carrier placement location.

[0109] Illustratively, steps 403 to 405 are similar to steps 303 to 305, and the description thereof is omitted here.

[0110] In step 406, the mobile robot is controlled to move the target carrier to the target placement position.

[0111] For example, the mobile robot may be controlled to move from the work platform to a target placement position in the carrier placement area and place the target carrier at the target placement position, thereby completing the return of the target carrier to the warehouse.

[0112] In one possible embodiment, FIG. 5 is a schematic flow diagram of a method for returning a carrier to a warehouse.

[0113] In step 501, the intelligent warehouse management system receives an order task and stores the order task.

[0114] In step 502, the intelligent warehouse management system queries the order task in the client interface and clicks to execute it.

[0115] In step 503, the intelligent warehouse management system generates a shelf movement task and sends the shelf movement task to the center management system.

[0116] In step 504, the center management system analyzes the shelf movement task and transmits the shelf movement task to the robot control server.

[0117] In step 505, the robot control server decomposes the shelf movement task into atomic operations (i.e., operations that the AMR can perform) for the AMR, and controls the AMR to transport the target carrier based on the atomic operations.

[0118] Exemplarily, one may log in to the client interface, click on the Document Issue menu, and then click on Start Transport, and the task is sent to the center management system (i.e., step 502-step 503). After the AMR transports the carrier from its location in the warehouse and the carrier arrives at the workbench, the client interface jumps (i.e., step 505). After the interface jumps, one may scan the code to confirm the item, enter the quantity, and click Execute. The inventory is deducted by the intelligent warehouse management system, and the remaining items are returned to the warehouse.

[0119] In step 506, after the transportation of the target carrier is completed, trigger the return of the target carrier to the warehouse. For the process of returning the target carrier to the warehouse, the center management system requests the intelligent warehouse management system to return the target carrier to the warehouse.

[0120] In step 507, the intelligent warehouse management system determines the return position of the target carrier to the warehouse, and sends the return position of the target carrier to the center management system. For example, when determining the return position of the target carrier to the warehouse, if the characteristic information of the target carrier meets the return condition to the original position of the warehouse, the return position of the target carrier to the warehouse (i.e., the above-mentioned target placement position) is the initial placement position of the target carrier. If the characteristic information of the target carrier does not meet the return condition to the original position of the warehouse, the return position of the target carrier to the warehouse is determined based on the heat degree of the target carrier and the heat degrees of multiple placement positions in the carrier placement area.

[0121] In step 508, the center management system generates a return task to the warehouse based on the return position to the warehouse and transmits it to the robot control server.

[0122] In step 509, the robot control server decomposes the return-to-warehouse task into atomic operations (i.e., operations that the AMR can perform) for the AMR, and controls the AMR based on the atomic operations to transport the target carrier to a return-to-warehouse position.

[0123] In one possible embodiment, the policy configuration of the intelligent warehouse management system may include, but is not limited to, a putaway policy (or takeaway policy), an allocation policy, a wave policy, and a system policy. Here, the putaway policy may include, but is not limited to, putaway to an empty storage location, putaway to a storage location of an existing real item, putaway to a storage location next to a storage location of an existing real item, putaway to a designated storage location, etc. The allocation policy may include, but is not limited to, using a piece-wise picking storage location of a designated storage location to obtain the remaining quantity, piece-wise stock allocation based on the designated storage location of the item, and segment picking according to the number of boxes using a box-wise picking storage location of a designated storage location. The wave policy is used to group different orders into one wave according to a certain criterion and guide one picking, i.e., to classify and pick the orders.

[0124] The system policy is used to set a return policy to the warehouse, and when the return policy to the warehouse is a policy of returning to the original position in the warehouse, for each target carrier, the initial placement position of the target carrier is set as the return position of the target carrier to the warehouse.When the return policy to the warehouse is a policy of returning to a new position in the warehouse, for each target carrier, the return position of the target carrier to the warehouse is determined based on the heat degree of the target carrier and the heat degrees of multiple placement positions in the carrier placement area.

[0125] When the return policy to the warehouse is a return policy to an adaptive position in the warehouse, for each target carrier, if the characteristic information of the target carrier satisfies the return condition to the original position in the warehouse, the initial placement position of the target carrier is set as the return position of the target carrier to the warehouse. If the characteristic information of the target carrier does not satisfy the return condition to the original position in the warehouse, the return position of the target carrier to the warehouse is determined based on the heat degree of the target carrier and the heat degrees of multiple placement positions in the carrier placement area.

[0126] From the above technical solution, it can be seen that in the embodiment of the present invention, when the target carrier needs to perform the task of returning to the warehouse, if the characteristic information of the target carrier meets the condition of returning to the original position in the warehouse, the initial placement position is set as the target placement position, and if not, the target placement position is selected according to the heat degree of the target carrier and the heat degree of the placement position. In this way, when the target carrier is returned to the carrier placement site, the target placement position in the carrier placement site can be reasonably selected, which improves the efficiency of warehouse management, and the reasonable use of the placement position can improve the work efficiency, simplify the work process, and improve the efficiency of leaving and entering the warehouse.

[0127] Based on the same idea as the above method, an embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for returning a carrier to a warehouse, and FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of the apparatus, which may include a determination module 61, an acquisition module 62, and a control module 63.

[0128] Here, when the determination module 61 determines that the target carrier needs to execute a return task to the warehouse, the determination module 61 uses the characteristic information of the target carrier to determine whether it satisfies a return condition to the original position of the warehouse, the characteristic information including at least one of the following: the operation type of the target carrier, the transport tool type of the target carrier, and the article type of the target carrier.

[0129] The acquisition module 62 is used to select the initial placement position of the target carrier as the target placement position of the target carrier when the characteristic information of the target carrier satisfies the condition of returning to its original position in the warehouse, and to select the target placement position of the target carrier from the multiple placement positions based on the heat degree of the target carrier and the heat degrees of the multiple placement positions in the carrier placement site when the characteristic information of the target carrier does not satisfy the condition of returning to its original position in the warehouse, and the initial placement position is the placement position in the carrier placement site before the target carrier performs the warehousing task or the warehousing task.

[0130] A control module 63 is used to control the mobile robot to move the target carrier to the target placement position.

[0131] Exemplarily, when the characteristic information of the target carrier includes an operation type, when the determination module 61 determines whether the characteristic information of the target carrier meets the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse, specifically, when the operation type includes a warehouse switching type, and the warehouse switching type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is switching, it determines that the operation type meets the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse; when the operation type includes a warehouse service type, and the warehouse service type indicates that the target carrier is performing a sampling quality inspection service, it determines that the operation type meets the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse; when the operation type includes a warehouse limit type, and the warehouse limit type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located limits the maximum height of the article, it is used to determine that the operation type meets the condition of returning to the original position of the warehouse.

[0132] For example, when the characteristic information of the target carrier includes a transport tool type (i.e., a type of mobile robot for transporting the target carrier), when the determination module 61 determines whether the characteristic information of the target carrier satisfies the condition for returning to the original position of the warehouse, specifically, when the transport tool type indicates that the transport tool of the target carrier is a mobile robot of the target type, the transport tool type is used to determine that the transport tool type satisfies the condition for returning to the original position of the warehouse. When the target carrier is transported by the mobile robot of the target type, the warehouse where the target carrier is located has a maximum height limit for the article.

[0133] For example, when the characteristic information of the target carrier includes an item type, when the determination module 61 determines whether the characteristic information of the target carrier meets the condition of returning to the original position in the warehouse, specifically, when the item type indicates that a designated type of item (i.e., a designated type of item) is loaded on the target carrier, the item type is used to determine that the item type meets the condition of returning to the original position in the warehouse. The designated type of item has requirements for the environment of the placement location, and the initial placement location of the target carrier meets the environmental requirements of the designated type of item.

[0134] For example, when the decision module determines that a return task to the warehouse needs to be executed for the target carrier, specifically, if an entry task is acquired, it is used to control the mobile robot to move the target carrier from its initial placement position in the carrier storage area to the work bench, load the items to be entered from the work bench onto the target carrier, and then determine that a return task to the warehouse needs to be executed for the target carrier; or, if an exit task is acquired, it is used to control the mobile robot to move the target carrier carrying the items to be removed from the carrier storage area to the work bench, load the items to be removed from the target carrier onto the work bench, and then determine that a return task to the warehouse needs to be executed for the target carrier.

[0135] For example, after controlling the mobile robot to move away from the initial placement position of the carrier placement site, the determination module 61 is further used to determine whether the characteristic information of the target carrier meets the condition for returning to the original position in the warehouse, and if so, to prohibit carriers other than the target carrier from moving to the initial placement position, and if not, to allow carriers other than the target carrier to move to the initial placement position.

[0136] For example, when the acquisition module 62 selects a target placement position of the target carrier from the multiple placement positions based on the heat degree of the target carrier and the heat degrees of the multiple placement positions in the carrier placement site, the acquisition module 62 specifically determines a target number of times that the carrier to be returned to each warehouse carries the article, and determines the heat degree of the carrier to be returned to the warehouse based on the target number of times, the target number is the sum of a first number and a second number, the first number is the number of times that the article moves from the work platform to the carrier to be returned to the warehouse, and the second number is the number of times that the article moves from the carrier to be returned to the warehouse to the work platform, and the larger the target number is, , the heat degree of the carrier to be returned to the warehouse becomes larger, the heat degree of each vacant storage location in the carrier storage area is determined, and the smaller the distance between the vacant storage location and the work table, the larger the heat degree of the vacant storage location is; based on the heat degree of the carrier to be returned to each warehouse, sort the carriers to be returned to all warehouses and determine a first sorting position for the target carrier; based on the heat degree of each vacant storage location, sort all vacant storage locations and determine a second sorting position matching the first sorting position; and based on the second sorting position, select one vacant storage location as the target storage location for the target carrier.

[0137] Based on the same idea as the above method, an embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic device, which may include a processor 71 and a machine-readable storage medium 72, as shown in Fig. 7. The machine-readable storage medium 72 stores machine-executable instructions executable by the processor 71, and the processor 71 is used to execute the machine-executable instructions to implement the method of returning a carrier to a warehouse disclosed in the above embodiment of the present invention.

[0138] Based on the same idea as the above method, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon some computer instructions, which, when executed by a processor, may implement the method of returning a carrier to a warehouse as disclosed in the above embodiment of the present invention.

[0139] Here, the machine-readable storage medium may be an electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical storage device capable of storing or storing information such as executable instructions, data, etc. For example, the machine-readable storage medium may be a RAM (Random Access Memory), a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, a flash memory, a storage drive (e.g., a hard disk drive), a solid-state drive, any type of storage disk (e.g., an optical disk, a DVD, etc.), or a similar storage medium, or a combination thereof.

[0140] The systems, devices, modules, or units described in the above embodiments may be specifically implemented by a computer entity or a product having some function. A typical implementation device is a computer, and the specific form of the computer may be a personal computer, a laptop computer, a mobile phone, a camera phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant, a media player, a navigation device, an email sending and receiving device, a game console, a tablet, a wearable device, or any combination of these devices.

[0141] For the sake of convenience, the above-mentioned device will be described by dividing it into various units according to their functions. Of course, when implementing the present invention, the functions of each unit can be realized by the same or multiple pieces of software and / or hardware.

[0142] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, a system, or a computer program product. Thus, the present invention may employ an embodiment consisting entirely of hardware, an embodiment consisting entirely of software, or an embodiment consisting of a combination of software and hardware. Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer usable storage media (including, but not limited to, magnetic disk memories, CD-ROMs, optical memories, etc.) containing computer usable program code.

[0143] The present invention will be described with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that each flow and / or block in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and / or blocks in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, may be realized by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to generate a machine, whereby the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate an apparatus for implementing the functions specified in one or more flows of the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0144] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory result in an article of manufacture that includes an instruction apparatus that implements the functions specified in one or more flows of the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0145] These computer program instructions may be loaded into a computer or other programmable data processing device such that a series of operational steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to generate a computer-implemented process, whereby the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flows of the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0146] The above is merely an embodiment of the present invention and is not used to limit the present invention. Those skilled in the art may make various modifications and changes to the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made without departing from the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the scope of the claims of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0147] 61 Decision Module 62 Acquisition Module 63 Control Module 71 Processor 72 Machine-readable storage media Steps 101-104 210 Intelligent Warehouse Management System 220 Center Management System 230 Robot Control Server 240 Autonomous Mobile Robot Steps 301-306 Steps 401 to 406 Steps 501 to 509

Claims

1. When it is determined that a return task to the warehouse needs to be executed for the target carrier, determining whether the characteristic information of the target carrier satisfies a return condition to the original position of the warehouse, wherein the characteristic information includes at least one of the following: an operation type of the target carrier, a transport tool type of the target carrier, and an article type of the target carrier; if yes, selecting an initial placement position of the target carrier as a target placement position of the target carrier, the initial placement position being a placement position in a carrier placement area before the target carrier executes a loading task or a unloading task; if not, selecting a target placement position of the target carrier from among the plurality of placement positions according to the heat degree of the target carrier and the heat degrees of the plurality of placement positions of the carrier placement site; and controlling a mobile robot to move the target carrier to the target placement position. A method for returning a carrier to a warehouse, comprising:

2. When the characteristic information includes an operation type, the step of determining whether the characteristic information of the target carrier satisfies a condition for returning to the original position of the warehouse includes: determining that the operation type of the target carrier includes a warehouse switching type, and if the warehouse switching type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is being switched, the operation type satisfies a condition for returning the warehouse to its original position; If the operation type of the target carrier includes a warehouse service type, and the warehouse service type indicates that the target carrier is performing a sampling quality inspection service, determining that the operation type satisfies a return condition to an original location in a warehouse; or determining that the operation type satisfies a return condition to the original position of the warehouse if the operation type of the target carrier includes a warehouse restriction type and the warehouse restriction type indicates that the warehouse in which the target carrier is located restricts a maximum height of the item; 2. The method of claim 1 .

3. When the characteristic information includes a transport tool type, the step of determining whether the characteristic information of the target carrier satisfies a condition for returning to the original position in the warehouse includes: When the transport tool type of the target carrier indicates that the transport tool of the target carrier is a target type mobile robot, determining that the transport tool type satisfies a return condition to an original position of a warehouse, and when the target carrier is transported by the target type mobile robot, the warehouse where the target carrier is located has a maximum height limit for an article; 2. The method of claim 1 .

4. When the characteristic information includes an item type, the step of determining whether the characteristic information of the target carrier satisfies a condition for returning to the original position of the warehouse includes: If the item type indicates that a specified type of item is to be loaded onto the target carrier, determining that the item type satisfies a return condition to an original location in a warehouse, the specified type of item has requirements for a placement environment, and the initial placement location of the target carrier satisfies the environmental requirements of the specified type of item.

2. The method of claim 1 .

5. Determining that a return to warehouse task needs to be performed on the target carrier includes: When a storage task is obtained, it is necessary to control the mobile robot to move the target carrier from an initial placement position in the carrier placement area to a work platform, and then to load the items to be stored from the work platform onto the target carrier, and then to execute a return task to the warehouse for the target carrier; or determining, when a retrieval task is acquired, that it is necessary to control the mobile robot to move the target carrier carrying the item to be retrieved from an initial placement position in a carrier placement area to a work platform, and after unloading the item to be retrieved from the target carrier onto the work platform, execute a return task to the warehouse for the target carrier; The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. After controlling the mobile robot to move away from the initial placement position of the carrier placement area, determining whether the characteristic information of the target carrier satisfies a condition for returning to the original position of the warehouse; if satisfied, prohibiting carriers other than the target carrier from moving to the initial placement position; if not, allowing a carrier other than the target carrier to move to the initial placement position; 6. The method of claim 5 .

7. The step of selecting a target placement position of the target carrier from the plurality of placement positions based on the heat degree of the target carrier and the heat degrees of the plurality of placement positions of the carrier placement site includes: a step of determining a target number of times that a carrier to be returned to the warehouse will transport articles for each of the carriers to be returned to the warehouse among a plurality of carriers to be returned to the warehouse, and determining a heat level of the carrier to be returned to the warehouse based on the target number of times, the target number being the sum of a first number and a second number of times, the first number being the number of times that an article moves from a workbench to the carrier to be returned to the warehouse, the second number being the number of times that an article moves from the carrier to be returned to the warehouse to the workbench, and the larger the target number of times, the larger the heat level of the carrier to be returned to the warehouse; determining a heat degree of each vacant placement location among a plurality of vacant placement locations of the carrier placement location, the heat degree of the vacant placement location being greater the smaller the distance between the vacant placement location and the work platform; sorting the carriers to be returned to all of the plurality of warehouses based on the heat of the carriers to be returned to each of the warehouses to determine a first sorting position of the target carrier; sorting all of the plurality of vacant placement locations based on a heat level of each of the vacant placement locations; determining a second sort location that matches the first sort location; and selecting one vacant placement location as a target placement location for the target carrier based on the second sort location. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

8. a determination module for determining whether characteristic information of the target carrier satisfies a condition for returning to the original position of the warehouse when it is determined that a return task needs to be performed on the target carrier, the characteristic information including at least one of a work type of the target carrier, a transport tool type of the target carrier, and an article type of the target carrier; an acquisition module for selecting an initial placement position of the target carrier as a target placement position of the target carrier if the characteristic information satisfies a condition for returning the target carrier to its original position in the warehouse, and selecting a target placement position of the target carrier from the multiple placement positions based on a heat degree of the target carrier and a heat degree of multiple placement positions in a carrier placement site if the characteristic information does not satisfy the condition for returning the target carrier to its original position in the warehouse, the initial placement position being a placement position in the carrier placement site before the target carrier executes a warehousing task or a warehousing task; a control module for controlling a mobile robot to move the target carrier to the target placement location.

3. A device for returning carriers to a warehouse.

9. When the characteristic information includes an operation type, when the determination module determines whether the characteristic information of the target carrier meets the returning condition to the original position of the warehouse, specifically: If the operation type of the target carrier includes a warehouse switching type, and the warehouse switching type indicates that the warehouse where the target carrier is located is being switched, determine that the operation type satisfies a condition for returning the warehouse to its original position; If the operation type of the target carrier includes a warehouse service type, and the warehouse service type indicates that the target carrier is performing a sampling quality inspection service, determining that the operation type satisfies a return condition to the original location of the warehouse; When the operation type of the target carrier includes a warehouse restriction type, and the warehouse restriction type indicates that the warehouse in which the target carrier is located restricts a maximum height of an item, the operation type is used to determine that the operation type satisfies a return condition to the original position of the warehouse.

9. The apparatus of claim 8.

10. When the characteristic information includes a transport tool type, when the determination module determines whether the characteristic information of the target carrier meets the returning condition to the original position of the warehouse, specifically: When the transport tool type of the target carrier indicates that the transport tool of the target carrier is a mobile robot of a target type, the transport tool type is used to determine that the transport tool type satisfies a return condition to the original position of the warehouse, and when the target carrier is transported by the mobile robot of the target type, the warehouse where the target carrier is located has a maximum height limit for the article.

9. The apparatus of claim 8.

11. When the characteristic information includes an item type, when the determination module determines whether the characteristic information of the target carrier meets the returning condition to the original position of the warehouse, specifically: When the item type indicates that a specified type of item is to be loaded onto the target carrier, the item type is used to determine that the item type satisfies a return condition to an original location in a warehouse, the specified type of item has requirements for a placement environment, and the initial placement location of the target carrier satisfies the environmental requirements of the specified type of item.

9. The apparatus of claim 8.

12. When the determination module determines that the target carrier needs to execute a return-to-warehouse task, specifically: When a storage task is obtained, it is necessary to control the mobile robot to move the target carrier from the initial placement position of the carrier placement site to a work platform, and then to load the items to be stored from the work platform onto the target carrier, and then to execute a return task to the warehouse for the target carrier; or When a retrieval task is acquired, the control unit 100 controls the mobile robot to move the target carrier loaded with the item to be retrieved from the initial placement position of the carrier placement site to a work platform, and after the item to be retrieved is unloaded from the target carrier to the work platform, determines that a return task to the warehouse needs to be executed for the target carrier.

9. The apparatus of claim 8.

13. After controlling the mobile robot to leave the initial placement position of the carrier placement site, the determination module further comprises: The characteristic information of the target carrier is used to determine whether it satisfies a condition for returning to the original position of the warehouse, and if so, to prohibit carriers other than the target carrier from moving to the initial placement position, and if not, to allow carriers other than the target carrier to move to the initial placement position.

9. The apparatus of claim 8.

14. When the acquisition module selects a target placement position of the target carrier from the plurality of placement positions according to the heat degree of the target carrier and the heat degrees of the plurality of placement positions of the carrier placement site, specifically: determining a target number of times that the carrier to be returned to the warehouse will transport articles for each of the carriers to be returned to the warehouse among a plurality of carriers to be returned to the warehouse, and determining a heat level of the carrier to be returned to the warehouse based on the target number of times, the target number being the sum of a first number and a second number of times, the first number being the number of times that the articles move from a workbench to the carrier to be returned to the warehouse, and the second number being the number of times that the articles move from the carrier to be returned to the warehouse to the workbench, and the larger the target number of times, the larger the heat level of the carrier to be returned to the warehouse; determining a heat degree of each vacant placement location among a plurality of vacant placement locations of the carrier placement location, the smaller the distance between the vacant placement location and the work platform, the greater the heat degree of the vacant placement location; sorting the carriers to be returned to all of the warehouses based on the heat of each of the carriers to be returned to the warehouse, and determining a first sorting position for the target carrier; sorting all of the plurality of vacant placement locations based on the heat level of each of the vacant placement locations; determining a second sort location that matches the first sort location; and selecting one vacant placement location as a target placement location for the target carrier based on the second sort location.

9. The apparatus of claim 8.

15. An electronic device including a processor and a machine-readable storage medium, the machine-readable storage medium storing machine-executable instructions executable by the processor, the processor being adapted to execute the machine-executable instructions to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

1. An electronic device comprising:

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