Warehouse system and control method thereof

Abstract

A warehouse system and a control method thereof, in which an inventory area of ​​the system is used for storing loading equipment, and the storage space of the loading equipment is used for storing containers, a control server is configured to generate luggage sorting commands and picking order commands and update inventory information, and a transport equipment is configured to move at least two containers that have an order relationship and are stored in different loading equipment to the same target loading equipment according to the luggage sorting command of the control server, so that when a picking order received by the warehouse system includes at least two containers whose luggage sorting has been completed, the warehouse system can directly transport these containers from the target loading equipment to a workstation area to perform corresponding operations, thereby eliminating the step in the prior art of the transport equipment reciprocating between different loading equipment, or the step of transporting different loading equipment to the workstation area and then loading and unloading containers respectively to perform operations, thereby greatly improving the operation efficiency of the warehouse system.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese patent applications filed with the China Patent Office on February 15, 2022, bearing application number 202210138889.4, entitled "Warehouse system and control method therefor," and filed with the China Patent Office on August 18, 2022, bearing application number 202210993551.7, entitled "Warehouse system," the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of warehouse systems, and more particularly to a warehouse system and a control method thereof. [Background technology]

[0003] In a conventional warehouse system, one received order usually results in multiple parcels, which are stored in different containers, and these containers may be stored separately in multiple loading devices.

[0004] Depending on the content of the order, the warehouse system controls the conveying equipment to make multiple trips between different loading tools and work areas such as picking stations to transport the different containers in which these packages are stored to the work areas, and performs the corresponding work.

[0005] As such, in conventional warehouse systems, to complete the picking work for one order, the container loading / unloading equipment must travel back and forth between multiple loading devices to transport different containers, resulting in low work efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a warehouse system to solve the problem of low operational efficiency of conventional warehouse systems.

[0007] The warehouse system of the present disclosure includes: a workstation area; an inventory area for storing cargo equipment, the cargo equipment storage space being used to store containers; a control server configured to generate marshalling commands; a transport facility configured to move at least two containers having an order relationship and stored in different loads to the same target load in response to the sorting command; In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the control server is further configured to generate a picking order command, the picking order command including the at least two containers whose packing has been completed; The transport equipment is further configured to remove at least two containers in the target load device and place them in the workstation area in response to the picking order command.

[0008] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, when a container needs to be moved in response to the luggage sorting command, the transport equipment transfers the container to an available storage space of the target loading device; or The container is configured to be exchanged for another container in the target payload.

[0009] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, when it is necessary to move a plurality of containers in response to the luggage sorting command, the transport equipment transfers the plurality of containers to vacant storage spaces of the target loading equipment, respectively; or exchanging a plurality of said containers for other containers in said target payload; or The method is configured to transfer some of the containers to vacant storage space of the target payload and to exchange the remaining containers with other containers in the target payload.

[0010] In one embodiment of the warehouse system disclosed herein, the transport equipment selects a load in which one of the at least two containers is located as the target load in response to the luggage sorting command.

[0011] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, when the loading equipment is a fixed loading equipment, the transport equipment includes a mobile container transport equipment, the mobile container transport equipment is configured to, in response to the sorting command, remove the at least two containers from their respective current loads and place them in the target loads in the inventory area; and / or The mobile container transport equipment is further configured to retrieve the at least two containers in the target load device at the inventory area and move from the inventory area to the workstation area for picking in response to the picking order command.

[0012] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, when the loading tool is a movable loading tool, the transport facility includes a fixed container transport facility and a loading tool transport facility, the movable loading tool includes a plurality of storage spaces, and the storage spaces are used to store containers for storing luggage; the load transport facility is configured to transport a current load, the current load separately storing at least two containers, and a target load from the inventory area to the workstation area in response to the sorting command; the fixed container transport equipment is located in the workstation area and is configured to, in response to the sorting command, remove at least two containers from their respective current loads and place them in the target loads; and / or The fixed container transport equipment is further configured to remove at least two containers from the target load device for picking in response to the pick order command.

[0013] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, when the loading tool is a movable loading tool, the movable loading tool includes a plurality of storage spaces, the storage spaces are used to store containers for storing luggage, and the transport equipment includes a loading tool transport equipment and a fixed container transport equipment; the load transport facility is configured to transport a current load, the current load having at least two separate containers stored therein, from the inventory area to the workstation area in response to the sorting command; the fixed container transport equipment is located in the workstation area and is configured to select one current load as a target load in response to a sorting command and to remove containers in the remaining current loads and place them in the target load; and / or The fixed container transport equipment is further configured to remove at least two containers from the target load device for picking in response to the pick order command.

[0014] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, when the target load is a movable load, the conveying equipment: a mobile container transport facility configured to transport the at least two containers from their respective current loads onto the target loads in the inventory area; and load transport equipment configured to transport the target load from the inventory area to the workstation area for picking.

[0015] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the load transport equipment is further configured to transport the current load from the workstation area to the inventory area after the sorting operation is completed; and / or The load transport equipment is further configured to transport a target load from the workstation area to the inventory area after a picking operation is completed.

[0016] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the warehouse system further includes a waiting area; The control server is further configured to control the load transport equipment to transport at least one pair of loads selected by the load management command; When one of the at least one pair of load tools selected by the luggage sorting command arrives at the workstation area first, the load tool transport equipment transports the load tool that arrived at the workstation area first to a waiting area and waits for the remaining load tool of the at least one pair of load tools selected by the luggage sorting command to arrive.

[0017] In one embodiment of the warehouse system disclosed herein, the load transport equipment is controlled to transport the load in the waiting area to the workstation area when the remaining load of at least one pair of loads selected by the luggage sorting command arrives at the workstation area.

[0018] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the fixed container transport equipment comprises a buffer mechanism, the buffer mechanism comprises at least one buffer space, and the buffer space is used to temporarily store containers; the control server is further configured to control the load transport equipment to transport the pair of loads selected by the load management command to the workstation area; The fixed container transport facility is further configured to remove containers from the load equipment and place them in the buffer space, and after the target load equipment arrives, remove containers from the buffer space and place them in the target load equipment.

[0019] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the fixed container transport equipment comprises a buffer mechanism, the buffer mechanism comprises at least one buffer space, and the buffer space is used to temporarily store containers; The fixed container transport equipment is configured to temporarily deposit a container for which picking work has been completed in the buffer space, and after a target load device for the container arrives in the workstation area, remove the container from the buffer space and place it in the target load device.

[0020] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the conveying equipment further includes an identification device, Information on whether a container is stored in the storage space of the loading tool selected by the luggage arrangement command; and information as to whether the identification information of a container in the storage space of the loading equipment selected by the luggage sorting command matches the identification information of the container selected by the luggage sorting command.

[0021] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the identification device includes a reader, a 2D / 3D image acquisition device, or a depth information acquisition device.

[0022] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the control server is configured to generate an abnormality processing command or issue an alarm signal when the identification result by the identification device is abnormal.

[0023] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, a transfer facility is docked to the workstation area, the transfer facility including a transport line, the transport line being used to deliver containers out of the workstation area.

[0024] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, a picking station is provided in the workstation area, and the picking station is configured to place containers waiting to be picked for a picking operation.

[0025] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the control server is further configured to update inventory information when a container is emptied after a picking operation.

[0026] In one embodiment of the warehouse system disclosed herein, the control server is configured to update the quantity of items in the container in the current inventory information to the remaining quantity if there are still items remaining in the container after the picking operation, thereby updating the inventory information.

[0027] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the inventory area includes a first area and a second area, the first area having a maximum distance from the workstation area that is equal to or less than a first predetermined distance, and the second area having a minimum distance from the workstation area that is greater than the first predetermined distance; The control server is configured to obtain a future order and hit at least one of the containers based on the future order, where the hit container is marked as a hit container and a movable load on which the hit container is stored is marked as a hit load; a load transport facility configured to transport at least one of the first mobile loads parked in the inventory area and at least one other of the second mobile loads to the same workstation area, where the at least the second mobile load is a hit load; the fixed container transport facility is configured to place at least one hit container in at least one second movable load attachment onto at least one first movable load attachment, wherein the first movable load attachment onto which the hit container from the second movable load attachment is placed is referred to as a sorted load attachment; The load transport equipment is configured to return at least one organized load to the first area.

[0028] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the load transport equipment is configured to transport at least one first movable load tool and at least one other second movable load tool parked in the inventory area to the same workstation area during non-production time of the workstation area; The fixed container transport facility is configured to place at least one hit container in at least one second movable load onto at least one first movable load.

[0029] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the loading tool conveying equipment includes: If there is an available stop space in the first area, return the arranged load to the first area; When there is no available parking space in the first area, the system is configured to transport unorganized load equipment parked in the first area to the second area, and then transport the organized load equipment to the first area.

[0030] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the future orders include: An order to generate production tasks for the next production time slot, and / or Includes forecast orders.

[0031] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, a hit container includes the container in which a hit load is stored and / or the container in which load related to the hit load is stored, where the hit load is a load included in an SKU of the future order.

[0032] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the control server is configured to determine the loads associated with the hit loads based on historical orders.

[0033] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the control server is configured to divide all received orders for generating the production tasks into multiple batches and distribute them to the workstation areas.

[0034] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the control server is configured to forecast orders based on historical orders and / or popularity of the packages.

[0035] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the first movable loading implement is an empty movable loading implement or a hit loading implement.

[0036] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the control server is configured to always reserve at least one free storage space in each of the movable load devices.

[0037] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the movable load equipment includes a plurality of loading surfaces, and the control server is configured such that at least one vacant storage space is always reserved on each loading surface of each of the movable load equipment.

[0038] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the fixed container transport equipment is configured to place hit containers in at least one of the second movable load devices onto at least one of the first movable load devices so that all containers in the at least one of the first movable load devices become hit containers.

[0039] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the workstation area further includes a buffer space, the buffer space being used for placing the containers, and the fixed container transport equipment is configured to transfer at least the containers between the placement space and the buffer space.

[0040] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the workstation area further comprises: A support frame; at least one guide mechanism provided on the support frame and movable laterally and vertically relative to the support frame; A container loading / unloading device is provided on the guide mechanism, and the buffer space is provided on the support frame.

[0041] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the guide mechanism comprises: a lateral movement device provided on the support frame, coupled to a controller, and movable laterally relative to the support frame, the controller being coupled to the workstation area and the load transport equipment to control operation of the workstation area and the load transport equipment; a moving rod extending in a vertical direction and provided on the lateral moving device so as to be movable in a lateral direction relative to the support frame; a longitudinal movement device provided on the movement rod, coupled to the control device, and capable of longitudinal movement relative to the movement rod; The container loading / unloading device is provided on the longitudinal movement device.

[0042] In one embodiment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the load transport equipment is configured to first transport one of the first movable load equipment and the second movable load equipment to the same workstation area, the fixed container transport facility is configured to place the container mounted thereon and which needs to be exchanged with the other of the first movable load device and the second movable load device in the buffer space; the load transport facility is configured to return the one of the first movable load tool and the second movable load tool to the inventory area; the load transport facility is also configured to transport the other of the first and second mobile load devices to the same workstation area; The fixed container transport facility is configured to place the container to be exchanged therewith from the buffer space onto itself.

[0043] In another aspect, the present disclosure further provides a method for controlling a warehouse system as described above, comprising: The control server generates and transmits a luggage sorting command to the transportation facility; The present invention provides a method for controlling a warehouse system, the method including a step in which the transport equipment moves at least two containers that have an order relationship and are stored in different load devices to the same target load device in response to the luggage sorting command.

[0044] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, the control method further comprises: The control server generates a picking order command and transmits the picking order command to the transportation facility; The transport equipment removes at least two containers from the target load device and places them in the workstation area in response to the picking order command.

[0045] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, when the load is a movable load, the step of the transport equipment moving at least two containers having an order relationship and stored in different loads to the same target load in response to the luggage sorting command includes: a load transport facility transporting a current load, the current load separately storing at least two containers, and a target load from the inventory area to the workstation area in response to the sorting command; and / or, a fixed container transport equipment located in the workstation area removes at least two containers from their respective current loads and places them in the target load in response to the sorting command; The fixed container transport equipment removes at least two containers from the target load device for picking in response to the pick order command.

[0046] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, when the load is a movable load, the step of the transport equipment moving at least two containers having an order relationship and stored in different loads to the same target load in response to the luggage sorting command includes: a load transport facility transporting a current load, the current load having at least two separate containers stored therein, from the inventory area to the workstation area in response to the sorting command; and / or, a fixed container transport facility in the workstation area is responsive to a sorting command to select one current load as a target load and to remove containers from the remaining current loads and place them in the target load; and / or The fixed container transport equipment removes at least two containers from the target load device for picking in response to the pick order command.

[0047] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, the inventory area includes a first area and a second area, the first area having a maximum distance from the workstation area that is equal to or smaller than a first predetermined distance, and the second area having a minimum distance from the workstation area that is greater than the first predetermined distance; The warehouse system includes: obtaining future orders; hitting at least one of the containers based on the future order, marking the hit container as a hit container and marking a movable loading tool in which the hit container is stored as a hit loading tool; transporting at least one first mobile load and at least one other second mobile load parked in the inventory area to the same workstation area, where at least the second mobile load is a hit load; placing at least one hit container from at least one second mobile load onto at least one first mobile load in the workstation area, marking the first mobile load onto which the hit container from the second mobile load is placed as a sorted load; and returning the at least one organized load to the first area.

[0048] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, the steps of transporting at least one of the first movable loads and at least one other of the second movable loads parked in the inventory area to the same workstation area, placing at least one hit container in the at least one second movable load on at least one of the first movable loads in the workstation area, and returning at least one organized load to the first area include: Step S120: transport one of the first movable load tools and one of the second movable load tools parked in the inventory area to the same workstation area, the second movable load tool is a hit load tool, and neither the first movable load tool nor the second movable load tool is a packed load tool, and then execute step S130; Step S130: placing the hit container in the second movable loading device onto the first movable loading device, and then performing step S140; Step S140: determining whether or not the second movable loading device still has a hit container remaining, and if so, executing step S150; otherwise, executing step S170; Step S150: determining whether the first movable loading device can receive the new hit container, and if so, executing step S130; otherwise, executing step S160; Step S160: Returning the first movable loading device to the inventory area, and then executing step S200; Step S170: Returning the second movable loading device to the inventory area, and then executing step S180; Step S180: Determine whether there is still any hit load among the unarranged loads in the inventory area, and if so, execute step S190; otherwise, execute step S220; Step S190: transporting one hit load from the unordered loads in the inventory area to the same workstation area as the second movable load, and then performing step S130; Step S200: determining whether there is still any hit load among the unarranged loads in the inventory area, and if so, executing step S210; otherwise, executing step S220; Step S210: transporting one hit load or one free mobile load from the unordered loads in the inventory area to the same workstation area as the first mobile load, and then executing steps; Step S220: Returning the mobile payload in the same workstation area to the inventory area.

[0049] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, in at least one of steps S120, S190, and S210, the warehouse system: The system is configured to calculate a container index for each hit container in a non-arranged load among the hit loads in the inventory area, and determine the non-arranged loads to be transported to the same workstation area based on the container index, where the container index is the quantity of the future orders that hit the container among all the future orders.

[0050] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, in at least one of steps S120, S190, and S210, the warehouse system: calculating a load index for each of the hit loads parked in the inventory area that are not packed, and selecting the non-packaged load with the highest load index as the first movable load or the second movable load, wherein the load index is the sum of the container indexes of all hit containers in the hit load; or Among the hit loading tools and non-arranged loading tools parked in the inventory area, the non-arranged loading tool in which the hit container with the highest container index is placed is configured to be the first movable loading tool or the second movable loading tool.

[0051] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, in step S120, a controller previously determining the same workstation area, wherein the controller is coupled to the workstation area and the load transport equipment to control operation of the workstation area and the load transport equipment; When there are at least three unarranged loads among the hit loads parked in the inventory area, two of the unarranged loads having the shortest movement path to the same workstation area are moved to the same workstation area.

[0052] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, in step S120, a controller for determining which of the two movable loads will be removed from the inventory area first, the controller being coupled to the workstation area and the load transport equipment to control operation of the workstation area and the load transport equipment; When multiple workstation areas are vacant, the control device calculates the sum of the lengths of the travel paths along which the two movable loading devices transported from the inventory area travel to each of the multiple vacant workstation areas, and designates the workstation area with the smallest sum of the travel path lengths as the same workstation area.

[0053] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, the future order is an order to be processed in a next production time slot, and the first movable loading tool is a hit loading tool; In step S130, the warehouse system is configured to determine the workstation area associated with the first movable load implement during the next production time slot and to preferentially exchange hit containers in the second movable load implement associated with the workstation area associated with the first movable load implement with the first movable load implement.

[0054] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, the future order is an order to be processed in the next production time slot, and the first movable loading tool is a hit loading tool; In step S130, the warehouse system is configured to determine the future orders associated with the first movable load equipment during the next production time slot and to preferentially exchange hit containers in the second movable load equipment associated with the future orders associated with the first movable load equipment with the first movable load equipment.

[0055] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, the movable loading device includes a plurality of loading surfaces, and the warehouse system is configured such that at least one free storage space is always reserved on each of the loading surfaces of the movable loading device; In the steps, a step S103 of placing the hit container in the second movable loading tool on the first movable loading tool; When there is an empty placement space on each of the loading surfaces of the first movable loading device and there are a plurality of empty placement spaces on at least one of the loading surfaces of the first movable loading device, placing the hit container in the second movable loading device on the first movable loading device; or and exchanging a non-hit container in the first movable loading tool with a hit container in the second movable loading tool when there is only one free space on each loading surface of the first movable loading tool; The step S150 of determining whether the first movable loading device is capable of receiving a new hit container includes: The method includes a step of determining whether there are still any unhit containers remaining on the first movable loading device or whether there are still a plurality of vacant storage spaces on at least one of the loading surfaces of the first movable loading device.

[0056] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, the step S130 of placing the hit container in the second movable loading device on the first movable loading device includes: placing the hit container in the second movable loading device on the first movable loading device when there is an empty storage space in the first movable loading device; or When the first movable loading device has no free storage space, the method includes a step of exchanging a non-hit container in the first movable loading device with a hit container in the second movable loading device, The step S150 of determining whether the first movable loading device is capable of receiving a new hit container includes: The method includes a step of determining whether or not there are any unhit containers remaining on the first movable loading device, or whether or not there is still free storage space on the first movable loading device.

[0057] The warehouse system of the present disclosure performs a luggage sorting operation in advance, that is, stores at least two containers that have an order relationship and are stored in different loading equipment in the same target loading equipment.

[0058] In this way, when a picking order received by the warehouse system includes at least two containers whose luggage sorting has been completed, the warehouse system can directly transport these containers from the target loading device to the workstation area to perform the corresponding work, which omits the step in the prior art of the transport equipment reciprocating between different loading devices, or the step of transporting different loading devices to the workstation area and then loading and unloading the containers respectively to perform the work, thereby greatly improving the work efficiency of the warehouse system.

[0059] The warehouse system disclosed herein can further perform picking operations, i.e., transport at least two containers whose sorting has been completed and are included in a picking order directly from the same loading device to the workstation area to perform the corresponding operations, thereby eliminating the step in the prior art of the transport equipment reciprocating between different loading devices, or the step of transporting different loading devices to the workstation area and then loading and unloading the containers, thereby further significantly improving the work efficiency of the warehouse system. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0060] The drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a structural block diagram of an embodiment of a warehouse system according to the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 1 is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of a conveying facility according to the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a structural schematic diagram of another embodiment of a conveying facility according to the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 13 is a control flowchart of a control method for a warehouse system according to the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a warehouse system according to a preferred embodiment of the present application; [Figure 6] 1 is a partial perspective view of a warehouse system according to a preferred embodiment of the present application, in which a workstation is shown; [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart showing the operation of a warehouse system according to a preferred embodiment of the present application. [Figure 8] 8 is a flowchart of specific exemplary work steps from steps S30 to S50 in FIG. 7. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0061] Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that unless otherwise specified, the relative arrangement of the components and steps, the formulas and values ​​described in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0062] The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the present disclosure and its application or uses.

[0063] Techniques, methods and devices known to those skilled in the relevant art may not be described in detail, but in some cases, said techniques, methods and devices should be considered as part of the specification.

[0064] In all examples shown and discussed herein, all specific values ​​should be construed as illustrative rather than limiting, and thus other examples of the illustrative embodiments may have different values.

[0065] It should be noted that like symbols and letters represent like items in the following drawings, and therefore, once an item is defined in one drawing, there is no need to further describe it in the subsequent drawings.

[0066] An order related to a warehouse system, such as a picking order, includes a plurality of items, which are placed in different containers, and these containers are stored in different loading tools. The loading tools include fixed loading tools and movable loading tools, where the fixed loading tools generally include separator loading tools that are fixedly installed on the floor surface of the warehouse and cannot be moved, and the movable loading tools can be transported by a loading tool transport facility so as to move between each area of ​​the warehouse, and the movable loading tools include a plurality of storage spaces, and the storage spaces are used to place containers for storing luggage.

[0067] When the warehouse system receives a picking order and the multiple containers that the picking order hits are stored in different fixed loading devices, the control server controls the conveying equipment to make multiple round trips between the different loading devices and the workstation area in order to transport all of the containers that the picking order hits to the workstation area for picking work.

[0068] When multiple containers for which picking orders have been placed are stored in different mobile loading devices, the server controls the loading device transport equipment to transport each of these mobile loading devices to a workstation area, and then controls the container loading / unloading equipment to transport the containers in each mobile loading device to the workstation area for picking operations.

[0069] Apparently, in the control method of the conventional warehouse system, when processing a picking order, there is a step of obtaining different containers from different loading devices, regardless of whether the hit container is stored in a fixed loading device or a movable loading device, which makes the picking process time-consuming, complicated, and inefficient.

[0070] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present disclosure provides a warehouse system, which includes an inventory area, a workstation area, a container, a load equipment, a transport equipment, and a control server, where the inventory area is used for storing the load equipment, a storage space of the load equipment is used for storing the container, the control server is configured to generate a load marshalling command, and the transport equipment is configured to move at least two containers having an order relationship and stored in different load equipment to the same target load equipment according to the load marshalling command of the control server.

[0071] It should be explained that the order relevance includes the order hit rate, which refers to the ratio between the amount of orders hitting a target item and the total amount of orders within a pre-set time period. For example, if the amount of orders hitting a first target item (cola) received in a day is 100, the amount of orders hitting a second target item (popcorn) is 90, and the total amount of orders on that day is 1000, then the order hit rate of the first target item is 10%, and the order hit rate of the second target item is 9%.

[0072] In the warehouse system of the present disclosure, when the order hit rates of the items loaded in at least two containers reach a preset threshold, it indicates that the at least two containers have order relevance. For example, if the control server presets the preset threshold of the order hit rate as 8%, it indicates that the order hit rates of the first target item and the second target item reach the preset threshold, that is, the order relevance of the first container storing the first target item and the second container storing the second target item both reach the preset threshold.

[0073] In the warehouse system of the present disclosure, two or more items stored in at least two containers can be indicated as having order association even if they are combination products or are hit by multiple orders at the same time, such as nail polish and nail polish remover, shampoo and conditioner, etc.

[0074] The warehouse system of the present disclosure performs a luggage sorting operation in advance, that is, stores at least two containers that have an order relationship and are stored in different loading equipment in the same target loading equipment.

[0075] In this way, when a picking order received by the warehouse system includes at least two containers whose luggage sorting has been completed, the warehouse system can directly transport these containers from the target loading device to the workstation area to perform the corresponding work, which omits the step in the prior art of the transport equipment reciprocating between different loading devices, or the step of transporting different loading devices to the workstation area and then loading and unloading the containers respectively to perform the work, thereby greatly improving the work efficiency of the warehouse system.

[0076] The control server of the warehouse system of the present disclosure is further configured to generate a picking order command, and the conveying equipment is further configured to remove at least two containers in the target loading device and place them in the workstation area in response to the picking order command, where the picking order command includes the at least two containers whose luggage sorting has been completed.

[0077] The warehouse system of the present disclosure can further perform picking operations, that is, when distributing picking orders, preferentially select the orders that hit the at least two containers simultaneously to generate a picking order command, and then transport the at least two containers from the target loading device to the workstation area according to the picking order command, which omits the step in the prior art of the transport equipment reciprocating between different loading devices, or the step of transporting different loading devices to the workstation area and then loading and unloading the containers respectively to perform operations, thereby further greatly improving the work efficiency of the warehouse system.

[0078] In other words, the warehouse system disclosed herein may only perform sorting tasks, or may be capable of performing not only sorting tasks but also picking tasks; those skilled in the art can select the appropriate functions according to the actual application scenario.

[0079] For ease of understanding, the warehouse system of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 1 to 4 using a specific embodiment as an example, and in order to maintain conciseness of the document, the present specification will describe the warehouse system and the control method of the warehouse system at the same time, and will not describe the control method separately.

[0080] The warehouse system of the present disclosure includes at least a workstation area, an inventory area, loading equipment, containers, transport equipment, and a control server.

[0081] Here, the inventory area may be a dense storage area or a sparse storage area, and a plurality of loading implements are provided in the inventory area, and the loading implements are used to store containers and generally include fixed loading implements and movable loading implements. The fixed loading implements generally include separator loading implements that are fixedly provided on the floor surface of the warehouse and cannot be moved, and the movable loading implements can be transported by a loading implement transport facility to move between each area of ​​the warehouse.

[0082] When classified by storage function, containers include general-purpose containers and dedicated containers, where a general-purpose container is a container that can store any kind of cargo, such as a storage case or sorting case, and a dedicated container is a container for exclusively storing a certain kind or type of cargo, such as a shoe box, a fresh food case, a bucket, etc. When classified by material, containers include cardboard boxes, glass bottles, plastic cases, metal cases, trunks, etc.

[0083] The workstation area is a sectioned off area within the warehouse that is separate from the inventory area.

[0084] The control server is communicatively connected to the transport equipment via a wired or wireless manner, and an operator operates the control server via a console, the control server is a software system having data storage and information processing capabilities that is executed on the server and can be wirelessly connected to the software system of the transport equipment, etc., the control server may include one or more servers and may be a centralized control architecture or a distributed computing architecture, the control server has a processor and memory and may have an order pool in the memory, and order information is stored in the order pool.

[0085] The control server is configured to generate marshalling commands, picking order commands, and / or update inventory information.

[0086] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a control server of the present disclosure selects at least two containers having an order relationship and stored in different loading devices based on information such as historical orders, generates a luggage sorting command, and completes the luggage sorting operation before delivering a picking order that hits the associated container, in order to store at least two containers having an order relationship in the same target loading device as much as possible.

[0087] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the control server of the present disclosure further selects orders that simultaneously hit at least two containers involved in the luggage sorting command to generate a picking order command, thereby preferentially selecting and delivering the orders whose luggage sorting operations have been completed for completing the picking operation manually or by picking equipment, and updating inventory information according to the results of the picking operation.

[0088] The transport equipment is configured to move at least two containers that have an order relationship and are stored in different load carriers to the same target load carrier in response to a load carrier command from the control server to complete the load carrier operation.

[0089] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, when one container needs to be moved in response to a luggage sorting command and there is available storage space in the target loading device, the transport equipment is configured to transfer the container that needs to be moved to the available storage space in the target loading device in response to the luggage sorting command.

[0090] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, when one container needs to be moved in response to a load sorting command and there is no available storage space in the target load, the transport equipment is configured to replace the container that needs to be moved with another container in the target load in response to the load sorting command.

[0091] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, when multiple containers need to be moved in response to a luggage sorting command and there is available storage space in the target load equipment, the transport equipment is configured to transfer the multiple containers that need to be moved to the corresponding available storage space in the target load equipment in response to the luggage sorting command.

[0092] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, when multiple containers need to be moved in response to a luggage sorting command and there is no available storage space in the target load equipment, the transport equipment is configured to replace the multiple containers that need to be moved with other containers in the target load equipment in response to the luggage sorting command.

[0093] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, when multiple containers need to be moved in response to a cargo sorting command and there is available storage space in the target load device, the transport equipment is configured to transfer some of the containers that need to be moved to corresponding available storage space in the target load device in response to the cargo sorting command, and to exchange the remaining containers that need to be moved with other containers in the target load device.

[0094] It should be explained that the manner in which the container that needs to be moved is exchanged with another container in the target loading device by the transport equipment is as follows: the transport equipment first takes out the other container in the target loading device and puts it into the buffer space, then takes out the container that needs to be moved from the current loading device and puts it into the vacant storage space in the target loading device, and finally puts the container in the buffer space into the original loading device of the moved container.

[0095] Here, the buffer space may be a buffer space in a buffer mechanism equipped with a transport equipment, or a buffer space provided in a transfer mechanism independent of the transport equipment in the workstation area, and the transfer mechanism may be any loading device or holder capable of storing a container, and the buffer space may be an independent area separated from the workstation area.

[0096] Other containers for exchange in the warehouse system are containers that do not have an order association.

[0097] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a cargo sorting command of the present disclosure can select a specific load equipment as a target load equipment, where the target load equipment is not the current load equipment in which any of the at least two containers selected by the cargo sorting command are located.

[0098] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the target load selected by the load management command of the present disclosure is the load in which one of the at least two containers selected by the load management command is located.

[0099] In this way, the transport facility only needs to move the other of the at least two containers from the current loading device to the target loading device, which reduces the number of times the transport facility moves the container compared to the case where a specific loading device is selected, thereby improving the efficiency of cargo management.

[0100] As mentioned above, the loading devices include fixed loading devices and movable loading devices, and the specific structure of the conveying equipment and its operating principle are related to the type of loading device used in cooperation with it, that is, the conveying equipment used in cooperation with the fixed loading device and the movable loading device are different. Below, two specific embodiments of the conveying equipment are respectively described according to the specific type of loading device.

[0101] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to FIG. 2, when the target load of the warehouse system is a fixed load 10, the cooperating transport equipment is a mobile container transport equipment.

[0102] The mobile container transport equipment is configured to, in response to a luggage sorting command, remove at least two containers from their respective current load devices in the inventory area and place them in the target load device, and / or the mobile container transport equipment is further configured to, in response to a picking order command, remove at least two containers in the target load device in the inventory area and move them from the inventory area to the workstation area for picking.

[0103] In detail, the mobile container facility includes a first conveying mechanism 20 and a first container loading / unloading mechanism 21. It should be noted that in order to easily see the overall picture of the mobile container transport facility, only one side holder of the fixed load tool is shown in Fig. 2, and its separator and other structures are omitted.

[0104] Here, the first conveying mechanism 20 is configured to drive the first container loading / unloading mechanism 21 to run in the inventory area and the workstation area, and the first container loading / unloading mechanism 21 is configured to remove at least two containers from their respective current load devices in the inventory area and place them in the target load device in response to a luggage sorting command, and / or the first container loading / unloading mechanism 21 is further configured to remove at least two containers in the target load device in the inventory area and run together with the first conveying mechanism 20 from the inventory area to the workstation area to place the at least two containers in the workstation area in response to a picking order command.

[0105] In detail, the first container taking in and out mechanism 21 includes a holder 210 and a first container taking in and out assembly 211 movably provided on the holder 210. The holder 210 is fixedly provided on the first transport mechanism 20, and the container taking in and out assembly 211 takes out a container selected by the luggage sorting command from a storage space of the load tool selected by the luggage sorting command in response to a luggage sorting command from the control server, and moves it to a target load tool selected by the luggage sorting command.

[0106] The specific form of the first container loading / unloading assembly 211 is related to the storage space of the fixed load device, and if the separators of each layer of the fixed load device are provided with a storage space for one container in the depth direction, the container loading / unloading assembly is a single-extension space container robot, if the separators of each layer of the fixed load device are provided with a storage space for two containers in the depth direction, the container loading / unloading assembly is a double-extension space container robot, and if the separators of each layer of the fixed load device are provided with a storage space for multiple containers in the depth direction, the container loading / unloading assembly is a multiple-extension space container robot.

[0107] It should be noted that in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the first container access assembly of the present disclosure accesses the container by any one of gripping, pinching, suction, lifting, and cradling.

[0108] The first transport mechanism 20 may be an AGV cart. The AGV cart is a transport vehicle equipped with an automatic navigation device such as electromagnetic or optical navigation device, capable of traveling along a predetermined navigation route, and having a safety protection function and various transfer functions. In industrial applications, a transport vehicle that does not require a driver is powered by a rechargeable storage battery. In general, the travel route and behavior of the vehicle are controlled by a computer, or the travel route can be established by an electromagnetic path-following system, in which the electromagnetic rail is attached to the floor surface, and the unmanned transport vehicle moves according to information from the electromagnetic rail, or uses navigation by a two-dimensional code on the floor surface or SLAM.

[0109] Here, SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) is also called CML (Concurrent Mapping and Localization), and refers to real-time localization and map construction, or map construction and localization in parallel. The problem can be described as, when a robot is placed in an unknown position in an unknown environment, is there a way for the robot to gradually draw a complete map of this environment while moving? A complete map (a consistent map) means going to every corner that can be entered in the room without being obstructed.

[0110] In practical applications, in order to improve loading and unloading efficiency, the first container loading and unloading mechanism can also be provided with a buffer mechanism 22, which has at least one buffer space, which is used to temporarily store one container, and which enables the conveying equipment to load and unload multiple containers at one time, in order to improve loading and unloading efficiency.

[0111] For example, during luggage sorting operations, the container loading / unloading assembly 211 can first temporarily store other containers in the target load equipment in the buffer mechanism 22 to create vacant storage space, then place the target containers selected by each luggage sorting command one by one into the vacant storage spaces in the target load equipment, and finally place the other containers in the buffer mechanism 22 into each storage space of the target container's original load equipment.

[0112] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to FIG. 3, when the loading implement of the present disclosure is a movable loading implement 11, the transport facility includes a loading implement transport facility 30 and a fixed container transport facility 31.

[0113] Here, the load transport equipment 30 is configured to transport a current load equipment and a target load equipment, each storing at least two containers, from an inventory area to the workstation area in response to a luggage sorting command, and the fixed container transport equipment 31 is provided in the workstation area and configured to take at least two containers from each current load equipment and place them into the target load equipment in response to a luggage sorting command, and / or the fixed container transport equipment 31 is further configured to take at least two containers from the target load equipment and place them into the workstation area in response to a picking order command. Specifically, the load transport equipment 30 may be an AGV transport vehicle, also commonly called an AGV dolly.

[0114] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the loading implement of the present disclosure is a movable loading implement 11, the transport facility includes a loading implement transport facility 30 and a fixed container transport facility 31.

[0115] Here, the load equipment transport equipment 30 is configured to transport a current load equipment storing at least two containers separately from the inventory area to the workstation area in response to a luggage sorting command, and the fixed container transport equipment 31 is provided in the workstation area and is configured to select one current load equipment as a target load equipment in response to a luggage sorting command and remove containers in the remaining current load equipment and place them in the target load equipment, and / or the fixed container transport equipment 31 is further configured to remove at least two containers from the target load equipment and place them in the workstation area in response to a picking order command.

[0116] In detail, the fixed container transport equipment 31 includes a door frame 310 and a second container loading / unloading assembly 311 that moves along the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis of a spatial coordinate system relative to the door frame 310. Here, the vertical distance direction between the picking station and the loading tool is defined as the Y-axis direction, the direction perpendicular to the Y-axis in a horizontal plane is defined as the X-axis direction, and the direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane is defined as the Z-axis direction. It may be understood that the plane on which the X-axis and Y-axis are located is the horizontal plane, and the Z-axis is located in the vertical plane.

[0117] The door frame 310 is fixedly attached to the floor surface of the workstation area by fasteners such as chemical bolts. In response to a load sorting command from the control server, the second container loading / unloading assembly 311 retrieves a container selected by the load sorting command from a storage space of the load tool selected by the load sorting command and moves it to a target load tool selected by the load sorting command.

[0118] It should be noted that in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the second container access assembly of the present disclosure accesses the container by any one of gripping, pinching, suction, lifting, and cradling.

[0119] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the target load equipment is a movable load equipment, the transport equipment may include a mobile container transport equipment and a load equipment transport equipment, where the mobile container transport equipment is configured to transport at least two containers from respective current load equipment to the target load equipment in the inventory area, and the load equipment transport equipment is configured to transport the target load equipment from the inventory area to the workstation area for picking.

[0120] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the specific structures of the mobile container transport equipment and the loading equipment transport equipment are the same as the relevant contents described in the above-mentioned embodiments, and can be fully realized by those skilled in the art based on the above contents, so the description will be omitted in this specification.

[0121] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, where the load equipment of the present disclosure is a movable load equipment 11, as shown in FIG. 5, in a preferred embodiment, the warehouse system 100 includes a plurality of movable load equipment 11, an inventory area 40, at least one load equipment transport equipment 30, at least one workstation area 60, and a control device (not shown).

[0122] Here, the movable load device 11 includes a plurality of placement spaces 115 (shown in FIG. 6 ) for placing the containers 50, and the containers 50 are used to store luggage. The placement spaces 115 are configured, for example, as rectangular storage spaces, and are arranged orderly along the longitudinal, transverse and height directions of the movable load device 11. In this application, the containers 50 may be set products specially designed for the movable load device 11, or may be ordinary packing boxes or luggage packaging. The inventory area 40 includes a plurality of stop spaces, and each stop space is used to stop one movable load device 11. For example, as shown in FIG. 5 , the plurality of stop spaces are distributed orderly by queue. The workstation area 60 includes at least one picking station, and the picking station is used to process the containers 50 (e.g., to take out an item from the container 50 or to put an item into the container 50). In other words, the workstation area is used to complete at least the production task of picking luggage according to an order. The load transport equipment 30 is used to transport the movable load equipment 11 between the inventory area 40 and the workstation area 60. The load transport equipment 30 is, for example, a transport robot, and can travel under the movable load equipment 11 and push the movable load equipment 11 up from the ground, thereby carrying and moving the movable load equipment 11. The movable load equipment 11 may be, for example, a rack. The control device is coupled to the workstation area 60 and the load transport equipment 30 so as to control the operation of the workstation area 60 and the load transport equipment 30. For example, the control device can control the movement of the load transport equipment 30 and can control the baggage picking process of the workstation area 60.

[0123] The inventory area 40 includes a first area 410 and a second area 420, where the first area 410 has a maximum distance from the workstation area 60 that is less than or equal to a first predetermined distance, and the second area 420 has a minimum distance from the workstation area 60 that is greater than the first predetermined distance, where the distances are relative to the same workstation area 60. Thus, the first area 410 is closer to the workstation area 60, and the second area 420 is farther from the workstation area 60.

[0124] The warehouse system 100 further includes a waiting area 620 that is located closer to the workstation area 60 than the inventory area 40 and where the movable load devices 11 line up and wait their turn to be picked. Preferably, a corresponding waiting area 620 is provided for each workstation area 60. The waiting area 620 can be considered as a part of the workstation area 60. The load device transport equipment 30 is used to transport the movable load devices 11 between the inventory area 40, the workstation area 60, and the waiting area 620.

[0125] As shown in FIG. 6, the workstation area 60 includes a plurality of buffer spaces 22 and a second container loading / unloading assembly 311, where the buffer spaces 22 are used for placing (temporarily depositing or temporarily storing) the containers 50 and the second container loading / unloading assembly 311 is used for at least transferring the containers 50 between the buffer spaces 22 and the movable loading device 11.

[0126] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 6, the workstation area 60 further includes a door frame 310 and a picking station 610. The buffer space 22 and the second container loading and unloading assembly 311 are both provided in the door frame 310. During logistics production, the load conveying equipment 30 conveys the movable load 11 to a preset operation position corresponding to the picking station 610, and the second container loading and unloading assembly 311 conveys the container 50 required for the production task from the movable load 11 to the picking station 610 for picking, and after the worker completes the picking, the second container loading and unloading assembly 311 also returns the container 50 to the movable load 11, and finally the load conveying equipment 30 returns the movable load 11 to the inventory area 40.

[0127] A guide mechanism 312 is provided on the door frame 310 so that the second container loading / unloading assembly 311 can reach each placement space 115 in the movable loading device 11. The guide mechanism 312 can move in the horizontal and vertical directions with respect to the door frame 310. Here, the horizontal direction is the L direction in the figure (corresponding to the longitudinal direction of the movable loading device 11), and the vertical direction is the H direction in the figure (corresponding to the height direction of the movable loading device 11). The second container loading / unloading assembly 311 is provided on the guide mechanism 312, so that the second container loading / unloading assembly 311 can move in the horizontal and vertical directions with respect to the door frame 310. The second container loading / unloading assembly 311 is coupled to a control device. When the load tool transport equipment 30 transports the movable load tool 11 to a preset operation position relative to the door frame 310 under the control of the control device, the second container loading / unloading assembly 311 moves horizontally and vertically to arrive at a space corresponding to the placement space 115, thereby being able to load / unload the container 50 in the placement space 115. For example, the second container loading / unloading assembly 311 has a driving member such as an air cylinder, and can operate by traveling in the W direction in the figure (the W direction is perpendicular to the L direction and the H direction, and corresponds to the width direction of the movable load tool 11), thereby being able to unload the container 50 in the placement space 115.

[0128] Specifically, the guide mechanism 312 includes a first lateral movement device 313, a first moving rod 314, and a first vertical movement device 315. Here, the first lateral movement device 313 is provided on the door frame 310. The first lateral movement device 313 is coupled to the control device. The first lateral movement device 313 is configured to be movable in a lateral direction relative to the door frame 310. The first moving rod 314 extends along the vertical direction. The first moving rod 314 is provided on the first lateral movement device 313, so that the first moving rod 314 and the first lateral movement device 313 move synchronously in a lateral direction relative to the door frame 310. The first vertical movement device 315 is provided on the first moving rod 314. The first vertical movement device 315 is coupled to the control device. The first vertical movement device 315 is configured to be movable in a vertical direction relative to the first moving rod 314. The second container access assembly 311 is mounted on a first vertical movement device 315, which allows the second container access assembly 311 to move vertically relative to the first moving rod 314. Thus, the second container access assembly 311 can move laterally and vertically in the door frame 310.

[0129] Under the action of the guide mechanism 312, the second container loading / unloading assembly 311 can transfer the container 50 between different placement spaces 115, and can also transfer the container 50 between any two of the placement spaces 115, the buffer space 22, and the picking station 610.

[0130] Thereby, the warehouse system 10 can adjust the placement space of the container 50 on the same movable loading device 11. For example, the second container loading / unloading assembly 311 is first moved to a position corresponding to the placement space A of the movable loading device 11 and takes out the container A in the placement space A, and then the second container loading / unloading assembly 311 is moved to a position corresponding to the placement space B of the movable loading device 11 and places the container A in the placement space B. When the placement space B is occupied by the container B, the second container loading / unloading assembly 311 places the container B in the buffer space 22 or another empty placement space 115 of the movable loading device 11 for the time being in order to vacate the placement space B. After placing container A in the placement space B, the warehouse system 100 may, depending on specific needs, place container B in the placement space A (completing the position exchange of the two containers of the same mobile load device 11), or may continue to temporarily store container B in the buffer space 22 (e.g., waiting to be exchanged with a container of the next mobile load device 11 to be transported to the workstation area 60), or may also exchange container B with another container of the mobile load device 11.

[0131] Alternatively, the warehouse system 100 can move the container 50 between multiple movable load devices 11. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the two movable load devices 11A and 11B are simultaneously located at a preset operation position corresponding to the picking station 610. In this case, the second container loading / unloading assembly 311 is first moved to a position corresponding to the placement space 115 of the movable load device 11A, and picks up the container A in the movable load device 11A, and then moved to a position corresponding to the placement space 115 of the movable load device 11B, and places the container A in the movable load device 11B. It is understood that a method of moving the container 50 between multiple movable load devices 11 when there is an empty buffer space 22 or an empty placement space 115 is well known to those skilled in the art, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted in this specification.

[0132] As shown in FIG. 6, the movable loading tool 11 can preferably include a plurality of loading surfaces 111, for example, two loading surfaces 111, so that the movable loading tool 11 can load more containers 50. The loading surface 111 is a surface of the movable loading tool 11 for passing the containers 50, in other words, the loading surface 111 is a surface of the movable loading tool 11 on which the openings of the placement spaces 115 are located. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the movable loading tool 11 includes two loading surfaces 111 provided opposite to each other in the W direction (corresponding to the width direction of the movable loading tool 11). Each loading surface 111 corresponds to (contains) a plurality of placement spaces 115, that is, the plurality of placement spaces 115 are simultaneously open to the same loading surface 111. After the plurality of loading surfaces 111 are provided, the placement spaces 115 of each layer of the movable loading tool 11 can be arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, thereby increasing the number of placement spaces 115. The load tool transport facility 30 travels below the movable load tool 11, pushes the movable load tool 11 up from the ground, and then can rotate about an axis along the vertical direction (H direction), thereby rotating the movable load tool 11 about an axis along the vertical direction. In this way, different loading surfaces 111 of the movable load tool 11 can be directed to the picking station 610, and all the containers 50 in the movable load tool 11 can be operated.

[0133] The warehouse system 100 first determines future orders (also referred to as orders not in the put wall) and then performs a sorting workflow on the future orders, where the future orders include orders and / or forecast orders for generating production tasks for the next production window.

[0134] Preferably, the order pool of the warehouse system 100 simultaneously includes orders and forecast orders for generating production tasks.

[0135] Here, the order for generating a production task refers to an order that has a clear production command and can be accurately produced based on it, such as an order from a customer, an order formed according to the specific demand of a logistics operation, etc. Such an order has a fixed SKU content, and is necessarily ultimately executed by a picking operation in the workstation area 60. Preferably, the warehouse system 100 is configured to divide all received orders for generating a production task into multiple batches and distribute them to the workstation area 60, where the orders distributed to the workstation area 60 but not yet executed are orders that have entered the put wall, i.e., orders for generating a current production task.

[0136] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a production task refers to picking items listed by all current order SKUs from an inventory load and assembling all items listed by each current order SKU into the same or multiple containers. Productive time refers to time performing production tasks in a workstation area. Time not performing production tasks in a workstation area is non-productive time.

[0137] As the name suggests, a predicted order is an order formed by the warehouse system 100 based on a prediction for future work. For example, the warehouse system 100 is configured to predict orders based on historical orders and / or the popularity of packages. The warehouse system 100 predicts orders for the purpose of predicting and planning future production tasks to some extent, thereby making preparations in advance, in order to improve the work efficiency of future production. It is understandable that a predicted order cannot be used to generate production tasks, and the contents of its SKU may be changed. For example, a predicted order is only valid within a preset time frame, and the warehouse system 100 keeps updating the prediction according to the specific situation. Usually, a new predicted order will be more consistent with future tasks.

[0138] In this application, future orders include orders and forecasted orders for generating production tasks that have not yet been delivered to the workstation area 60 .

[0139] As shown in FIG. 7, in a preferred embodiment, the warehouse system 100 is configured to complete the following steps S10, S20, S30, S40, and S50 of sorting the luggage: In S10, future orders are obtained, In S20, at least one container 50 is hit based on a future order, where the hit container 50 is described as a hit container, and the movable loading device 11 in which the hit container is stored is described as a hit loading device; In S30, at least one first mobile load and at least one other second mobile load parked in the inventory area are transported to the same workstation area 60, where at least the second mobile load is a hit load; In S40, at the workstation area, at least one hit container in at least one second mobile load is placed on at least one first mobile load, where the first mobile load on which the hit container from the second mobile load is placed is designated as a sorted load; In S50, at least one organized load is returned to the first area 410 of the inventory area 40.

[0140] According to the baggage sorting flow from step S10 to step S50, the warehouse system 100 collects and sorts the containers (i.e., the baggage therein) required for future orders on the same or multiple movable load devices 11. When performing a production task in the future, in most cases, it is only necessary to process the movable load devices 11 after sorting, which increases the utilization rate of the movable load devices 11 in the workstation area 60 and releases the transport capacity of the load transport equipment 30 to a certain extent, thereby improving the work efficiency of future production. The baggage sorting work is automatically completed by the warehouse equipment, which releases labor and ensures the accuracy of the work. By placing the movable load devices 11 after sorting near the workstation area 60, when performing a future production task, the movable load devices 11 involved in picking can quickly arrive at the workstation area 60, improving the work efficiency.

[0141] Preferably, the warehouse system 100 is configured to perform the above-mentioned luggage sorting operation during the non-production time of the workstation area 60. That is, during the non-production time of the workstation area 60, the warehouse system 100 transports at least one first movable load device parked in the inventory area 40 and at least one other second movable load device to the same workstation area 60 that does not perform a production task, and places at least one hit container in the at least one second movable load device on at least one first movable load device in the workstation area 60. The luggage sorting operation is selected to be performed during the non-production time so as not to occupy production resources such as the load transport equipment 30 and the workstation area 60, thereby prioritizing the development of production work.

[0142] If the number of hit containers is large, for example exceeding the number of placement spaces 115 of the movable load devices 11, preferably, in step S40, the warehouse system 100 is configured to place the hit containers in at least one second movable load device on at least one first movable load device in the workstation area 60 so that all containers 50 in the at least one first movable load device become hit containers.

[0143] In this application, the first movable loading device may be an empty movable loading device or a hit loading device. Depending on the specific demand, the warehouse system 100 may use a completely empty movable loading device 11 to organize the cargo, or may exchange the containers 50 between two movable loading devices 11, both of which contain containers 50 required for future orders.

[0144] In the present application, the hit container preferably includes a container 50 in which a hit load is stored and / or a container 50 in which a load related to the hit load is stored. Here, the hit load is a load included in the SKU of a future order. Preferably, the warehouse system 100 is configured to determine a load related to the hit load based on a history order. For example, the SKU of a future order includes load A (e.g., a basketball), and load B (e.g., an air pump) is a load related to load A (e.g., according to past sales, when a merchant sells a basketball, an air pump is usually included). Therefore, the container 50 in which load A is stored and / or the container 50 in which load B is stored are all hit containers. In this way, the warehouse system 100 makes preparations in advance with a more comprehensive consideration of future production tasks, which is advantageous to improving future production efficiency.

[0145] In step S50, when the load equipment transport equipment 30 returns at least one organized load equipment to the first area 410 of the inventory area 40, if there is available parking space in the first area 410, the load equipment transport equipment 30 returns the organized load equipment to the first area 410, and if there is no available parking space in the first area 410, the load equipment transport equipment 30 transports the non-organized load equipment parked in the first area 410 to the second area 420, and then transports the organized load equipment to the first area 410.

[0146] When the first and second movable loads are both hit loads, they may require an empty buffer space 22 or an empty storage space 115 in the process of arranging the luggage. As can be seen from the above description of the process of the second container loading and unloading assembly 311 loading and unloading the container, if the movable load 11 has an empty storage space 115, it can directly realize the transfer of the container 50 from one movable load 11 to another movable load 11. If the movable load 11 does not have an empty storage space 115, the buffer space 22 must be used, which increases the work steps and extends the work time. Therefore, preferably, the warehouse system 100 is configured such that at least one empty storage space 115 is always reserved in each movable load 11 (at least each movable load 11 involved in the luggage arrangement). More preferably, in order to reduce the step of rotating the movable load equipment 11, the warehouse system 100 is configured so that at least one vacant storage space 115 is always reserved on each loading surface 111 of each movable load equipment 11 (at least each movable load equipment 11 involved in luggage sorting).

[0147] In this application, the loading surface 111 of the mobile loading implement 11 that receives or places the hit container from the second mobile loading implement is referred to as the sorted loading surface.

[0148] The above steps S30 to S50 are preferably implemented according to the flow shown in FIG.

[0149] In S120, one first movable load tool and one second movable load tool parked in the inventory area 40 are transported to the same workstation area 60, where the second movable load tool is a hit load tool and neither the first movable load tool nor the second movable load tool is a cargo-arranged load tool, and then step S130 is executed.

[0150] In this step, the control device can understand that it must control the load transport facility 30 to transport two unstacked mobile loads 11 to the same workstation area 60, and that one of them must be a hit load so that the expected sorting operation can be completed. In this step, it can understand that the first mobile load delivered to the workstation area 60 is necessarily a mobile load 20 that can receive a new hit container.

[0151] In S130, the hit container in the second movable loading device is placed on the first movable loading device, and then step S140 is executed.

[0152] In S140, it is determined whether or not any hit containers still remain on the second movable loading device, and if so, step S150 is executed, and if not, step S170 is executed.

[0153] In S150, it is determined whether the first movable load device is available to receive a new hit container, and if so, executes step S130, otherwise executes step S160.

[0154] In S160, the first movable loading device is returned to the inventory area 40, and then step S200 is executed.

[0155] In S170, the second movable loading device is returned to the inventory area 40, and then step S180 is executed.

[0156] In S180, it is determined whether or not there is still any hit loading equipment among the non-arranged loading equipment in the inventory area 40, and if so, step S190 is executed, and if not, step S220 is executed.

[0157] In S190, one hit load is transported from the unorganized loads in the inventory area 40 to the same workstation area 60, making it the second movable load, and then step S130 is executed.

[0158] In S200, it is determined whether or not there is any hit loading equipment among the non-arranged loading equipment in the inventory area 40, and if so, step S210 is executed, and if not, step S220 is executed.

[0159] In S210, one hit load or one free movable load 11 is transported from the unarranged loads in the inventory area 40 to the same workstation area 60, which becomes the first movable load, and then step S130 is executed.

[0160] In steps S140 to S210, if all the containers on the first movable load tool are hit, it is returned to the inventory area 40, and then a new movable load tool 11 waiting for sorting is transported from the inventory area 40 to the workstation area 60 to become a new first movable load tool, and the hit containers on the existing second movable load tool that have not yet been transferred continue to be transferred to this new first movable load tool. If there are no hit containers on the second movable load tool, it is returned to the inventory area 40, and then a new hit load tool is transported from the inventory area 40 to the workstation area 60 to become a new second movable load tool, and the hit containers on this new second movable load tool continue to be transferred to the existing first movable load tool.

[0161] In S220, the movable loading device 11 in the same workstation area 60 is returned to the inventory area 40.

[0162] In step S220, all the hit loads have gone through the baggage sorting flow, and the two movable loads 11 located in the workstation area 60 have already completed the gathering process in which the hit containers are gathered into the same movable load 11. In this case, the baggage sorting work is completed, and the two movable loads 11 located in the workstation area 60 may be returned to the inventory area 40. In step S220, preferably, of the two movable loads 11 located in the workstation area 60, the movable load 11 on which the hit container is placed is returned to the first area 410.

[0163] As described above, the warehouse system 100 preferably reserves at least one empty placement space 115 on each loading surface of the movable loading device 11. In such a case, the specific operation of step S130 includes placing the hit container on the second movable loading device on the first movable loading device when there is an empty placement space on each loading surface of the first movable loading device and there are multiple empty placement spaces on at least one loading surface of the first movable loading device, or replacing the non-hit container on the first movable loading device with the hit container on the second movable loading device when there is only one empty placement space on each loading surface of the first movable loading device. The specific operation of step S150 includes determining whether or not there is still a non-hit container remaining on the first movable loading device, or whether or not there are still multiple (greater than one) empty placement spaces on at least one loading surface 111 of the first movable loading device (if so, execute step S130, otherwise execute step S160).

[0164] Of course, the warehouse system 100 may occupy all the storage spaces of the movable load equipment 11 to maximize the utilization rate of the movable load equipment 11. In such a case, the specific operation of step S130 includes placing the hit container in the second movable load equipment on the first movable load equipment when there is an empty storage space on the first movable load equipment, or exchanging the non-hit container in the first movable load equipment with the hit container in the second movable load equipment when there is no empty storage space on the first movable load equipment. The specific operation of step S150 includes determining whether or not there is still an unhit container remaining on the first movable load equipment, or whether or not there is still an empty storage space on the first movable load equipment (if so, execute step S130, otherwise execute step S160).

[0165] In the luggage sorting process from steps S120 to S220, the warehouse system 100 is configured to improve the efficiency of luggage sorting through multiple methods.

[0166] Preferably, in at least one of steps S120, S190, and S210, the warehouse system 100 is configured to calculate a container index for each hit container in the non-ordered load among the hit loads in the inventory area 40, and determine the non-ordered load to be transported to the same workstation area 60 based on the container index. Here, the container index is the quantity of future orders that hit the container 50 among all future orders (e.g., if there are a total of 100 future orders, 12 of which hit container A and 23 of which hit container B, the order index of container A is 12 and the order index of container B is 23). For example, the warehouse system 100 is configured to calculate a load index for each non-ordered load among the hit loads parked in the inventory area 40, and determine the non-ordered load with the highest load index as the first movable load or the second movable load. Here, the loading tool index is the sum of the container indexes of all the hit containers in the hit loading tool. Alternatively, the warehouse system 100 is configured to set the non-organized loading tool on which the hit container with the highest container index is placed, among the non-organized loading tools among the hit loading tools parked in the inventory area, as the first movable loading tool or the second movable loading tool. In this way, the warehouse system 100 can collect containers that will contribute greatly to future orders with priority, and obtain a good baggage sorting effect in a short time. When the time for baggage sorting is limited, this method can maximize the effect of baggage sorting.

[0167] Preferably, in step S120, the control device first determines the same workstation area 60. When there are at least three unorganized loads among the hit loads parked in the inventory area 40, two unorganized loads among them that have the shortest movement path to the same workstation area 60 are moved to the same workstation area 60. Alternatively, in step S120, the control device first determines two movable loads to be removed from the inventory area 40. When a plurality of workstation areas 60 are vacant, the control device calculates the total length of the movement path of the two movable loads 11 removed from the inventory area 40 to each of the plurality of vacant workstation areas 60, and determines the workstation area 60 with the shortest total movement path length as the same workstation area 60. According to the present application, in this way, the movement path of the movable load 11 is the shortest, and the efficiency of luggage organization can be improved.

[0168] When the warehouse system 100 includes multiple workstation areas 60, future orders are distributed to different workstation areas 60, thereby bundling (or associating) each hit container with a different workstation area 60 (a hit container must be picked at the workstation area 60 that received the order with which it is bundled), thereby associating (or bundling) a hit load with one or more workstation areas 60 via the hit containers it carries.

[0169] In such a case, in step S130, if the future order is an order to be processed in the next production time slot and the first movable load is a hit load, the warehouse system 100 is preferably configured to determine the workstation area 60 associated with the first movable load in the next production time slot, and preferentially exchange the hit container associated with the workstation area 60 associated with the first movable load in the second movable load with the first movable load. In this way, the hit container in the first movable load is a hit container bundled with the same workstation area 60. When picking in the workstation area 60, the utilization rate of the first movable load is greatly increased, the first movable load is picked in as few workstation areas 60 as possible, and the movement between the workstation areas is reduced, thereby improving the production efficiency to a certain extent. More preferably, the warehouse system 100 is configured to determine a future order associated with the first mobile load in the next production time slot, and to preferentially exchange the hit containers in the second mobile load associated with the future order associated with the first mobile load with the first mobile load. In this way, the hit containers in the first mobile load are hit containers bundled with the same future order. When picking in the workstation area 60, the matching rate between the first mobile load and the future order is improved, so that the future order can be handled as soon as possible, and the production efficiency is further improved.

[0170] In the present application, it can be understood that when the buffer space 22 is not required, the two movable load tools 11 for arranging the luggage need to be located in the same workstation area 60 at the same time. When the buffer space 22 is used, the two movable load tools 11 for arranging the luggage do not need to be located in the same workstation area 60 at the same time. For example, one of them, for example, the movable load tool A, can be transported to the workstation area 60, and the container 50 of the other, for example, the movable load tool B, which needs to be replaced with the first movable load tool and the second movable load tool in the movable load tool A, can be placed in the buffer space 22. Then, the movable load tool A is returned to the inventory area 40. Also, the movable load tool B is transported to the same workstation area 60, and the container 50 that needs to be replaced with the movable load tool B, which is placed in the buffer space 22, is placed from the buffer space 22 to the movable load tool B. When the quantity of the buffer space 22 is sufficient for the quantity of the containers 50 of the movable load tools that need to be replaced, this method can increase the flexibility of allocation to a certain extent.

[0171] According to the present application, the warehouse system automatically collects and organizes containers (i.e., the cargo therein) required for future orders onto the same or multiple movable loading devices, and places the organized movable loading devices near the workstation areas, thereby freeing up labor and increasing future work efficiency.

[0172] As described above, in the warehouse system of the present disclosure, the arrangement work for the fixed load equipment is completed in the inventory area, whereas the arrangement work for the movable load equipment is completed in the workstation area, i.e., in response to an arrangement command, the transport equipment first transports selected load equipment to the workstation area, and then moves the containers in these load equipment to the same target load equipment, which may be the load equipment where one of the at least two containers selected by the arrangement command is located.

[0173] However, in actual use, the control server of the warehouse system may simultaneously control the load tool transport equipment to transport multiple movable load tools in sequence, and at least one pair of these movable load tools is selected by a luggage sorting command, and the other movable load tools are directly involved in other tasks such as picking without performing luggage sorting. In this way, when one of the pair of movable load tools selected by the luggage sorting command arrives at the workstation area first and the other has not yet arrived, the transport equipment needs to wait, and during the wait, the space of the workstation area is occupied, so the other movable load tools cannot enter the workstation area to perform the corresponding task, and the warehouse system is stopped.

[0174] Therefore, when the load of the warehouse system is a movable load, still referring to FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the warehouse system of the present disclosure further includes a waiting area, and the control server is further configured to control the load transporting equipment 30 to transport at least three loads, the at least three loads including at least one pair of loads selected by the luggage sorting command, and set one of the pair of loads as the target load. When one of the at least one pair of loads arrives at the workstation first, the control server is further configured to control the load transporting equipment 30 to transport one of the pair of loads to the waiting area to wait for the other to arrive. After the remaining load of the at least one pair of loads arrives at the workstation, the control server controls the load transporting equipment to transport the load of the at least one pair of loads waiting in the waiting area to the workstation area. If at least one pair of load tools selected by the luggage sorting command arrive at the workstation sequentially or simultaneously, but the workstation is in a working state at that time, the at least one pair of load tools are transported to a waiting area first to wait, and when the workstation completes processing and becomes idle, the at least one pair of load tools are transported to the workstation. It should be noted that the at least one pair of load tools selected by the luggage sorting command may or may not include the target load tool. If the target load tool is not included, the control server controls the load tool transport facility to transport the target load tool to the workstation. If the target load tool and the load tools selected by the luggage sorting command do not arrive at the workstation simultaneously or consecutively, the load tool that arrived at the workstation first is transported to a waiting area to wait, or if they arrive simultaneously or consecutively but the workstation is in a working state, the target load tool and the load tool selected by the luggage sorting command are transported to a waiting area to wait, and when the workstation becomes idle, the target load tool and the load tool selected by the luggage sorting command are transported to the workstation to sort the luggage.

[0175] The control method of the warehouse system includes: A step of simultaneously controlling the load transport equipment 30 by a control server to transport at least three load equipment, the at least three load equipment including at least one pair of load equipment selected by the luggage arrangement command, and setting one of the pair of load equipment as the target load equipment; The method includes a step of controlling, by a control server, the load transport equipment 30 to transport one of the pair of load tools to a waiting area to wait for the arrival of the other, and then to transport the pair of load tools to the workstation area.

[0176] In this way, the loading tools that have arrived at the destination selected by the luggage sorting command wait in the waiting area, and in this case, other loading tools that have not been selected by the luggage sorting command can be transported to the workstation area to perform the corresponding work. After the other loading tools selected by the luggage sorting command also arrive at the waiting area, the loading tool transport equipment 30 sequentially transports the pair of loading tools selected by the luggage sorting command from the waiting area to the workstation area to perform luggage sorting work, thereby allowing multiple loading tools to wait their turn and perform their corresponding work sequentially, thereby avoiding the problem of the warehouse system's allocation becoming confused and uncontrollable, and ensuring the smooth and orderly operation of the warehouse system.

[0177] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the warehouse system of the present disclosure further includes a waiting area, and the control server is further configured to simultaneously control the load transport equipment 30 to transport at least three loads, including at least one pair of loads selected by a luggage sorting command, and set one of the pair of loads as a target load. The control server is further configured to control the load transport equipment to transport the pair of loads to the workstation area and transport the other loads to the waiting area to wait their turn.

[0178] In this way, a pair of loading tools selected by the luggage sorting command is first transported to the workstation area to perform the luggage sorting task, and the other loading tools are transported to the waiting area to wait, thereby allowing multiple loading tools to wait in line and perform their corresponding tasks sequentially, thereby avoiding the problem of the warehouse system's allocation becoming confused and uncontrollable, and ensuring the smooth and orderly operation of the warehouse system.

[0179] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, still referring to FIG. 3, the fixed container transport equipment of the present disclosure has a buffer mechanism, the buffer mechanism has at least one buffer space, and the buffer space is used to temporarily store one container.

[0180] the control server is further configured to control a load transport facility to transport a pair of loads selected by the load management command to the workstation area and to set one of the pair of loads as the target load; The fixed container transport facility is further configured to remove containers from the load device and place them in the buffer space, and to remove containers from the buffer space and place them in the target load device after the target load device arrives.

[0181] In this way, when another loading device is inserted between a pair of loading devices selected by a luggage sorting command, the container that needs to be moved on the selected loading device that arrived earlier can be temporarily stored in a buffer space, and after the selected target loading device arrives, the container temporarily stored in the buffer space can be moved to the target loading device, and while waiting, the fixed container transport equipment 31 can perform corresponding operations on the other loading devices, thereby ensuring the smooth and orderly operation of the warehouse system.

[0182] After the target load equipment of the warehouse system arrives at the workstation area, all containers having order relevance in the target load equipment are transported to a work table for workers or equipment to perform picking operations, and at the same time, the load equipment transporting equipment transports the target load equipment to a waiting area or returns it to the inventory area to avoid the space in the workstation area being occupied by the vacant target load equipment and affecting the picking operation.

[0183] Therefore, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the fixed container transport equipment of the present disclosure has a buffer mechanism, which has at least one buffer space, and the buffer space is used to temporarily store containers.

[0184] The fixed container transport equipment is configured to temporarily deposit the container for which picking work has been completed in the buffer space, and after the target loading device for the container arrives in the workstation area, to remove the container from the buffer space and place it in the target loading device.

[0185] In this way, during picking operations, the warehouse system transports the target load devices out, and the containers for which each picking operation has been completed are temporarily stored in the buffer space, and after the picking operations for all containers have been completed, the target load devices for these containers are transported to the workstation area and each container is returned to the corresponding target load device, making full use of the space in the workstation area and maintaining the cleanliness and spaciousness of the workstation area.

[0186] The transport equipment performs a load sorting operation according to the load sorting command of the control server, that is, moves the container selected by the load sorting command to the same target loading device, and the load sorting command includes storage space information in the loading device where the selected container is placed, and the storage space information includes a storage space ID, for example, the storage space ID includes the loading device number, the column number and row number of the container in the loading device, etc. The control server transmits the storage space information to the transport equipment, and the transport equipment finds the corresponding storage space based on the storage space information and takes in and out the container.

[0187] In actual application scenarios, due to reasons such as luggage sorting errors, there is a possibility that no container is stored in the storage space, or the identification information of the stored container does not match that of the container selected by the luggage sorting command, which will cause the luggage sorting operation to fail.

[0188] For this reason, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the conveying equipment of the present disclosure further includes an identification device, the identification device being: Information on whether a container is stored in the storage space of the loading tool selected by the luggage arrangement command; and information as to whether the identification information of a container in the storage space of the loading tool selected by the luggage sorting command matches the identification information of the container selected by the luggage sorting command.

[0189] Here, the identification information of a container is its unique code, and in the warehouse system, a code information is set for each container so that the transport equipment can accurately find the target container; the specific coding method depends on the management mode of the warehouse system and can be set by those skilled in the art according to the actual application scenario, but is not limited in this specification.

[0190] In particular, the identification device includes a 2D / 3D image acquisition facility.

[0191] The control method of the warehouse system in this embodiment is as follows: an identification device identifying whether a container is stored in the storage space of the loading tool selected by the load management command; If a container is stored in the storage space, it is then determined whether the identification information of the container matches the identification information of the container selected by the luggage sorting command, and if not, the process proceeds to an abnormality processing step or the server issues an alarm; If the identification information matches, the transport facility moves the container to a target loading device; Otherwise, proceeding to an abnormality processing step or the server issuing an alarm, that is, the control server is further configured to generate an abnormality processing command or issue an alarm signal if the identification result of the identification device is abnormal.

[0192] Here, the abnormality processing step includes a step of proceeding to generation of the next luggage sorting work command.

[0193] In this way, the conveying equipment can identify the information in advance before carrying out the luggage sorting operation, and avoid wasting resources by carrying out unnecessary operations, thereby further improving the efficiency of luggage sorting.

[0194] The warehouse system moves to the picking work step after the luggage sorting work is completed, and therefore the conveying equipment of the present disclosure is further configured to remove at least two containers from the target loading device for which the luggage sorting work has been completed and place them in the picking work area for the picking work in response to a picking order command generated by the control server.

[0195] It is understood that the picking operation of the warehouse system can be completed manually or by picking equipment, and this specification does not limit the specific implementation manner here.

[0196] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the workstation area of ​​the present disclosure docks with a transfer facility, the transfer facility including a transport line or loading device, the transport line being used to transport the container out of the workstation area for subsequent operations.

[0197] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the transfer facility includes a loading device, which is used to temporarily store the container.

[0198] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a picking station is provided in the workstation area of ​​the present disclosure, and the transport equipment places containers in the picking station for picking operations.

[0199] After the picking operation is completed, the control server is further configured to update the inventory information based on the results of the picking operation.

[0200] There are two ways in which the control server updates inventory information based on the results of specific picking operations:

[0201] First, if a container becomes empty after a picking operation, the control server updates the inventory information, and the inventory update method deletes the empty container or marks the container as empty.

[0202] That is, the control server is further configured to update the inventory information when a container is emptied after a picking operation.

[0203] The removed containers are returned to the empty container storage area for future use.

[0204] Regarding the second, if there are still items remaining in the container after the picking operation, the conveying equipment returns the container to the loading device, and the control server updates the inventory information and subtracts the information of the items that were picked and removed while the container was reserved. For example, if the container originally contained 100 bottles of cola, and 50 bottles remain in the container after the picking operation is completed, the control server updates the container information to include the quantity of cola in the container to 50 bottles.

[0205] In other words, the control server is configured to update the quantity of items in the container in the current inventory information to the remaining quantity if items still remain in the container after the picking operation, thereby updating the inventory information.

[0206] Referring to FIG. 4, the control method of the above warehouse system is as follows: A step S410 in which the control server generates a luggage sorting command and transmits it to the transportation facility; The method includes the main steps of: (S411) the transport facility moves at least two containers having an order relationship and stored in different loads to the same target load in response to the sorting command.

[0207] Still referring to FIG. 4, the control method of the warehouse system of the present disclosure further includes: Step S412 in which the control server generates a picking order command and sends it to the transport facility, the picking order command including at least two containers in the target loading device whose luggage arrangement has been completed; The transport facility includes a step S413 of removing at least two containers from the target load device and placing them in the workstation area in response to the picking order command.

[0208] The control method of the warehouse system disclosed herein first performs luggage sorting work, i.e., stores at least two containers that have order correlation and are stored in different loading devices in the same target loading device, and then, when distributing picking orders, preferentially selects orders that hit the at least two containers simultaneously to generate a picking order command, and then transports the at least two containers from the loading device to a workstation area according to the picking order command, and finally updates inventory information.

[0209] Apparently, the control method of the warehouse system disclosed herein can load and unload containers from the same loading device to the workstation area to perform corresponding operations, which eliminates the steps in the prior art of the transport equipment reciprocating between different loading devices, or transporting different loading devices to the workstation area and then loading and unloading containers respectively to perform operations, thereby greatly improving the work efficiency of the warehouse system.

[0210] Further, in order to instantly update the inventory information of the warehouse system, after completing the picking order command, the control method of the warehouse system of the present disclosure includes: A step S414 is included in which the control server updates inventory information.

[0211] In detail, the method in which the control server updates the inventory information based on the specific picking operation results includes the following two types.

[0212] Regarding the first point, when a container becomes empty after a picking operation, the control server deletes the empty container and updates the inventory information.

[0213] That is, the control server is further configured to, if a container is emptied after a picking operation, update the inventory information by removing the container from the current inventory information or to indicate that the container is empty.

[0214] The removed containers are returned to the empty container storage area for future use.

[0215] Regarding the second, if there are still items remaining in the container after the picking operation, the conveying equipment returns the container to the loading device, and the control server updates the inventory information and subtracts the information of the items that were picked and removed while the container was reserved. For example, if the container originally contained 100 bottles of cola, and 50 bottles remain in the container after the picking operation is completed, the control server updates the container information to include the quantity of cola in the container to 50 bottles.

[0216] In other words, the control server is configured to update the quantity of items in the container in the current inventory information to the remaining quantity if items still remain in the container after the picking operation, thereby updating the inventory information.

[0217] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the loading equipment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure is a movable loading equipment, the loading equipment transport equipment is further configured to transport the current loading equipment from the workstation area to the inventory area after the luggage sorting work is completed, to avoid loading equipment that is temporarily not involved in the work occupying space in the workstation area, wasting resources, and interfering with the operation of workers and other equipment in the workstation area.

[0218] Similarly, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the load equipment of the warehouse system of the present disclosure is a movable load equipment, the load equipment transport equipment is further configured to transport the target load equipment from the workstation area to the inventory area after the picking operation is completed, to avoid load equipment that is temporarily not involved in the operation occupying space in the workstation area, wasting resources, and interfering with the operation of workers and other equipment in the workstation area.

[0219] . It can be understood that the load conveying equipment may be configured to only perform the current load recovery operation after the baggage sorting operation, or to only perform the target load recovery operation after the picking operation. Of course, the load conveying equipment may also perform both the current load recovery operation after the baggage sorting operation and the target load recovery operation after the picking operation, and those skilled in the art may select based on the actual application scenario.

[0220] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, when the load is a movable load, the step of the transport equipment moving at least two containers having an order relationship and stored in different loads to the same target load in response to the luggage sorting command includes: a load transport facility transporting a current load, the current load separately storing at least two containers, and a target load from the inventory area to the workstation area in response to the sorting command; a fixed container transport facility is provided in the workstation area and in response to the sorting command, removes at least two containers from their respective current loads and places them in the target load; and / or The fixed container transport equipment removes at least two containers from the target load device for picking in response to the pick order command.

[0221] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, when the load is a movable load, the step of the transport equipment moving at least two containers having an order relationship and stored in different loads to the same target load in response to the luggage sorting command includes: a load transport facility transporting a current load, the current load having at least two separate containers stored therein, from the inventory area to the workstation area in response to the sorting command; a fixed container transport facility is provided in the workstation area, and in response to a sorting command, selects one current load as a target load and removes containers from the remaining current loads and places them in the target load; and / or The fixed container transport equipment removes at least two containers from the target load device for picking in response to the pick order command.

[0222] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, the inventory area includes a first area and a second area, the first area having a maximum distance from the workstation area that is equal to or smaller than a first predetermined distance, and the second area having a minimum distance from the workstation area that is greater than the first predetermined distance; The warehouse system includes: obtaining future orders; hitting at least one of the containers based on the future order, marking the hit container as a hit container and marking a movable loading tool in which the hit container is stored as a hit loading tool; transporting at least one first mobile load and at least one other second mobile load parked in the inventory area to the same workstation area, where at least the second mobile load is a hit load; placing at least one hit container from at least one second mobile load onto at least one first mobile load in the workstation area, marking the first mobile load onto which the hit container from the second mobile load is placed as a sorted load; and returning the at least one organized load to the first area.

[0223] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, the steps of transporting at least one of the first movable loads and at least one other of the second movable loads parked in the inventory area to the same workstation area, placing at least one hit container in the at least one second movable load on at least one of the first movable loads in the workstation area, and returning at least one organized load to the first area include: Step S120: transport one of the first movable load tools and one of the second movable load tools parked in the inventory area to the same workstation area, where the second movable load tool is a hit load tool, and neither the first movable load tool nor the second movable load tool is a packed load tool, and then execute step S130; Step S130: placing the hit container in the second movable loading device onto the first movable loading device, and then performing step S140; Step S140: determining whether or not the second movable loading device still has a hit container remaining, and if so, executing step S150; otherwise, executing step S170; Step S150: determining whether the first movable loading device can receive the new hit container, and if so, executing step S130; otherwise, executing step S160; Step S160: Returning the first movable loading device to the inventory area, and then executing step S200; S170: Returning the second movable loading device to the inventory area, and then executing step S180; Step S180: Determine whether there is still any hit load among the unarranged loads in the inventory area, and if so, execute step S190; otherwise, execute step S220; Step S190: transporting one hit load from the unordered loads in the inventory area to the same workstation area as the second movable load, and then performing step S130; Step S200: determining whether there is still any hit load among the unarranged loads in the inventory area, and if so, executing step S210; otherwise, executing step S220; Step S210: transporting one hit load or one free mobile load from the unordered loads in the inventory area to the same workstation area as the first mobile load, and then executing steps; Step S220: Returning the mobile payload in the same workstation area to the inventory area.

[0224] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, in at least one of steps S120, S190, and S210, the warehouse system: The system is configured to calculate a container index for each hit container in a non-arranged load among the hit loads in the inventory area, and determine the non-arranged loads to be transported to the same workstation area based on the container index, where the container index is the quantity of the future orders that hit the container among all the future orders.

[0225] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, in at least one of steps S120, S190, and S210, the warehouse system: calculating a load index for each of the hit loads parked in the inventory area that are not packed, and selecting the non-packaged load with the highest load index as the first movable load or the second movable load, wherein the load index is the sum of the container indexes of all hit containers in the hit load; or Among the hit loading tools and non-arranged loading tools parked in the inventory area, the non-arranged loading tool in which the hit container with the highest container index is placed is configured to be the first movable loading tool or the second movable loading tool.

[0226] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, in step S120, a controller previously determining the same workstation area, wherein the controller is coupled to the workstation area and the load transport equipment to control operation of the workstation area and the load transport equipment; When there are at least three unarranged loads among the hit loads parked in the inventory area, two of the unarranged loads having the shortest movement path to the same workstation area are moved to the same workstation area.

[0227] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, in step S120, a controller determines which two of the movable loads will be removed first from the inventory area, wherein the controller is coupled to the workstation area and the load transport equipment to control operation of the workstation area and the load transport equipment; When multiple workstation areas are vacant, the control device calculates the sum of the lengths of the travel paths along which the two movable loading devices transported from the inventory area travel to each of the multiple vacant workstation areas, and designates the workstation area with the smallest sum of the travel path lengths as the same workstation area.

[0228] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, the future order is an order to be processed in a next production time slot, and the first movable loading tool is a hit loading tool; In step S130, the warehouse system is configured to determine the workstation area associated with the first movable load implement during the next production time slot and to preferentially exchange hit containers in the second movable load implement associated with the workstation area associated with the first movable load implement with the first movable load implement.

[0229] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, the future order is an order to be processed in the next production time slot, and the first movable loading tool is a hit loading tool; In step S130, the warehouse system is configured to determine the future orders associated with the first movable load equipment during the next production time slot and to preferentially exchange hit containers in the second movable load equipment associated with the future orders associated with the first movable load equipment with the first movable load equipment.

[0230] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, the movable loading device includes a plurality of loading surfaces, and the warehouse system is configured such that at least one free storage space is always reserved on each of the loading surfaces of the movable loading device; In the step, the step of placing the hit container in the second movable loading device on the first movable loading device includes: When there is an empty placement space on each of the loading surfaces of the first movable loading device and there are a plurality of empty placement spaces on at least one of the loading surfaces of the first movable loading device, placing the hit container in the second movable loading device on the first movable loading device; or and exchanging a non-hit container in the first movable loading tool with a hit container in the second movable loading tool when there is only one free space on each loading surface of the first movable loading tool; In step S150, the step of determining whether the first movable loading device is capable of receiving a new hit container comprises: The method includes a step of determining whether there are still any unhit containers remaining on the first movable loading device or whether there are still a plurality of vacant storage spaces on at least one of the loading surfaces of the first movable loading device.

[0231] In one embodiment of the control method of the present disclosure, in step S130, the step of placing the hit container in the second movable loading tool on the first movable loading tool includes: placing the hit container in the second movable loading device on the first movable loading device when there is an empty storage space in the first movable loading device; or When the first movable loading device has no free storage space, the method includes a step of exchanging a non-hit container in the first movable loading device with a hit container in the second movable loading device, In step S150, the step of determining whether the first movable loading device is capable of receiving a new hit container comprises: The method includes a step of determining whether or not there are any unhit containers remaining on the first movable loading device, or whether or not there is still free storage space on the first movable loading device.

[0232] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the above description is merely illustrative and not exhaustive, and is not limited to the embodiments disclosed. Various modifications and changes will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terms used in this specification are intended to appropriately interpret the principles, practical applications, or technical improvements to the technology in the market of the embodiments, or to allow other skilled in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed in the text. The scope of the present disclosure is limited by the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0233] The one-to-one correspondence between the names of the assemblies and the drawing symbols in FIGS. 1 Loading device 10 Fixed loading equipment 11 / 11A / 11B Movable loading device 111 Loading surface 115 Storage space 20 Mobile container transport equipment 21 First container loading / unloading mechanism 210 Holder 211 First container loading / unloading assembly 22 Buffer Space 30 Loading equipment conveyance equipment 31 Fixed container transport equipment, 310 Door Frame 311 Second container loading / unloading assembly 312 Guide mechanism 313 Lateral movement device 314 Moving Rod 315 Vertical movement device 40 Inventory Area 410 1st area 420 2nd area 50 Container 60 Workstation Area 610 Picking Station 620 Standby area 100 Warehouse System

Claims

1. a workstation area; an inventory area for storing cargo equipment, the cargo equipment storage space being used to store containers; a control server configured to generate marshalling commands; and a transport facility configured to move at least two containers having an order relationship and stored in different load devices to the same target load device in response to the luggage sorting command.

2. The control server is further configured to generate a picking order command, the picking order command including the at least two containers that have been sorted; 2. The warehouse system of claim 1, wherein the transport equipment is further configured to remove at least two containers in the target load device and place them in the workstation area in response to the picking order command.

3. When a container needs to be moved in response to the luggage arrangement command, the transport facility transfers the container to an available storage space of the target loading device; or 3. A warehouse system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is arranged to exchange the container with another container in the target load.

4. When it is necessary to move a plurality of containers in response to the luggage arrangement command, the transport facility transfers each of the plurality of containers to an available storage space of the target loading device, or exchanging a plurality of said containers with other containers in said target payload; Alternatively, the warehouse system according to claim 1 or 2 is configured to transfer some of the containers to vacant storage space of the target load equipment and exchange the remaining containers for other containers in the target load equipment.

5. The warehouse system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the transport facility selects a loading implement in which one of the at least two containers is located as the target loading implement in response to the luggage sorting command.

6. When the loading equipment is a fixed loading equipment, the transport facility includes a mobile container transport facility; the mobile container transport equipment is configured to, in response to the sorting command, remove the at least two containers from their respective current loads and place them in the target load in the inventory area; and / or 3. The warehouse system of claim 2, wherein the mobile container transport equipment is further configured to retrieve the at least two containers in the target load at the inventory area in response to the picking order command and move from the inventory area to the workstation area for picking.

7. When the loading tool is a movable loading tool, the movable loading tool includes a plurality of storage spaces, and the storage spaces are used to store containers for storing luggage, and the transport facility includes a loading tool transport facility and a fixed container transport facility; the load transport facility is configured to transport a current load, the current load separately storing at least two containers, and a target load from the inventory area to the workstation area in response to the sorting command; the fixed container transport equipment is located in the workstation area and is configured to, in response to the sorting command, remove at least two containers from their respective current loads and place them in the target load; and / or 3. The warehouse system of claim 2, wherein the fixed container transport equipment is further configured to remove at least two containers from the target load device for picking in response to the picking order command.

8. When the loading tool is a movable loading tool, the movable loading tool includes a plurality of storage spaces, and the storage spaces are used to store containers for storing luggage, and the transport facility includes a loading tool transport facility and a fixed container transport facility; the load transport facility is configured to transport a current load, the current load having at least two separate containers stored therein, from the inventory area to the workstation area in response to the sorting command; the fixed container transport equipment is provided in the workstation area and is configured to select one current load as a target load in response to a sorting command and to remove containers in the remaining current loads and place them in the target load; and / or 3. The warehouse system of claim 2, wherein the fixed container transport equipment is further configured to remove at least two containers from the target load device for picking in response to the pick order command.

9. When the target loading tool is a movable loading tool, the conveying facility a mobile container transport facility configured to transport the at least two containers from their respective current loads onto the target loads in the inventory area; and load transport equipment configured to transport the target load from the inventory area to the workstation area for picking.

10. the load transport facility is further configured to transport the current load from the workstation area to the inventory area after sorting operations are completed; and / or 9. The warehouse system according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the load transport equipment is further configured to transport a target load from the workstation area to the inventory area after a picking operation is completed.

11. Further comprising a waiting area; The control server is further configured to control the load transport equipment to transport at least one pair of loads selected by the load management command; The warehouse system described in claim 7 or 8, characterized in that when one of the at least one pair of load tools selected by the luggage sorting command arrives at the workstation area first, the load tool transport equipment transports the load tool that arrived at the workstation area first to a waiting area and waits for the remaining load tool of the at least one pair of load tools selected by the luggage sorting command to arrive.

12. The warehouse system of claim 11, characterized in that the load transport equipment is controlled to transport the load in the waiting area to the workstation area when the remaining load of the at least one pair of loads selected by the luggage sorting command arrives at the workstation area.

13. The fixed container transport facility has a buffer mechanism, the buffer mechanism has at least one buffer space, and the buffer space is used to temporarily store the container; the control server is further configured to control the load transport equipment to transport the pair of loads selected by the load management command to the workstation area; The warehouse system according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the fixed container transport equipment is further configured to remove containers from the loading equipment and place them in the buffer space, and to remove containers from the buffer space and place them in the target loading equipment after the target loading equipment arrives.

14. The fixed container transport facility has a buffer mechanism, the buffer mechanism has at least one buffer space, and the buffer space is used to temporarily store the container; The warehouse system according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the fixed container transport equipment is configured to temporarily deposit a container for which picking work has been completed in the buffer space, and after a target load device for the container arrives in the workstation area, to remove the container from the buffer space and place it in the target load device.

15. The transport facility further includes an identification device, the identification device comprising: Information on whether a container is stored in the storage space of the loading tool selected by the luggage arrangement command; The warehouse system of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is configured to identify at least one of the following: information on whether the identification information of a container in the storage space of the loading equipment selected by the luggage sorting command matches the identification information of the container selected by the luggage sorting command.

16. 16. A warehouse system as claimed in claim 15, characterised in that the identification device comprises 2D and / or 3D image acquisition equipment.

17. The warehouse system according to claim 15, wherein the control server is configured to generate an abnormality processing command or issue an alarm signal when the identification result by the identification device is abnormal.

18. 3. The warehouse system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a transfer facility is docked in the workstation area, the transfer facility including a transport line, the transport line delivering containers to the workstation or conveying the containers out of the workstation.

19. 3. The warehouse system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a picking station is provided in the workstation area, the picking station being configured to place containers waiting to be picked for a picking operation.

20. The warehouse system according to claim 2 , wherein the control server is further configured to update inventory information when a container is emptied after a picking operation.

21. The warehouse system according to claim 2, characterized in that, when there are still items remaining in the container after the picking operation, the control server is configured to update the quantity of items in the container in the current inventory information to the remaining quantity, thereby updating the inventory information.

22. the inventory area includes a first area and a second area, the first area having a maximum distance from the workstation area that is less than or equal to a first predetermined distance, and the second area having a minimum distance from the workstation area that is greater than the first predetermined distance; The control server is configured to obtain a future order and hit at least one of the containers based on the future order, marking the hit container as a hit container, and marking a movable load on which the hit container is stored as a hit load; a load transport facility configured to transport at least one of the first mobile loads parked in the inventory area and at least one other of the second mobile loads to the same workstation area, the at least second mobile load being a hit load; the fixed container transport facility is configured to place at least one hit container in at least one second movable load equipment onto at least one first movable load equipment, the first movable load equipment onto which the hit container from the second movable load equipment is placed is designated a sorted load equipment, the first movable load equipment is a target load equipment; 9. A warehouse system according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the load transport equipment is configured to return at least one organized load to the first area.

23. the load transport equipment is configured to transport at least one of the first movable load tools parked in the inventory area and at least one of the second movable load tools to the same workstation area during non-production time of the workstation area; 23. The warehouse system of claim 22, wherein the fixed container transport equipment is configured to place at least one hit container in at least one second movable load onto at least one first movable load.

24. The load transport facility returns the at least one organized load to the first area, and specifically, When there is an available stop space in the first area, the arranged load is returned to the first area; The warehouse system of claim 22, characterized in that, when there is no available parking space in the first area, the system is configured to transport unorganized load equipment parked in the first area to the second area, and then transport the organized load equipment to the first area.

25. The future orders are: An order to generate production tasks for the next production time slot, and / or 23. The warehouse system of claim 22 including forecasted orders.

26. The warehouse system of claim 25, wherein the hit container includes the container in which the hit load is stored and / or the container in which load related to the hit load is stored, and the hit load is a load included in an SKU of the future order.

27. 27. The warehouse system of claim 26, wherein the control server is configured to determine the loads associated with the hit loads based on historical orders.

28. 26. The warehouse system of claim 25, wherein the control server is configured to divide all received orders for generating the production tasks into a plurality of batches for distribution to the workstation areas.

29. 26. The warehouse system of claim 25, wherein the control server is configured to forecast orders based on historical orders and / or popularity of the packages.

30. The warehouse system according to claim 22, characterized in that the first movable loading device is an empty movable loading device or a hit loading device.

31. 23. The warehouse system of claim 22, wherein the control server is configured to always reserve at least one free storage space in each of the movable load devices.

32. The warehouse system of claim 31, characterized in that the movable load implements include a plurality of loading surfaces, and the control server is configured such that at least one vacant storage space is always reserved on each loading surface of each of the movable load implements.

33. The warehouse system of claim 22, characterized in that the fixed container transport equipment is configured to place hit containers in at least one of the second movable load devices onto at least one of the first movable load devices so that all containers in the at least one of the first movable load devices become hit containers.

34. 34. The warehouse system according to any one of claims 22 to 33, characterized in that the workstation area further includes a buffer space, the buffer space being used for placing the containers, and the fixed container transport equipment is configured to transfer at least the containers between the placement space and the buffer space.

35. The workstation area further comprises: A support frame; at least one guide mechanism provided on the support frame and movable laterally and vertically relative to the support frame; The warehouse system according to claim 34, characterized in that a container loading and unloading device is provided on the guide mechanism, and the buffer space is provided on the support frame.

36. The guide mechanism includes: a lateral movement device provided on the support frame, coupled to a controller, and movable laterally relative to the support frame, the controller being coupled to the workstation area and the load transport equipment to control operation of the workstation area and the load transport equipment; a moving rod extending in a vertical direction and provided on the lateral moving device so as to be movable in a lateral direction relative to the support frame; a longitudinal movement device provided on the movement rod, coupled to the control device, and capable of longitudinal movement relative to the movement rod; 36. A warehouse system as claimed in claim 35, characterized in that the container loading and unloading device is provided on the vertical movement device.

37. the load transport facility is configured to first transport one of the first and second movable load devices to the same workstation area; the fixed container transport facility is configured to place the container mounted thereon that needs to be exchanged with the other of the first movable load device and the second movable load device in the buffer space; the load tool transport facility is configured to return the one of the first movable load tool and the second movable load tool to the inventory area; the load transport facility is also configured to transport the other of the first and second mobile loads to the same workstation area; The warehouse system according to claim 34, characterized in that the fixed container transport equipment is configured to place the container to be exchanged therefor from the buffer space to the fixed container transport equipment.

38. A method for controlling a warehouse system according to any one of claims 1 to 37, comprising: The control server generates and transmits a luggage sorting command to the transportation facility; The method for controlling a warehouse system includes a step in which the transport equipment moves at least two containers that have an order relationship and are stored in different load devices to the same target load device in response to the luggage sorting command.

39. The control server generates a picking order command and transmits it to the transport facility, the picking order command including at least two containers in the target loading device whose luggage arrangement has been completed; 40. The method of claim 38, further comprising the step of: the transport facility removing at least two containers in the target load device and placing them in the workstation area in response to the picking order command.

40. When the load equipment is a movable load equipment, the step of the transport equipment moving at least two containers having an order relationship and stored in different load equipment to the same target load equipment in response to the luggage sorting command includes: a load transport facility transporting a current load, the current load separately storing at least two containers, and a target load from the inventory area to the workstation area in response to the sorting command; and / or, a fixed container transport facility located in the workstation area removing at least two containers from their respective current loads and placing them in the target load in response to the sorting command; 40. The method of claim 39, further comprising the step of: the fixed container transport equipment removing at least two containers from the target load device for picking in response to the pick order command.

41. When the load equipment is a movable load equipment, the step of the transport equipment moving at least two containers having an order relationship and stored in different load equipment to the same target load equipment in response to the luggage sorting command includes: a load transport facility transporting a current load, the current load having at least two separate containers stored therein, from the inventory area to the workstation area in response to the sorting command; and / or, a fixed container transport installation in the workstation area responding to a sorting command by selecting one current load as a target load and removing containers from the remaining current loads and placing them in the target load; and / or 40. The method of claim 39, further comprising the step of: the fixed container transport equipment removing at least two containers from the target load device for picking in response to the pick order command.

42. the inventory area includes a first area and a second area, the first area having a maximum distance from the workstation area that is less than or equal to a first predetermined distance, and the second area having a minimum distance from the workstation area that is greater than the first predetermined distance; The warehouse system includes: obtaining future orders; hitting at least one of the containers based on the future order, marking the hit container as a hit container and marking a movable loading tool in which the hit container is stored as a hit loading tool; transporting at least one first mobile load and at least one other second mobile load parked in the inventory area to the same workstation area, where at least the second mobile load is a hit load; placing at least one hit container from at least one second mobile load on at least one first mobile load in the workstation area, marking the first mobile load on which the hit container from the second mobile load is placed as a sorted load; 42. The method of claim 40 or 41, further comprising the step of: returning at least one organized load to the first area.

43. a step of transporting at least one of the first mobile loads and at least one other of the second mobile loads parked in the inventory area to the same workstation area, placing at least one hit container in the at least one second mobile load on at least one of the first mobile loads in the workstation area, and returning at least one organized load to the first area, Step S120: transport one of the first movable load tools and one of the second movable load tools parked in the inventory area to the same workstation area, the second movable load tool is a hit load tool, and neither the first movable load tool nor the second movable load tool is a baggage-sorted load tool, and then execute step S130; Step S130: placing the hit container in the second movable loading device onto the first movable loading device, and then executing step S140; Step S140: Determine whether the second movable loading device still has a hit container remaining, and if so, execute step S150; otherwise, execute step S170; Step S150: determining whether the first movable loading device is capable of receiving a new hit container, and if so, executing step S130; otherwise, executing step S160; Step S160: Returning the first movable loading device to the inventory area, and then executing step S200; Step S170: Returning the second movable loading device to the inventory area, and then executing step S180; Step S180: Determine whether there is still any hit load among the unarranged loads in the inventory area, and if so, execute step S190; otherwise, execute step S220; Step S190: transporting one hit load from the unordered loads in the inventory area to the same workstation area as the second mobile load, and then performing step S130; Step S200: Determine whether there is still any hit load among the unarranged loads in the inventory area, and if so, execute step S210; otherwise, execute step S220; Step S210: transporting one hit load or one free mobile load from the unordered loads in the inventory area to the same workstation area as the first mobile load, and then executing step S130; Step S220: Returning the movable load device in the same workstation area to the inventory area; 43. The method of claim 42, comprising:

44. In at least one of steps S120, S190, and S210, the warehouse system:

44. The control method of claim 43, further comprising: calculating a container index for each hit container in a non-arranged load among hit loads in the inventory area; and determining non-arranged loads to be transported to the same workstation area based on the container index; wherein the container index is the quantity of the future orders that hit the container among all the future orders.

45. In at least one of steps S120, S190, and S210, the warehouse system: calculating a load index for each of the hit loads parked in the inventory area that are not packed, and selecting the non-packaged load with the highest load index as the first movable load or the second movable load, the load index being the sum of the container indexes of all hit containers in the hit load; or The control method described in claim 44, characterized in that it is configured to select, among the hit load equipment and non-arranged load equipment parked in the inventory area, the non-arranged load equipment on which the hit container with the highest container index is placed as the first movable load equipment or the second movable load equipment.

46. In step S120, a controller previously determining the same workstation area, the controller being coupled to the workstation area and the load transport equipment to control operation of the workstation area and the load transport equipment; The control method described in claim 43, characterized in that when there are at least three unarranged loads among the hit loads parked in the inventory area, two unarranged loads among them that have the shortest movement path to the same workstation area are moved to the same workstation area.

47. In step S120, a controller for determining which of the two movable loads will be removed first from the inventory area, the controller being coupled to the workstation area and the load transport equipment to control operation of the workstation area and the load transport equipment; The control method described in claim 43, characterized in that, when a plurality of the workstation areas are vacant, the control device calculates the sum of the lengths of the travel paths along which the two movable load devices transported from the inventory area travel to each of the plurality of vacant workstation areas, and designates the workstation area with the smallest sum of the travel path lengths as the same workstation area.

48. the future order is an order to be processed in a next production time slot, and the first movable loading tool is a hit loading tool; The control method described in claim 43, characterized in that in step S130, the warehouse system is configured to determine the workstation area associated with the first movable load implement in the next production time slot and to preferentially exchange hit containers associated with the workstation area associated with the first movable load implement in the second movable load implement with the first movable load implement.

49. the future order is an order to be processed in the next production time slot, and the first movable loading tool is a hit loading tool; The control method described in claim 48, characterized in that in step S130, the warehouse system is configured to determine the future orders associated with the first movable load equipment in the next production time slot, and to preferentially exchange hit containers associated with the future orders associated with the first movable load equipment in the second movable load equipment with the first movable load equipment.

50. the movable load device includes a plurality of load surfaces, and the warehouse system is configured such that at least one vacant storage space is always reserved on each of the load surfaces of the movable load device; Step S130 of placing the hit container in the second movable loading device on the first movable loading device includes: When there is an empty placement space on each of the loading surfaces of the first movable loading device and there are a plurality of empty placement spaces on at least one of the loading surfaces of the first movable loading device, placing the hit container in the second movable loading device on the first movable loading device; or and exchanging a non-hit container in the first movable loading device with a hit container in the second movable loading device when there is only one free space on each loading surface of the first movable loading device; The step S150 of determining whether the first movable loading device is capable of receiving a new hit container includes: The control method described in claim 43, characterized in that it includes a step of determining whether there are still any unhit containers remaining on the first movable loading device or whether there are still a plurality of vacant storage spaces on at least one of the loading surfaces of the first movable loading device.

51. Step S130 of placing the hit container in the second movable loading device on the first movable loading device includes: placing the hit container in the second movable loading device on the first movable loading device when there is an empty storage space in the first movable loading device; or When the first movable loading device has no free storage space, the method includes a step of exchanging a non-hit container in the first movable loading device with a hit container in the second movable loading device, The step S150 of determining whether the first movable loading device is capable of receiving a new hit container includes: The control method described in claim 43, characterized in that it includes a step of determining whether or not there are any unhit containers remaining on the first movable load device or whether or not there is still free storage space on the first movable load device.

Images