Allocation System and Method for Allocating a Plurality of Carriers

Abstract

A dispensing system (110) and a method for dispensing a plurality of carriers (114) using the dispensing system (110) are disclosed. The dispensing system (110) includes at least one transfer surface (118) including logical locations (120), a plurality of carriers (114) for transferring objects (122), at least one drive system (126) for moving the carriers (114) on the transfer surface (118) between the logical locations (120), and at least one control system (128) configured to control the carriers (114) to move on a planned route from a starting position to a final destination position on the transfer surface (118), the planned route including sub-routes (144), the control system (128) comprising at least one routing system (130) configured to calculate a routing plan for the carriers (114) on the transfer surface (118) by modeling the transfer surface (118) as a graph of nodes (132), the routing system (130) being configured to calculate the routing plan considering a movement period (160) and a waiting period (162), the routing system (130) being configured to allocate a waiting period (162) for the carriers (114) in response to a reservation of logical locations (120) of sub-routes (144) of other carriers (114), and the routing system (130) being configured to shift an experienced time delay (158) to at least one upcoming waiting period (166) of the carriers (114) if the carriers (114) experience a time delay (158) during the execution of the movement, and at least one control system (128).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a dispensing system and a method for dispensing a plurality of carriers using the dispensing system. As an example, the system and method of the present invention can be specifically used in the field of diagnostic examination rooms to control the movement of carriers transporting sample containers filled with biological fluids or reagents to be analyzed, particularly sample tubes, and / or cassettes filled with disposable items such as reagents, specimen slides, tissue materials, waste, pipette tips or tube caps, and / or empty tubes for aliquots. The system and method can also be used for other applications that require controlling the movement of carriers on a transfer surface, such as carriers transporting payloads such as goods, warehouse items, products to be manufactured at a manufacturing site, or other objects.

Background Art

[0002] In the field of diagnostic examination rooms, generally, a plurality of samples, for example liquid samples, must be automatically processed. The automatic processing of samples may include automatically transporting sample containers, specifically sample containers containing samples to be processed, through carriers in a diagnostic examination room by one or more dispensing systems.

[0003] For example, European Patent Application Publication No. 3095739 describes a method of operating a laboratory sample distribution system. The laboratory sample distribution system includes several sample container carriers, each of which is adapted to carry one or more sample containers, where the sample containers contain samples to be analyzed by several laboratory stations, a transfer surface that is adapted to support the sample container carriers, the transfer surface including several transfer positions, where the transfer positions are assigned to corresponding laboratory stations, and drive means adapted to move the sample container carriers on the transfer surface. The method includes, during initialization of the laboratory sample distribution system, pre-calculating a route according to the transfer positions, and after initialization of the laboratory sample distribution system, controlling the drive means so that the sample container carriers move along the pre-calculated route.

[0004] European Patent Application Publication No. 3537159 discloses a method for operating a laboratory sample distribution system. The laboratory sample distribution system includes a plurality of sample container carriers adapted to transport laboratory sample containers, a transfer surface adapted to support the sample container carriers, and a plurality of drive elements adapted to move the sample container carriers on the transfer surface. The method includes: a) planning a movement path from start to goal on the transfer surface for one of the sample container carriers, wherein the transfer surface is logically modeled by a plurality of nodes, the nodes being free with respect to at least one time window or reserved with respect to at least one time window, and planning includes analyzing the reachability from the free time window of one of the nodes to the free time windows of at least one next node and at least one further next node such that the planned movement of one sample container carrier does not stop from one node beyond the next node to at least one further next node, and reserving a planned movement path including a series of time windows of the nodes; and b) executing by controlling at least one of the drive elements such that one sample container carrier moves along the reserved movement path on the transfer surface.

[0005] U.S. Patent No. 10,006,927 discloses a method of operating a laboratory automation system. The laboratory automation system includes a plurality of laboratory stations and a plurality of sample container carriers. The sample container carriers transport one or more sample containers. The sample containers contain samples to be analyzed by the laboratory stations. The system also includes a transfer surface that supports the sample container carriers. The system further includes a drive unit that moves the sample container carriers on the transfer surface. The method includes logically reserving at least one buffer area on the transfer surface during initialization of the laboratory automation system, and buffering at least one sample container carrier carrying a sample container containing a sample waiting for analysis results in the at least one buffer area after initialization of the laboratory automation system. Depending on the analysis results, the sample is further processed.

[0006] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018 / 0348244 describes a method of operating a laboratory sample distribution system. The system includes a magnetically active device, a sample container carrier configured to transport sample containers, an interconnected transfer surface module configured to support the carrier, and electromagnetic actuators arranged in rows and columns below each transfer surface module and configured to move the carrier on the transfer surface module by applying a magnetic force to the carrier. The method includes assigning a route category to the transfer surface module. At least two lanes are formed on the route-classified transfer surface module. The carrier moves in the transfer direction within each lane. The transfer directions are opposite to each other. The method also includes assigning another transfer surface module to a waypoint category. At the waypoint-classified transfer surface module, a change from one transfer direction to the opposite transfer direction is possible.

[0007] International Publication No. WO 2021 / 228733 discloses a distribution system comprising a transfer surface for distributing objects and a carrier for transferring the objects. A drive system moves the carrier on the transfer surface. The control system of the distribution system is configured to control the carrier to move on a planned route from a starting position to a final destination position on the transfer surface. The control system models the transfer surface with nodes and a graph and comprises a routing system configured to calculate a planned route for at least two carriers on the transfer surface by using a windowed hierarchical cooperative informed search algorithm. The routing system is configured to determine a reserved time window and a free time window for each node. The routing system is configured to assign an individual reservation length for each carrier for the next move on the free time window and to assign an infinite reservation time to the nodes of the logical positions.

[0008] Despite the advantages achieved by known methods and devices, several technical problems remain. Specifically, problems due to unexpected time delays may still occur. For example, it may be necessary to consider the time delay of the movement of a carrier while ensuring a safe passage of the carrier to a safe location within the distribution system. Generally, the time delay of one carrier can affect the movement plans of other carriers within the distribution system. Therefore, it can be very important to avoid the time delay in routing one carrier from affecting the routing of one or more other carriers within the distribution system, especially without the need to newly plan the movement for one or more other carriers. Creating a completely new plan for the affected carriers is a quite computationally intensive task and should therefore be avoided. Simply shifting all the time plans of the affected carriers by an equal amount of time to the initial delay would mean that all the affected carriers are significantly delayed, which degrades the performance of the system. Resolving the time delay can be further complicated by the fact that the transfer system may include a control mechanism to avoid too many simultaneous movements per area in order to control the maximum power consumption per transfer area. Summary of the Invention Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0009] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method and device that at least partially address the aforementioned technical problems. Specifically, a distribution system and method for distributing a plurality of carriers that enables preventing problems arising from unexpected time delays should be proposed.

[0010] This problem is addressed by a distribution system and method for distributing a plurality of carriers having the features of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments, which may be implemented alone or in any combination, are set forth in the dependent claims as well as throughout the specification.

[0011] When used hereinafter, the terms "having", "comprising", or "including", or any grammatical variations thereof, are used in a non-exclusive manner. Thus, these terms can refer to both situations where there are no additional features in the entity being described in this context in addition to the features introduced by these terms, and situations where there are one or more additional features. By way of example, the expressions "A has B", "A comprises B", and "A includes B" can refer to both situations where there are no other elements in A besides B (i.e., situations where A is exclusively composed of only B), and situations where there are one or more additional elements in entity A such as element C besides B, elements C and D, or still further elements.

[0012] Furthermore, note that the terms "at least one" or "one or more" or similar expressions indicating that a feature or element may be present one or more times are typically used only once when introducing each respective feature or element. Hereinafter, in most cases, when referring to each feature or element, the expressions "at least 1" or "one or more" are not repeated, despite the fact that each feature or element may be present one or more times.

[0013] Furthermore, when used hereinafter, terms such as "preferably", "more preferably", "in detail", "more in detail", "specifically", "more specifically", or similar terms are used with optional features without limiting the possibility of alternatives. Thus, the features introduced by these terms are optional features and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the claims in any way. The present invention may be practiced, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, by using alternative features. Similarly, features introduced by expressions such as "in an embodiment of the present invention" or similar expressions are optional features that are not accompanied by any restrictions regarding alternative embodiments of the present invention, are not accompanied by any restrictions regarding the technical scope of the present invention, and are not accompanied by any restrictions regarding the possibility of combining such introduced features with other optional or non-optional features of the present invention.

[0014] In a first aspect of the present invention, a dispensing system is disclosed. The dispensing system comprises at least one transfer surface including logical positions, a plurality of carriers for transferring objects, at least one drive system for moving the carriers on the transfer surface between logical positions, at least one control system configured to control the carriers to move on a planned route from a starting position to a final destination position on the transfer surface, the planned route including sub-routes, the control system comprising at least one routing system configured to calculate a routing plan for the carriers on the transfer surface by modeling the transfer surface as a graph of nodes, the routing system being configured to calculate the routing plan taking into account movement periods and waiting periods, the routing system being configured to allocate waiting periods for the carriers in response to reservations of logical positions of sub-routes of other carriers, and the routing system being configured to shift an experienced time delay to at least one upcoming waiting period of the carriers if the carriers experience a time delay during the execution of the movement, comprising.

[0015] As used herein, the term "system" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary customary meaning to one of ordinary skill in the art and should not be limited to a special or particular meaning. Specifically, the term can refer to any set of interacting or interdependent components that form a whole, but is not limited thereto. Specifically, the components can interact with each other to perform at least one common function. At least two components may be handled independently, or may be combined or connectable.

[0016] As used herein, the term "distribution system" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and customary meaning to those of ordinary skill in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. Specifically, without limitation, this term can refer to a system configured to distribute carriers from an initial position to a target destination. The distribution system may be an element of a laboratory automation system that enables the distribution of carriers to target destinations within the laboratory automation system. The distribution system can be used in a laboratory automation system that includes a number of laboratory stations, such as pre-analytical, analytical, and / or post-analytical stations. The distribution system is generally known to those of ordinary skill in the art, for example, from European Patent No. 3095739 or International Publication No. WO 2012 / 158541.

[0017] As used herein, the term "object" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and customary meaning to those of ordinary skill in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. Specifically, without limitation, this term can refer to any payload. The object may be at least one sample container, such as a laboratory diagnostic container or a utensil.

[0018] As used herein, the term "carrier" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and customary meaning to those of ordinary skill in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. Specifically, without limitation, this term can refer to a support structure configured to support and transport a payload. The carrier may be provided with suitable holding means for supporting the payload in the required manner and orientation and, if necessary, fixing the payload. The carrier may be self-propelled or may be propelled by a transfer surface and move on the transfer surface.

[0019] As used herein, the term "transfer surface" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and customary meaning to those skilled in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. Specifically, this term may refer to, but is not limited to, any type of two-dimensional plane, bed, layer, platform, or flat base configured to transfer a carrier. The transfer surface may be configured such that the carrier can be positioned on the transfer surface, particularly on the surface of the transfer surface, whereby the carrier can be moved at least two-dimensionally along the transfer surface. For example, the transfer surface may be a sliding surface installed on one or more of the floors or surfaces of a diagnostic examination room, equipment, examination room, or manufacturing site, or in a manufacturing or storage hall. The transfer surface may be installed vertically or horizontally, including an inclined surface. A curved transfer surface is also conceivable.

[0020] The transfer surface may be configured to provide movement of the carrier by contact. The transfer surface may constitute a coordinate system, in which case the movement of the carrier may occur in the x and y directions on the transfer surface. The transfer surface may be configured such that the carrier can contact the surface of the transfer surface, whereby the movement of the carrier can be brought about and controlled using friction. The transfer surface may be configured for non-contact movement of the carrier. The transfer surface may be configured such that the carrier can move non-contact, for example, by air or magnetic levitation that provides a small gap between the carrier and the surface. For three dimensions, corresponding limitations of upward and downward inclinations may be correspondingly formed on the transfer surface, or some type of levitation mechanism such as magnetic levitation or air cushion technology with limitations corresponding to the height that can be reached without losing control may be installed. An elevator or paternoster mechanism can also be installed for vertical transfer in three dimensions.

[0021] As used herein, the term "drive system" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and customary meaning to those skilled in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. Specifically, but not limited to, this term can refer to a system configured to move a carrier on a transfer surface. The drive system may be mounted on the carrier itself, such as wheels connected to an electric motor to which a battery and electronic devices are connected. Another possibility is a linear motor. Passive carriers are also possible. For example, a magnetic device is fixed within the carrier, and the magnetic force provided by a magnetically active and drivable element such as an electromagnetic coil moves the carrier by the generated electromagnetic field. The coil can be installed below, above, beside, or within the transfer surface. For example, the arrangement of magnetic coils below the transfer surface is described, for example, in European Patent No. 2566787 or International Publication No. 2013 / 098202.

[0022] The term "logical position" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and customary meaning to those skilled in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. Specifically, but not limited to, this term can refer to any position on the transfer surface configured to support a carrier. The presentation of the transfer surface may be a graph with a plurality of logical positions or a plurality of logical positions and the permitted connections between them. The transfer surface may be mathematically mapped to a graph of logical positions or a graph of logical positions and the permitted connections between them. The routing of a carrier on logical positions, such as finding a routing plan, may be performed using a graph. The drive system is configured to move a carrier between logical positions on the transfer surface. The movement between logical positions may include following the logical positions.

[0023] The logical position may be defined on the transfer surface by hardware requirements and / or software. The logical position may be a virtual position in a routing algorithm and / or a position on an actual transfer system. For example, the logical position may be defined on the transfer surface as a position where a carrier can stop, start, and / or change direction. In a system such as that described in European Patent No. 2566787 or International Publication No. 2013 / 098202, the drive system may define these logical positions by its hardware limitations. The logical position may be defined above an electromagnetic coil. At these positions, it may be possible to stop the carrier and change its direction in the next movement. The logical position may be defined as desired or required to form a useful set of intersections, merging points, starting positions, and stopping positions. The logical position may be a discrete position where the carrier can be stopped. In particular, the logical position may be defined by at least one physical entity of the drive system, such as an intersection of possible methods like an electromagnetic coil or a rail.

[0024] Each of the logical positions may be configured to be occupied by only one carrier. Thus, two carriers cannot share one logical position. The distribution system may be configured to move a plurality of carriers on the transfer surface via their respective calculated partial routes, and each route may lead from a first logical position to a second logical position, i.e., the end position of each partial route.

[0025] The logical position can be any position reachable by a carrier, or any position where the carrier can change direction, be placed, or can be identified or registered by an identification or registration system. The identification and registration system can be a camera system or an optical sensor and scanner that identify any optical signature on the carrier or object, such as size, type, or barcode. Instead of, or in addition to, this, an RFID reader system that reads the unique RFID of the carrier or an object on the carrier, or sensors inside the transfer surface can be used to identify the logical position and specify the position of the carrier. A further option can be high-precision GPS, especially enhanced with Wi-Fi and / or GSM signals.

[0026] As used herein, the term "control system" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary customary meaning to those skilled in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. Specifically, but not limited to, this term can refer to any system configured to perform specified operations by using at least one data processing device, more preferably by using at least one processor and / or at least one application-specific integrated circuit. Thus, by way of example, at least one control system may comprise at least one data processing device in which software code including several computer commands is stored. The control system may provide one or more hardware elements for performing one or more of the specified operations, and / or may provide software executed for performing one or more of the specified operations to one or more processors. The control system may comprise one or more programmable devices such as one or more computers, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) configured to perform steps b) and c). However, additionally or alternatively, the control system may also be embodied fully or partially in hardware.

[0027] The control system may include a routing system for calculating a routing plan and at least one execution unit for executing the movement of the carrier according to the planned routing plan. The control system may control the drive system to allocate the carrier from the initial position to the target destination. Specifically, controlling may include controlling the allocation of the carrier, further monitoring the allocation of the carrier, and, if necessary, adapting or changing the allocation of the carrier.

[0028] As used herein, the term "route" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and customary meaning to one of ordinary skill in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. Specifically, without limitation, this term may refer to a set of partial routes from a starting position to a final destination position. As used herein, the term "routing plan" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and customary meaning to one of ordinary skill in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. Specifically, without limitation, this term may refer to a plan that includes at least one route and a logically assigned time position planned by a routing system. The terms "planned routing plan" and "plan" are used herein as synonyms. A route may be divided into one or more partial routes to an intermediate destination. The starting position may be the logical position where the carrier stands on the transfer surface when the algorithm starts calculating the routing plan. The final destination position may be a logical position on the transfer surface where the carrier needs to go. The final destination position is a logical position on the transfer surface having a particular function, for example, a logical position where a sample tube, a part of a sample, or a consumable is transferred between the transfer surface and an analyzer or a pre-analysis or post-analysis system or a storage system. In the case of a manufacturing site, the final destination position may, in particular, be a logical position corresponding to a machine station that performs some manufacturing process on a semi-finished product. The starting position of a particular carrier may, in particular, be the final destination position of another carrier, and more particularly, may be the final destination position of the same carrier.

[0029] As used herein, the term "routing system" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and customary meaning to those skilled in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. Specifically, but not limited thereto, this term may refer to any system configured to calculate a routing plan for moving a carrier on a transfer surface. The routing system may comprise at least one data processing device. The routing system may be configured to use at least one algorithm, particularly an algorithm shown as a routing algorithm. The routing algorithm may be an algorithm that calculates a routing plan for each carrier on the transfer surface from a starting position to an intermediate destination position towards a final destination position. The routing algorithm may start from the current position of the carrier at a logical position as the starting position and calculate several straight-line movements for each route up to the intermediate destination position. The routing plan may include all movements or only some of the next movements to be made until reaching the second final destination.

[0030] Calculating a routing plan may include determining the shortest path of a carrier across a transfer surface from a starting position to a final destination position. The routing algorithm may be used to determine the shortest path for a carrier across a transfer surface. The algorithm may be selected from the group consisting of the A* algorithm, the windowed hierarchical cooperative A* algorithm (WHCA*), the D* algorithm, and Dijkstra's algorithm.

[0031] For example, the WHCA* search algorithm may be used to calculate a routing plan. Regarding the WHCA* algorithm, see, for example, Silver, D., 2005, "Cooperative pathfinding", Young, R.M., and Laird, J.E., eds., AIIDE, 117-122. AAAI Press. The WHCA* search algorithm may be an informed search algorithm such as the A* or D* search algorithm. For each carrier with a final destination, the search algorithm calculates a routing plan from the starting position to the intermediate destination position on the nodes within the cooperative search window of the time duration T towards the respective final destination position. Since the route can only pass through the free time window of the logical position, the search is cooperative. For the logical position with the required free time window, the required duration of the free time window changes from "free" to "reserved" for the required time slots of each logical position. Therefore, the free time window is divided into a reserved time window and one or two additional free time windows. Therefore, the search is cooperative with respect to the cooperative time window T by respecting the reserved time window for other carriers at the logical position. The WHCA* algorithm may be designed to plan the routing plan individually for each carrier, and cooperation may be obtained using a reservation table. The routing system may be configured to reserve the partial route planned for the carrier until the carrier reaches its intermediate or final destination. This means that while each carrier is moving, other carriers cannot use the reserved route. If a logical position is set to "reserved" for a finite duration, that position is not available for other carriers during the finite duration and becomes available again for movement when the temporary reservation ends.

[0032] As described above, the routing system may be configured to calculate a routing plan for all carriers on the transfer surface by modeling the transfer surface with a graph of nodes. To do so, the routing system may be configured to determine a reservation time window and an idle time window for each node. To calculate the routing plan for a carrier, the routing system may use a windowed hierarchical cooperative informed search algorithm with a cooperative time window T. In particular, the cooperative informed search algorithm may be a Dijkstra algorithm, a Bellman-Ford algorithm, or more specifically, an A* algorithm. T is typically in the range of 1 to 300 seconds, particularly in the range of 1 to 60 seconds, and more specifically 10 seconds. The routing system may be configured to assign an individual reservation length as the number of nodes for the next movement at a logical position with an idle time window for each carrier so that the carriers start and stop individually. The execution unit may be configured to execute a planned routing plan for transferring carriers from their respective starting positions to their respective final positions.

[0033] Calculating the routing plan may include planning a route. The routing system may be configured to determine an optimal route for a carrier crossing the transfer surface. The optimal route may be determined with respect to at least one optimization goal such as one or more of time, resource consumption, cost, wear balance, and good overall transfer performance. Since the routing algorithm used can be cooperative, the routing system can take care that all carriers pass through in a net efficient way, sacrificing the shortest time to the final destination of individual carriers if necessary. The optimal route for each carrier may be a route selected from a plurality of possible routes that minimizes an optimization goal such as, for example, the time required to reach the final destination position.

[0034] The routing system may be configured to calculate a routing plan for carriers on the transfer surface by modeling the transfer surface with a graph of nodes. As used herein, the term "node" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary customary meaning to those skilled in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. Specifically, but not limited to, this term may refer to a mathematical representation of a logical location. As used herein, the term "graph" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary customary meaning to those skilled in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. Specifically, but not limited to, this term may refer to the structure of nodes and the possible connections between them.

[0035] The execution unit may be configured to execute the movement of the carrier in consideration of the planned routing plan. The term "movement" may refer to "action" and may not include the waiting time until the next movement is made. The movement may be defined as one movement of the carrier within a straight line starting from one logical location and stopping at a second different logical location. The movement may include the displacement of the carrier at one or more logical locations. The movement length may be the number of logical locations of each movement. Specifically, the movement may be to linearly displace the carrier without stopping in the middle. The movement from the first final destination to the second final destination may be executed by one or more movements with intermediate destinations. The intermediate destination may be a logical location. Each movement may have a departure and a stop at a logical location. The stop of the last movement of the route may be either an intermediate destination or a final destination.

[0036] The distribution system may include a positioning system configured to determine the position of the carrier on the transfer surface. The positioning system may transmit at least one position update message to the control system. The update message may trigger the release of reserved logical locations already passed by the carrier in its current movement. The update message may notify the control system about delayed carriers.

[0037] The routing system is configured to calculate a routing plan taking into account a moving period and a waiting period. As used herein, the term "moving time period" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and general meaning to one of ordinary skill in the art and should not be limited to a special or particular meaning. Specifically, without limitation, this term may refer to the time span during which a carrier is presumed to move. The control system may be configured to control the drive system such that the carrier on the transfer surface moves along a partial route during the moving period. As used herein, the term "waiting time period" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and general meaning to one of ordinary skill in the art and should not be limited to a special or particular meaning. Specifically, without limitation, this term may refer to the time span during which a carrier is considered to wait at a logical position. The routing system is configured to allocate a waiting period for a carrier in response to a reservation of the logical position of the partial route of another carrier. For example, the routing system may allocate a waiting period to a carrier as long as the nodes required for the next partial route are reserved for at least one other carrier. The control system may be configured to control the drive system such that the carrier waits at a logical position during the waiting period.

[0038] Calculating a routing plan may include allocating logical positions to carriers in a timely manner. As a result, some carriers may have to wait until the position becomes free again. A carrier has to wait unless the next move can be planned because another carrier needs it for that move. This waiting time can be used to "absorb" at least part of the delay time. As used herein, the term "allocating a waiting period" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and customary meaning to one of ordinary skill in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. Specifically, this term may refer to, but is not limited to, planning a routing plan with a waiting period. The allocation of the waiting period may be the result of planning the time when a carrier can move, depending on when the position is released by another carrier and a position can be reserved for the move. The routing system may be configured to allocate the waiting time to a carrier by calculating the waiting time and allocating a routing plan with a waiting time for the next move to the carrier.

[0039] The routing system may allocate node reservations over a finite duration that estimates the time for which the movement will persist. However, the time for which the movement will continue may be probabilistic such that variations from the estimated time can occur. This can result in the carrier being late for the planned time for the movement. For this reason, the original plan fails. The carrier experiences a time delay during the execution of the movement or several movements. Therefore, the reservation of the delayed carrier may need to be adapted, specifically extended. However, in known methods, the extension of the reservation of the delayed carrier affects the reservations of other carriers and / or overlaps with the reservations of other carriers. The present invention proposes that the routing system be configured to extend the reservation of the delayed carrier without shifting or recalculating all the plans, for example, without shifting or recalculating the plans of carriers that are not particularly affected. The present invention proposes to resolve the delay by using waiting time to compensate for the lost time. When a carrier experiences a time delay during the execution of the movement, the routing system is configured to shift the experienced time delay to at least one upcoming waiting period of the carrier. The carrier for which the waiting period is used may be any carrier, for example, the delayed carrier that first experienced the delay or another affected carrier. The term "shift" as used herein is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and customary meaning to those skilled in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. This term may specifically refer to transferring the time delay to a waiting period, but is not limited thereto. Shifting may include changing and / or adapting at least one upcoming waiting period of at least one of the carriers according to the time delay. The routing system may be configured to compensate for the time delay by shortening at least one upcoming waiting period of at least one of the carriers according to the time delay. The term "upcoming waiting time period" as used herein is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and customary meaning to those skilled in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning.This term may specifically refer to, but is not limited to, at least one waiting period following a delay. The routing system may be configured to compensate for the time delay, for example, by shortening the next waiting period of the carrier, such as the next waiting period that is also indicated as the first upcoming waiting period of the delay carrier, by, for example, the amount of time delay. However, if the time delay is longer than the upcoming waiting period, the time delay cannot be fully compensated by the upcoming waiting period. Therefore, the routing system may be configured to at least partially compensate for the time delay by shortening the upcoming waiting period. In the case of the remaining time delay, that is, when the time delay cannot be fully compensated by the first upcoming waiting period, the routing system may be configured to at least partially shift the time delay to, for example, at least the second upcoming waiting period of at least one affected carrier. The routing system may be configured to shift the uncompensated portion of the time delay to at least one second upcoming waiting period. A second upcoming waiting period may temporally follow the first upcoming waiting period. If the time delay still cannot be fully compensated by the next waiting period of the carrier, subsequent waiting periods may be used to compensate for the remaining delay until the delay is fully resolved, and so on.

[0040] For example, one of the plurality of carriers may be delayed in time. For this reason, the original plan fails. The delay may occur during the first movement period. The routing system may be configured to compensate for the time delay by shortening the upcoming waiting period. In most cases where only occasional short delays occur, the upcoming waiting period may already be long enough to be used for compensation. Therefore, a solution can be quickly found without affecting many carriers and without involving computationally intensive replanning. If the upcoming waiting period is too short, for example, when the time delay cannot be completely compensated for with respect to the upcoming waiting period, all the waiting periods of the upcoming waiting period may be consumed, and the subsequent upcoming waiting periods may also be partially or completely used, and so on. Therefore, the method is recursively executed for future plans until all delays are compensated.

[0041] The maximum number of simultaneous movements may be fixed for the entire transfer surface or may be defined for each area. The movements that are allowed to occur simultaneously can form a so-called simultaneous movement group. For example, it may be allowed for a maximum of eight carriers to move simultaneously for each transfer module or software-defined area. The maximum number of allowed simultaneous movements may also be related to the number of logical positions within that area. For example, the maximum simultaneous movement allowed within an area can be, for example, within the range of 1% to 70% or 5% to 50% or 10% to 30% or 15% to 25% of the number of available logical positions within that area. This may limit the maximum power consumption peak of that area, whereby a smaller or less power source can be used, or the electronic circuit can be protected from high-speed aging or damage.

[0042] As used herein, the term "transfer module" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and customary meaning to those skilled in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. Specifically, this term may refer to, but is not limited to, a separate structural unit and / or sub-unit of a transfer surface that includes at least one logical position. The transfer module may include a plurality of logical positions. The transfer surface may be a modular transfer surface formed by interconnected transfer modules. The transfer modules may be interconnected such that a carrier can move directly or indirectly from each of one transfer module to each of another module. The interconnected transfer modules may form a continuous transfer surface, which may also be referred to as a transfer surface. Below each transfer module, a large number of electromagnetic actuators can be arranged and fixed in rows and columns. The electromagnetic actuator may be configured to move the carrier at the upper part of the transfer module along one row of a plurality of rows or one column of a plurality of columns by applying a magnetic moving force to the carrier.

[0043] The planned routing plan of the carriers may be interdependent, for example, if the carriers cross each other's paths, other carriers have to wait for them to release their reserved positions. If the execution of the movement of a carrier is delayed, this delay may affect not only the delayed carrier but also other carriers. The delayed movement execution may result in a carrier arriving at a later time than planned at the last position of that movement. Therefore, the duration of this movement took longer than planned. The routing system may be configured to determine whether the delay of a carrier affects at least one further carrier. The further carrier may be different from the carrier experiencing the time delay. The routing system may be configured to shift the time delay to at least one waiting time of at least one carrier that is further affected.

[0044] The routing system may be configured to maintain the calculated route, but attempts to resolve the delay using the waiting time of the affected carrier. The routing system may be configured to recursively resolve the delay of carriers directly and / or indirectly affected by the delay of the carrier. As used herein, the term "directly affected" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and customary meaning to those of ordinary skill in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. Specifically, but not limited to, this term may refer to a carrier whose next or subsequent movement is affected by the delay of a carrier that was originally delayed. As used herein, the term "indirectly affected" carrier is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and customary meaning to those of ordinary skill in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. Specifically, but not by way of limitation, this term may refer to a carrier whose next or subsequent movement is affected by an extension of the reservation of at least one of a directly affected carrier and / or a preceding indirectly affected carrier. As used herein, the term "recursively resolve" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and customary meaning to those of ordinary skill in the art and should not be limited to a special or customized meaning. Specifically, but not limited to, this term may refer to a process of resolving the delay by shifting one or more times, but not limited thereto. The route is not changed, only the time is changed.

[0045] The waiting time of a carrier affected can be used to resolve schedules resulting from the delay of one carrier. The delay of a carrier may be resolved by using the machine time of the movement affected by the carrier affected. Further, the schedule of the ultimately affected carrier, also called the indirectly affected carrier, may be replanned by only changing the movement time and the waiting time. The routing system may be configured to resolve the result of the carrier delay by using the waiting time of all directly and, if necessary, indirectly affected carriers. Thus, replanning may be possible without the need to recalculate the complete routing plan. The control system may be configured to delay one or more movements of directly or indirectly affected carriers if no solution is found to resolve the result of the movement delayed by using the waiting time.

[0046] For example, a routing system may be configured to calculate a routing plan such that, sandwiching the expected waiting time, all carriers have a defined number of planned movements. If the current movement of a carrier is proceeding beyond its reserved time, it is taking longer than planned. In this case, the reservation of the current movement of the carrier (logical position and transfer module simultaneous movement) may be extended. A control system, such as a routing system, may be configured to check whether the extension creates an illegal condition, such as overlapping logical position reservations and / or an excessive number of transfer module simultaneous movements, before extending the reserved time. A control system, such as a routing system, may be configured to shift the reservation of the competing movement of this other carrier (logical position, transfer module simultaneous movement) by a minimal amount if the extension creates an illegal situation. Delaying the reservation of the movement of this other carrier may affect the movement of other carriers, including the original carrier that is delayed. A control system, such as a routing system, may be further configured to delay the subsequent movement of this carrier if the current movement of the carrier is slow and its reservation needs to be extended. This may be required if the waiting time before the next movement cannot fully absorb the delay. A control system, such as a routing system, may be configured to recursively shift the reservation of the movement, for example, in the reverse order from the future backwards. The recursion may determine how much delay must be passed to subsequent movements until there is no need to pass any more delay (all absorbed in the waiting time), after which the reservation of those movements is shifted in the reverse order from the future backwards.

[0047] By using at least one upcoming waiting period to compensate for time delays, as the travel time is shifted from the original time window of the original simultaneous movement group, there may be a problem of violating the maximum simultaneous movement constraint. The original simultaneous movement group may include movements that were originally planned to be executed simultaneously, i.e., without delay, according to the original plan of the routing system. Therefore, if only a maximum number of simultaneous movements are allowed, without taking any measures, this rule may be violated. The routing system may be configured to adapt the originally planned routing plan of the carrier that violates the maximum simultaneous movement number constraint. The plan for the affected additional carriers that would violate the maximum simultaneous movement constraint is similarly shifted and may be the same as the plan for the delayed carriers. Those waiting periods may be used to attempt to compensate for the delay.

[0048] In a second aspect, a method for distributing a plurality of carriers using the distribution system according to the present invention is disclosed. The method includes using the aforementioned distribution system, for example, according to one or more of the embodiments given above, or as given in more detail below.

[0049] The method includes moving a plurality of carriers on at least one transfer surface of the distribution system between logical positions by using at least one drive system. The method includes controlling the carriers to move on a planned route from a starting position to a final destination position on the transfer surface by using a control system. The planned route includes sub-routes. The method includes calculating a routing plan for the carriers on the transfer surface by modeling the transfer surface with a graph of nodes by using a routing system, and the calculated routing plan includes a travel period and a waiting period. Calculating includes allocating a waiting period for the carrier in response to a reservation of the logical positions of the sub-routes of other carriers. Calculating includes shifting the experienced time delay to at least one upcoming waiting period of the carrier if the carrier experiences a time delay during the execution of the movement.

[0050] The method steps may be performed in a given order or in a different order. Further, one or more additional method steps not enumerated may exist. Further, one, two or more, or even all of the method steps may be performed repeatedly.

[0051] For details, options and definitions, reference may be made to the above distribution system.

[0052] The method may further include determining whether the delay of a carrier affects at least one further carrier and shifting the time delay to at least one waiting time of at least one further affected carrier. The further carrier may be different from the carrier experiencing the time delay. The method may include recursively resolving the routing plan of carriers directly and / or indirectly affected by the delay of a carrier, for example by adjusting and / or adapting it.

[0053] The method may include at least partially compensating for the time delay by shortening at least one upcoming waiting period of a carrier in response to the time delay. In the case of a residual time delay, the method may include at least partially shifting the residual time delay, for example, to at least one second upcoming waiting period of at least one affected carrier. The second upcoming waiting period may follow the first upcoming waiting period in time.

[0054] The method may include calculating the routing plan, in particular the movement time, taking into account the constraints on the maximum number of simultaneous movements per transfer surface or per area of the transfer surface, and the movements that are allowed to be executed simultaneously form a simultaneous movement group. The entire transfer surface can be divided into one or more areas, and the maximum number of allowed simultaneous movements may be different for each area. The originally planned routing plan of a carrier that would violate the constraints on the maximum number of simultaneous movements may be adapted.

[0055] The method may be computer-implemented. As used herein, the term "computer-implemented method" is a broad term and should be given its ordinary and customary meaning to those of ordinary skill in the art and should not be limited to a special or particular meaning. Specifically, without limitation, this term can refer to a method in which at least one computer and / or at least one computer network is involved. The computer and / or computer network may comprise at least one processor configured to execute at least one of the method steps of the method according to the present invention. Specifically, each of the method steps is executed by the computer and / or computer network. The method may be executed completely automatically, specifically without interaction with a user.

[0056] The method and system according to the present invention may provide a number of advantages over similar types of known methods and devices. Specifically, by using a method and distribution system for distributing a plurality of carriers, it may be possible to cope with the time delay during the movement of the carriers in the distribution system while ensuring a safe passage to a safe location. Further, the time delay of one carrier that may affect the routing plan of other carriers can be efficiently processed. Specifically, the method and distribution system for distributing a plurality of carriers may be configured to avoid the time delay in routing one carrier from affecting the routing of all other carriers in the distribution system. Therefore, when a time delay occurs in the movement of one carrier, it is not necessary to replan the movement of all carriers. Further, when considering planning for the time delay from a previous movement, it may be possible to comply with the maximum simultaneous movement constraint.

[0057] A computer program is further disclosed and proposed herein that includes computer-executable instructions for performing the method according to the present invention in one or more of the embodiments included herein when the program is executed on a computer or a computer network. Specifically, the computer program may be stored on a computer-readable data carrier and / or a computer-readable storage medium.

[0058] As used herein, the terms "computer-readable data carrier" and "computer-readable storage medium" may specifically refer to non-transitory data storage means such as a hardware storage medium storing computer-executable instructions. The computer-readable data carrier or storage medium may specifically be a storage medium such as random access memory (RAM) and / or read-only memory (ROM), or may include such a storage medium.

[0059] Thus, specifically, one, two or more, or all of the method steps as described above may be performed using a computer or a computer network, preferably using a computer program.

[0060] A computer program product is further disclosed and proposed herein, and the computer program product has program code means for performing the method according to the present invention in one or more of the embodiments included herein when the program is executed on a computer or a computer network. Specifically, the program code means may be stored on a computer-readable data carrier and / or a computer-readable storage medium.

[0061] A data carrier storing a data structure capable of performing the method according to one or more of the embodiments disclosed herein after being loaded into a computer or a computer network, such as the working memory or main memory of the computer or computer network, is further disclosed and proposed herein.

[0062] When the program is executed on a computer or a computer network, a computer program product storing program code means on a machine-readable carrier is further disclosed and proposed herein for executing the method according to one or more of the embodiments disclosed herein. As used herein, a computer program product refers to a program as a tradable product. The product can generally exist in any format such as a paper format, or can exist on a computer-readable data carrier and / or a computer-readable storage medium. Specifically, the computer program product may be distributed on a data network.

[0063] Finally, a modulated data signal including instructions readable by a computer system or a computer network for executing the method according to one or more of the embodiments disclosed herein is disclosed and proposed herein.

[0064] Regarding the computer implementation aspect of the present invention, one or more or all of the method steps of the method according to one or more of the embodiments disclosed herein may be executed by using a computer or a computer network. Therefore, generally, any method step may be executed by using a computer or a computer network, including method steps generally involving data provision and / or manipulation. Generally, these method steps may include any method step except for method steps that typically require manual work, such as specific modes of providing samples and / or performing actual measurements.

[0065] Specifically, herein, a computer or a computer network comprising at least one processor, the processor being configured to execute the method according to one of the embodiments described herein A computer-loadable data structure configured to execute a method according to one of the embodiments described herein when executed on a computer, A computer program configured to execute a method according to one of the embodiments described herein when executed on a computer, A computer program comprising program means for executing a method according to one of the embodiments described herein when executed on a computer or a computer network, A computer program comprising program means according to a previous embodiment, the program means being a computer program stored on a computer-readable storage medium, A storage medium storing a data structure, the data structure being configured to execute a method according to one of the embodiments described herein after being loaded into the main memory and / or working memory of a computer or a computer network, and A computer program product having program code means storable or stored on a storage medium, the method according to one of the embodiments described herein being executed when the program code means is executed on a computer or a computer network is further disclosed.

[0066] In summary, the following embodiments may be envisioned without excluding the possibility of further embodiments.

[0067] Embodiment 1. At least one transfer surface including a logical position, A plurality of carriers for transferring an object, At least one drive system for moving the carrier on the transfer surface between logical positions, At least one control system configured to control a carrier to move on a planned route from a starting position to a final destination position on a transfer surface, the planned route including sub-routes, the control system comprising at least one routing system configured to calculate a routing plan for the carrier on the transfer surface by modeling the transfer surface as a graph of nodes, the routing system being configured to calculate the routing plan taking into account movement periods and waiting periods, the routing system being configured to allocate a waiting period for the carrier in response to a reservation of the logical position of the sub-routes of other carriers, and the routing system being configured to shift the experienced time delay to at least one upcoming waiting period of the carrier if the carrier experiences a time delay during the execution of the movement. A distribution system comprising.

[0068] Embodiment 2. The routing system of the distribution system according to the previous embodiment, configured to at least partially compensate for the time delay by shortening at least one upcoming waiting period of the carrier according to the time delay.

[0069] Embodiment 3. In the case of a residual time delay, the routing system of the distribution system according to the previous embodiment, configured to at least partially shift the residual time delay to at least one second upcoming waiting period of at least one carrier affected, for example.

[0070] Embodiment 4. The distribution system according to the previous embodiment, wherein a second upcoming waiting period temporally follows the first upcoming waiting period.

[0071] Embodiment 5. The routing system is configured to calculate a routing plan in consideration of the maximum number of simultaneous movements per transfer surface or per area of the transfer surface. Movements that are allowed to be executed simultaneously form a simultaneous movement group. The entire transfer surface is divided into one or more areas, and the maximum allowable number of simultaneous movements is different for each area. The distribution system according to any one of the previous embodiments.

[0072] Embodiment 6. The routing system is configured to adapt the initially planned routing plan of a carrier that violates the maximum number of simultaneous movement constraints. The distribution system according to the previous embodiment.

[0073] Embodiment 7. The control system includes at least one execution unit configured to execute a routing plan for transferring carriers from their respective starting positions to their respective final positions. The distribution system according to any one of the previous embodiments.

[0074] Embodiment 8. The routing system is configured to use a cooperative path discovery algorithm for calculating a routing plan, specifically, a windowed hierarchical cooperative A* algorithm (WHCA*). The distribution system according to any one of the previous embodiments.

[0075] Embodiment 9. A method for distributing a plurality of carriers using the distribution system according to any one of the previous embodiments, the method including moving a plurality of carriers on at least one transfer surface of the distribution system between logical positions by using at least one drive system, the method including controlling the carriers to move on a planned route from a starting position to a final destination position on the transfer surface by using a control system, the planned route including sub-routes, the method including calculating a routing plan for the carriers on the transfer surface by modeling the transfer surface with a graph of nodes by using a routing system, the calculated routing plan including a movement period and a waiting period, calculating including allocating a waiting period for a carrier according to a reservation of logical positions of sub-routes of other carriers, calculating including shifting an experienced time delay to at least one upcoming waiting period of the carrier if the carrier experiences a time delay during the execution of the movement, the method.

[0076] Embodiment 10. The method according to the previous embodiment, further including determining whether a delay of a carrier affects at least one further carrier, and shifting the time delay to at least one waiting time of at least one further carrier affected by the time delay.

[0077] Embodiment 11. The method according to any one of the previous embodiments, further including recursively resolving a routing plan of carriers directly and / or indirectly affected by a delay of a carrier.

[0078] Embodiment 12. The method according to any one of the previous embodiments, including at least partially compensating for a time delay by shortening at least one upcoming waiting period of a carrier according to the time delay.

[0079] Embodiment 13. In the case of residual time delay, the method is the method according to the previous embodiment, including shifting the residual time delay at least partially to at least one second upcoming waiting period of at least one affected carrier.

[0080] Embodiment 14. The method according to the previous embodiment, wherein a second upcoming waiting period temporally follows the first upcoming waiting period.

[0081] Embodiment 15. The method includes calculating a routing plan in consideration of the maximum number of simultaneous movements per transfer surface or per area of the transfer surface, where the movements that are allowed to be executed simultaneously form a simultaneous movement group, the entire transfer surface is divided into one or more areas, and the maximum allowable number of simultaneous movements is different for each area, according to any one of the previous embodiments.

[0082] Embodiment 16. The method according to the previous embodiment, wherein the originally planned routing plan of a carrier that would violate the maximum number of simultaneous movement constraints is adapted.

[0083] Embodiment 17. The method according to any one of the previous embodiments, wherein the method is computer-implemented.

[0084] Embodiment 18. A computer program including instructions to cause a distribution system according to any one of the previous embodiments referring to the distribution system to execute the method according to any one of the previous embodiments referring to the method when the program is executed by the distribution system.

[0085] Embodiment 19. A computer-readable storage medium including instructions to cause a distribution system according to any one of the previous embodiments referring to the distribution system to execute the method according to any one of the previous embodiments referring to the method when the program is executed by the distribution system.

[0086] Further optional features and embodiments are preferably disclosed in more detail in the following description of the embodiments, in conjunction with the dependent claims. Among them, each optional feature may be implemented in an independent manner and in any feasible combination, as can be understood by those skilled in the art. The scope of the present invention is not limited by the preferred embodiments. The embodiments are schematically shown in the figures. Here, the same reference numerals in these figures refer to the same or functionally equivalent elements.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0087]

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0088] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a dispensing system 110 in perspective view. The dispensing system 110 may be an element of a laboratory automation system 112 that enables the dispensing of carriers 114 to target destinations within the laboratory automation system 112. The dispensing system 110 may be used in a laboratory automation system 112 that includes a number of laboratory stations 116, such as pre-analysis, analysis, and / or post-analysis stations.

[0089] The dispensing system 110 includes at least one transfer surface 118 that includes a logical location 120 and a plurality of carriers 114 for transferring an object 122. In the example of FIG. 1, the object 122 may be at least one sample container 124, such as a laboratory diagnostic container or a utensil, or may include at least one sample container 124.

[0090] Furthermore, the dispensing system 110 includes at least one drive system 126 for moving the carrier 114 on the transfer surface 118 between logical positions 120. The drive system 126 may be at least partially implemented within the carrier 114. For example, the carrier 114 may be a passive carrier. For example, a magnetic device may be fixed within the carrier 114, and the magnetic force provided by a magnetically active and drivable element such as an electromagnetic coil (not shown in FIG. 1) moves the carrier 114 by the generated electromagnetic field. The coil can be installed below, above, laterally of the transfer surface, or within the transfer surface 118. For example, the arrangement of the magnetic coil below the transfer surface 118 is described, for example, in European Patent No. 2566787 or International Publication No. 2013 / 098202. In this example, the logical positions 120 may be defined as positions on the transfer surface 118 where the carrier 114 can stop, start, and / or change direction. In a system such as described in European Patent No. 2566787 or International Publication No. 2013 / 098202, the drive system 126 may define these logical positions 120 due to its hardware limitations. The logical positions 120 may be defined above the electromagnetic coil. At these positions 120, it may be possible to stop the carrier 114 and change its direction in the next movement.

[0091] The dispensing system 110 further comprises at least one control system 128 configured to control the carrier 114 to move on a planned route from a starting position to a final destination position on the transfer surface 118. The planned route includes sub-routes. The control system 128 comprises at least one routing system 130 configured to calculate a routing plan for the carrier 114 on the transfer surface 118 by modeling the transfer surface 118 as a graph of nodes 132. The routing system 130 is configured to calculate the routing plan taking into account movement periods and waiting periods. The routing system 130 is configured to assign a waiting period for the carrier 114 in response to reservation of the logical positions 120 of the sub-routes of other carriers 114. When the carrier 114 experiences a time delay during the execution of the movement, the routing system 130 is configured to shift the experienced time delay to at least one upcoming waiting period of the carrier 114.

[0092] As shown in FIG. 1, the dispensing system 110 may further comprise an identification registration system 134. In this example, the identification registration system 134 may be a camera system 136. However, other systems are also possible, such as optical sensors and scanners that identify any optical signature on the carrier 114 or object 122, such as its size, its type, or barcodes. Alternatively or additionally, an RFID reader system that reads the unique RFID of the carrier 114 or the object 122 on the carrier 114, or sensors within the transfer surface 118 can be used to identify the logical position 128 and locate the carrier 114. A further option can be high-precision GPS, especially enhanced with Wi-Fi signals and / or GSM signals.

[0093] The distribution system 110 may include a positioning system 138 configured to determine the position of the carrier 114 on the transfer surface 118. The positioning system 138 may send at least one position update message to the control system 128. The update message may trigger the release of the reserved logical positions 128 already passed by the carrier 114 in its current movement. The update message may notify the control system 128 about the delayed carrier 114.

[0094] In addition to the routing system 130, the control system 128 may include at least one execution unit 140 for executing the movement of the carrier 114 according to a planned routing plan. The control system 128 may control the drive system 126 to distribute the carrier 114 from an initial position to a target destination. Specifically, controlling may include controlling the distribution of the carrier 114, further monitoring the distribution of the carrier 114, and, if necessary, adapting or changing the distribution of the carrier 114. The execution unit 140 may be configured to execute a planned routing plan for transferring the carriers 114 from their respective starting positions to their respective final positions.

[0095] Calculating the routing plan may include determining the shortest path for the carrier 114 across the transfer surface 118 from the starting position to the final destination position. A routing algorithm may be used to determine the shortest path with respect to the carrier 114 across the transfer surface 118. For example, the WHCA* search algorithm may be used to calculate the routing plan. Regarding the WHCA* algorithm, for example, see Silver, D., 2005, "Cooperative pathfinding", Young, R.M., and Laird, J.E., eds., AIIDE, 117 - 122. AAAI Press. The WHCA* search algorithm may be an informed search algorithm such as the A* or D* search algorithm. For each carrier 114 with a final destination, the search algorithm calculates the routing plan from the starting position to an intermediate destination position on the nodes within the cooperative search window of the time duration T towards the respective final destination position of the carrier. Since the route can only pass through the free time window of the logical position 120, the search is cooperative. Regarding the logical position 120 with the required free time window, the required duration of the free time window changes from "free" to "reserved" with respect to the required time slots of each logical position 120. Thus, the free time window is divided into a reserved time window and one or two additional free time windows. Thus, the search is cooperative with respect to the cooperative time window T by respecting the reserved time windows for other carriers 114 at the logical position 120. The WHCA* algorithm may be designed to plan the routes individually for each carrier 114, and cooperation may be obtained using a reservation table. The routing system 130 may be configured to reserve the partial route planned for the carrier 114 until the carrier 114 reaches its intermediate or final destination. This means that while each carrier 114 is moving, other carriers 114 cannot use the reserved route.When the logical location 120 is set to "reserved" for a finite duration, the location 120 is not available for other carriers 114 during the finite duration and becomes available again for movement when the temporary reservation ends.

[0096] An example of a routing plan 142 is shown in FIG. 2. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 2, the transfer surface 118 that moves on the transfer surface 118 via the partial route 144, shown as black circles in FIG. 2, includes the logical location 120 numbers 1 to 5 and the carrier 114 numbers 1 to 3, and is shown together with the original routing plan 146 and the new routing plan 148 at the logical location 120 numbers 1 to 5. The routing plan 142 includes, for each logical location 120, a free time window 150, a reservation time window, specifically, a reservation time window 152 reserved for moving the carrier 114 number n, n = 1, 2,... 5, and a reservation time window 154 reserved for the waiting carrier 114 number n, and / or an increased reservation time window 156 for the waiting carrier 114 number n. As can be seen from the partial route 144 shown on the transfer surface 118 and the original routing plan 146, the carriers 114 numbers 2 and 3 may have to wait on their partial routes 144 until the carrier 114 number 1 completes the corresponding partial routes 144 over the logical location 120 numbers 1 and 2. If the carrier 114 number 1 experiences a time delay 158 during the execution of the movement over the logical location 120 numbers 1 and 2, the logical location 120 numbers 1 and 2 may have to be reserved for the carrier 114 number 1 for a longer duration in the new routing plan 146. As a result, the logical location 120 numbers 3 and 4 may have to be reserved for the carriers 114 numbers 2 and 3 respectively for a longer duration.

[0097] The reservation for delay carrier 114 number 1 may need to be adapted, specifically extended. However, in known methods, the extension of the reservation for delay carrier 114 number 1 affects the reservations for other carriers 114 and / or overlaps with the reservations of other carriers. The present invention proposes that the routing system 130 is configured to extend the reservation for delay carrier 114 number 1 without shifting or recalculating all the schedules 142, for example without shifting or recalculating the schedules 142 of carriers 114 that are not particularly affected. The present invention proposes to resolve the delay 158 by using the standby time to compensate for the lost time. When carrier 114 number 1 experiences a time delay 158 during movement, the routing system 130 is configured to shift the experienced time delay 158 to at least one upcoming standby period of carrier 114, for example the delay carrier 114 number 1. This is shown in FIG. 3. Specifically, FIG. 3 shows the original routing plan 146 and the new routing plan 148 for delay carrier 114 number 1 of FIG. 2. The routing plan 142 for carrier 114 may include a movement period 160, a standby period 162, and / or an increased standby period 164, specifically an increased standby period due to the time delay 158.

[0098] As described above, the routing system 130 is configured to shift the experienced time delay 158 to at least one upcoming waiting period 166 of the carrier 114, for example, the delay carrier 114. The routing system 130 may be configured to compensate for the time delay 158 by shortening at least one upcoming waiting period 166 of the carrier 114, for example, the delay carrier 114, in response to the time delay 158. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the upcoming waiting period 166 may be at least one waiting period 162 following the delay 158. The routing system 130 may be configured to compensate for the time delay 158 by shortening the next waiting period, also shown as the first upcoming waiting period 166 of the delay carrier 114, by, for example, the amount of the time delay 158 (indicated by reference numeral 168). However, if the time delay 158 is longer than the upcoming waiting period 166, the time delay 158 cannot be completely compensated by the upcoming waiting period 166. Therefore, the routing system 130 may be configured to at least partially compensate for the time delay 158 by shortening the upcoming waiting period 166. In the case of a residual time delay, that is, when the time delay 158 cannot be completely compensated by the first upcoming waiting period 166, the routing system 130 may be configured to at least partially shift the time delay to at least a second upcoming waiting period of at least one affected carrier, for example. The routing system 130 may be configured to shift the uncompensated portion of the time delay 158 to at least one second upcoming waiting period (158). A second upcoming waiting period may follow the first upcoming waiting period 166 in time. If the time delay 158 still cannot be completely compensated by the next waiting time of the carrier 114, the subsequent waiting times may be used to compensate for the remaining delay until the delay 158 is completely resolved, and so on.

[0099] In this example, one of the plurality of carriers 114 can be temporally delayed. For this reason, the original plan 146 fails. The delay 158 can occur during the first movement period 160. The routing system 130 may be configured to compensate for the time delay 158 by shortening the upcoming waiting period 166. As shown in FIG. 3, in most cases where only occasional short delays 158 occur, the upcoming waiting period 166 may already be long enough to be used for compensation. Thus, a solution can be quickly found without affecting many carriers 114 and without involving computationally intensive replanning. If the upcoming waiting period 166 is too short, for example, and the time delay 158 cannot be fully compensated for with respect to the upcoming waiting period 166, all the waiting times of the upcoming waiting period 166 may be consumed, and subsequent upcoming waiting periods may also be used partially or fully, and so on. Thus, the method is recursively executed for future plans until all delays 158 are compensated.

[0100] FIG. 4 shows another example of a routing plan 142. Specifically, FIG. 4 shows the original routing plan 146 for the first carrier 114, the new routing plan 148 for the first carrier 114, and the routing plan 170 for the second carrier 114. The first carrier 114 may be delayed and thus may experience a time delay 158. The second carrier 114 may be an additional carrier 114 without a time delay 158.

[0101] In the dispensing system 110, the maximum number of simultaneous movements may be fixed across the entire dispensing surface 118 or may be defined for each area. Movements that are permitted to occur simultaneously can form so-called simultaneous movement groups. For example, it may be permitted for up to eight carriers 114 to move simultaneously for each dispensing module 172 or software-defined area. The dispensing module 172 may be a separate structural unit and / or sub-unit of the dispensing surface 118 that includes at least one logical location 120, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 1. In this example, the dispensing module 172 comprises a plurality of logical locations 120. The maximum allowable number of simultaneous movements can also be related to the number of logical locations 120 within that area. For example, the maximum simultaneous movement permitted within an area can be within the range of, for example, 1% to 70% or 5% to 50% or 10% to 30% or 15% to 25% of the number of available logical locations 120 within that area. This may limit the maximum power consumption peak of that area, thereby allowing a smaller or lesser power supply to be used, or protecting the electronic circuit from high-speed aging or damage.

[0102] As can be seen in FIG. 4, by using at least one upcoming waiting period 166 to compensate for the time delay 158 of the first carrier 114, a problem can occur where the plan violates the maximum co-movement constraint as the plan deviates from the original time window of the original co-movement group. In this example, the first and second carriers 114 can violate the maximum co-movement constraint (indicated by reference numeral 174). The original co-movement group may include movements planned to be executed simultaneously initially, i.e., according to the original plan 146 of the routing system 130 without delay 158. Thus, if only a maximum number of co-movements are allowed, without taking any measures, this rule may be violated. The routing system 130 may be configured to adapt the originally planned movement times of the carriers 114 that violate the maximum co-movement constraint. The plans 142, 170 for the additional carriers 114 affected by violating the maximum co-movement constraint, in this example the routing plan 170 of the second carrier 114, may be shifted in the same way as the plan 148 of the delayed carrier 114. Those waiting periods can be used to attempt to compensate for the delay 158.

[0103] FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for distributing a plurality of carriers 114 using the distribution system 110 according to the present invention disclosed. The method includes using the aforementioned distribution system 110, which may relate to the embodiment described in FIG. 1 and / or any of the embodiments given in more detail below. The method may include the following steps that may be executed in a given order or in a different order. Further, one or more additional method steps not enumerated may exist. Further, one, two or more, or even all of the method steps may be repeatedly implemented.

[0104] The method includes moving a plurality of carriers 114 on at least one transfer surface 118 of a distribution system 110 between logical positions 120 by using at least one drive system 126 (indicated by reference numeral 176). The method includes controlling the carriers 114 to move on a planned route from a starting position to a final destination position on the transfer surface 118 by using a control system 128 (indicated by reference numeral 178). The planned route includes sub-routes 144. The method includes calculating a routing plan for the carriers 114 on the transfer surface 118 by modeling the transfer surface 118 with a graph of nodes 132 by using a routing system 130 (indicated by reference numeral 180). The calculated routing plan includes a movement period 160 and a waiting period 162. Calculating includes allocating a waiting period 162 for the carrier 114 in response to a reservation of the logical positions 120 of the sub-routes 140 of other carriers 114 (indicated by reference numeral 182). Calculating includes shifting an experienced time delay 158 to at least one upcoming waiting period 166 of the delayed carrier 114 if the carrier 114 experiences a time delay 158 during the execution of the movement (indicated by reference numeral 184).

[0105] The method may include at least partially compensating for the time delay 158 by shortening at least one upcoming waiting period 166 of the carrier 114 in response to the time delay 158 (indicated by reference numeral 186). In the case of a residual time delay, the method may include at least partially shifting the residual time delay, for example, to at least one upcoming waiting period of at least one affected carrier (indicated by reference numeral 188). The second upcoming waiting period may follow the first upcoming waiting period in time.

[0106] The method may include calculating a routing plan, particularly a travel time, taking into account the maximum number of simultaneous movements per transfer surface 118 or per area of the transfer surface 118 (indicated by reference numeral 190), and the movements that are allowed to be executed simultaneously form a simultaneous movement group. The entire transfer surface may be divided into one or more areas, and the maximum number of allowed simultaneous movements may vary by area. The original route plan of the carrier 114 that violates the maximum number of simultaneous movement constraints may be adjusted.

[0107] Figures 6A - 6D and 7A - 7D show the planning dependencies, delay results, and the resolution thereof for the carrier 114. The numbers within the circles represent carrier i, where in this example i ranges from 1 to 7.

[0108] Figure 6A shows an example of a partial plan of the planned movements. This shows all the movements to be made throughout the partial plan. The carrier 114 may start moving at different times and reserving fields that are also used for other movements. For this reason, there may be dependencies between the time plans of some of the movements of the carrier 114.

[0109] Figures 6B - 6D show some of the movements made during a particular time of the partial plan. The order in which the movements are scheduled in time is indicated by the number of arrows. Movements with lower numbers are executed before those with higher numbers.

[0110] Figure 7B shows that when carrier 4 wants to move, the carrier can move only after carrier 1 has passed and released the reservation of the required position. The same applies to carrier 3. Therefore, the plan for carrier 4 depends on the plans for carriers 1 and 3. The movement plan for carrier 6 depends on carrier 4 and thus indirectly on 1 and 3, etc. Since not all carriers are yet planned to move, at this early stage, carriers 5 and 7 do not yet have arrows. Also, at this time, the movement of some carriers may not yet have dependencies, such as 5 and 7. The dependencies can be shown by the directed graphs in FIGS. 7A - 7C. For this first stage, referring to FIG. 6B, the generated dependencies are shown by FIG. 7B. The arrow from carrier 1 to carrier 4 indicates that the plan for carrier 4 depends on the plan for carrier 1.

[0111] Figure 6C shows the moment after a new movement (refer to FIG. 6C) and thus dependencies (refer to FIG. 7C) have occurred. Summing up all the dependencies that occur during the complete partial plan, a graph as shown in FIG. 7A is obtained. Here, it can be seen that the dependency arrows between carriers can be in both directions. Examples are carriers 1 and 4. Initially, the movement of carrier 4 depends on the movement of carrier 1, but later it is reversed. Figure 6D shows the final result of all the movements.

[0112] If the execution of the planned movement of carrier 114 is delayed, this delay can be resolved by using the planned waiting time of carrier 114. For example, if carrier 1 is delayed, the waiting time of this carrier is used. If the waiting time is too short to completely resolve the delay, the plans of the affected and thus dependent carriers can be shifted and their waiting times can be used. In this case, it is carrier 4. If this does not affect the plan for carrier 6, the problem is solved; otherwise, carrier 6 also needs to be delayed, and so on. These time shifts do not affect non - dependent carriers.

[0113] If the initial delay and the delay causing it are not completely resolved by the first movement, the remaining delay can be pushed to subsequent movements. This can enable, for example, resolving the delay here. As can be seen in the dependency graph (Figure 7B vs. Figure 7A), the longer the time it takes to find a way for the method to use the waiting time to resolve the delay of Carrier 1, the more carriers can be involved in providing their waiting time partially or completely.

Explanation of Signs

[0114] 110 Distribution system 112 Laboratory automation system 114 Carrier 116 Laboratory station 118 Transfer surface 120 Logical position 122 Object 124 Sample container 126 Drive system 128 Control system 130 Routing system 132 Node graph 134 Identification and registration system 136 Camera system 138 Positioning system 140 Execution unit 142 Routing plan 144 Sub-route 146 Original routing plan 148 New routing plan 150 Free time window 152 Reserved time window for moving carrier number n 154 Reserved time window for waiting for carrier number n 156 Increase in the reserved time window for waiting for carrier number n 158 Time delay 160 Movement period 162 Waiting period 164 Increase in the waiting period 166 Upcoming waiting period 168 Shortening of the upcoming waiting period 170 Routing plan for the second carrier 172 Transfer module 174 Violation of the maximum simultaneous movement constraint 176 Moving multiple carriers 178 Controlling the carrier 180 Calculating the routing plan 182 Assigning the waiting period 184 Shifting the experienced time delay 186 Compensating the time delay 188 Shifting the remaining time delay 190 Considering the constraint of the maximum number of simultaneous movements

Claims

1. At least one transfer surface (118) including a logical position (120), A plurality of carriers (114) for transferring an object (122), At least one drive system (126) for moving the carrier (114) on the transfer surface (118) between the logical positions (120), At least one control system (128) configured to control the carrier (114) to move on a planned route from a starting position to a final destination position on the transfer surface (118), wherein the planned route includes a partial route (144), and the control system (128) models the transfer surface (118) as a graph of nodes (132) to calculate a routing plan for the carrier (114) on the transfer surface (118), and at least one routing system (130) configured to calculate the routing plan in consideration of a movement period (160) and a waiting period (162), and the routing system (130) is configured to allocate a waiting period (162) for the carrier (114) according to a reservation of the logical position (120) of the partial route (144) of another carrier (114), and when the carrier (114) experiences a time delay (158) during the execution of the movement, the routing system (130) is configured to shift the experienced time delay (158) to at least one upcoming waiting period (166) of the carrier (114), at least one control system (128); A dispensing system (110) comprising:

2. The routing system (130) is configured to determine whether the delay of the carrier (114) affects at least one further carrier (114), and the routing system (130) is configured to shift the time delay (158) to at least one waiting time of the at least one further carrier (114) affected. The dispensing system (110) according to claim 1.

3. The routing system (130) of the distribution system (110) according to claim 1 or 2, configured to recursively solve the routing plan of the carriers directly and / or indirectly affected by the delay of the carrier (114).

4. The routing system (130) of the distribution system (110) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, configured to at least partially compensate for the time delay (158) by shortening the at least one upcoming waiting period (166) of the carrier (114) according to the time delay (158).

5. In the case of a residual time delay, the routing system (130) of the distribution system (110) according to claim 4, configured to at least partially shift the residual time delay to at least one second upcoming waiting period.

6. The distribution system (110) according to claim 5, wherein a second upcoming waiting period temporally follows a first upcoming waiting period.

7. The routing system (130) of the distribution system (110) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, configured to calculate a routing plan taking into account the maximum number of simultaneous movements per transfer surface (118) or per area of the transfer surface (118), wherein the movements that can be executed simultaneously form a simultaneous movement group, the entire transfer surface is divided into one or more areas, and the maximum allowable number of simultaneous movements is different for each area.

8. The routing system (130) of the distribution system (110) according to claim 7, configured to adapt the initially planned routing plan of the carrier (114) that violates the maximum number of simultaneous movements constraint.

9. The control system (128) of the distribution system (110) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising at least one execution unit (140) configured to execute the routing plan for transferring the carriers (114) from their respective starting positions to their respective final positions.

10. The routing system (130) is configured to use a cooperative path discovery algorithm, specifically a windowed hierarchical cooperative A* algorithm (WHCA*), to calculate the routing plan, for the distribution system (110) according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. A method for distributing a plurality of carriers (114) using the distribution system (110) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, the method comprising moving the plurality of carriers (114) on at least one transfer surface (118) of the distribution system (110) between the logical positions (120) by using the at least one drive system (126), the method comprising controlling the carriers (114) to move on a planned route from the starting position to the final destination position on the transfer surface (118) by using the control system (128), the planned route including sub-routes (144), the method comprising calculating a routing plan for the carriers (114) on the transfer surface (118) by modeling the transfer surface (118) with a graph of nodes (132) by using the routing system (130), the calculated routing plan including a movement period (160) and a waiting period (162), the calculating including allocating a waiting period (162) for a carrier (114) in response to a reservation of the logical position (120) of the sub-route (144) of another carrier (114), the calculating including shifting the experienced time delay (158) to at least one upcoming waiting period (166) of the carrier (114) if the carrier (114) experiences a time delay (158) during the execution of the movement.

12. The method further comprises determining whether the delay of the carrier affects at least one further carrier (114) and shifting the time delay (158) to at least one waiting time of the at least one further carrier (114) affected by the time delay, according to claim 11.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, further comprising recursively solving the routing plan of carriers that are directly and / or indirectly affected by the delay of the carrier (114).

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, comprising at least partially compensating for the time delay (158) by shortening at least one upcoming waiting period (166) of the carrier (114) according to the time delay (158).

15. In the case of a residual time delay, the method according to claim 14, comprising at least partially shifting the residual time delay to at least one second upcoming waiting period, the second upcoming waiting period temporally following the first upcoming waiting period.

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