Material management method, apparatus and system, and electronic device and storage medium

Abstract

The embodiments of the present application provide a material management method, apparatus and system, and an electronic device and a storage medium. The method comprises: acquiring a work order to be delivered, wherein said work order comprises the total number of packages for materials required by a production line, and each package can contain a plurality of materials; for any type of material in said work order, according to the total number of packages corresponding to this type of material and a preset returned material picking mode, determining the number of packages for returned materials needing to be picked, wherein the number of packages for returned materials is the number of packages used for containing returned materials; on the basis of the number of packages for returned materials corresponding to this type of material and the total number of packages corresponding to this type of material, determining the number of packages for integral materials needing to be picked, wherein the number of packages for integral materials is the number of packages used for containing unused integral materials; and controlling a transfer robot to transfer, to the production line, materials with the number of packages for returned materials and materials with the number of packages for integral materials which are associated with said work order. Thus, a material picking error rate and a manual workload can be reduced, and the degree of intellectualization is high.

Description

Material management method, device, system, electronic device and storage medium

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on June 13, 2023, with application number 202310702425.6 and invention name “A material management method, device, system, electronic device and storage medium”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the technical field of material management, and in particular to a material management method, device, system, electronic device and storage medium. Background Art

[0003] As production lines across various industries become increasingly intelligent, the management of materials required for production is also gradually shifting towards intelligentization. For example, in SMT (Surface Mounted Technology) production lines, AMRs (Autonomous Mobile Robots) can carry material carts to load materials to the production line. However, manual management is still required when sorting materials out of the warehouse based on work orders issued from the production line.

[0004] Specifically, workers need to rely on their experience and the quantity of materials included in the work orders issued from the production line to determine the number of pallets of materials to be picked and the number of line returns. A pallet of unused inventory is a pallet of unused inventory, while line returns are unused inventory returned to inventory. Because outbound picking relies on worker experience, the material picking error rate is high, the workload is heavy, and the level of intelligence is low.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a material management method, device, system, electronic device, and storage medium to reduce the material picking error rate and manual workload. The specific technical solution is as follows:

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a material management method, the method comprising:

[0008] Obtain a work order to be delivered, wherein the work order to be delivered includes the total number of packages of materials required by the production line, and each package can contain multiple materials;

[0009] For any material in the work order to be delivered, determine the number of return packages to be picked based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the preset return material picking method, wherein the number of return packages refers to the number of packages used for returning the material;

[0010] Determine the number of integer material packages to be picked based on the number of returned material packages corresponding to the material and the total number of packages corresponding to the material, wherein the integer material package quantity is the number of packages used to carry unused integer materials;

[0011] Control the transport robot to transport the materials in the return material packaging quantity and the integer material packaging quantity associated with the work order to be delivered to the production line.

[0012] Optionally, the step of determining the number of return material packages to be picked for any material in the to-be-delivered work order according to the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset return material picking method includes:

[0013] For any material in the to-be-delivered work order, the number of return packages that need to be picked corresponding to the material is calculated based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset return material picking ratio factor.

[0014] Optionally, the step of calculating the number of return packages corresponding to the material that need to be picked based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset return picking ratio factor includes:

[0015] Multiply the total number of packages corresponding to this type of material by the preset return material picking ratio factor to obtain the product result;

[0016] The product result is rounded up to obtain the number of return packages that need to be picked corresponding to the material.

[0017] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0018] Get the number of materials included in each inventory return corresponding to this material;

[0019] According to the order of the number of materials from largest to smallest, the inventory returns with the return packaging quantity are determined from the inventory returns as the return materials to be picked;

[0020] The inventory location of the returned material to be picked is obtained, so as to pick the returned material to be picked from the inventory location.

[0021] Optionally, the step of determining the required number of integer material packages to be picked based on the number of returned material packages corresponding to the material and the total number of packages corresponding to the material includes:

[0022] Calculate the difference between the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the number of returned packages;

[0023] If the number of materials included in the returned materials to be picked corresponding to this type of material is not less than the preset number of materials, the difference is used as the integer material packaging quantity required to be picked corresponding to this type of material;

[0024] If there is a target return material among the returned materials to be picked corresponding to the material, the quantity of the target return material is obtained as the target quantity, wherein the target return material is the returned materials to be picked including a number of materials less than the preset number of materials;

[0025] Based on the target quantity and the difference, the integer material packaging quantity required to be picked corresponding to the material is calculated.

[0026] Optionally, the step of calculating the required number of integer material packages corresponding to the material to be picked based on the target quantity and the difference includes:

[0027] If the target quantity is not greater than the preset quantity, the sum of the target quantity and the difference is used as the integer material packaging quantity required to be picked corresponding to the material;

[0028] If the target quantity is greater than the preset quantity, the sum of the preset quantity and the difference is used as the integer material packaging quantity required to be picked corresponding to the material.

[0029] Optionally, the returned inventory is stored in a returned inventory shelf area, and the returned inventory shelf area includes a plurality of storage locations, each of which has an indicator light;

[0030] The method further comprises:

[0031] The indicator light of the bin where the to-be-picked returned material is located is controlled to light up in a preset manner, so as to indicate that the to-be-picked returned material is to be picked from the bin where the indicator light is located.

[0032] Optionally, the integer materials are stored in an integer material shelf area, and the integer material shelf area includes a plurality of shelves, and each shelf stores at least one integer material;

[0033] The step of controlling the transport robot to transport the materials of the return material packaging quantity and the integer material packaging quantity associated with the to-be-delivered work order to the production line includes:

[0034] Controlling the transport robot to transport the material cart loaded with the materials included in the work order to be delivered to the material cart distribution position;

[0035] According to the package quantity of the integer material and the shelf position of the integer material, the transport robot is controlled to transport the shelf storing the integer material from the integer material shelf area to the picking workstation, so as to pick the integer material from the shelf according to the package quantity of the integer material and place it on the material cart;

[0036] When receiving the instruction to complete the picking of integer materials, the transport robot is controlled to transport the material cart to the preset order consolidation area, so as to pick the return materials to be picked in the return material shelf area according to the position of the indicator light of the return material shelf area, and place them on the material cart in the preset order consolidation area;

[0037] When receiving the instruction to complete the returned material picking, the transport robot is controlled to transport the material cart for production line delivery.

[0038] Optionally, the integer materials are stored in an integer material shelf area, and the integer material shelf area includes a plurality of shelves, and each shelf stores at least one integer material;

[0039] The step of controlling the transport robot to transport the materials of the return material packaging quantity and the integer material packaging quantity associated with the to-be-delivered work order to the production line includes:

[0040] Controlling the transport robot to transport the material cart loaded with the materials included in the work order to be delivered to the preset order consolidation area, so as to pick the returned materials to be picked in the quantity of returned material packaging from the return material shelf area according to the position of the indicator light of the return material shelf area, and place them on the material cart in the preset order consolidation area;

[0041] When receiving the instruction of completing the returned material picking, the transport robot is controlled to transport the material cart to the material cart distribution position;

[0042] According to the package quantity of the integer material and the shelf position of the integer material, the transport robot is controlled to transport the shelf storing the integer material from the integer material shelf area to the picking workstation, so as to pick the integer material from the shelf according to the package quantity of the integer material and place it on the material cart;

[0043] When receiving the integer material picking completion instruction, the transport robot is controlled to transport the material cart from the material cart distribution position for production line distribution.

[0044] Optionally, before the step of determining the number of return material packages to be picked for any material in the to-be-delivered work order based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset return material picking method, the method further includes:

[0045] For any material in the to-be-delivered work order, if there is inventory return for the material, executing the step of determining the number of return packages to be picked for the material in the to-be-delivered work order based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset return material picking method;

[0046] If there is no inventory return for this type of material, the total number of packages corresponding to this type of material included in the work order to be delivered is used as the integer number of material packages that need to be picked.

[0047] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a material management device, the device comprising:

[0048] A module for acquiring work orders to be delivered is used to acquire work orders to be delivered, wherein the work orders to be delivered include the total number of packages of materials required by the production line, and each package can contain multiple materials;

[0049] A return material packaging quantity determination module is used to determine the number of return material packages to be picked for any material in the to-be-delivered work order based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset return material picking method, wherein the return material packaging quantity refers to the number of packages used for returning the material by loading;

[0050] An integer material package quantity determination module is used to determine the number of integer material packages to be picked based on the number of returned material packages corresponding to the material and the total number of packages corresponding to the material, wherein the integer material package quantity is the number of packages used to carry unused integer materials;

[0051] The material handling module is used to control the handling robot to transport the materials of the return material packaging quantity and the integer material packaging quantity associated with the work order to be delivered to the production line.

[0052] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a material management system, the system including a control device, wherein:

[0053] The control device is used to obtain the work order to be delivered; for any material in the work order to be delivered, according to the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the preset return material picking method, determine the number of return material packages to be picked; based on the number of return material packages corresponding to the material and the total number of packages corresponding to the material, determine the number of integer material packages to be picked; control the transport robot to transport the materials of the return material package quantity and the integer material package quantity associated with the work order to be delivered to the production line; wherein, the work order to be delivered includes the total number of packages of materials required for the production line, and each package can carry multiple materials; the return material package quantity is the number of packages used to carry returned materials; the integer material package quantity is the number of packages used to carry unused integer materials.

[0054] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, including:

[0055] Memory for storing computer programs;

[0056] The processor is configured to implement any of the methods described in the first aspect above when executing a program stored in the memory.

[0057] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements any of the methods described in the first aspect above.

[0058] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, implements any of the methods described in the first aspect above.

[0059] Beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present application:

[0060] According to the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application, the electronic device can obtain a work order to be delivered, wherein the work order to be delivered includes the total number of packages of materials required for the production line, and each package can carry multiple materials. For any material in the work order to be delivered, the number of return material packages to be picked is determined according to the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the preset return material picking method, wherein the number of return material packages is the number of packages used for carrying return materials, and based on the number of return material packages corresponding to the material and the total number of packages corresponding to the material, the number of integer material packages to be picked is determined, wherein the number of integer material packages is the number of packages used for carrying unused integer materials, and the handling robot is controlled to transport the materials of the return material package quantity and the integer material package quantity associated with the work order to be delivered to the production line. Since the total number of packages of materials included in the work order to be delivered and the picking method corresponding to the materials can be determined, the number of return material packages required to be picked for the materials can be determined, and then the integer number of material packages required to be picked for the materials can be determined, so that the handling robot can transport the materials picked based on the work order to the production line. In this way, based on the number of return material packages required to be picked for the materials and the integer number of material packages, the materials included in the work order can be picked without relying on the experience of the staff, which can reduce the error rate and manual workload of material picking and has a high degree of intelligence. Of course, implementing any product or method of the present application does not necessarily require achieving all of the advantages described above at the same time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0061] The drawings described herein are used to provide further understanding of the present application and constitute a part of the present application. The illustrative embodiments of the present application and their descriptions are used to explain the present application and do not constitute improper limitations on the present application.

[0062] FIG1 is a flow chart of a material management method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG2 is a specific flow chart of determining the number of returned material packages to be picked based on the embodiment shown in FIG1 ;

[0064] FIG3 is a specific flow chart of obtaining the inventory location of returned materials to be picked based on the embodiment shown in FIG1 ;

[0065] FIG4 is a specific flow chart of step S103 in the embodiment shown in FIG1 ;

[0066] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a material return shelf area provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of an integer material shelf area provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a material storage area layout provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG8 is a flow chart of material sorting provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a process of material picking based on the embodiment shown in FIG8 ;

[0071] FIG10 is another flow chart of material sorting provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a process of material picking based on the embodiment shown in FIG10 ;

[0073] FIG12 is a specific flow chart of the material management method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG13 is a schematic structural diagram of a material management device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a material management system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another material management system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG16 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0078] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application more clearly understood, the present application is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. It is apparent that the described examples are only a portion of the embodiments of this application, and not all of them. All other embodiments derived by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the examples in this application are intended to fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0079] In order to reduce the material picking error rate and manual workload, the embodiments of the present application provide a material management method, device, system, electronic device, computer-readable storage medium, and computer program product. The following first introduces a material management method provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0080] A material management method provided in an embodiment of the present application can be applied to any device that requires material management, for example, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a processor, a server, etc., which is not specifically limited here. For the sake of clarity, it is referred to as an electronic device below.

[0081] As shown in FIG1 , a material management method includes:

[0082] S101, obtain the work order to be delivered;

[0083] The work order to be delivered includes the total number of packages of materials required for the production line, and each package can contain multiple materials.

[0084] S102, for any material in the to-be-delivered work order, determining the number of returned material packages to be picked based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset returned material picking method;

[0085] The quantity of returned material packaging refers to the quantity of packaging used for returning materials;

[0086] S103, determining the integer number of material packages to be picked based on the number of returned material packages corresponding to the material type and the total number of packages corresponding to the material type;

[0087] The number of integer material packages is the number of packages used to pack unused integer materials.

[0088] S104: Control the transport robot to transport the materials of the return material packaging quantity and the integer material packaging quantity associated with the work order to be delivered to the production line.

[0089] It can be seen that in the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, the electronic device can obtain a work order to be delivered, wherein the work order to be delivered includes the total number of packages of materials required for the production line, and each package can carry multiple materials. For any material in the work order to be delivered, the number of return material packages to be picked is determined according to the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the preset return material picking method, wherein the number of return material packages is the number of packages used for carrying return materials, and based on the number of return material packages corresponding to the material and the total number of packages corresponding to the material, the number of integer material packages to be picked is determined, wherein the number of integer material packages is the number of packages used for carrying unused integer materials, and the handling robot is controlled to transport the materials of the return material package quantity and the integer material package quantity associated with the work order to be delivered to the production line. Since the total number of packages of materials included in the work order to be delivered and the corresponding picking method of the materials can be determined, the number of return packages required to pick the materials can be determined, and then the integer number of material packages required to pick various materials can be determined, so that the handling robot can transport the materials picked based on the work order to the production line. In this way, the materials included in the work order can be picked based on the number of return packages required to pick the materials and the integer number of material packages, without relying on the experience of the staff, which can reduce the error rate of material picking and manual workload, and has a high degree of intelligence.

[0090] At present, the intelligence level of production lines in various industries is gradually improving, but manual management methods still exist in the material management of production lines.

[0091] For example, in an SMT production line, staff store newly purchased materials according to material codes. When a work order is issued down the production line, staff are required to rely on their personal experience and the quantity of various materials included in the work order to determine the integer material packaging quantity and the number of return material packaging of the various materials to be picked, and then pick the various materials in the material inventory area. This way of picking materials is highly dependent on staff, resulting in a high error rate in picking materials. Therefore, the present application provides a material management method.

[0092] In step S101, the electronic device may obtain a work order to be delivered. This work order includes the materials required by the production line and the total number of packages for each material. The total number of packages refers to the number of packages used to pack the materials, and each package can hold multiple materials. The package can be the smallest package for packing materials, and can be a material tray, material box, or material box, etc., without specific limitations here.

[0093] For example, an SMT production line issues a work order to be delivered, which includes the number of material trays of various materials required by the SMT production line. Then, the electronic device can obtain the work order to be delivered and further obtain the number of material trays of various materials required by the SMT production line.

[0094] Since the specifications of the packaging used to carry materials are fixed, the number of materials carried by each package carrying an integer material is fixed, and different numbers of materials will not be carried due to different material quantities required by the production line. Therefore, when the number of materials required by the production line is less than the specifications of the packaging for that material, or when the number of materials required by the production line is less than the number of materials remaining in the packaging for that material, there will be leftover materials. If the production line does not consume all the materials in the package, the remaining materials will be returned to the warehouse. In this way, there will be both unused integer materials and unconsumed returned materials in the warehouse. Therefore, in order to avoid too many returned materials in the warehouse, when the electronic equipment obtains the work order to be delivered, it can first pick from the returned materials of each material.

[0095] Then, in step S102, for any material in the delivery work order, the electronic device can determine the number of return packages to be sorted based on the total number of packages corresponding to that material and the preset return material sorting method. The number of return packages refers to the number of packages used for return shipping. For example, the number of return packages can be the number of SMT return trays.

[0096] In one scenario, for any material in a delivery work order, if the entire batch of that material is not consumed during production line use, returns of that material will be generated and stored in the warehouse as inventory returns. Multiple inventory returns may exist for any given material. Since the total number of packages corresponding to a material is the number of packages containing the material, if too many returns of that material are picked based on the total quantity, the total number of returns corresponding to that material may be less than the required quantity when delivered to the production line. Therefore, a preset return picking method can be used to reasonably determine the number of return packages of that material to be picked.

[0097] In one embodiment, for any material in a work order to be delivered, the electronic device can determine the number of returned material packages that need to be picked based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a certain returned material picking ratio.

[0098] For example, a delivery work order includes the total number of packages corresponding to required materials A, B, and C, each of which is packed on pallets. Material A has 10 pallets, material B has 12 pallets, and material C has 16 pallets. Therefore, electronic equipment can be sorted using a return picking ratio of half the total number of packages. This determines the required return packaging quantities for materials A, B, and C to be 5 pallets, 6 pallets, and 8 pallets, respectively.

[0099] After the electronic device determines the number of return packages required to be picked for this type of material, in step S103, it can determine the number of integer material packages required to be picked based on the number of return packages corresponding to this type of material and the total number of packages corresponding to this type of material. In this way, the electronic device can determine the number of return packages and integer material packages required to be picked for each material included in the work order to be delivered.

[0100] After determining the number of return packages and integer material packages required to be picked for each material, the electronic equipment can instruct the staff to pick the various materials included in the delivery work order, or the picking robot can pick the materials included in the delivery work order based on the number of return packages and integer material packages.

[0101] The integer material packaging quantity is the number of packages used to store unused integer materials. For example, staff can store newly purchased materials in packages according to their material codes, treating them as integer materials. For example, if a staff member stores newly purchased SMT materials in material trays, the integer material packaging quantity is the number of SMT trays.

[0102] In one embodiment, the electronic device can calculate the difference between the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the number of return packages required to be picked for the material based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the number of return packages required to be picked for the material, and determine the difference as the integer number of material packages required for the material.

[0103] In another embodiment, if among the returned materials of the determined number of return packages required to be picked for this type of material, there are returned materials with a smaller number of materials, then the number of returned materials with a smaller number of materials can be used as the target number of integer material packages to be increased. When the difference between the total number of packages corresponding to this type of material and the number of returned material packages is obtained, the target number of integer material packages is increased to determine the integer material packages required for this type of material.

[0104] For example, the total number of packages corresponding to material A included in the work order to be delivered is 10 trays, and the electronic device determines that the number of returned material packages that need to be picked is 6 trays. The electronic device can calculate the difference between the total number of packages corresponding to material A, 10 trays, and the number of returned material packages, 6 trays, and the result is 4 trays. Therefore, it can be determined that the integer number of material packages that need to be picked for material A is 4 trays.

[0105] In one case, if there are 6 trays of returned materials for material A to be picked, and the number of materials in 2 trays is small, in order to avoid the situation where the total number of picked materials does not meet the demand, after obtaining the packaging quantity of 4 trays of integer materials, 2 trays of integer materials can be added to determine that the number of integers to be picked is 6 trays.

[0106] In this way, the electronic device can determine the number of return material packages and the integer material package quantity required to pick various materials in the delivery work order, and then the staff can pick various materials included in the delivery work order based on the number of return material packages and the integer material package quantity determined by the electronic device.

[0107] After completing the picking of the materials included in the work order to be delivered, in step S104, the electronic device can control the transport robot to transport the materials of the return material packaging quantity and the integer material packaging quantity associated with the work order to be delivered to the production line.

[0108] In one embodiment, the integer materials and returned materials are stored in different shelf areas respectively. Then, the electronic device can control the transport robot to move to the integer material shelf area first, transport the integer materials with integer material packaging quantities, and then move to the return material shelf area, transport the return materials with return material packaging quantities, and then deliver the materials associated with the delivery work order.

[0109] Alternatively, the electronic device can control the transport robot to move first to the return material shelf area, transport the return material in the return material packaging quantity, then move to the integer material shelf area, transport the integer material packaging quantity of integer materials, and then deliver the materials associated with the delivery work order.

[0110] In the solution of this embodiment, the total number of packages of materials included in the delivery work order and the corresponding picking method of the materials can be used to determine the number of return packages required for the materials, and then determine the integer number of packages required for the materials, so that the handling robot can transport the materials picked based on the work order to the production line. In this way, based on the number of return packages required for the materials and the integer number of packages required for the materials, the various materials included in the work order are picked, without relying on the experience of the staff, which can reduce the material picking error rate and manual workload, and has a high degree of intelligence. In addition, by giving priority to picking the corresponding returns of the materials, the proportion of bulk material inventory can be reduced and the overall storage capacity of the warehouse area can be increased.

[0111] As an implementation of an embodiment of the present application, the step of determining the number of return packages to be picked for any material in the to-be-delivered work order based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset return material picking method may include:

[0112] For any material in the to-be-delivered work order, the number of return packages that need to be picked corresponding to the material is calculated based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset return material picking ratio factor.

[0113] For any material on a delivery order, if there are too many returned items remaining in the warehouse, this can cause a backlog and lead to material waste. Therefore, in conjunction with material outbound management, when determining the total number of packages required for picking for this material, you can select the required returns according to a certain return picking ratio, i.e., set a return picking ratio factor.

[0114] In one embodiment, for any material in a work order to be delivered, the electronic device can calculate the number of return packages that need to be picked corresponding to the material based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset return picking ratio factor.

[0115] Each material type corresponds to a preset return material sorting scale factor, or all materials correspond to the same preset return material sorting scale factor, which can be set according to actual conditions. The preset return material sorting scale factor is a decimal less than 1, and can be one decimal place or two decimal places, and is not specifically limited here.

[0116] For example, the preset return material scale factor is 0.7, and the preset return material picking scale factor is the same for all materials. The electronic device obtains a delivery work order, where the total number of packages corresponding to material A is 10 trays. Based on the total number of packages corresponding to material A (10 trays) and the preset return material picking scale factor of 0.7, the number of return material packages required to be picked for material A can be calculated, that is, the number of return material packages required to be picked is determined to be 7 trays.

[0117] As can be seen, in this embodiment, for any material in the delivery work order, the electronic device can calculate the number of return packages required for that material based on the total number of packages corresponding to that material and the preset return material picking ratio factor. This eliminates the need to rely on staff experience, reduces material picking errors and manual workload, and is highly intelligent. Furthermore, by introducing a preset return material picking ratio factor and adjusting it, the ratio of returned and whole materials shipped out of the warehouse can be optimized, improving material picking flexibility.

[0118] As an implementation of an embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG2 , the step of calculating the number of return packages required to be picked for the material according to the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the preset return material picking ratio factor may include:

[0119] S201, multiplying the total number of packages corresponding to the material by a preset return material sorting ratio factor to obtain a product result;

[0120] S202: Round up the product result to obtain the number of returned material packages that need to be picked for the material.

[0121] When the electronic device obtains the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the preset return material sorting proportional factor, it can multiply the total number of packages corresponding to the material by the preset return material sorting proportional factor to obtain the product result.

[0122] Because the default return picking scale factor is a decimal less than 1, the product may result in a decimal. To prevent material returns from accumulating in the warehouse, when picking any material required for a delivery work order, it is recommended to pick returns of that material as much as possible within a reasonable range. The electronic device can then round up the product result to obtain the required number of return packages for that material. Of course, the product result can also be rounded down or rounded up, but this is not specifically limited here.

[0123] For example, the total number of packages corresponding to this type of material is n, and the preset return material sorting ratio factor is k. Then, the total number of packages n corresponding to this type of material is multiplied by the preset return material sorting ratio factor k, and the product result is n*k. The product result is rounded up to obtain the number of return packages corresponding to this type of material n1=roundup(n*k).

[0124] For example, the total number of packages corresponding to material A is 16 trays, and the preset return material picking ratio factor is 0.4. Multiply the total number of packages corresponding to material A, 16 trays, by the preset return material picking ratio factor 0.4, and the product result is 6.4. Round the product result 6.4 up to get the number of return packages corresponding to material A, 7 trays, that is, the number of return packages that need to be picked is 7 trays.

[0125] In one embodiment, if the electronic device obtains that the number of return packages corresponding to the material required to be picked is greater than the number of inventory returns of the material, then the number of inventory returns of the material can be used as the number of return packages corresponding to the material required to be picked.

[0126] As can be seen, in this embodiment, the electronic device can multiply the total number of packages corresponding to the material by the preset return material sorting scale factor to obtain the product, and round the product upward to obtain the required number of return packages corresponding to the material. This can sort the required material returns as much as possible within a reasonable range, avoiding excessive material returns. At the same time, it does not rely on the experience of the staff, can reduce the material sorting error rate and manual workload, and has a high degree of intelligence.

[0127] As an implementation of an embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG3 , the above method may further include:

[0128] S301, obtaining the number of materials included in each inventory return corresponding to the material type;

[0129] Because there may be multiple inventory returns for any material, it is necessary to determine the inventory returns with the return packaging quantity from the existing inventory returns for the material.

[0130] In one embodiment, the electronic device can determine the required number of return packaging items for inventory returns based on the number of items included in each inventory return corresponding to that type of material. To prioritize returns with a larger number of items, the electronic device can obtain the number of items included in each inventory return corresponding to that type of material based on each inventory return record for that type of material.

[0131] For example, if material A is loaded on a pallet, the corresponding inventory returns for this material include inventory return a1, inventory return a2, inventory return a3, inventory return a4, and inventory return a5. The number of items included in inventory return a1 is n1, the number of items included in inventory return a2 is n2, the number of items included in inventory return a3 is n3, the number of items included in inventory return a4 is n4, and the number of items included in inventory return a5 is n5. Therefore, the electronic device can obtain the number of items included in inventory return a1, inventory return a2, inventory return a3, inventory return a4, and inventory return a5, which are n1, n2, n3, n4, and n5, respectively.

[0132] S302, determining, from the various inventory returns, inventory returns with the return packaging quantity according to the order of the material quantity from largest to smallest, as the return materials to be picked;

[0133] The number of items included in each inventory return corresponding to this type of material varies. Some inventory returns include a larger number of items, while others include a smaller number of items. When determining the return packaging quantity from the existing inventory returns for this type of material, the determined inventory returns may all have a smaller quantity of items. This may result in the total number of items of the returned items for this type of material being delivered being less than the required quantity. Therefore, to avoid this situation, from the existing inventory returns for this type of material, inventory returns with a larger quantity of items can be prioritized as the returns to be picked.

[0134] In one embodiment, after the electronic device obtains the number of materials included in each inventory return corresponding to the material, it can sort the number of materials included in each inventory return, and then determine the inventory return materials with the return packaging quantity as the return materials to be picked in order from large to small.

[0135] For example, following the example in the above step S301, the electronic device obtains the number of materials included in the inventory return material a1, inventory return material a2, inventory return material a3, inventory return material a4, and inventory return material a5, which are n1, n2, n3, n4, and n5 respectively, among which n1>n3>n4>n2>n5, and the number of return material packages is 3. Then, the electronic device can determine the inventory return materials with the return material package quantity from the inventory return material a1, inventory return material a2, inventory return material a3, inventory return material a4, and inventory return material a5 according to the number of materials n1, n2, n3, n4, and n5 from large to small, as the return materials to be picked, that is, determine the inventory return materials a1, inventory return material a3, and inventory return material a4 as the return materials to be picked.

[0136] S303: Acquire the inventory location of the returned material to be picked, so as to pick the returned material to be picked from the inventory location.

[0137] Each stock return is stored in the warehouse area and placed in the corresponding inventory location. After the electronic device determines that a stock return is to be picked, it can obtain the inventory location of the stock return. The electronic device stores the inventory location of each stock return in the inventory, so when a stock return is determined, the electronic device can obtain the inventory location of the stock return.

[0138] In one embodiment, the electronic device obtains the inventory locations where the returned materials to be picked are located, and can display each inventory location to instruct the staff or the picking robot to pick the returned materials to be picked from the displayed inventory locations.

[0139] In another embodiment, the electronic device obtains the inventory location where the returned materials to be picked are located, and can light up the indicator light of the inventory location to instruct the staff or picking robot to pick the returned materials to be picked from the inventory location where the indicator light is lit.

[0140] For example, each inventory return is stored on a lighted shelf, which includes multiple bins, each of which stores a tray of inventory returns. After the electronic device determines that inventory returns a1, a3, and a4 are returned materials to be picked, it can obtain the bin locations of inventory returns a1, a3, and a4, and then display the locations of the lighted shelf where the bins are located. The staff can then pick the returned materials to be picked from the inventory location based on the locations.

[0141] For another example, each storage location has an indicator light. After the electronic device determines that inventory return material a1, inventory return material a3, and inventory return material a4 are returned materials to be picked, the indicator lights of the storage locations where inventory return material a1, inventory return material a3, and inventory return material a4 are located can be lit to instruct the staff to pick the returned materials to be picked from the inventory location.

[0142] As can be seen, in this embodiment, the electronic device can obtain the number of materials included in each inventory return corresponding to the material type, and then, based on the order of the material count from largest to smallest, determine the inventory return with the number of returned packages from each inventory return, and use it as the return to be picked. The electronic device then obtains the inventory location of the return to be picked, and then picks the return to be picked from the inventory location. In this way, after determining the inventory location of the return to be picked, the return to be picked can be picked directly from the inventory location without relying on the staff's experience, which can reduce the material picking error rate and manual workload, improve picking efficiency, and have a high degree of intelligence.

[0143] As an implementation of an embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG4 , the step of determining the required number of integer material packages to be picked based on the number of returned material packages corresponding to the material type and the total number of packages corresponding to the material type may include:

[0144] S401, calculating the difference between the total quantity of packages corresponding to the material and the quantity of returned packages;

[0145] S402: If the number of materials included in the returned materials to be picked corresponding to the material type is not less than the preset number of materials, the difference is used as the integer material packaging quantity required to be picked corresponding to the material type.

[0146] For any material in a delivery order that has inventory returns, the total package quantity for that material in the delivery order includes both the return package quantity and the integer package quantity. To reduce inventory returns for this material, prioritize returns for this material.

[0147] Since there are inventory returns with a small number of materials among the return packaging quantity required for picking for this type of material, then after the picking is completed based on the total number of packages corresponding to this type of material, there may be a situation where the number of materials of this type delivered to the production line is insufficient, affecting the operation of the production line and even causing the production line to stop.

[0148] Therefore, to ensure reliable production line operation, a minimum threshold for the number of items included in inventory returns can be set based on actual conditions. If the number of items included in an inventory return is not less than the minimum threshold, then there is no need to increase the number of round-number items when selecting the inventory return. Otherwise, the number of round-number items can be appropriately increased when selecting round-number items to avoid the situation where the total number of items picked is insufficient.

[0149] In one embodiment, the electronic device calculates the difference between the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the number of returned packages, and further determines the relationship between the number of items included in the returned materials to be sorted and a preset number of items. The preset number of items is a fixed value, such as 100 or 120, and can be set according to actual conditions.

[0150] If the number of items in the returned materials to be sorted for this material type is not less than the preset number of items, the electronic device can use the difference as the required integer number of packages of materials to be sorted for this material type. In other words, the number of items in the returned materials to be sorted for this material type is relatively large, and there is no need to add integer items.

[0151] For example, a work order to be delivered includes a total of 10 pallets of material A required for the production line, 3 pallets of return packages, and the returned materials to be picked are inventory return a1, inventory return a2, and inventory return a3. Of these, inventory return a1 includes 150 items, inventory return a2 includes 130 items, and inventory return a3 includes 110 items, with the preset number of items being 100. Therefore, the number of returned materials to be picked corresponding to this type of material must not be less than the preset number of 100. The electronic device can use the difference (7 pallets) between the total number of packages corresponding to material A and the number of return packages as the integer number of packages corresponding to material A that needs to be picked.

[0152] S403: If there is a target returned material among the returned materials to be picked corresponding to the material type, the quantity of the target returned material is obtained as the target quantity;

[0153] The target returned materials are returned materials to be sorted, the number of materials included being lower than the preset number of materials.

[0154] S404: Calculate the integer material packaging quantity that needs to be picked corresponding to the material based on the target quantity and the difference.

[0155] If the number of materials included in the returned materials to be picked corresponding to this type of material is lower than the preset number of materials, then the electronic device can determine the integer number of material packages that need to be picked corresponding to this type of material based on the number of returned materials to be picked whose number of materials is lower than the preset number of materials and the difference.

[0156] That is to say, if the number of materials included in the returned materials to be picked corresponding to this type of material includes inventory returns with a smaller number of materials, then the integer materials can be appropriately increased to avoid the situation where the number of materials of this type of material delivered to the production line is insufficient.

[0157] In one embodiment, the electronic device can obtain the number of returned materials to be picked whose corresponding material number is lower than the preset material number, use this number as the target number, and then calculate the integer material packaging number corresponding to this material that needs to be picked based on the target number and the difference.

[0158] For example, the total number of material A required for the production line included in the work order to be delivered is 10 pallets, the number of return material packages is 3 pallets, the difference between the total number of packages corresponding to material A and the number of return material packages is 7 pallets, and the returned materials to be picked are inventory return material a1, inventory return material a2, and inventory return material a3. Among them, the number of materials included in inventory return material a1 is 150, the number of materials included in inventory return material a2 is 130, the number of materials included in inventory return material a3 is 110, and the preset number of materials is 120. Therefore, the number of materials included in inventory return material a3 corresponding to this type of material is lower than the preset number of materials, 120. The electronic device obtains 1 pallet of returned materials to be picked whose material number is lower than the preset number of materials, and 1 pallet is used as the target quantity.

[0159] If the number of packages of the material is increased by 1 tray, then the increase in the number of packages of the material is within a reasonable range. Therefore, based on the target quantity and the difference, the number of packages of the material that needs to be picked for material A can be calculated, and the number of packages of the material that needs to be picked is 8 trays.

[0160] As can be seen, in this embodiment, the electronic device can use different methods to determine the required number of packages of materials to be picked for each type of material based on the relationship between the number of materials included in the returned materials to be picked and the preset number of materials. This can make the determined number of packages of materials to be picked for each type of material more consistent with actual needs, so that the amount of materials picked can meet the production line's demand.

[0161] As an implementation of an embodiment of the present application, the step of calculating the required number of integer material packages corresponding to the material to be picked based on the target quantity and the difference may include:

[0162] If the target quantity is not greater than the preset quantity, the sum of the target quantity and the difference is used as the integer material packaging quantity required to be picked corresponding to the material;

[0163] If the target quantity is greater than the preset quantity, the sum of the preset quantity and the difference is used as the integer material packaging quantity required to be picked corresponding to the material.

[0164] If the number of items in the returned materials for this type of material is lower than the preset number, you can increase the number of round-number material packages. However, the increased number of round-number material packages should be limited. Doing so can easily lead to an excessive number of returns for this type of material. Therefore, you can set the increased number of round-number material packages based on actual conditions.

[0165] In one embodiment, if the target quantity is not greater than the preset quantity, the sum of the target quantity and the difference is used as the required integer number of packages for the material to be picked. The preset quantity is the maximum number of packages that can be added to the same material in a delivery order.

[0166] In another embodiment, if the target quantity is greater than the preset quantity, the sum of the preset quantity and the difference is used as the integer material packaging quantity required to be picked corresponding to the material.

[0167] For example, for material A required for the production line included in the work order to be delivered, the difference between the total number of packages corresponding to material A and the number of returned packages is 5, and the preset quantity f is 3.

[0168] If the electronic device obtains that the number of materials included in the returned materials to be picked corresponding to material A is less than the preset number of materials, the number of returned materials to be picked is 2, that is, the target quantity is 2. Then, the target quantity is not greater than the preset number f, and the electronic device can sum the target quantity and the difference, that is, the number of integer material packages to be picked corresponding to material A is 7;

[0169] If the number of materials included in the returned materials to be picked corresponding to material A obtained by the electronic device is less than the preset number of materials, the number of returned materials to be picked is 4, that is, the target quantity is 4. Then, the target quantity is greater than the preset number f, and the electronic device can sum the preset number f and the difference, that is, the number of integer material packages to be picked corresponding to material A is 8.

[0170] As can be seen, in this embodiment, if the target quantity is not greater than the preset quantity, the electronic device can use the sum of the target quantity and the difference as the required integer number of packages for the material to be picked. If the target quantity is greater than the preset quantity, the electronic device can use the sum of the preset quantity and the difference as the required integer number of packages for the material to be picked. This can make the determined integer number of packages for the material to be picked more consistent with actual needs, ensuring that the amount of picked material can meet the production line's needs while avoiding excessive material returns.

[0171] As an implementation method of an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned inventory returns are stored in a return material shelf area, and the above-mentioned return material shelf area includes multiple storage locations, and each storage location has an indicator light.

[0172] If whole lots and returned lots are stored in the same rack area, then when multiple delivery orders are issued from the production line, picking whole lots and returned lots simultaneously in the same rack area based on the required quantities of the items included in each delivery order can easily cause picking confusion. Therefore, to improve material picking efficiency and reduce picking conflicts, whole lots and returned lots can be stored in different rack areas.

[0173] In one embodiment, inventory returns are stored in a return shelf area, which may include multiple storage locations, each with an indicator light. Each location may hold one or more packages of returned inventory, without specific limitations.

[0174] For example, unused inventory returns from the SMT production line are stored in a lighted shelf area. The lighted shelf area includes multiple storage locations, each location has a return tray, and each location corresponds to a multi-color display indicator light.

[0175] In this case, the above method may further include:

[0176] The indicator light of the bin where the to-be-picked returned material is located is controlled to light up in a preset manner, so as to indicate that the to-be-picked returned material is to be picked from the bin where the indicator light is located.

[0177] Since each bin in the return shelf area has an indicator light, the staff can determine the storage location of the returned materials to be picked in the return shelf area based on the lighting status of the indicator light.

[0178] In one embodiment, the electronic device can control the indicator light of the bin where the returned materials to be picked are located to illuminate according to a preset method, thereby instructing staff to pick the returned materials to be picked from the bin where the indicator light is located. The indicator light can be a multi-color indicator light. In this case, the preset method can be to illuminate a preset color of the indicator light to indicate that the returned materials stored in the bin are returned materials to be picked. The preset method can be set according to actual conditions, such as illuminating a green light.

[0179] For example, as shown in Figure 5, inventory returns of SMT materials are stored in a return material shelf area. This return material shelf area includes three illuminated shelves: a first illuminated shelf 501, a second illuminated shelf 502, and a third illuminated shelf 503. Each illuminated shelf includes multiple storage locations, such as a first storage location 504 and a second storage location 505. Each storage location has an LED indicator light and stores a return material tray, which is the smallest package for storing returned materials. The storage location of the first illuminated shelf 501 stores the returned materials of material A awaiting selection. After the electronic device determines the inventory location of the returned materials of material A awaiting selection, it can control the green light in the LED indicator of the corresponding storage location of the first illuminated shelf 501 to illuminate. This instructs the staff to pick the returned materials of material A from the storage location where the green light is located, that is, to pick the return material tray of material A from the storage location corresponding to the first illuminated shelf 501.

[0180] As can be seen, in this embodiment, the electronic device can control the indicator light of the bin where the unpicked returned materials are located to illuminate in a preset manner, indicating that the unpicked returned materials should be picked from the bin where the indicator light is located. In this way, workers can pick the inventory returns of various materials based on the bin where the indicator light is located, and the number of return packages required for picking, without relying on the workers' experience. This can reduce the material picking error rate and manual workload, and has a high degree of intelligence.

[0181] As an implementation method of the present application, in order to improve material picking efficiency and reduce picking confusion, whole items and returned items can be stored in different shelf areas. Whole items are stored in the whole item shelf area, which includes multiple shelves, each shelf storing at least one whole item.

[0182] Exemplarily, SMT whole-stock reels are stored in a whole-stock reel storage area, which includes multiple movable shelves. Standard bins are used to store SMT whole-stock reels and are placed on the movable shelves. The standard bins can hold whole-stock reels of one or more SKUs (Stock Keeping Units, the units used to measure inventory in and out). A standard bin is a carrier for storing SMT whole-stock reels and can be a standard anti-static plastic box, which is not specifically limited here.

[0183] For example, as shown in Figure 6, SMT material reels are stored in a reel shelf area, which includes four movable shelves, as shown by movable shelf 601. Reel boxes, such as reel box 602, can be placed on the movable shelves. Reel boxes can hold reels of one or more SKUs.

[0184] Since whole materials are stored in the whole material shelf area and returned materials are stored in the returned material shelf area, the staff can pick whole materials first and then return materials according to the actual business on site; they can also pick return materials first and then whole materials.

[0185] For example, the schematic diagram of the SMT raw material warehouse layout is shown in Figure 7. In this warehouse, there are integer tray areas, lighted shelf areas, order-combining areas, lighted shelf picking completion areas, picking workstations, delivery vehicle distribution positions, and delivery vehicle buffer areas. The integer tray areas and lighted shelf areas are separated by an isolation net. The integer tray areas store SMT integer tray materials, and the lighted shelf areas store SMT returned materials. There are multiple AMRs in the warehouse to carry out handling work.

[0186] Based on the status of the work orders to be delivered issued from the production line and the layout of the warehouse area, the staff can decide to prioritize picking SMT whole tray materials and then pick SMT returned materials; or prioritize picking SMT returned materials and then pick SMT whole tray materials.

[0187] In one embodiment, multiple work orders to be delivered are issued from the production line, and the staff first picks the integer materials that need to be picked corresponding to the materials, and then picks the returned materials that need to be picked corresponding to the materials.

[0188] In this case, as shown in FIG8 , the step of controlling the transport robot to transport the materials of the return material packaging quantity and the integer material packaging quantity associated with the to-be-delivered work order to the production line may include:

[0189] S801, controlling a transport robot to transport a material cart loaded with materials included in the work order to be delivered to a material cart distribution position;

[0190] The electronic device can manage the integer material shelf area and the return material shelf area at the same time. When receiving the material demand of the production line, the electronic device can determine the number of return material packages and integer material packages that need to be picked for the materials required by the production line in the delivery work order, and then control the handling robot to complete the tasks of handling material carts, handling shelves of integer materials, and delivering materials according to the instructions received. Among them, the handling robot can be an autonomous mobile robot AMR, which is generally a wheeled or humanoid robot equipped with various sensors and can navigate autonomously to complete the material transfer work. The instructions received by the electronic device can be sent by the staff or triggered by a preset, which is not specifically limited here.

[0191] For example, when a worker sends an integer material picking instruction, the electronic device can control the transport robot to transport the material cart loaded with the materials included in the work order to be delivered to the material cart distribution position.

[0192] S802, based on the package quantity of the integer material and the shelf location of the integer material, controlling the transport robot to transport the shelf storing the integer material from the integer material shelf area to the picking workstation, so as to pick the integer material from the shelf according to the package quantity of the integer material and place it on the material cart;

[0193] After determining the required number of packages of the material to be picked, the electronic device can determine the shelf location of the required number of packages based on the location of the material in the shelf area. Based on the package quantity and the shelf location of the required number of packages, the electronic device can control the transport robot to move to the shelf area, transporting the shelf containing the required number of packages from the shelf to the picking station. This allows the worker to pick the required number of packages from the shelf and place the package on a cart.

[0194] S803, upon receiving the integer material picking completion instruction, controlling the transport robot to transport the material cart to the preset order consolidation area, so as to pick the return materials to be picked in the return material shelf area in the quantity of return material packaging according to the position of the indicator light of the return material shelf area, and placing them on the material cart in the preset order consolidation area;

[0195] When a worker has picked a complete number of items, they can issue a complete order. Upon receiving this complete order, the electronic device can control the transport robot to move the material cart to the pre-set order consolidation area. Upon reaching the return shelf area, where returned materials are stored, the worker can pick the required number of returned materials from the return shelf area based on the location of the indicator lights on the return shelf area, and place them on the material cart in the pre-set order consolidation area. The pre-set order consolidation area is where the material cart is placed when the worker has not yet completed the picking of returned materials.

[0196] S804, when receiving the returned material picking completion instruction, controlling the transport robot to transport the material cart to the picking completion area;

[0197] When the staff has finished picking the returned materials, they can issue a return material picking completion instruction. When the electronic device receives the return material picking completion instruction issued by the staff, it can control the transport robot to transport the material cart to the picking completion area.

[0198] S805, controlling the transport robot to transport the material cart from the picking completion area for production line delivery.

[0199] After the transport robot transports the material cart to the picking completion area, the staff can issue a material delivery instruction, and then the electronic equipment can control the transport robot to transport the material cart from the picking completion area for production line delivery.

[0200] For example, as shown in Figure 9, the electronic device obtains the work order to be delivered issued from the production line, and determines that the work order to be delivered includes the number of return trays and the number of integer trays required for picking various SMT materials required by the production line. When receiving the integer material picking instruction sent by the staff, the electronic device can control the AMR to transport the delivery vehicle from the delivery vehicle buffer area to the delivery vehicle distribution position.

[0201] For any material included in a delivery order, the electronic equipment can control the AMR to carry the shelf to the picking workstation based on the number of pallets and the shelf location of the pallet materials. In other words, the AMR can carry the shelf containing the SMT materials required for the delivery order from the pallet area to the picking workstation. The pallets are then manually picked. That is, the staff can pick the SMT materials corresponding to the pallet quantity from the shelf and place them on the material cart.

[0202] After the staff has finished picking the corresponding SMT material trays, they issue a complete tray picking command. Upon receiving this command, the electronic device controls the AMR to carry the material cart to the order consolidation area, while the staff manually picks the returned material trays from the illuminated shelf area. This means that the staff can walk to the illuminated shelf area and pick the corresponding SMT material return tray based on the position of the indicator light on the illuminated shelf area.

[0203] After workers complete the selection of SMT materials from the return trays in the illuminated shelf area, they issue a "return tray material selection completion" command. Upon receiving this command, the electronic device controls the AMR to carry the material cart to the illuminated shelf selection completion area. Furthermore, upon receiving a material delivery command from the worker, the AMR controls the transport of the material cart from the selection completion area for delivery to the production line.

[0204] It can be seen that in this embodiment, since the total number of packages of materials included in the work order to be delivered and the picking method corresponding to the materials can be determined, the number of return material packages that need to be picked for the materials can be determined, and then the integer number of material packages that need to be picked for the materials can be determined, so that the transport robot can transport the materials picked based on the work order to the production line. In this way, the materials included in the work order can be picked based on the number of return material packages and the integer number of material packages that need to be picked for the materials, without relying on the experience of the staff, which can reduce the error rate of material picking and manual workload, and has a high degree of intelligence.

[0205] Furthermore, the method of first picking the corresponding integer items to be picked, and then picking the corresponding returned items to be picked, simplifies the execution process. Electronic equipment can group orders based on the work orders to be executed, improving picking efficiency. However, picking is to some extent restricted by the completion status of the picking of the integer items in the shelf area, which limits the efficiency of manual picking.

[0206] As an implementation method of the embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned integer materials are stored in an integer material shelf area, and the integer material shelf area includes a plurality of shelves, and each shelf stores at least one integer material;

[0207] In one embodiment, multiple work orders to be delivered are issued from the production line, and the staff can first pick the returned materials that need to be picked corresponding to the materials, and then pick the integer materials that need to be picked corresponding to the materials.

[0208] In this case, as shown in FIG10 , the step of controlling the transport robot to transport the materials of the return material packaging quantity and the integer material packaging quantity associated with the to-be-delivered work order to the production line may include:

[0209] S1001, controlling the transport robot to transport a material cart loaded with materials included in the work order to be delivered to a preset order consolidation area, so as to pick the returned materials to be picked in the quantity of returned material packaging from the return material shelf area according to the position of the indicator light of the return material shelf area, and place them on the material cart in the preset order consolidation area;

[0210] After the electronic equipment determines that the work order to be delivered includes the required number of return material packages and the integer material package quantity that need to be picked for the materials required by the production line, the staff can send a return material picking instruction, and the electronic equipment can control the transport robot to transport the material cart used to load the materials included in the work order to be delivered to the preset order consolidation area. Then, the staff can pick the return material to be picked from the return material shelf area according to the position of the indicator light of the return material shelf area, and place it on the material cart in the preset order consolidation area.

[0211] S1002, when receiving the returned material picking completion instruction, controlling the transport robot to transport the material cart to the picking completion area;

[0212] When the staff has finished picking the returned materials, they can issue a return material picking completion instruction. When the electronic device receives the return material picking completion instruction issued by the staff, it can control the transport robot to transport the material cart to the picking completion area.

[0213] S1003, controlling the transport robot to transport the material cart from the picking completion area to the material cart distribution position;

[0214] After the transport robot transports the material cart to the picking completion area, the staff can issue a picking instruction for the integer materials. Then, upon receiving the instruction, the electronic equipment can control the transport robot to transport the material cart from the picking completion area to the material cart distribution position.

[0215] S1004, based on the package quantity of the integer material and the shelf location of the integer material, controlling the transport robot to transport the shelf storing the integer material from the integer material shelf area to the picking workstation, so as to pick the integer material from the shelf according to the package quantity of the integer material and place it on the material cart;

[0216] After the electronic equipment determines the integer material packaging quantity that needs to be picked for this type of material and the shelf position where the integer material is located, it can control the transport robot to move to the integer material shelf area according to the integer material packaging quantity and the shelf position where the integer material is located, and transport the shelf storing the integer material from the integer material shelf area to the picking workstation, so that the staff can pick the integer material packaging quantity of the integer material from the shelf according to the integer material packaging quantity, and place the integer material on the material cart.

[0217] S1005: Upon receiving the instruction to complete the picking of integer materials, the transport robot is controlled to transport the material cart from the material cart distribution position for production line distribution.

[0218] When the staff has picked up a complete number of materials, they can issue a material delivery instruction. When the electronic equipment receives the material delivery instruction issued by the staff, it can control the handling robot to transport the material cart from the material cart distribution position for production line delivery.

[0219] For example, as shown in FIG11 , the electronic device obtains the work order to be delivered issued from the production line, and determines that the work order to be delivered includes the number of return trays and the number of integer trays required for picking various SMT materials required by the production line.

[0220] When the electronic equipment receives a return material picking instruction from a staff member, it needs to relocate the delivery cart to the order consolidation area. This means the electronic equipment can control the AMR to carry the cart to the order consolidation area, and then manually pick the materials from the return trays in the lighted shelf area. In other words, the staff can pick the return trays required for SMT materials from the lighted shelf area according to the position of the indicator lights in the lighted shelf area and place them on the cart in the order consolidation area.

[0221] After the staff has picked the returned materials, they can issue a return material picking completion instruction. When the electronic equipment receives the return material picking completion instruction issued by the staff, it can control the AMR to transport the material cart to the picking completion area. Then, when the electronic equipment receives the picking instruction of the integer materials issued by the staff, it can add the material cart to the delivery material cart distribution position, that is, control the AMR to transport the material cart from the picking completion area to the material cart distribution position.

[0222] For any material included in a delivery order, the electronic equipment can control the AMR to carry the shelf to the picking workstation based on the number of pallets and the shelf location of the material. In other words, the AMR can carry the shelf containing the SMT materials required for the delivery order from the pallet area to the picking workstation. The pallets are then manually picked. That is, the staff can pick the corresponding number of SMT materials from the shelf according to the number of pallets and place them on the material cart.

[0223] After the staff has picked the integer trays of materials corresponding to the SMT materials, they can issue a material delivery instruction. When the electronic equipment receives the material delivery instruction issued by the staff, it can control the AMR to move the material cart from the material cart distribution position for production line delivery.

[0224] It can be seen that in this embodiment, since the total number of packages of materials included in the work order to be delivered and the picking method corresponding to the materials can be determined, the number of return material packages that need to be picked for the materials can be determined, and then the integer number of material packages that need to be picked for the materials can be determined, so that the transport robot can transport the materials picked based on the work order to the production line. In this way, based on the number of return material packages and the integer number of material packages that need to be picked for the materials, the various materials included in the work order can be picked without relying on the experience of the staff, which can reduce the error rate of material picking and manual workload, and has a high degree of intelligence.

[0225] In addition, the method of first picking the returned materials that need to be picked corresponding to the material, and then picking the integer materials that need to be picked corresponding to the material, has a high degree of freedom in picking the returned materials stored in the return material shelf area. However, the handling robot can only start to perform the handling tasks of the integer material shelf area after the delivery material truck arrives at the material truck distribution position. In this way, the handling tasks of the integer material shelf are issued subject to the time limit for the material truck to arrive at the location, which makes the handling robot system less efficient.

[0226] As an implementation of an embodiment of the present application, before the step of determining the number of return packages to be picked for any material in the to-be-delivered work order based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset return material picking method, the method may further include:

[0227] For any material in the to-be-delivered work order, if there is inventory return for the material, executing the step of determining the number of return packages to be picked for the material in the to-be-delivered work order based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset return material picking method;

[0228] If there is no inventory return for this type of material, the total number of packages corresponding to this type of material included in the work order to be delivered is used as the integer number of material packages that need to be picked.

[0229] Since any material in the work order to be delivered may have inventory returns or may not exist in stock, if there is no inventory for this material, the number of integer material packages that need to be picked for this material can be determined based on the total number of packages corresponding to this material.

[0230] For any material in the work order to be delivered, if there is inventory return for this material, the electronic device can execute the steps of determining the number of return packages to be picked for any material in the work order to be delivered based on the total number of packages corresponding to this material and the preset return material picking method.

[0231] The specific implementation of the above steps is the same as the implementation of determining the number of return packages to be picked in step S102. Please refer to the description of the specific implementation of determining the number of return packages to be picked in step S102, which will not be repeated here.

[0232] If there is no inventory return for this type of material, the electronic device can use the total number of packages corresponding to this type of material included in the work order to be delivered as the integer number of material packages to be picked.

[0233] It can be seen that in this embodiment, for any material in the work order to be delivered, if there is inventory return for this material, the electronic device can execute the step of determining the number of return packages to be picked for any material in the work order to be delivered based on the total number of packages corresponding to this material and the preset return material picking method. If there is no inventory return for this material, the total number of packages corresponding to this material included in the work order to be delivered can be used as the integer number of material packages to be picked. Since the number of return packages required to be picked for the material can be determined based on the total number of packages of the materials included in the work order to be delivered and the picking method corresponding to the materials, and then the integer number of material packages required to be picked for the material can be determined, the various materials included in the work order can be picked based on the number of return packages required to be picked for the material and the integer number of material packages, without relying on the experience of the staff, which can reduce the material picking error rate and manual workload, and has a high degree of intelligence.

[0234] FIG12 is a specific flow chart of the material management method provided in the embodiment of the present application. The material management method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described below with reference to FIG12. As shown in FIG12, the material management method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps:

[0235] S1201, work order material requirement n;

[0236] The electronic device obtains the work order to be delivered issued from the production line. The total number of packages corresponding to the materials in the work order to be delivered is n.

[0237] S1202: Is there any inventory in the lighted shelf area? If yes, go to step S1203; otherwise, go to step S1204.

[0238] The returned materials of this type are stored in the lighted shelf area. If there is inventory in the lighted shelf area, the electronic device can determine the number of returned material packages to be picked based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the preset return material picking method. If there is no inventory in the lighted area, it can be determined that the integer number of material packages to be picked is the total number of packages corresponding to this type of material.

[0239] S1203, picking quantity in the lighted shelf area n1 = roundup(n*k);

[0240] If there is inventory in the lighted shelf area, the return material picking ratio factor k is introduced, k<1, and the electronic equipment can determine that the number of return material trays required for picking is n1=roundup(n*k).

[0241] S1204, allocate integer disk storage area material n2 = n;

[0242] If there is no inventory in the lighted shelf area, the electronic device can determine that the integer tray material required for this material is the total number of packages n corresponding to this material, that is, the number of integer trays of this material allocated from the integer tray warehouse area is n2=n.

[0243] S1205, the returned tray is allocated with priority to the tray with large quantity;

[0244] The electronic device can sort the materials in descending order according to the number of materials included in the return tray corresponding to the material, and then determine the return trays sorted from 1 to n1 as the materials to be picked and returned.

[0245] S1206, whether the number of materials on the return tray is less than g; if so, execute step S1207, otherwise execute step S1208.

[0246] After the electronic device determines the number of material return trays, it can introduce a control factor g as the preset material quantity. If the number of materials included in any of the n1 material return trays is less than the preset material quantity g, then step S1207 is executed; otherwise, step S1208 is executed.

[0247] S1207, allocate integer disk storage area material n2 = n-n1 + f;

[0248] If the number of materials in the material return tray is less than the preset number of materials, a control factor f can be introduced to increase the number of trays. If the number of materials in the material return tray is less than the preset number of materials and the number of trays is greater than f, then the electronic device determines that the number of trays required for this material is n2 = n-n1 + f.

[0249] If the number of materials included in the material return tray is lower than the preset material number and the number of material return trays m is not greater than f, then the electronic device determines that the integer number of trays required for this type of material is n2=n-n1+m.

[0250] S1208, allocate the integer disk storage area material n2 = n-n1.

[0251] If the number of materials included in the material return tray does not exist and is less than the preset number of materials, then the electronic device determines that the integer number of trays required for this type of material is n2=n-n1.

[0252] It can be seen that in the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, the electronic device can obtain a work order to be delivered, wherein the work order to be delivered includes the total number of packages of materials required for the production line, and each package can carry multiple materials. For any material in the work order to be delivered, the number of return material packages to be picked is determined according to the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the preset return material picking method, wherein the number of return material packages is the number of packages used for carrying return materials, and based on the number of return material packages corresponding to the material and the total number of packages corresponding to the material, the number of integer material packages to be picked is determined, wherein the number of integer material packages is the number of packages used for carrying unused integer materials, and the handling robot is controlled to transport the materials of the return material package quantity and the integer material package quantity associated with the work order to be delivered to the production line. Since the total number of packages of materials included in the work order to be delivered and the corresponding picking method of the materials can be determined, the number of return packages required to pick the materials can be determined, and then the number of integer material packages required to pick the materials can be determined, so that the handling robot can transport the materials picked based on the work order to the production line. In this way, based on the number of return packages required to pick the materials and the number of integer material packages, the various materials included in the work order can be picked without relying on the experience of the staff, which can reduce the error rate of material picking and manual workload, and has a high degree of intelligence.

[0253] Corresponding to the above-mentioned material management method, the embodiment of the present application further provides a material management device. The material management device provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced below.

[0254] As shown in FIG13 , a material management device includes:

[0255] The work order acquisition module 1310 is used to acquire the work order to be delivered, wherein the work order to be delivered includes the total number of packages of materials required by the production line, and each package can contain multiple materials;

[0256] The return material package quantity determination module 1320 is configured to determine the number of return material packages to be picked for any material in the to-be-delivered work order based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset return material picking method, wherein the return material package quantity refers to the number of packages used for returning the material by loading;

[0257] The integer material package quantity determination module 1330 is configured to determine the number of integer material packages to be picked based on the number of returned material packages corresponding to the material and the total number of packages corresponding to the material, wherein the integer material package quantity is the number of packages used to carry unused integer materials;

[0258] The material handling module 1340 is used to control the handling robot to carry the materials of the return material packaging quantity and the integer material packaging quantity associated with the work order to be delivered to the production line.

[0259] It can be seen that in the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, the electronic device can obtain a work order to be delivered, wherein the work order to be delivered includes the total number of packages of materials required for the production line, and each package can carry multiple materials. For any material in the work order to be delivered, the number of return material packages to be picked is determined according to the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the preset return material picking method, wherein the number of return material packages is the number of packages used for carrying return materials, and based on the number of return material packages corresponding to the material and the total number of packages corresponding to the material, the number of integer material packages to be picked is determined, wherein the number of integer material packages is the number of packages used for carrying unused integer materials, and the handling robot is controlled to transport the materials of the return material package quantity and the integer material package quantity associated with the work order to be delivered to the production line. Since the total number of packages of materials included in the work order to be delivered and the corresponding picking method of the materials can be determined, the number of return packages required to pick the materials can be determined, and then the number of integer material packages required to pick the materials can be determined, so that the handling robot can transport the materials picked based on the work order to the production line. In this way, based on the number of return packages required to pick the materials and the number of integer material packages, the various materials included in the work order can be picked without relying on the experience of the staff, which can reduce the error rate of material picking and manual workload, and has a high degree of intelligence.

[0260] As an implementation of the embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned return material packaging quantity determination module 1320 may include:

[0261] The return material packaging quantity calculation submodule is used to calculate the number of return material packages that need to be picked for any material in the work order to be delivered, based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the preset return material picking ratio factor.

[0262] As an implementation of an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned returned material packaging quantity calculation submodule may include:

[0263] A product result obtaining unit is used to multiply the total number of packages corresponding to the material by a preset return material sorting ratio factor to obtain a product result;

[0264] A return material packaging quantity acquisition unit is used to round up the product result to obtain the number of return material packages required to be picked corresponding to the material;

[0265] As an implementation of the embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned device may further include:

[0266] The material number acquisition module is used to obtain the number of materials included in each inventory return corresponding to the material;

[0267] A module for determining returned materials to be picked is used to determine, from the various inventory returns, the inventory returns with the return material packaging quantity according to the order of the material quantity from largest to smallest, as the returned materials to be picked;

[0268] An inventory location acquisition module is used to acquire the inventory location of the returned material to be picked, so as to pick the returned material to be picked from the inventory location;

[0269] As an implementation of an embodiment of the present application, the integer material packaging quantity determination module 1330 may include:

[0270] The difference calculation submodule is used to calculate the difference between the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the number of returned packages;

[0271] The submodule for determining the number of packages of integer materials is used to determine the number of packages of integer materials that need to be picked if the number of materials included in the materials to be picked and returned corresponding to the material type is not less than the preset number of materials, and to use the difference as the number of packages of integer materials that need to be picked corresponding to the material type;

[0272] A target quantity acquisition submodule is configured to acquire the quantity of target returned materials as the target quantity if there are target returned materials among the returned materials to be picked corresponding to the material, wherein the target returned materials are returned materials to be picked including materials whose number is lower than the preset number of materials;

[0273] An integer material package quantity calculation submodule is used to calculate the integer material package quantity required to be picked corresponding to the material based on the target quantity and the difference;

[0274] As an implementation of an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned integer material packaging quantity calculation submodule may include:

[0275] a first calculating unit configured to, if the target quantity is not greater than a preset quantity, use the sum of the target quantity and the difference as the integer material packaging quantity required to be picked corresponding to the material;

[0276] a second calculating unit configured to, if the target quantity is greater than the preset quantity, use the sum of the preset quantity and the difference as the integer material packaging quantity required to be picked corresponding to the material;

[0277] As an implementation method of the embodiment of the present application, the inventory returned materials are stored in a returned material shelf area, and the returned material shelf area includes multiple storage locations, each storage location has an indicator light;

[0278] The above device may further include:

[0279] An indicator light control module, used to control the indicator light of the bin where the to-be-picked returned material is located to light up according to a preset method, used to indicate that the to-be-picked returned material is to be picked from the bin where the indicator light is located;

[0280] As an implementation method of the embodiment of the present application, the integer materials are stored in an integer material shelf area, and the integer material shelf area includes a plurality of shelves, and each shelf stores at least one integer material;

[0281] The material handling module 1340 may include:

[0282] A first control module is used to control the transport robot to transport a material cart loaded with the materials included in the work order to be delivered to a material cart distribution position;

[0283] a second control module, configured to control the transport robot to transport the shelf storing the integer material from the integer material shelf area to the picking workstation based on the package quantity of the integer material and the shelf location of the integer material, so as to pick the integer material from the shelf according to the package quantity of the integer material and place the integer material on the material cart;

[0284] The third control module is used to control the transport robot to transport the material cart to the preset order consolidation area when receiving the integer material picking completion instruction, so as to pick the return materials to be picked in the return material shelf area according to the position of the indicator light of the return material shelf area, and place them on the material cart in the preset order consolidation area;

[0285] The fourth control module is used to control the transport robot to transport the material cart for production line delivery when receiving the return material picking completion instruction.

[0286] As an implementation method of the embodiment of the present application, the integer materials are stored in an integer material shelf area, and the integer material shelf area includes a plurality of shelves, and each shelf stores at least one integer material;

[0287] The material handling module 1340 may include:

[0288] A fifth control module is used to control the transport robot to transport the material cart loaded with the materials included in the work order to be delivered to the preset order consolidation area, so as to pick the returned materials to be picked in the quantity of returned material packaging from the return material shelf area according to the position of the indicator light of the return material shelf area, and place them on the material cart in the preset order consolidation area;

[0289] A sixth control module is used to control the transport robot to transport the material cart to the material cart distribution position when receiving the return material picking completion instruction;

[0290] a seventh control module, configured to control the transport robot to transport the shelf storing the integer material from the integer material shelf area to the picking workstation based on the package quantity of the integer material and the shelf location of the integer material, so as to pick the integer material from the shelf according to the package quantity of the integer material and place it on the material cart;

[0291] The eighth control module is used to control the transport robot to transport the material cart from the material cart distribution position for production line distribution when receiving the integer material picking completion instruction.

[0292] As an implementation of the embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned device may further include:

[0293] an inventory return material determination module, configured to, before the step of determining the required number of return material packages to be picked for any material in the to-be-delivered work order based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset return material picking method, execute, for any material in the to-be-delivered work order, the step of determining the required number of return material packages to be picked for any material in the to-be-delivered work order based on the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset return material picking method, if there is inventory return for the material;

[0294] It is also used to use the total number of packages corresponding to this type of material included in the work order to be delivered as the integer number of material packages to be picked if there is no inventory return for this type of material.

[0295] The present application also provides a material management system, as shown in FIG14 , which includes a control device 1401 , wherein:

[0296] The control device 1401 is used to obtain the work order to be delivered, and for any material in the work order to be delivered, determine the number of return material packages to be picked according to the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the preset return material picking method, and determine the number of integer material packages to be picked based on the number of return material packages corresponding to the material and the total number of packages corresponding to the material; control the transport robot to transport the materials of the return material package quantity and the integer material package quantity associated with the work order to be delivered to the production line, wherein the work order to be delivered includes the total number of packages of materials required for the production line, and each package can carry multiple materials; the return material package quantity is the number of packages used to carry returned materials; and the integer material package quantity is the number of packages used to carry unused integer materials.

[0297] It can be seen that in the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, the electronic device can obtain a work order to be delivered, wherein the work order to be delivered includes the total number of packages of materials required by the production line, the total number is the number of packages used to carry materials, and each package can carry multiple materials. For any material in the work order to be delivered, according to the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the preset return material picking method, the number of return material packages to be picked is determined, wherein the number of return material packages is the number of packages used to carry returned materials, and based on the number of return material packages corresponding to the material and the total number of packages corresponding to the material, the number of integer material packages to be picked is determined, wherein the number of integer material packages is the number of packages used to carry unused integer materials, and the handling robot is controlled to transport the materials of the return material package quantity and the integer material package quantity associated with the work order to be delivered to the production line. Since the total number of packages of materials included in the work order to be delivered and the corresponding picking method of the materials can be determined, the number of return packages required to pick the materials can be determined, and then the number of integer material packages required to pick the materials can be determined, so that the handling robot can transport the materials picked based on the work order to the production line. In this way, based on the number of return packages required to pick the materials and the number of integer material packages, the various materials included in the work order can be picked without relying on the experience of the staff, which can reduce the error rate of material picking and manual workload, and has a high degree of intelligence.

[0298] As an implementation method of an embodiment of the present application, the control device 1401 can also be used to obtain the number of materials included in each inventory return corresponding to the material; determine the inventory return with the return material packaging quantity from each inventory return according to the order of the material number from large to small, as the return material to be picked; obtain the inventory location of the return material to be picked, so as to pick the return material to be picked from the inventory location.

[0299] As an implementation method of the embodiment of the present application, the inventory returned materials are stored in a returned material shelf area, and the returned material shelf area includes multiple storage locations, each storage location has an indicator light;

[0300] The control device 1401 can also be used to control the indicator light of the bin where the to-be-picked returned material is located to light up in a preset manner, to indicate that the to-be-picked returned material is to be picked from the bin where the indicator light is located.

[0301] As an implementation of an embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG15 , the system further includes a transport robot 1402 ; the integer materials are stored in an integer material shelf area, the integer material shelf area includes a plurality of shelves, and each shelf stores at least one integer material;

[0302] The control device 1401 may also be used to send a material vehicle allocation instruction to the handling robot;

[0303] The transport robot 1402 may be configured to transport the material cart loaded with the materials included in the to-be-delivered work order to the material cart distribution position upon receiving the material cart distribution instruction;

[0304] The control device 1401 may also be configured to send a shelf handling instruction to the handling robot based on the number of packages of the integer material and the shelf location of the integer material;

[0305] The transport robot 1402 may also be configured to, upon receiving the shelf transport instruction, transport the shelf storing the integer material from the integer material shelf area to the picking workstation, so as to pick the integer material from the shelf according to the integer material packaging quantity and place the integer material on the material cart;

[0306] The control device 1401 may also be configured to send a first material cart transport instruction to the transport robot upon receiving an integer material picking completion instruction;

[0307] The transport robot 1402 may also be configured to, upon receiving the first material cart transport instruction, transport the material cart to a preset order consolidation area, and pick up the return materials to be picked in the quantity of return packaging from the return material shelf area according to the position of the indicator light of the return material shelf area, and place the returned materials on the material cart in the preset order consolidation area;

[0308] The control device 1401 may also be configured to send a delivery instruction to the transport robot upon receiving a return material picking completion instruction;

[0309] The transport robot 1402 can also be used to control the transport robot to transport the material cart from the picking completion area for production line delivery when receiving the delivery instruction.

[0310] As an implementation of an embodiment of the present application, the system further includes a transport robot 1402; the integer materials are stored in an integer material shelf area, the integer material shelf area includes a plurality of shelves, and each shelf stores at least one integer material;

[0311] The control device 1401 may also be used to send a second material vehicle transport instruction to the transport robot;

[0312] The transport robot 1402 may be configured to, upon receiving the second transport instruction, transport the transport cart loaded with the materials included in the to-be-delivered work order to a preset order consolidation area, and pick up the to-be-picked return materials in the quantity of return packaging from the return shelf area according to the position of the indicator light in the return shelf area, and place the returned materials on the transport cart in the preset order consolidation area.

[0313] The control device 1401 may also be configured to send a third material vehicle transport instruction to the transport robot upon receiving a return material picking completion instruction;

[0314] The transport robot 1402 may also be configured to transport the cart to the cart distribution position upon receiving the third cart transport instruction;

[0315] The control device 1401 may also be configured to send a shelf handling instruction to the handling robot based on the number of packages of the integer material and the shelf location of the integer material;

[0316] The transport robot 1402 may also be configured to, upon receiving the shelf transport instruction, transport the shelf storing the integer material from the integer material shelf area to the picking workstation, so that a worker can pick the integer material from the shelf according to the package quantity of the integer material and place it on the material cart;

[0317] The control device 1401 may also be configured to send a delivery instruction to the transport robot upon receiving an instruction to complete picking of integer materials;

[0318] The transport robot 1402 can also be used to transport the material cart from the material cart distribution position for production line distribution when receiving the distribution instruction.

[0319] The present application also provides an electronic device, as shown in FIG16 , including:

[0320] Memory 1601, used for storing computer programs;

[0321] The processor 1602 is configured to implement the material management method steps described in any of the above embodiments when executing the program stored in the memory 1601.

[0322] Furthermore, the electronic device may further include a communication bus and / or a communication interface, and the processor 1602, the communication interface, and the memory 1601 communicate with each other via the communication bus.

[0323] It can be seen that in the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, the electronic device can obtain the work order to be delivered, wherein the work order to be delivered includes the total number of packages of materials required for the production line, and each package can carry multiple materials. For any material in the work order to be delivered, according to the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the preset return material picking method, the number of return material packages to be picked is determined, wherein the number of return material packages is the number of packages used for carrying return materials, and based on the number of return material packages corresponding to the material and the total number of packages corresponding to the material, the number of integer material packages to be picked is determined, wherein the number of integer material packages is the number of packages used for carrying unused integer materials, and the handling robot is controlled to transport the materials of the return material package quantity and the integer material package quantity associated with the work order to be delivered to the production line. Since the total number of packages of materials included in the work order to be delivered and the corresponding picking method of the materials can be determined, the number of return packages required to pick the materials can be determined, and then the number of integer material packages required to pick the materials can be determined, so that the handling robot can transport the materials picked based on the work order to the production line. In this way, based on the number of return packages required to pick the materials and the number of integer material packages, the various materials included in the work order can be picked without relying on the experience of the staff, which can reduce the error rate of material picking and manual workload, and has a high degree of intelligence.

[0324] The communication bus mentioned in the electronic device mentioned above may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus. This communication bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is used in the figure, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0325] The communication interface is used for communication between the above electronic device and other devices.

[0326] The memory may include random access memory (RAM) or non-volatile memory (NVM), such as at least one disk storage. Alternatively, the memory may be at least one storage device located away from the processor.

[0327] The above-mentioned processor can be a general-purpose processor, including a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), etc.; it can also be a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, and discrete hardware components.

[0328] In another embodiment provided in the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is further provided, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the material management method described in any of the above embodiments are implemented.

[0329] In another embodiment provided by the present application, a computer program product including instructions is also provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the material management method described in any one of the above embodiments.

[0330] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When software is used for implementation, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), etc.

[0331] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, etc., are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply the existence of any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article, or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or device. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or device comprising the element.

[0332] Each embodiment in this specification is described in a related manner. Similar portions between the various embodiments can be referenced to each other. Each embodiment focuses on the differences between the other embodiments. In particular, since the device, system, electronic device, computer-readable storage medium, and computer program product embodiments are generally similar to the method embodiments, their descriptions are relatively simple. For related portions, reference can be made to the descriptions of the method embodiments.

[0333] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application shall be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A material management method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Obtaining a work order to be delivered, wherein the work order to be delivered includes the total number of packages of materials required by the production line, and each package can contain multiple materials; For any material in the to-be-delivered work order, the number of returned material packages to be picked is determined according to the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the preset returned material picking method, wherein the number of returned material packages is the number of packages used for returning the material; Based on the number of returned material packages corresponding to the material and the total number of packages corresponding to the material, determine the number of integer material packages to be picked, wherein the number of integer material packages is the number of packages used to carry unused integer materials; The transport robot is controlled to transport the materials of the return material packaging quantity and the integer material packaging quantity associated with the work order to be delivered to the production line.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The step of determining the number of return material packages to be picked for any material in the to-be-delivered work order according to the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset return material picking method includes: For any material in the to-be-delivered work order, the number of return material packages that need to be picked corresponding to the material is calculated according to the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset return material picking ratio factor.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The step of calculating the number of returned material packages that need to be picked corresponding to the material according to the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the preset returned material picking ratio factor includes: Multiply the total number of packages corresponding to the material by the preset return material picking ratio factor to obtain the product result; The product result is rounded up to obtain the number of return packages that need to be picked corresponding to the material.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: Get the number of materials included in each inventory return corresponding to this type of material; According to the order of the number of materials from largest to smallest, from the various inventory returns, the inventory returns with the return material packaging quantity are determined as the return materials to be picked; The inventory location of the returned material to be picked is obtained, so as to pick the returned material to be picked from the inventory location.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The step of determining the number of integer material packages to be picked based on the number of returned material packages corresponding to the material and the total number of packages corresponding to the material includes: Calculate the difference between the total quantity of packages corresponding to the material and the quantity of returned packages; If the number of materials included in the returned materials to be picked corresponding to the material is not less than the preset number of materials, the difference is used as the integer material packaging quantity required to be picked corresponding to the material; If there is a target return material in the returned materials to be picked corresponding to the material, the quantity of the target return material is obtained as the target quantity, wherein the target return material is the returned materials to be picked including a number of materials less than the preset number of materials; Based on the target quantity and the difference, the integer material package quantity that needs to be picked corresponding to the material is calculated.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The step of calculating the number of integer material packages that need to be picked corresponding to the material based on the target quantity and the difference includes: If the target quantity is not greater than the preset quantity, the sum of the target quantity and the difference is used as the integer material packaging quantity required to be picked corresponding to the material; If the target quantity is greater than the preset quantity, the sum of the preset quantity and the difference is used as the integer material packaging quantity required to be picked corresponding to the material.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that: The returned materials are stored in a returned material shelf area, which includes a plurality of storage locations, each of which has an indicator light; The method further comprises: The indicator light of the bin where the to-be-picked returned material is located is controlled to light up in a preset manner, so as to indicate that the to-be-picked returned material is to be picked from the bin where the indicator light is located.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The integer materials are stored in an integer material shelf area, the integer material shelf area includes a plurality of shelves, and each shelf stores at least one integer material; The step of controlling the transport robot to transport the materials of the return material packaging quantity and the integer material packaging quantity associated with the to-be-delivered work order to the production line includes: Controlling the transport robot to transport a material cart loaded with materials included in the work order to be delivered to a material cart distribution position; According to the number of packages of the integer materials and the shelf position of the integer materials, the transport robot is controlled to transport the shelf storing the integer materials from the integer material shelf area to the picking workstation, so as to pick the integer materials from the shelf according to the number of packages of the integer materials and place them on the material cart; When receiving the instruction to complete the picking of integer materials, the transport robot is controlled to transport the material cart to the preset order consolidation area, so as to pick the returned materials of the returned material packaging quantity to be picked from the returned material shelf area according to the position of the indicator light of the returned material shelf area, and place them on the material cart of the preset order consolidation area; When receiving the instruction of completion of returned material picking, the transport robot is controlled to transport the material cart for production line delivery.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The integer materials are stored in an integer material shelf area, the integer material shelf area includes a plurality of shelves, and each shelf stores at least one integer material; The step of controlling the transport robot to transport the materials of the return material packaging quantity and the integer material packaging quantity associated with the to-be-delivered work order to the production line includes: Control the transport robot to transport the material cart loaded with the materials included in the work order to be delivered to the preset order combining area, so as to pick the returned materials of the returned material packaging quantity to be picked from the returned material shelf area according to the position of the indicator light of the returned material shelf area, and place them on the material cart of the preset order combining area; When receiving the instruction of completion of returned material picking, the transport robot is controlled to transport the material cart to the material cart distribution position; According to the number of packages of the integer materials and the shelf position of the integer materials, the transport robot is controlled to transport the shelf storing the integer materials from the integer material shelf area to the picking workstation, so as to pick the integer materials from the shelf according to the number of packages of the integer materials and place them on the material cart; When receiving the integer material picking completion instruction, the transport robot is controlled to transport the material cart from the material cart distribution position for production line distribution.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: Before the step of determining the number of returned material packages to be picked for any material in the to-be-delivered work order according to the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset returned material picking method, the method further includes: For any material in the to-be-delivered work order, if there is inventory return for this material, executing the step of determining the number of return packages to be picked for any material in the to-be-delivered work order according to the total number of packages corresponding to this material and a preset return material picking method; If there is no inventory return for this type of material, the total number of packages corresponding to this type of material included in the to-be-delivered work order is used as the integer number of material packages that need to be picked.

11. A material management device, characterized in that: The device comprises: A module for acquiring work orders to be delivered, used to acquire work orders to be delivered, wherein the work orders to be delivered include the total number of packages of materials required by the production line, and each package can carry multiple materials; A return material package quantity determination module is used to determine the number of return material packages to be picked for any material in the to-be-delivered work order according to the total number of packages corresponding to the material and a preset return material picking method, wherein the return material package quantity is the number of packages used for returning the material by loading; An integer material package quantity determination module is used to determine the integer material package quantity to be picked based on the number of returned material packages corresponding to the material and the total number of packages corresponding to the material, wherein the integer material package quantity is the number of packages used to carry unused integer materials; The material handling module is used to control the handling robot to carry the materials of the return material packaging quantity and the integer material packaging quantity associated with the work order to be delivered to the production line.

12. A material management system, characterized in that: The system comprises a control device, wherein: The control device is used to obtain the work order to be delivered; for any material in the work order to be delivered, determine the number of return material packages to be picked according to the total number of packages corresponding to the material and the preset return material picking method; determine the integer number of material packages to be picked based on the number of return material packages corresponding to the material and the total number of packages corresponding to the material; control the transport robot to transport the materials of the return material package quantity and the integer material package quantity associated with the work order to be delivered to the production line; wherein, the work order to be delivered includes the total number of packages of materials required for the production line, and each package can carry multiple materials; the return material package quantity is the number of packages used to carry returned materials; the integer material package quantity is the number of packages used to carry unused integer materials.

13. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: Memory, used to store computer programs; A processor, for implementing any of the methods described in claims 1-10 when executing a program stored in a memory.

14. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is implemented.

15. A computer program product comprising instructions, characterized in that When the computer program product is executed by a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is implemented.

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