Outbound system, inbound system, warehousing method, and shuttle vehicle

Abstract

An outbound system, an inbound system, an outbound method, and an inbound method, which are applied to an automated storage and retrieval system. Each location can store a plurality of vertically stacked material boxes (3). The outbound system comprises: at least one shuttle vehicle (2) configured to, in response to an outbound instruction for a target material box, pick up the target material box from a target location and carry the target material box to a handover platform, wherein the outbound instruction comprises the target location where the target material box is located and the layer number of the target material box; and an elevator (10) configured to, in response to the outbound instruction for the target material box, convey the target material box to an outbound conveying line (11).

Description

Outbound and inbound systems, storage methods, and shuttle vehicles

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to application number 202311523708.0 filed with the China Patent Office on November 15, 2023 and entitled “Outbound and inbound system, warehousing method and shuttle vehicle,” the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application belongs to the field of three-dimensional warehousing technology, and in particular relates to a warehousing-out and warehousing system, a warehousing method and a shuttle vehicle. Background Art

[0004] The statements in this section merely provide background technical information related to this application and do not necessarily constitute prior art.

[0005] In current three-dimensional warehousing systems, one cargo space is usually used to store only one material box. If the material box is small, it will obviously cause a waste of storage space. In order to achieve more efficient use of storage space, a "one-location, multiple-cargo" storage method has emerged. For example, patent document CN115310917A provides a cargo space allocation optimization method that can store multiple cargo boxes in one cargo space, but does not provide an automated warehousing and outbound solution based on this storage method.

[0006] Patent document CN115063082A provides a cargo conveying system and warehouse management system. By adding a stacker and de-stacker to the conveyor line, multiple boxes can be stored in the same cargo space at the same time, greatly improving the space utilization rate of the shelf and the efficiency of picking up goods. Specifically, a stacker is set on the inbound conveyor line at the front end of the elevator to stack the boxes to be stored in the warehouse. The elevator and shuttle car cooperate to store the stacked boxes on the shelf. When the goods are shipped out, the elevator and shuttle car cooperate to transport the stacked boxes including the target box to the outbound conveyor line. The de-stacker on the conveyor line de-stacks the multiple boxes. After de-stacking, the target box is transported to the picking station, and the remaining boxes are transferred to the inbound conveyor line. Although this conveying system realizes the storage and outbound of multi-layer material boxes, since each outbound operation requires the stacked multiple material boxes to be taken out at the same time and transported to the outbound conveying line, the non-target material boxes must be transported to the inbound conveying line after unpacking, and together with the newly-entered material boxes, they must be stacked by the stacking machine and then transported and stored, which affects the overall storage and outbound efficiency.

[0007] Application Contents

[0008] To overcome the shortcomings of the above-mentioned prior art, this application provides a warehouse-in / out system, a warehousing method, and a shuttle vehicle. By moving the unpacking process to the front, the shuttle vehicle directly picks the target material box from the target cargo location, hands it over to the elevator, and then transports it to the warehouse-out conveyor line, thereby improving the overall warehouse-in / out efficiency.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, one or more embodiments of the present application provide the following technical solutions:

[0010] A delivery system is applied to a three-dimensional storage system, where each cargo location can store multiple vertically stacked containers, including:

[0011] At least one shuttle is configured to pick up the target bin from the target location and transport it to the transfer platform in response to a picking instruction for the target bin; wherein the outbound instruction includes the target location where the target bin is located and the layer number where the target bin is located;

[0012] The elevator is configured to transport the target material box to the outbound conveying line in response to an outbound instruction of the target material box.

[0013] As an optional implementation, the shuttle is provided with a silo, and two support frames are sequentially provided on both sides of the silo along the moving direction of the shuttle, and at least one pair of telescopic forks are provided on the two support frames.

[0014] As an optional implementation, the at least one pair of telescopic forks can be raised and lowered synchronously along the support frame.

[0015] As an optional implementation, the two support frames are provided with a pair of telescopic forks and a pair of lifting mechanisms in sequence from bottom to top, and the lifting mechanisms can be raised and lowered synchronously along the support frames.

[0016] As an optional implementation, at least two storage locations are sequentially provided on the silo perpendicular to the movement direction of the shuttle.

[0017] As an optional implementation, the support frame is provided with two pairs of telescopic forks, one pair of which is fixed to the bottom of the support frame, and the other pair of which can be raised and lowered synchronously along the support frame.

[0018] As an optional implementation, the telescopic fork includes a primary fork arm and a secondary fork arm, the primary fork arm and the secondary fork arm are slidably matched, and the primary fork arm and the secondary fork arm are connected to a telescopic drive mechanism, and the telescopic drive mechanism is configured to drive the primary fork arm and the secondary fork arm to extend and retract simultaneously.

[0019] As an optional implementation, the secondary fork arm is further provided with a box-taking clamp, and the box-taking clamp is a box-taking telescopic claw or a box-taking swinging claw.

[0020] As an optional implementation, the system further includes an outbound conveying line configured to transmit the target material box to the picking platform in response to a conveying instruction of the target material box.

[0021] One or more embodiments of the present application further provide a storage-in system, connected to the storage-out system, comprising:

[0022] The elevator is configured to transport the container to be stored to the target shelf layer in response to the container transport instruction; the container transport instruction includes the target shelf layer information;

[0023] At least one shuttle is configured to stack and store the containers transported to the shelf layer where the shuttle is located in a corresponding target cargo location in response to a container storage instruction; the container storage instruction includes target cargo location information.

[0024] At least one shuttle vehicle is specifically configured to stack the to-be-stored material boxes on the transfer platform to a set number of layers in response to a material box storage instruction, and transport them to a target cargo location.

[0025] As an optional implementation, the system also includes an incoming conveying line, which is configured to receive and transport the boxes to be entered into the warehouse. A barcode scanner is provided on the incoming conveying line, which is configured to scan the codes on the boxes to be entered into the warehouse and obtain information about the goods in the boxes.

[0026] One or more embodiments of the present application further provide a warehousing method, which is applied to a host computer connected to the delivery system and includes the following steps:

[0027] Obtain order information, and obtain the name and quantity of the goods to be shipped based on the order information;

[0028] According to the name and quantity of the goods, searching for a target container that stores the goods and meets the quantity requirement, and obtaining location information of the target container; the location information of the target container includes location information of the target location where the target container is located, and location information of the target container within the target location;

[0029] Generate a picking instruction for the target container based on the location information of the target cargo location and the location information of the target container in the target cargo location, and send the instruction to the shuttle vehicle to control the shuttle vehicle to pick up the target container from the target cargo location and transport it to the transfer platform;

[0030] Generate an outbound instruction for the target material box and send it to the elevator to control the elevator to transport the target material box to the outbound transmission line.

[0031] One or more embodiments of the present application also provide a shuttle car, which is applied to the above-mentioned outbound system or the above-mentioned inbound system. The shuttle car is provided with a silo, and two support frames are arranged in sequence on both sides of the silo along the movement direction of the shuttle car. The two support frames are provided with at least one pair of telescopic forks.

[0032] The beneficial effects of this application are as follows:

[0033] This application uses a shuttle car to pick the target material box directly from the target cargo location in the outbound link, and hands it over to the elevator, which then transports the target material box to the outbound conveying line. There is no need to set up a stacking machine in the inbound link, nor is there a need to set up a decartoning machine in the outbound link. The existing inbound and outbound conveying lines can be used to improve the transmission efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] The drawings in the specification, which constitute a part of this application, are used to provide further understanding of this application. The illustrative embodiments of this application and their descriptions are used to explain this application and do not constitute improper limitations on this application.

[0035] FIG1 is a schematic structural diagram of a first implementation of a shuttle vehicle provided by one or more embodiments of the present application;

[0036] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a first implementation of a shuttle vehicle for picking material boxes according to one or more embodiments of the present application;

[0037] FIG3 is a schematic structural diagram of a second implementation of a shuttle vehicle provided by one or more embodiments of the present application;

[0038] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a second implementation of a shuttle vehicle according to one or more embodiments of the present application, in which a liftable telescopic fork is used to grab a material box;

[0039] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a second implementation of a shuttle vehicle for picking bins from a cargo location according to one or more embodiments of the present application;

[0040] FIG6 is a perspective view of a delivery system provided by one or more embodiments of the present application;

[0041] FIG7 is a top view of the outbound system shown in FIG6 according to one or more embodiments of the present application;

[0042] FIG8 is a top view of another outbound system provided by one or more embodiments of the present application.

[0043] Among them, 1. Shelf; 2. Shuttle car; 3. Material box; 4. Traveling mechanism; 5. Telescopic fork; 6. Silo; 7. Support frame; 8. Lifting mechanism; 9. Non-powered transfer platform; 10. Elevator; 11. Outbound transportation line; 12. First conveying mechanism; 13. Powered transfer platform; 14. Second conveying mechanism; a. Aisle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] It should be noted that the following detailed descriptions are exemplary and are intended to provide further explanation of the present application. Unless otherwise specified, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present application belongs.

[0045] It should be noted that the terms used herein are only for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments according to the present application. As used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular form is also intended to include the plural form. In addition, it should be understood that when the terms "comprise" and / or "include" are used in this specification, they indicate the presence of features, steps, operations, devices, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0046] In the absence of conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of this application can be combined with each other.

[0047] As described in the background technology, the existing method of setting up stacking machines and de-cartoning machines on the conveying line has a certain impact on the overall warehousing and outbound efficiency. In the outbound link, placing the de-cartoning function in front is an effective means to improve the outbound efficiency. The de-cartoning function can be placed in front by setting the de-cartoning function on the elevator. The shuttle car transports all the material boxes on the cargo position where the target material box is located to the handover platform, and the elevator picks out the target material box to realize outbound delivery. However, this method also requires the shuttle car to put the remaining material boxes back to the original cargo position, and the control process is relatively cumbersome. One or more embodiments of the present application propose to set the de-cartoning function on the shuttle car, and the shuttle car directly picks out the target material box from the cargo position, hands it over to the elevator, and then the elevator transports the target material box to the outbound conveying line. There is no need to set up a stacking machine in the warehousing link, nor is there a de-cartoning machine in the outbound link. The transmission efficiency can be improved by using the existing inbound and outbound conveying lines.

[0048] The three-dimensional storage system described in one or more embodiments of the present application includes a shelf 1, a shuttle vehicle 2, an elevator 10, a conveying system and a host computer.

[0049] The shelf 1 is used to place cargo boxes. The shelf has multiple layers, each layer has multiple cargo spaces, and each cargo space can store multiple vertically stacked boxes for storing cargo.

[0050] The elevator 10 is used to stack multiple boxes during the storage phase, and to unstack boxes and take out target boxes during the storage phase.

[0051] The shuttle 2 can be a standard shuttle, an automatic level-changing shuttle, a mother-and-child shuttle, a four-way shuttle, or any other type of shuttle, without limitation. If a standard shuttle is used, the three-dimensional storage system also includes a level-changing elevator to enable the shuttle to change levels vertically. A track system is provided between the shelves for the shuttle to travel, allowing it to pick up bins at designated locations.

[0052] Each layer at the end of the shelf is provided with a transfer platform 9 for the elevator and the shuttle car to transfer the material boxes.

[0053] The host computer is connected to the conveying system, the elevator 10 and the shuttle 2 respectively, and is used to execute the storage and outbound control method, and manage inventory information.

[0054] This embodiment provides a delivery system, which is applied to a three-dimensional warehousing system. Each cargo location can store multiple vertically stacked containers, as shown in FIG6 , including:

[0055] At least one shuttle vehicle 2 is configured to respond to a picking instruction of a target container, pick up the target container from the target location and transport it to the transfer platform; wherein the outbound instruction includes the target location where the target container is located and the layer number where the target container is located;

[0056] The elevator 10 is configured to transport the target material box to the outbound conveying line in response to the outbound instruction of the target material box; and the outbound conveying line 11 is configured to transport the target material box to the picking platform in response to the conveying instruction of the target material box.

[0057] In this embodiment, the shuttle 2 picks up the target container from the target cargo location and transports it to the transfer platform. Specifically, the shuttle 2 transports the target container and places it on the transfer platform, and the elevator 10 retrieves the target container from the transfer platform. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the transfer platform can be either a non-powered transfer platform 9 or a powered transfer platform 13.

[0058] The shuttle 2 comprises a vehicle body, a traveling mechanism 4, and at least one pair of telescopic forks 5. The traveling mechanism 4 is located below the vehicle body and is capable of linear motion along lane a. The at least one pair of telescopic forks 5 extend and retract toward the shelf 1, perpendicular to the direction of motion of the shuttle 2. The vehicle body also includes a silo 3 with at least one storage location.

[0059] In some embodiments, two support frames 7 are positioned on either side of the silo 3, along the direction of movement of the shuttle 2. Each of the two support frames 7 is equipped with at least one pair of telescopic forks 5. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the pair of telescopic forks 5 described herein are positioned on the two support frames relative to each other and at the same height. More specifically, the at least one pair of telescopic forks 5 can be raised and lowered synchronously along the support frames.

[0060] As a possible implementation, as shown in FIG1 , the silo 3 is provided with two storage positions in sequence perpendicular to the direction of movement of the shuttle 2. The support frame 7 is provided with a pair of telescopic forks 5 fixed to the bottom of the support frame 7. In addition, the support frame 7 is also provided with a pair of lifting mechanisms 8, which can be raised and lowered synchronously along the support frame 7. The method for picking a target bin based on this shuttle 2 includes:

[0061] (1) Control the shuttle car to reach the target cargo location so that the silo is facing the target cargo location;

[0062] (2) Control the telescopic fork to grab all the boxes at the target cargo location and place them in the storage location near the shelf;

[0063] (3) If the target material box is at the bottom layer, directly execute step (4); if the target material box is at the top layer, control the lifting mechanism to reach the height of the target material box and lift the target material box; control the telescopic fork to put the remaining material boxes on the bottom platform back to the cargo position, and control the lifting mechanism to put the target material box back to the storage position; directly execute step (6); if the target material box is neither at the top layer nor at the bottom layer, control the lifting mechanism to reach the height of the target material box and lift the target material box and the material boxes above it; control the telescopic fork to put the remaining material boxes on the bottom platform back to the cargo position, control the lifting mechanism to put the target material box and the material boxes above it back to the storage position, and execute step (4);

[0064] (4) Control the lifting mechanism to lift the other material boxes above the target material box, and control the telescopic fork to move the target material box to another storage location;

[0065] (5) Control the telescopic fork to grab the material box returned in step (3) again and place it on a storage location close to the shelf, control the lifting mechanism to drop the lifted material box, so that after the target material box is taken out, the upper and lower position order of the other material boxes remains unchanged, and finally control the telescopic fork to put these material boxes back to the target storage location.

[0066] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that more than two storage locations may be provided on the silo to store more than one target material box on the same shelf layer, thereby further improving the outbound efficiency.

[0067] As another possible implementation, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the support frame 7 is provided with two pairs of telescopic forks 5, one pair of which is fixed at the bottom of the support frame 7, and the other pair of telescopic forks can be raised and lowered synchronously along the support frame 7. The method for picking a target bin based on this shuttle 2 includes:

[0068] (1) Control the shuttle car to reach the target cargo location so that the silo is facing the target cargo location;

[0069] (2) Control the telescopic fork at the bottom to grab all the boxes at the target cargo position and place them on the silo;

[0070] (3) If the target material box is at the bottom layer, directly execute step (4); if the target material box is at the top layer, control the telescopic fork that can be lifted to the height of the target material box and lift the target material box; control the telescopic fork at the bottom to put the remaining material boxes on the silo back to the target cargo position, control the telescopic fork that can be lifted to put the target material box back on the silo, and directly execute step (5); if the target material box is neither at the top layer nor at the bottom layer, control the telescopic fork that can be lifted to the height of the target material box and lift the target material box and the material boxes above it; control the telescopic fork at the bottom to put the remaining material boxes on the silo back to the target cargo position, control the telescopic fork that can be lifted to put the target material box and the material boxes above it back on the silo, and execute step (4);

[0071] (4) Control the telescopic fork to lift the other boxes above the target box and put them back on the target shelf. If there are already boxes on the target shelf, stack them directly on top of the existing boxes on the target shelf so that after the target box is taken out, the upper and lower position order of the other boxes remains unchanged.

[0072] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, based on the second possible implementation, more liftable telescopic forks may be added, which can achieve higher efficiency in picking target bins when the number of stacked layers is high.

[0073] In some embodiments, the telescopic fork 5 includes at least two stages of fork arms, and the material box can be clamped and moved by telescoping the fork arms.

[0074] As a possible embodiment, the telescopic fork includes a multi-stage fork arm. The fork arm connected to the support rod is the first-stage fork arm, and the fork arm farthest from the fork frame is the last-stage fork arm. This embodiment uses a two-stage fork arm as an example, namely a first-stage fork arm and a second-stage fork arm. The first-stage fork arm slides with the inner wall of the fork frame, and the second-stage fork arm slides with the first-stage fork arm. The first-stage fork arm and the second-stage fork arm are connected to a telescopic drive mechanism, which enables simultaneous extension and retraction of the first-stage fork arm and the second-stage fork arm. In this embodiment, the telescopic drive mechanism includes but is not limited to a motor + synchronous belt mechanism and a motor + rack and pinion mechanism.

[0075] In order to achieve effective clamping of the material box, a box picking clamp is also provided on the secondary fork arm. The box picking clamps 3-6 are telescopic claws or swinging claws for picking up the box. When the box picking clamp is a telescopic claw, the telescopic claw is a component with a telescopic function, such as an electromagnetic telescopic rod, an electric push rod, etc. The telescopic direction of the telescopic claw is perpendicular to the telescopic direction of the telescopic fork. The telescopic claw extends when it reaches the material box picking position and retracts when it reaches the box placement position. By setting the telescopic claw, the effective clamping of the material box by the fork is guaranteed, and the stability of the fork picking up the material box is improved. When the box picking clamp is a swinging claw, the swinging claw is rotationally connected to the secondary fork arm, and the swinging claw is driven to rotate by a motor + gear, or other rotation drive methods are used.

[0076] In the prior art, the two fork arms need to move relative to each other laterally after extending forward to clamp the material box, while the telescopic fork with the claws only needs to be extended back and forth, which simplifies the control process and can adapt to material boxes of various sizes.

[0077] In some embodiments, the lifting mechanism 8 includes a cross bar provided on the support frame. Through a pair of cross bars provided on the support frame, the upper material box can be clamped and separated from the lower material box.

[0078] In order to adapt to various sizes of boxes and realize the separation between boxes of different sizes, one or more retractable supporting members are further provided in sequence on the cross bar in a transverse direction, and the extending direction of the supporting members is toward the cargo position.

[0079] The elevator comprises a frame, a cargo platform, a lifting device, and a lifting drive mechanism. The frame comprises, from bottom to top, a base, three-dimensional columns, and a top frame. The lifting device comprises a track longitudinally arranged on the frame and a sliding mechanism provided on one side of the cargo platform. Driven by the lifting drive mechanism, the cargo platform can slide up and down along the frame to dock with the outbound conveyor line or the docking station of each shelf layer.

[0080] Figures 6 and 7 provide an example of an outbound delivery system, which uses an unpowered transfer platform 9. In this case, the elevator also includes a telescopic fork. Specifically, a pair of telescopic forks are arranged on both sides of the loading platform, which are configured to transport the shuttle car and place the material box on the transfer platform to the loading platform. As shown in the figure, in the outbound delivery system, the loading platform of the elevator can be connected to the outbound delivery line and the transfer platform respectively by lifting up and down. A conveying mechanism is also provided on the side of the loading platform that is connected to the outbound delivery line, which is denoted as the first conveying mechanism 12. It is configured to transfer the material box to be shipped to the outbound delivery line 11 after the elevator transports the material box to be shipped to the loading platform and docks with the outbound delivery line. It should be pointed out that the shuttle car in the figure is an example of the second implementation method. Those skilled in the art will understand that the shuttle car can also adopt other embodiments described above.

[0081] Figure 8 provides another example of a delivery system, which utilizes a powered transfer platform 13. As shown, the elevator's loading platform is equipped with a conveyor mechanism, designated as a second conveyor mechanism 14. During delivery, the powered transfer platform is used to transfer the shuttle vehicle to the delivery container placed on the powered transfer platform. The shuttle then lowers the elevator to connect with the delivery conveyor line, transferring the container to the delivery conveyor line.

[0082] A conveying mechanism is provided on the bottom platform, and the conveying mechanism 3-4 is connected to a conveying drive mechanism.

[0083] The above-mentioned outbound system can be designed in conjunction with an existing inbound system, as long as the incoming bins can be stacked in multiple layers. In some cases, it can also be designed in conjunction with an inbound system including the above-mentioned shuttle vehicle, as shown in the following embodiments.

[0084] This embodiment provides a storage system that cooperates with the above-mentioned storage system, including:

[0085] Inbound conveyor lines are configured to transport bins to be inbound to the transfer station;

[0086] The elevator is configured to transport the container to be stored to the target shelf layer and deliver it to the transfer platform in response to the container transportation instruction; the container transportation instruction includes the target shelf layer information;

[0087] At least one shuttle is configured to stack and store the containers transported to the shelf layer where the shuttle is located in a corresponding target cargo location in response to a container storage instruction; the container storage instruction includes target cargo location information.

[0088] The elevator transports the material boxes to be stored to the target shelf layer as follows: the elevator transports the material boxes to be stored to the target shelf layer in turn and places them on the transfer platform of that layer. Every time a material box is placed, the transfer platform transfers the material box a certain distance toward the shuttle car, so that multiple material boxes to be stored can be stored on the transfer platform at the same time. The shuttle car grabs the material boxes from the transfer platform and stacks them.

[0089] The shuttle car stacks and stores the boxes transported to the shelf layer where the shuttle car is located in the corresponding target cargo location in the following ways: (1) the target cargo locations of the boxes transported to the layer are the same, the boxes transported to the shelf layer where the shuttle car is located are stacked and stored in the target cargo location; (2) the target cargo locations of the boxes transported to the layer are different, the boxes transported to the shelf layer where the shuttle car is located are stacked and transported to the corresponding target cargo locations in sequence; (3) the target cargo locations of the boxes transported to the layer are different, each time a box is transported to the layer, the shuttle car will transport the box to the corresponding target cargo location.

[0090] To ensure orderly stacking of bins, a barcode scanner is installed on the incoming conveyor line. It is configured to read the information on the bins and transmit it to the host computer to record the incoming goods. Correspondingly, the bins are affixed with a barcode, QR code, or other code that records the bin's identification information, the type, name, quantity, and dimensions of the goods inside.

[0091] As described above, one implementation of the shuttle vehicle is as follows: the support frame is provided with a pair of telescopic forks, which are fixed to the bottom of the support frame. In addition, the support frame is also provided with a pair of lifting mechanisms, which can be raised and lowered synchronously along the support frame. The control method for stacking bins based on this shuttle vehicle includes: controlling the telescopic forks to grab the first bin and place it on the silo; after the elevator transports the next bin to the shelf layer, controlling the lifting mechanism to lift all the current bins on the silo, controlling the telescopic forks to grab the next bin and place it on the silo, and so on, so that the bins that arrive first are on top and the bins that arrive later are on the bottom.

[0092] Regarding the second implementation of the shuttle, the support frame is equipped with two pairs of telescopic forks, one pair of which is fixed to the bottom of the support frame, and the other pair of telescopic forks can be raised and lowered synchronously along the support frame. The control method for stacking containers using this shuttle includes: controlling the telescopic forks at the bottom to grab the first container and place it on the silo; and controlling the telescopic forks that can be raised and lowered to sequentially grab containers transported to that shelf level by the elevator and stack them on top of the existing containers in the silo.

[0093] After multiple outbound shipments from the shelves, there will be a lot of empty space in many of the shelves, resulting in insufficient utilization of the shelves. This problem can be solved by controlling the number of boxes stacked by the shuttle car and storing them in shelves without top-shelf storage.

[0094] The silo is provided with at least two storage locations, perpendicular to the direction of movement of the shuttle. With any of the above shuttle configurations, after completing the vertical stacking of a group of bins at a storage location near the elevator, the telescopic fork moves that group of bins to a storage location farther from the elevator for the next group of bins to be stacked vertically. This allows the shuttle to carry multiple groups of bins at a time and place them sequentially on the storage locations, avoiding multiple transfers to the elevator and improving warehousing efficiency.

[0095] Based on the outbound delivery system provided in the aforementioned embodiment, this embodiment further provides a warehousing method, which is applied to a host computer.

[0096] The host computer stores current inventory information, including bin information of the inventory bins, location information of the storage location, and location information within the storage location. The bin information includes bin identification information and information about the goods within the bin. The goods information includes information such as the type, name, quantity, and bin size of the goods. As an example, the storage locations can be uniquely identified by the row, column, layer, and number of the shelf. The location information of the bin within the storage location is supplemented with location information based on the storage location identification information. The location information can be expressed as relative positions such as top, middle, and bottom, or as Arabic numerals indicating the number of layers of the bin within the corresponding storage location.

[0097] The warehousing method is applied to outbound control and includes the following steps:

[0098] Step 1: Obtain order information, and obtain the name and quantity of the goods to be shipped based on the order information.

[0099] Step 2: Based on the name and quantity of the goods, find the target material box that stores the goods and meets the quantity requirements, and obtain the location information of the target material box; the location information of the target material box includes the location information of the target cargo location where the target material box is located, and the location information of the target material box in the target cargo location.

[0100] Step 3: Generate a picking instruction for the target material box based on the location information of the target cargo location and the location information of the target material box in the target cargo location, and send it to the shuttle car to control the shuttle car to pick up the target material box from the target cargo location and transport it to the handover platform; generate an outbound instruction for the target material box and send it to the elevator to control the elevator to transport the target material box to the outbound transmission line.

[0101] Step 4: Control the outbound conveying line to transfer the target material box to the picking station, delete the corresponding information of the material box for full outbound delivery or mark it as "outbound", and at the same time, update the location information of other material boxes in the target cargo location.

[0102] Based on the warehousing system provided in the above embodiment, this embodiment provides a warehousing method, which is applied to a host computer and includes the following steps:

[0103] Step 1: Receive the material box information obtained by scanning the incoming material box with the scanner on the incoming conveying line, and count the material boxes scanned by the scanner; the material box information includes the material box identification information and the cargo information inside the material box, and the cargo information includes the name and quantity of the cargo.

[0104] Step 2: Based on the number of scanned bins and the set number of stacking layers, these bins are recorded as bins to be stored, and vacant cargo spaces are allocated to the bins to be stored as target cargo spaces. Based on the rules for stacking bins by the shuttle, the position of each bin in the cargo space is determined; the bins scanned by the scanner are recounted; the vacant cargo spaces are those without top-grid storage.

[0105] Step 3: Generate a material box transport instruction based on the target shelf layer where the vacant cargo space is located, and send it to the elevator to control the elevator to transport the material boxes to be stored to the corresponding target shelf layer in sequence; generate a material box storage instruction based on the number of stacking layers and the position of the vacant cargo space in the target shelf layer, and send it to the shuttle car to control the shuttle car to stack and store the material boxes to be stored in the corresponding target cargo space.

[0106] The material box information of each material box, the location information of the storage location, and the location information in the storage location are associated and stored.

[0107] The method can stack multiple consecutive boxes from the incoming conveyor line and transport them to the same cargo location. Accordingly, in step 2, when the number of scanned boxes reaches the set number of stacking layers, an empty cargo location is allocated to these boxes to be entered into the warehouse, and the position of each box in the cargo location is determined according to the rules of the shuttle car stacking boxes; in step 3, a box transportation instruction is generated and sent to the elevator to control the elevator to transport these boxes to be entered into the warehouse to the target shelf layer; a box storage instruction is generated and sent to the shuttle car to control the shuttle car to stack these boxes to be entered into the warehouse and store them in the target cargo location.

[0108] Since the delivery system or storage method based on the aforementioned embodiment may leave a large number of cargo spaces without top-loading storage after a period of time, to address this issue, in this embodiment, when the number of cargo spaces without top-loading storage exceeds a set ratio, the set number of stacking layers is adjusted. The shuttle performs stacking according to the adjusted set number of stacking layers and then transports the stacked containers to cargo spaces without top-loading storage. Specifically, assuming the number of containers when top-loading storage is N, the set number of stacking layers can be adjusted in sequence to N-1, N-2, ..., 1, gradually decreasing, giving priority to filling cargo spaces with larger remaining spaces to improve storage efficiency.

[0109] In addition, the warehousing method for warehousing can flexibly adjust the number of stacked layers of material boxes, and also allows users to flexibly set the number of stacked layers of material boxes on the cargo space and the size of the material boxes. It is applicable to situations where the shelves have the same height but there are material boxes of different sizes that need to be stored, or situations where the shelves have different heights.

[0110] In some application scenarios, multiple consecutive boxes from the incoming transport line may correspond to different shelf layers, and the boxes on the same target shelf layer may also correspond to different target cargo locations. Accordingly, in step 2, an idle cargo location is allocated to each box to be entered based on the inventory situation. In step 3, a box transport instruction is generated and sent to the elevator to control the elevator to transport the boxes to be entered to the target shelf layer in sequence; a box storage instruction is generated and sent to the shuttle to control the shuttle to stack and store the boxes to be entered in the corresponding target cargo location. The shuttle can stack and store the boxes to be entered in the corresponding target cargo location by stacking the boxes to be entered at the transfer station, carrying the stacked boxes into lane a, and storing each box in its corresponding target cargo location in sequence; or, after the elevator transports a box to its corresponding target shelf layer, the shuttle will move the box to the corresponding target cargo location.

[0111] Based on the stacking function of the shuttle car, multiple material boxes can be stacked and moved to the same cargo location or different cargo locations for stacking and storage, or multiple material boxes can be moved to different cargo locations for stacking and storage. It has strong flexibility and can meet various storage needs.

[0112] Although the above describes the specific implementation methods of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, it does not limit the scope of protection of the present application. Technical personnel in the relevant field should understand that on the basis of the technical solution of the present application, various modifications or variations that can be made by technical personnel in this field without creative work are still within the scope of protection of the present application. Industrial Applicability

[0113] The outbound system, inbound system, outbound method and inbound method of the present application are applied to a three-dimensional warehousing system. By placing the unpacking step in front, the shuttle car can directly pick up the target material box from the cargo location without the need to set up additional unpacking and stacking equipment, thereby improving the overall inbound and outbound efficiency.

Claims

1. A delivery system, applied to a three-dimensional storage system, each cargo space can store multiple vertically stacked boxes, characterized in that: include: At least one shuttle vehicle is configured to respond to a picking instruction of a target material box, pick up the target material box from a target cargo location and transport it to a transfer platform; wherein the outbound instruction includes the target cargo location where the target material box is located, and the layer number where the target material box is located; The elevator is configured to transport the target material box to the outbound transport line in response to an outbound instruction of the target material box.

2. The outbound delivery system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shuttle vehicle is provided with a material bin, and two support frames are sequentially arranged on both sides of the material bin along the moving direction of the shuttle vehicle, and at least one pair of telescopic forks are arranged on the two support frames.

3. The outbound delivery system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The at least one pair of telescopic forks can be raised and lowered synchronously along the support frame.

4. The outbound storage system according to claim 2, characterized in that: A pair of telescopic forks and a pair of lifting mechanisms are sequentially arranged on the two support frames from bottom to top, and the lifting mechanisms can be lifted and lowered synchronously along the support frames.

5. The outbound delivery system according to claim 4, characterized in that: At least two storage positions are sequentially arranged on the silo perpendicular to the moving direction of the shuttle vehicle.

6. The outbound storage system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The support frame is provided with two pairs of telescopic forks, one pair of which is fixed at the bottom of the support frame, and the other pair of which can be raised and lowered synchronously along the support frame.

7. The outbound delivery system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that: The telescopic fork comprises a primary fork arm and a secondary fork arm, the primary fork arm and the secondary fork arm are slidably matched, and the primary fork arm and the secondary fork arm are connected to a telescopic driving mechanism, and the telescopic driving mechanism is configured to drive the primary fork arm and the secondary fork arm to telescope simultaneously.

8. The outbound storage system according to claim 7, characterized in that: The secondary fork arm is also provided with a box taking fixture, and the box taking fixture is a box taking telescopic claw or a box taking swinging claw.

9. The outbound delivery system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The system further comprises an outbound conveying line configured to transmit the target box to a picking station in response to a conveying instruction of the target box.

10. A warehousing system, characterized in that: Connected to the outbound delivery system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, comprising: The elevator is configured to transport the material box to be stored to the target shelf layer and deliver it to the transfer platform in response to the material box transportation instruction; the material box transportation instruction includes the target shelf layer information; At least one shuttle is configured to stack and store the boxes transported to the shelf layer where the shuttle is located in a corresponding target cargo location in response to a box storage instruction; the box storage instruction includes target cargo location information.

11. The warehousing system according to claim 10, characterized in that: The system also includes an incoming transport line, which is configured to receive and transmit the material boxes to be stored. A scanner is provided on the incoming transport line, which is configured to scan the code on the material boxes to be stored and obtain the cargo information in the material boxes.

12. A warehousing method, applied to a host computer, wherein the host computer is connected to the outbound delivery system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Obtain order information, and obtain the name and quantity of the goods to be shipped according to the order information; According to the name and quantity of the goods, a target material box that stores the goods and meets the quantity requirement is searched, and the location information of the target material box is obtained; the location information of the target material box includes the location information of the target cargo location where the target material box is located, and the location information of the target material box in the target cargo location; Generate a picking instruction for the target material box according to the location information of the target cargo location and the location information of the target material box in the target cargo location, and send the instruction to the shuttle vehicle to control the shuttle vehicle to pick up the target material box from the target cargo location and transport it to the handover platform; A depot instruction of a target material box is generated and sent to the elevator to control the elevator to transport the target material box to a depot transmission line.

13. A shuttle vehicle, applied to the outbound system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or the inbound system according to any one of claims 10 to 11, characterized in that: The shuttle vehicle is provided with a material bin, and two support frames are sequentially arranged on both sides of the material bin along the moving direction of the shuttle vehicle, and at least one pair of telescopic forks are arranged on the two support frames.

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