Material picking system, warehousing system and material picking method

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of logistics warehousing. Disclosed are a material picking system, a warehousing system and a material picking method. The material picking system comprises a warehouse rack and a goods taking and placing assembly, wherein the warehouse rack is provided with storage positions and temporary storage positions, the storage positions being configured for the placement of inventory containers where materials are stored , and the temporary storage positions being configured in such a way that handling robots place or pick up order containers thereon or therefrom; the goods taking and placing assembly is provided with a first bearing table and a second bearing table, and the goods taking and placing assembly can move to a storage position to take an inventory container to the first bearing table or place an inventory container at the storage position, and move to a temporary storage position to take an order container to the second bearing table or place an order container at the temporary storage position; and a picking mechanism is provided on the goods taking and placing assembly, and the picking mechanism is configured to pick at least some of materials in the inventory container on the first bearing table into the order container on the second bearing table on the basis of an order corresponding to the order container. In this way, the present application can optimize the space utilization rate of a warehouse while improving the efficiency of material picking.

Description

Material picking system, warehousing system and material picking method

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on December 14, 2023, with application number 202311727259.1 and application name “Material picking system, warehousing system and material picking method”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of logistics and warehousing technology, and specifically to a material picking system, a warehousing system, and a material picking method. Background Art

[0003] With the accelerated pace of life and the improvement of logistics automation, higher requirements are placed on the material handling efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0004] Existing material picking systems typically use transport robots to move bins from shelves to designated workstations. Operators at these workstations then manually select the items before the robots return the bins to the shelves. This entire process requires the transport robots to spend a significant amount of time and effort transporting the bins, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Furthermore, separate workstations are required to accommodate material picking operations, which occupies warehouse space and impacts space utilization.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of the above problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a material picking system, a warehousing system and a material picking method, which can improve the material picking efficiency while optimizing the space utilization of the warehouse.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present application, a material picking system is provided, including a shelf and a pick-and-place component; the shelf has a storage position and a cache position, at least one storage position is used to place an inventory container storing materials, and at least one cache position is used for a handling robot to place or pick up an order container thereon; the pick-and-place component is movably arranged on the shelf, and the pick-and-place component has a first load-bearing platform and a second load-bearing platform, and the pick-and-place component can move to the storage position to take the inventory container to the first load-bearing platform or place the inventory container to the storage position, and move to the cache position to take the order container to the second load-bearing platform or place the order container to the cache position; a picking mechanism is provided on the pick-and-place component, and the picking mechanism is used to pick at least part of the materials in the inventory container on the first load-bearing platform into the order container on the second load-bearing platform according to the order corresponding to the order container.

[0008] In an optional embodiment, the picking and placing component has a first picking and placing mechanism and a second picking and placing mechanism. The first picking and placing mechanism is arranged on the first load-bearing platform, and the second picking and placing mechanism is arranged on the second load-bearing platform. The first picking and placing mechanism is used to pick and place inventory containers at the storage position, and the second picking and placing mechanism is used to pick and place order containers at the cache position.

[0009] In an optional embodiment, the first loading platform and the second loading platform are arranged adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction, and the picking and placing component has a third picking and placing mechanism; the third picking and placing mechanism is arranged on the first loading platform, and the third picking and placing mechanism is used to pick up and place inventory containers at the storage position. The third picking and placing mechanism can also be used to take the order container to the first loading platform at the cache position, and place the order container on the first loading platform to the second loading platform; the third picking and placing mechanism is also used to take the order container on the second loading platform to the first loading platform, and place the order container on the first loading platform to the cache position.

[0010] In an optional method, the third picking and placing mechanism is used to place the order container on the first loading platform onto the second loading platform, and then take out the inventory containers from multiple storage locations in sequence according to the order corresponding to the order container, and place them on the first loading platform for the picking mechanism to pick the materials and put them back to complete the order corresponding to the order container.

[0011] In an optional embodiment, the first loading platform and the third picking and placing mechanism are configured to rotate synchronously along the vertical axis, and the third picking and placing mechanism can rotate synchronously with the first loading platform to a position facing the second loading platform to pick up and place order containers on the second loading platform.

[0012] In an optional embodiment, the first loading platform and the second loading platform are arranged adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction, and the picking and placing component has a fourth picking and placing mechanism; the fourth picking and placing mechanism is arranged on the second loading platform, and the fourth picking and placing mechanism is used to pick up and place order containers at the cache position, and the third picking and placing mechanism can also be used to take the inventory container to the second loading platform at the storage position, and place the inventory container on the second loading platform to the first loading platform; the fourth picking and placing mechanism is also used to take the inventory container on the first loading platform to the second loading platform, and place the inventory container on the second loading platform to the storage position.

[0013] In an optional manner, the first carrying platform and the second carrying platform are configured to be synchronously lifted and lowered vertically, and / or synchronously moved horizontally.

[0014] In an optional embodiment, a transverse track and a longitudinal track are provided on the shelf; the transverse track is fixed to the shelf, the longitudinal track is movably connected to the transverse track in the horizontal direction, and the cargo picking and placing component is movably connected to the longitudinal track in the vertical direction; or, the longitudinal track is fixed to the shelf, the transverse track is movably connected to the longitudinal track in the vertical direction, and the cargo picking and placing component is movably connected to the transverse track in the horizontal direction; or, the transverse track is movably connected to the shelf in the vertical direction, the longitudinal track is movably connected to the shelf in the horizontal direction, the cargo picking and placing component is movably connected to the transverse track in the horizontal direction, and is movably connected to the longitudinal track in the vertical direction.

[0015] In an optional manner, multiple layers of storage locations are arranged vertically on the shelf, wherein the bottom layer of storage locations are cache locations, and at least one layer of storage locations are storage locations.

[0016] In an optional embodiment, the shelf is used to be placed on a load-bearing plane, and a load-bearing member is provided at the bottom end of the shelf near the load-bearing plane, a cache position is formed on the load-bearing member, and a channel for the transport robot to walk is formed between the load-bearing member and the load-bearing plane; a cargo channel is provided on the load-bearing member in a vertical direction, and the cargo channel is provided with an opening in a horizontal direction on the side facing and / or away from the pick-up and placement component; the opening is used for the jacking mechanism on the transport robot carrying the order container to enter the cargo channel in a horizontal direction, so that the jacking mechanism on the transport robot lowers and places the order container on the load-bearing member; the cargo channel is used for the jacking mechanism on the empty transport robot to pass through in a vertical direction, so that the jacking mechanism on the transport robot lifts the order container, and the opening is used for the jacking mechanism on the transport robot carrying the order container to move out of the cargo channel in a horizontal direction.

[0017] In an optional embodiment, the supporting member includes a crossbeam and at least one group of cantilevers, the crossbeam is horizontally arranged on one side of the bottom of the shelf, each group of cantilevers includes at least a first cantilever and a second cantilever, one end of the first cantilever and one end of the second cantilever are fixed to the crossbeam, and the first cantilever and the second cantilever are perpendicular to the crossbeam, and a cache position is formed together on the first cantilever and the second cantilever, and the first cantilever and the second cantilever are spaced apart from each other along the extension direction of the crossbeam, so that a cargo channel is formed between the first cantilever and the second cantilever.

[0018] According to another aspect of the present application, a warehousing system is provided, comprising a transport robot and a material picking system as described in any one of the above items, wherein the transport robot is used to place and transport order containers on a cache location of a shelf.

[0019] According to another aspect of the present application, a material picking method is provided, which is applied to the above-mentioned warehousing system, and the material picking method includes: controlling the transport robot to place the order container on the cache position of the shelf; controlling the pick-and-place component to move to the cache position of the shelf and take the order container to the second loading platform; controlling the pick-and-place component to move to the storage position of the shelf and take the inventory container to the first loading platform; controlling the picking mechanism to pick at least part of the material in the inventory container on the first loading platform into the order container on the second loading platform; after the picking is completed, controlling the pick-and-place component to place the order container on the second loading platform to the cache position of the shelf; controlling the transport robot to transport the order container on the cache position of the shelf to the target position.

[0020] In an optional manner, controlling the picking and placing component to move to the storage position of the shelf and taking the inventory container to the first load platform and controlling the picking mechanism to pick at least part of the materials in the inventory container on the first load platform into the order container on the second load platform includes: controlling the picking and placing component to move to the storage position where the target inventory container is located, wherein the target inventory container is filled with items required for the order corresponding to the order container; controlling the picking and placing component to take the target inventory container to the first load platform; controlling the picking mechanism to pick the materials to be picked in the target inventory container on the first load platform into the order container on the second load platform; controlling the picking and placing component to put the target inventory container on the first load platform back into the storage position; determining another new inventory container as the target inventory container, and jumping to the step of controlling the picking and placing component to move to the storage position where the target inventory container is located, until all required materials are picked into the order container on the second load platform or the shelf that the picking and placing component can pick and place goods no longer includes the target inventory container.

[0021] The material picking system provided in the embodiment of the present application is built around the shelf. The cache position on the shelf is responsible for docking with the handling robot to realize the input and output of the order container. The shelf that was originally only used for storing and placing containers is integrated with a pick-and-place component that can be moved to different positions on the shelf to pick up and place the container. The first and second load-bearing platforms of the pick-and-place component are used to place the inventory containers and order containers corresponding to the current picking operation, so that the picking mechanism on the pick-and-place component can perform the picking work more conveniently and quickly. The entire picking process does not require human participation, realizing fully automated picking operations. The entire system does not require the coordination of multiple robots, but only requires some simple mechanical structures to pick and place containers and materials in the containers, effectively reducing operating costs. Moreover, the entire system is integrated on the shelf, and there is no need to set up additional workstations for picking operations in the limited space of the warehouse, thereby improving the space utilization rate of the warehouse.

[0022] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present application. In order to more clearly understand the technical means of the present application, it can be implemented in accordance with the contents of the specification. In order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present application are listed below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiment below. The accompanying drawings are for illustration purposes only and are not to be considered as limiting the present application. The same reference symbols are used throughout the drawings to represent the same components. In the drawings:

[0024] FIG1 is a schematic structural diagram of a warehousing system according to an embodiment of the present invention from one perspective;

[0025] FIG2 is a schematic structural diagram of a warehousing system from another perspective according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] FIG3 is a schematic structural diagram of a storage system according to another embodiment of the present invention from one perspective;

[0027] FIG4 is a schematic structural diagram of a storage system from another perspective according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a movably connected pick-and-place assembly and a shelf in a material picking system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] FIG6 is an enlarged structural diagram of FIG3 at point A;

[0030] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a material sorting method provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] FIG8 is a flowchart of the sub-steps of step 630 and step 640 in FIG7 .

[0032] The figure numbers in the specific implementation method are as follows: 100, material picking system; 110, shelf; 111, storage position; 112, cache position; 113, horizontal track; 114, longitudinal track; 115, load-bearing part; 1151, cargo channel; 11511, opening; 1152, beam; 1153, cantilever; 11531, first cantilever; 11532, second cantilever; 120, pick-up and release component; 121, first load-bearing platform; 122, second load-bearing platform; 123, first pick-up and release mechanism; 124, second pick-up and release mechanism; 125, third pick-up and release mechanism; 130, picking mechanism; 140, channel; 210, inventory container; 220, order container; 300, handling robot; 310, lifting mechanism; 400, load-bearing plane; 500, channel; 1000, warehousing system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The following embodiments of the technical solution of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are only used to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present application and are therefore only examples and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application.

[0034] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this application belongs; the terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit this application; the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof in the specification and claims of this application and the above-mentioned figure descriptions are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions.

[0035] In the description of the embodiments of this application, the technical terms "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish different objects and should not be understood to indicate or imply relative importance or implicitly specify the quantity, specific order, or primary and secondary relationship of the indicated technical features. In the description of the embodiments of this application, the meaning of "plurality" is more than two, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0036] References herein to "embodiments" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it constitute an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive of other embodiments. It is understood, both explicitly and implicitly, by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0037] In the description of the embodiments of this application, the term "and / or" is simply a description of the association relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent the following three situations: A exists, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists. In addition, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0038] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "multiple" refers to more than two (including two). Similarly, "multiple groups" refers to more than two groups (including two groups), and "multiple pieces" refers to more than two pieces (including two pieces).

[0039] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the technical terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship, are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the embodiments of the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the embodiments of the present application.

[0040] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, technical terms such as "installed," "connected," "connected," and "fixed" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they can refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integration; mechanical connections or electrical connections; direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; internal connections between two components or interactions between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the embodiments of the present application based on specific circumstances.

[0041] With the continuous upgrading and innovation of logistics automation and intelligent manufacturing and the continuous rise in labor costs, in order to achieve higher productivity, fully automated picking systems have become the mainstream development trend.

[0042] The entire picking process in existing warehousing systems requires not only the collaborative work of multiple types of robots, but also manual participation in picking operations. This makes the entire process time-consuming and labor-intensive, with high costs and low efficiency. At the same time, since the picking workstations occupy a certain amount of space in the warehouse, this space cannot be used to store containers, resulting in low warehouse space utilization and a small amount of goods that can be stored.

[0043] Based on this, this application proposes a material picking system. The entire system is built around shelves, that is, the shelves are designed as a fully automated system that can realize material storage and picking. The shelves integrate storage locations, pick-and-place components, and picking mechanisms. As the name suggests, storage locations are used to store containers, and the pick-and-place components are used to realize the transfer of containers between storage locations and picking mechanisms. The picking mechanism is responsible for automatically picking designated containers. The entire system does not require the coordination of multiple robots or manual participation, effectively reducing operating costs. There is no need to occupy more space in the warehouse to set up picking stations outside the shelves, thereby improving the space utilization rate of the warehouse.

[0044] The material picking system provided in the embodiments of the present application includes but is not limited to warehousing systems used in e-commerce, manufacturing, retail, medicine, food and other fields.

[0045] Please refer to FIG1 , which shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a material picking system provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in the figure, the material picking system 100 includes a shelf 110 and a pick-and-place assembly 120. The shelf 110 has storage locations 111 and buffer locations 112. At least one storage location 111 is used to place inventory containers 210 containing materials, and at least one buffer location 112 is used for a transfer robot 300 to place or pick up order containers 220. The pick-and-place assembly 120 is movably disposed on the shelf 110 and has a first loading platform 121 and a second loading platform 122. The pick-and-place assembly 120 can move to the storage location 111 to pick up the inventory container 210 onto the first loading platform 121 or place the inventory container 210 onto the storage location 111, and can move to the buffer location 112 to pick up the order container 220 onto the second loading platform 122 or place the order container 220 onto the buffer location 112. The picking and placing component 120 is provided with a picking mechanism 130 , which is used to pick at least part of the materials in the inventory container 210 on the first carrier 121 into the order container 220 on the second carrier 122 according to the order corresponding to the order container 220 .

[0046] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the shelf 110 can be arranged in multiple layers along the direction indicated by the z-axis (i.e., the height direction), and each layer has multiple storage locations along the x-axis, each storage location is used to place a container, and among these storage locations, a portion forms storage locations 111, and another portion forms cache locations 112. In the specific embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, since the handling robot 300 is a lifting robot, the storage locations on the bottom layer are set as cache locations 112, so that the handling robot 300 can place or remove containers in the cache locations 112 through the lifting mechanism, and the remaining storage locations on at least one layer are storage locations 111. In other embodiments, when the handling robot 300 is a robot with a lifting mechanism for picking up and placing goods, that is, when the handling robot can pick up and place goods at any height of the shelf 110, the specific positions of the cache locations 112 and storage locations 111 are not limited and can be set accordingly as needed.

[0047] The pick-and-place assembly 120 can be connected to one side of the shelf 110 or installed on the ground on the side of the shelf 110 where goods are to be picked up and placed, via a sliding mechanism along the x-axis and z-axis directions, so that the pick-and-place assembly 120 can be moved to a position corresponding to any area on the shelf 110 under the drive of the sliding mechanism. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the pick-and-place assembly 120 can use a pick-and-place mechanism to implement access to containers (such as bins, etc.) at the storage location 111 and the cache location 112. The specific pick-and-place mechanism can be implemented using a robotic arm, a hook, a suction cup, or other mechanisms, which are not limited here.

[0048] In the specific embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, the positions of the first load platform 121, the second load platform 122, and the pick-up and placement assembly 120 are fixed to each other and share the same drive system to move synchronously relative to the shelf 110 to achieve cost control. In other embodiments, the first load platform 121, the second load platform 122, and the pick-up and placement assembly 120 can each move independently relative to the shelf 110 through a set of drive systems, making the control of each part during the operation more flexible and diverse, or two of the three can share a set of drive systems to move synchronously, and the other can move independently. The picking mechanism 130 is a manipulator, adsorption mechanism, etc. that can grab and place materials.

[0049] For ease of understanding, the following describes the workflow of the material picking system 100 based on the embodiments shown in FIG1 and FIG2 .

[0050] First, a storage container 210 is placed on the storage location 111 , and materials are stored in the storage container 210 . The transport robot 300 transports the order container 220 and places it on the cache position 112. It should be noted that the order container 220 may include an empty order container and / or a pre-picked order container. The pre-picked order container refers to a container that has already picked a portion of materials at other workstations and still needs to be picked by the material picking system 100 provided in this embodiment. This is because in the warehousing system, the types of materials corresponding to each workstation / picking system may be different, and different types of materials may need to be picked in the same order container 220. Therefore, the pre-picked order container after picking by the previous workstation / picking system will flow into the material picking system 100 in this embodiment to continue picking processing. Similarly, the order container 220 after picking by the material picking system 100 in this embodiment includes an order container in which all materials have been picked and can be directly packaged in the downstream link, and / or a pre-picked order container in which the material picking system 100 in this embodiment has completed picking of all materials but still needs to enter the next workstation / picking system to continue material picking.

[0051] Next, the picking and placing component 120 moves as a whole to the corresponding cache position 112, takes out the order container 220 from the cache position 112 and places it on the second loading platform 122, then moves to the corresponding storage position 111, takes out the corresponding inventory container 210 from the storage position 111 and places it on the first loading platform 121, or, the picking and placing component 120 moves as a whole to the corresponding storage position 111, takes out the inventory container 210 from the storage position 111 and places it on the first loading platform 121, then moves to the corresponding cache position 112, takes out the corresponding order container 220 from the cache position 112 and places it on the second loading platform 122.

[0052] Then, the picking mechanism 130 picks the required materials from the inventory container 210 on the first loading platform 121 and places them into the order container 220 on the second loading platform 122 .

[0053] Next, if the order container 220 on the second carrier 122 still needs materials from other inventory containers 210, the picking and placing component 120 will put the inventory container 210 on the current first carrier 121 back to the storage position 111 (the returned storage position 111 can be the storage position 111 where the inventory container 210 was originally located, or it can be any empty storage position 111), and then move to another storage position 111 to take the corresponding inventory container 210 to the first carrier 121 for picking, until all the materials required by the order container 220 in the material picking system 100 of this embodiment are picked or the materials required by the order container 220 no longer exist on the shelf 110 that the picking and placing component 120 can pick and place. The shelf 110 that the picking and placing component 120 can pick and place depends on the warehouse layout and its own structure. It can include only the shelf 110 where it is located, or it can include shelves 110 arranged in parallel and facing the picking and placing component 120. During this process, if all the materials in one or part of the inventory containers 210 are picked into the order container 220 to form an empty container, the picking and placing component 120 does not need to put it back to the storage position 111, and can directly put it into the cache position 112.

[0054] Finally, the picking and placing component 120 places the picked order container 220 on the cache position 112, and then the transport robot 300 transports the picked order container 220 to the designated location, completing the picking work of the corresponding order container 220 in the material picking system 100 of this embodiment.

[0055] The material picking system 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application is built around a shelf. The cache position 112 on the shelf 110 is responsible for docking with the handling robot 300 to realize the input and output of the order container 220. The shelf that was originally used only for storing and placing containers is integrated with a pick-and-place component 120 that can be moved to different positions on the shelf to pick up and place containers. The first load platform 121 and the second load platform 122 of the pick-and-place component 120 are used to place the inventory container 210 and order container 220 corresponding to the current picking operation, so that the picking mechanism 130 on the pick-and-place component 120 can perform the picking work more conveniently and quickly. The entire picking process is human-free, achieving a fully automated picking operation. The entire system does not require the coordination of multiple robots, only a few simple mechanical structures are required to pick and place containers and the materials in the containers, effectively reducing operating costs. Moreover, the entire system is integrated on the shelf, and there is no need to set up additional workstations for picking operations within the limited space of the warehouse, thereby improving the space utilization rate of the warehouse.

[0056] In order to facilitate the placement and removal of containers on the first loading platform 121 and the second loading platform 122, the present application further proposes an embodiment. Please continue to refer to Figures 1 and 2 for details. As shown in the figures, the picking and placing component 120 has a first picking and placing mechanism 123 and a second picking and placing mechanism 124. The first picking and placing mechanism 123 is arranged on the first loading platform 121, and the second picking and placing mechanism 124 is arranged on the second loading platform 122. The first picking and placing mechanism 123 is used to pick up and place inventory containers 210 at the storage position 111, and the second picking and placing mechanism 124 is used to pick up and place order containers 220 at the cache position 112.

[0057] By setting a first picking and placing mechanism 123 on the first loading platform 121 and a second picking and placing mechanism 124 on the second loading platform 122, the transfer of inventory containers 210 between the storage position 111 and the first loading platform 121 and the transfer of order containers 220 between the cache position 112 and the second loading platform 122 can be conveniently and efficiently realized, thereby improving the efficiency of automated picking.

[0058] Regarding the retrieval and placement of containers, the present application also proposes an embodiment. For details, please refer to Figures 3 and 4 , which illustrate schematic structural diagrams of a material sorting system from two perspectives according to another embodiment of the present application. As shown in the figures, a first loading platform 121 and a second loading platform 122 are adjacently arranged horizontally (indicated by the x-axis in the figures), and the loading and placement assembly 120 includes a third loading and placement mechanism 125. The third loading and placement mechanism 125 is disposed on the first loading platform 121 and is used to retrieve and place inventory containers 210 from the storage location 111. The third loading and placement mechanism 125 is also used to retrieve order containers 220 from the cache location 112 onto the first loading platform 121 and place the order containers 220 on the first loading platform 121 onto the second loading platform 122. The third loading and placement mechanism 125 is also used to retrieve order containers 220 from the second loading platform 122 onto the first loading platform 121 and place the order containers 220 on the first loading platform 121 onto the cache location 112.

[0059] Specifically, the third picking and placing mechanism 125 can be a fork, a robot arm, etc., which is not limited here.

[0060] By arranging the first loading platform 121 and the second loading platform 122 adjacent to each other horizontally and setting a third picking and placing mechanism 125 on the first loading platform 121, the inventory container 210 and the order container 220 can be automatically transferred between the shelf 110 and the first loading platform 121, and the order container 220 can be automatically transferred between the first loading platform 121 and the second loading platform 122.

[0061] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the third picking and placing mechanism 125 is used to place the order container 220 on the first loading platform 121 onto the second loading platform 122, and then take out the inventory container 210 from multiple storage positions 111 in sequence according to the order corresponding to the order container 220, and place it on the first loading platform 121 for the picking mechanism 130 to pick the materials and put them back to complete the order corresponding to the order container 220.

[0062] In view of the situation where the same order container 220 needs to pick the required materials from multiple inventory containers 210, by setting the third picking and placing mechanism 125 on the first loading platform 121, the order container 220 does not need to be transferred after being placed on the second loading platform 122. The third picking and placing mechanism 125 only needs to take the inventory containers 210 on each storage position 111 to the first loading platform 121 for picking in turn, which is conducive to ensuring the efficiency of material picking.

[0063] Regarding the specific operating mode of the third pick-up and place mechanism, this application proposes an embodiment, which is further described in Figures 3 and 4 . As shown in these figures, the first platform 121 and the third pick-up and place mechanism 125 are configured to rotate synchronously along a vertical axis (an axis parallel to the z-axis in the figures). The third pick-up and place mechanism 125 can rotate synchronously with the first platform 121 to a position facing the second platform 122 to place and pick up order containers 220 from the second platform 122.

[0064] By arranging the first loading platform 121 and the third picking and placing mechanism 125 to rotate synchronously along the vertical axis, when the third picking and placing mechanism 125 and the first loading platform 121 rotate synchronously toward the second loading platform 122, the order container 220 can be transferred between the first loading platform 121 and the second loading platform 122. On this basis, various working conditions required for picking can be met, and compared with the method of using two picking and placing mechanisms to pick and place containers on the first loading platform 121 and the second loading platform 122 respectively, the required costs can be effectively saved.

[0065] It is understood that in other embodiments, based on the first and second loading platforms being arranged adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction and the loading and unloading assembly having a third loading and unloading mechanism, a fourth loading and unloading mechanism may be provided on the second loading platform. The fourth loading and unloading mechanism is used to load and unload order containers from the buffer location. The fourth loading and unloading mechanism may also be used to load inventory containers from the storage location to the second loading platform and to place inventory containers on the second loading platform onto the first loading platform. Similarly, the fourth loading and unloading mechanism may also be used to load inventory containers from the first loading platform to the second loading platform and then place inventory containers on the second loading platform into the storage location.

[0066] In order to reduce the cost of the material picking system 100 and optimize the control logic of each mechanism, the present application proposes an implementation method. Specifically, the first load platform 121 and the second load platform 122 are configured to be synchronously lifted vertically and / or synchronously moved horizontally.

[0067] In the specific embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 4, the first load platform 121 and the second load platform 122 are fixed to the same base, which is movably mounted on one side of the shelf 110 via a slide rail. The base is then driven by a drive mechanism to move, causing the first load platform 121 and the second load platform 122 to be raised and lowered vertically and moved horizontally synchronously. By arranging the first and second load platforms 121, 122 to be raised and lowered vertically and moved horizontally synchronously, only one drive system is required for driving. This also ensures that the control logic is simple and error-prone, thereby facilitating the reliability of material sorting operations.

[0068] It can be understood that if the first load platform 121 and the second load platform 122 only need to be lifted vertically or moved horizontally synchronously, the first load platform 121 and the second load platform 122 need to be set separately, and each needs to be provided with a corresponding slider for vertical lifting or horizontal movement, and the direction of synchronous movement of the two is driven by the same driving mechanism.

[0069] Regarding the movement of the pick-and-place assembly 120, the present application proposes an embodiment, specifically referring to FIG1 . As shown in the figure, a transverse track 113 and a longitudinal track 114 are provided on the shelf 110. The transverse track 113 is fixed to the shelf 110, and the longitudinal track 114 is movably connected to the transverse track 113 in the horizontal direction (indicated by the x-axis in the figure). The pick-and-place assembly 120 is movably connected to the longitudinal track 114 in the vertical direction (indicated by the z-axis in the figure).

[0070] The movement of the picking and placing component 120 relative to the longitudinal track 114 in the vertical direction, combined with the movement of the longitudinal track 114 relative to the transverse track 113 in the horizontal direction, can enable the picking and placing component 120 to move to a position corresponding to any storage position 111 or cache position 112 on the shelf 110, so that the picking and placing component 120 can pick and place containers at the corresponding storage position 111 or cache position 112.

[0071] In other embodiments, the movement of the pick-and-place assembly can be achieved by fixing the longitudinal track to the shelf, movably connecting the transverse track to the longitudinal track in a vertical direction, and movably connecting the pick-and-place assembly to the transverse track in a horizontal direction. Furthermore, as shown in FIG5 , the transverse track 113 can be movably connected to the shelf 110 in a vertical direction, the longitudinal track 114 can be movably connected to the shelf 110 in a horizontal direction, and the pick-and-place assembly 120 can be movably connected to the transverse track 113 in a horizontal direction and movably connected to the longitudinal track 114 in a vertical direction. Both of the above methods can also enable the pick-and-place assembly to be moved to any position on the shelf to pick and place containers.

[0072] As shown in Figure 3, in some embodiments, multiple layers of storage locations are arranged on the shelf 110 along the vertical direction (the direction shown by the z-axis in the figure), wherein the bottom layer of storage locations is a cache location 112, and at least one of the remaining layers of storage locations is a storage location 111.

[0073] Optionally, please refer to Figure 4 again. The shelf 110 of the material picking system 100 is a double-deep shelf, and only one deep cache position 112 is formed on the side of the bottom position of the double-deep shelf close to the pick-up and release component, and the other deep position is vacant, forming a channel 140 for the transport robot 300. The transport robot 300 can carry containers and travel in this channel 140.

[0074] By setting up multiple layers of storage bins on the shelf 110, the warehouse space can be fully utilized to ensure that more containers can be placed on one shelf 110. Furthermore, by setting the bottom storage bin as the cache position 112, the transport robot 300 can place and remove the order container 220 more efficiently.

[0075] Furthermore, regarding the design of the bearing structure on the cache position 112, the present application proposes an embodiment, specifically referring to FIG. 3 and further in conjunction with FIG. 6 , which shows an enlarged structure at point A in FIG. 3 . As shown in the figure, the shelf 110 is used to be placed on a bearing plane 400 (e.g., a bearing platform provided on the ground or in a warehouse). The shelf 110 is provided with a bearing member 115 at the bottom end near the bearing plane 400. The bearing member 115 is provided with a cache position 112. A passage 500 is formed between the bearing member 115 and the bearing plane for the transport robot 300 to travel. A cargo passage 1151 is provided vertically through the bearing member 115. The cargo passage 1151 is provided with an opening 11511 in the horizontal direction (the direction indicated by the y-axis in the figure) on one side facing and / or away from the cargo pick-up and placement assembly 120. The opening 11511 allows the lifting mechanism 310 of the transport robot 300, which is carrying an order container 220, to enter the cargo aisle 1151 horizontally, allowing the lifting mechanism 310 on the transport robot 300 to lower and place the order container 220 on the carrier 115. The cargo aisle 1151 allows the lifting mechanism 310 of an unloaded transport robot 300 to pass vertically through the aisle, allowing the lifting mechanism 310 on the transport robot 300 to lift the order container 220. The opening 11511 allows the lifting mechanism 310 on the transport robot 300, which is carrying an order container 220, to move horizontally out of the cargo aisle 1151.

[0076] Specifically, the lifting mechanism 310 on the handling robot 300 can be a scissor mechanism, a hydraulic jack, or the like, without limitation. A loading platform can be provided on top of the lifting mechanism 310 to ensure stability when handling containers. The carrier 115 can be a horizontal plate with a notch machined therein to form a loading channel 1151 having an opening 11511.

[0077] The process of placing the order container 220 in the cache position 112 is as follows: the lifting mechanism 310 on the transport robot 300 carrying the order container 220 is in a raised state, and the transport robot 300 enters the cargo channel 1151 from the side where the opening 11511 on the cargo channel 1151 is located. At this time, the top of the lifting mechanism 310 is higher than the top of the carrier 115, that is, the bottom of the order container 220 is higher than the top of the carrier 115. Then the lifting mechanism 310 descends, so that the order container 220 is placed on the carrier 115, and the transport robot 300 moves out to perform the next operation.

[0078] The process of transporting the order container 220 at the cache position 112 is as follows: the lifting mechanism 310 on the unloaded transport robot 300 is in a lowered state, and the transport robot 300 can enter the channel 500 between the carrier 115 and the carrying plane 400 from any position and make the lifting mechanism 310 on it correspond to the cargo channel 1151 on the cache position 112 in the height direction. Then, after the lifting mechanism 310 rises and passes through the cargo channel 1151, it lifts up the order container 220 on the carrier 115, and then the transport robot 300 moves out from the opening 11511 and carries the order container 220 on it to the designated position.

[0079] Regarding the specific structure and installation method of the supporting member 115, the present application further proposes an implementation method. Please refer to Figure 6 for details. As shown in the figure, the supporting member 115 includes a beam 1152 and at least one group of cantilevers 1153. The beam 1152 is horizontally arranged on one side of the bottom of the shelf 110. Each group of cantilevers 1153 includes at least a first cantilever 11531 and a second cantilever 11532. One end of the first cantilever 11531 and one end of the second cantilever 11532 are fixed to the beam 1152, and the first cantilever 11531 and the second cantilever 11532 are both perpendicular to the beam 1152. A cache position 112 is formed together on the first cantilever 11531 and the second cantilever 11532. The first cantilever 11531 and the second cantilever 11532 are spaced apart from each other along the extension direction of the beam 1152, so that a cargo channel 1151 is formed between the first cantilever 11531 and the second cantilever 11532.

[0080] The support member 115 utilizes a combination of a crossbeam 1152 and a cantilever 1153 to save materials, reduce costs, and facilitate assembly. According to another aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a warehousing system is also provided. For details, please refer again to FIG. 1 , which illustrates the structure of the warehousing system. The warehousing system 1000 includes a handling robot 300 and the material picking system 100 of any of the above-described embodiments. The handling robot 300 is used to place and transport order containers 220 on the buffer location 112 of the shelf 110.

[0081] Specifically, the warehousing system 1000 may include multiple material picking systems 100, each of which is responsible for picking different materials. The transport robot 300 may be responsible for transferring the same order container 220 between different material picking systems 100. Taking the warehousing system 1000 including two material picking systems 100 as an example, a specific operation process is provided below for exemplary description:

[0082] First, the handling robot 300 transports the empty order container 220 and places it on the cache position 112 of one of the material picking systems 1000. After the material picking system 1000 picks all the materials that need to be picked on it into the empty order container 220, the empty order container 220 forms a picked-up order container 220 for the material picking system, and then the order container 220 is placed on the cache position 112 again. The handling robot 300 then takes the order container 220 from the cache position 112 and transports it to the cache position 112 of another material picking system 1000. After the other material picking system 1000 picks all the materials that need to be picked on it into the order container 220, the order container 220 forms the final order container 220. After the final order container 220 is placed on the cache position 112 of another material picking system 1000, the handling robot 300 carries it to the downstream process, such as to the packaging workstation for packaging.

[0083] Alternatively, if two material picking systems 1000 are arranged in parallel, an alley is formed between the shelves 110 of the two material picking systems 1000, and the picking and placing component 120 moves in the alley and can pick and place the inventory containers 210 of the two material picking systems 1000 and the order containers 220 on the cache position 112 of at least one material picking system 1000. Then, there is no need for the transport robot 300 to transfer the order containers 220 between the two material picking systems 1000, and the picking can be performed directly by the picking and placing component 120. The warehousing system 1000 provided in the embodiment of the present application adopts the material picking system 100 in any of the above embodiments, so that the warehousing system 1000 can not only realize fully automated picking operations, but also reduce operating costs and improve the space utilization of the warehousing system 1000.

[0084] According to another aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a material picking method is provided, which is applied to the warehousing system in any of the above embodiments. The method can be executed by a controller in the warehousing system. Specifically, please refer to Figure 7, which shows the process of the material picking method. As shown in the figure, the material picking method includes the following steps:

[0085] Step 610: Control the transport robot to place the order container on the cache position of the shelf.

[0086] In this step, wireless communication between the controller and the transport robot can be used to control the moving path of the transport robot and the action of placing the order container.

[0087] Step 620: Control the picking and placing component to move to the cache position of the shelf and take the order container to the second loading platform.

[0088] Step 630: Control the picking and placing component to move to the storage location of the shelf and take the inventory container to the first loading platform.

[0089] Similarly, in steps 620 and 630, wireless or wired communication can be performed between the controller and the corresponding drive control module on the pick-and-place component to control the movement of the pick-and-place component and the operations of picking and placing inventory containers and order containers.

[0090] It should also be noted that there is no sequence requirement between step 620 and step 630. The order container can be taken to the second loading platform first, or the inventory container can be taken to the first loading platform first. If structural conditions permit (for example, the first loading platform and the second loading platform are separately arranged and move independently of each other), the operations of taking the order container to the second loading platform and the inventory container to the first loading platform can also be performed simultaneously.

[0091] Step 640: Control the picking mechanism to pick at least part of the materials in the inventory container on the first loading platform into the order container on the second loading platform.

[0092] Step 650: After the picking is completed, control the picking and placing component to place the order container on the second loading platform to the cache position of the shelf.

[0093] Step 660: Control the transport robot to transport the order container on the cache position of the shelf to the target location.

[0094] The control method of steps 640 to 660 is the same as the above description of steps 610 to 630, and will not be repeated here.

[0095] By adopting the material picking method provided in this embodiment, a fully automated material picking operation can be achieved, and the entire operation process does not require the collaboration of multiple types of robots, which can effectively reduce operation costs.

[0096] Furthermore, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG8 , step 630 and step 640 include the following steps:

[0097] Step 6341: Control the picking and placing component to move to the storage location where the target inventory container is located, where the target inventory container is filled with items required for the order corresponding to the order container.

[0098] Step 6342: Control the picking and placing component to take the target inventory container to the first loading platform.

[0099] Step 6343: Control the picking mechanism to pick the materials to be picked from the target inventory container on the first carrying platform to the order container on the second carrying platform.

[0100] Step 6344: Control the picking and placing component to place the target inventory container on the first loading platform back to the storage location.

[0101] Step 6345: Determine another new inventory container as the target inventory container and jump to step 6341 until all required materials are picked into the order container on the second carrier or the shelves that the pick-and-place component can pick up and place goods no longer include the target inventory container.

[0102] This embodiment aims at the scenario where the same order container needs to pick materials from different inventory containers on the same shelf. The order container is always placed on the second carrying platform, and different inventory containers are taken in turn to pick corresponding materials, thereby ensuring the efficiency of the material picking operation.

[0103] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are intended only to illustrate the technical solutions of this application and are not intended to limit them. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they may modify the technical solutions described in the above embodiments or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. Such modifications or replacements do not deviate from the essence of the corresponding technical solutions within the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application. In particular, the various technical features described in the various embodiments may be combined in any manner as long as there are no structural conflicts.

Claims

1. A material picking system, characterized in that: Includes racking and pick-and-place components; The shelf has storage positions and cache positions, at least one of the storage positions is used to place a stock container storing materials, and at least one of the cache positions is used for a handling robot to place or pick up an order container thereon; The picking and placing component is movably arranged on the shelf, and has a first loading platform and a second loading platform. The picking and placing component can move to the storage position to take the inventory container to the first loading platform or put the inventory container to the storage position, and move to the cache position to take the order container to the second loading platform or put the order container to the cache position; The picking and placing assembly is provided with a picking mechanism, and the picking mechanism is used to pick at least part of the materials in the inventory container on the first carrying platform into the order container on the second carrying platform according to the order corresponding to the order container.

2. The material picking system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The picking and placing component has a first picking and placing mechanism and a second picking and placing mechanism. The first picking and placing mechanism is arranged on the first load-bearing platform, and the second picking and placing mechanism is arranged on the second load-bearing platform. The first picking and placing mechanism is used to pick up and place inventory containers at the storage position, and the second picking and placing mechanism is used to pick up and place order containers at the cache position.

3. The material picking system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first loading platform and the second loading platform are arranged adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction, and the picking and placing assembly has a third picking and placing mechanism; The third picking and placing mechanism is arranged on the first loading platform, and the third picking and placing mechanism is used to pick up and place inventory containers at the storage position. The third picking and placing mechanism can also be used to take order containers to the first loading platform at the cache position, and place the order containers on the first loading platform to the second loading platform; the third picking and placing mechanism is also used to take order containers on the second loading platform to the first loading platform, and place the order containers on the first loading platform to the cache position.

4. The material picking system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The third picking and releasing mechanism is used to place the order container on the first loading platform onto the second loading platform, and then take out inventory containers from multiple storage locations in sequence according to the order corresponding to the order container, and place them on the first loading platform for the picking mechanism to pick materials and put them back to complete the order corresponding to the order container.

5. The material picking system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first loading platform and the third picking and placing mechanism are configured to be synchronously rotatable along a vertical axis, and the third picking and placing mechanism can be synchronously rotated with the first loading platform to a position facing the second loading platform to pick and place order containers on the second loading platform.

6. The material picking system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first loading platform and the second loading platform are arranged adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction, and the cargo picking and placing component has a fourth cargo picking and placing mechanism; The fourth picking and placing mechanism is arranged on the second loading platform, and the fourth picking and placing mechanism is used to pick up and place order containers at the cache position. The third picking and placing mechanism can also be used to pick up inventory containers at the storage position to the second loading platform, and place the inventory containers on the second loading platform to the first loading platform; the fourth picking and placing mechanism is also used to pick up inventory containers on the first loading platform to the second loading platform, and place the inventory containers on the second loading platform to the storage position.

7. The material picking system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The first carrying platform and the second carrying platform are configured to be synchronously lifted and lowered vertically, and / or synchronously moved horizontally.

8. The material picking system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The shelf is provided with a transverse track and a longitudinal track; The transverse track is fixed to the shelf, the longitudinal track is movably connected to the transverse track in the horizontal direction, and the cargo picking and placing component is movably connected to the longitudinal track in the vertical direction; or, the longitudinal track is fixed to the shelf, the transverse track is movably connected to the longitudinal track in the vertical direction, and the cargo picking and placing component is movably connected to the transverse track in the horizontal direction; or, the transverse track is movably connected to the shelf in the vertical direction, the longitudinal track is movably connected to the shelf in the horizontal direction, the cargo picking and placing component is movably connected to the transverse track in the horizontal direction, and is movably connected to the longitudinal track in the vertical direction.

9. The material picking system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The shelf is provided with multiple layers of storage locations arranged in a vertical direction, wherein the bottom layer of storage locations are the cache locations, and at least one layer of storage locations are the storage locations.

10. The material picking system according to claim 9, characterized in that: The shelf is used to be placed on a load-bearing plane, the shelf is provided with a load-bearing member at the bottom end close to the load-bearing plane, the cache position is formed on the load-bearing member, and a passage for the transport robot to walk is formed between the load-bearing member and the load-bearing plane; A cargo passage is provided on the carrier along the vertical direction, and an opening is provided on the cargo passage along the horizontal direction on a side facing and / or away from the cargo picking and placing assembly; The opening is used for allowing the lifting mechanism on the transport robot holding the order container to enter the cargo passage along the horizontal direction, so that the lifting mechanism on the transport robot can place the order container on the carrier after descending; The cargo channel is used for the lifting mechanism on an empty transport robot to pass through along the vertical direction, so that the lifting mechanism on the transport robot lifts the order container, and the opening is used for the lifting mechanism on the transport robot lifting the order container to move out of the cargo channel along the horizontal direction.

11. The material picking system according to claim 10, characterized in that: The support member includes a crossbeam and at least one group of cantilevers, the crossbeam is horizontally arranged on one side of the bottom of the shelf, each group of cantilevers includes at least a first cantilever and a second cantilever, one end of the first cantilever and one end of the second cantilever are fixed to the crossbeam, and the first cantilever and the second cantilever are perpendicular to the crossbeam, the first cantilever and the second cantilever jointly form the cache position, the first cantilever and the second cantilever are spaced apart from each other along the extension direction of the crossbeam, so that the cargo channel is formed between the first cantilever and the second cantilever.

12. A storage system, characterized in that: It comprises a transport robot and a material picking system as described in any one of claims 1-11, wherein the transport robot is used to place and transport order containers on the cache position of the shelf.

13. A material picking method, characterized in that: Applied to the warehousing system of claim 12, the material picking method comprises: Controlling the transport robot to place the order container on the cache position of the shelf; Controlling the picking and placing component to move to the cache position of the shelf and taking the order container to the second loading platform; Controlling the picking and placing assembly to move to the storage position of the shelf and taking the inventory container to the first loading platform; Control the picking mechanism to pick at least part of the materials in the inventory container on the first carrying platform. Select the order container on the second loading platform; After the picking is completed, the picking and placing component is controlled to place the order container on the second loading platform into the cache position of the shelf; The transport robot is controlled to transport the order container on the cache position of the shelf to a target position.

14. The material sorting method according to claim 13, characterized in that: The controlling the picking and placing component to move to the storage position of the shelf and to take the inventory container to the first loading platform and the controlling the picking mechanism to pick at least part of the materials in the inventory container on the first loading platform to the order container on the second loading platform include: Controlling the picking and placing component to move to a storage location where a target inventory container is located, wherein the target inventory container contains items required for the order corresponding to the order container; Controlling the picking and placing component to take the target inventory container to the first loading platform; Controlling the picking mechanism to pick the materials to be picked in the target inventory container on the first loading platform into the order container on the second loading platform; Controlling the picking and placing component to put the target inventory container on the first loading platform back to the storage position; Another new inventory container is determined as the target inventory container, and the process jumps to the step of controlling the picking and placing component to move to the storage location where the target inventory container is located, until the required materials are all picked into the order container on the second loading platform or the shelf that the picking and placing component can pick and place goods no longer includes the target inventory container.

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