Container pick-and-place method and apparatus, and warehousing system

Abstract

A container pick-and-place method and apparatus, and a warehousing system. The method comprises: acquiring an order to be processed, and a plurality of hit containers and a first hit carrier which correspond to said order; controlling a first carrying device to carry the first hit carrier to a first workstation, and controlling a container pick-and-place apparatus of the first workstation to carry a first hit container on the first hit carrier to a workbench of the first workstation, so as to perform picking; and before the first carrying device is controlled to carry the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, if it is determined that the current surface of the first hit carrier is in a fully-filled state, controlling the container pick-and-place apparatus of the first workstation to take a first container away from the first hit carrier, such that the current surface of the first hit carrier is in a non-fully-filled state.

Description

Container picking and placing method, device and storage system

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202410228479.8 filed on February 29, 2024, and No. 202410276049.3 filed on March 11, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of intelligent warehousing, and in particular to a container picking and placing method, device, and warehousing system. Background Art

[0003] In a warehouse logistics system, robots can transport containers containing order-matched items (such as shelves) to a workstation. The workstation then uses a robotic arm's fork or suction cup, coupled with a conveyor belt or roller, to remove the container from the shelf or a fixed location and place it on the workstation's workbench for workers and / or picking equipment to perform operations such as picking. The picking process is a significant component of warehouse operating costs, and its efficiency directly impacts the efficiency of the warehouse system. Therefore, improving picking efficiency, and thus warehouse operational efficiency, has become a pressing issue. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present disclosure provides a container picking and placing method, device and storage system.

[0005] The first aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure provides a container picking and placing method, which includes: first, obtaining a pending order, and multiple hit containers and a first hit carrier that hit the pending order; the first hit carrier is a carrier for placing the hit container. Secondly, controlling the first transporting equipment to transport the first hit carrier to the first workstation, and controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the first hit container on the first hit carrier to the workbench of the first workstation for picking. Then, before controlling the first transporting equipment to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, if it is determined that the current surface of the first hit carrier is in a full state, controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to take out the first container on the first hit carrier, so that the current surface of the first hit carrier is in a non-full state; wherein the first container is any container placed on the first hit carrier. Finally, control the first handling equipment to transport the first hit carrier to the second workstation, and control the container picking and placing device of the second workstation to transport the second container to the vacant cargo space on the first hit carrier, and transport the second hit container on the first hit carrier to the workbench of the second workstation for picking; the second container is any container on the workbench of the second workstation.

[0006] A second aspect of the disclosed embodiments provides a container retrieval and placement device, comprising an acquisition module and a control module. The acquisition module is configured to acquire pending orders, multiple hit containers that hit the pending orders, and a first hit carrier, the first hit carrier being a carrier for placing the hit containers. The control module is used to control the first transporting equipment to transport the first hit carrier to the first workstation, and control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the first hit container on the first hit carrier to the workbench of the first workstation for picking; it is also used to control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to take out the first container on the first hit carrier if it is determined that the current surface of the first hit carrier is full before controlling the first transporting equipment to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, so that the current surface of the first hit carrier is not full; wherein the first container is any container placed on the first hit carrier; it is also used to control the first transporting equipment to transport the first hit carrier to the second workstation, and control the container picking and placing device of the second workstation to transport the second container to the vacant cargo space on the first hit carrier; the second container is any container on the workbench of the second workstation.

[0007] The third aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure provides a warehousing system, including multiple carriers, each carrier including multiple cargo locations, each cargo location being used to place a container for storing goods. The control device is configured to: obtain a pending order, as well as multiple hit containers and a first hit carrier corresponding to the pending order; generate a first transport instruction based on the first hit carrier, and generate a first return box instruction based on the first hit container among the multiple hit containers; wherein the first hit carrier is a carrier for placing the hit container. The first transport device is configured to: transport the first hit carrier to the first workstation according to the first transport instruction. The first workstation includes a first container picking and placing device; the first container picking and placing device is configured to: transport the first hit container on the first hit carrier to the first workbench of the first workstation for picking according to the first return box instruction. The control device is configured to: before controlling the first transport device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, if it is determined that the current surface of the first hit carrier is full, then generate a first take box instruction. The first container picking and placing device is configured to: according to the first box picking instruction, take out the first container on the first hit carrier so that the current surface of the first hit carrier is not full; wherein the first container is any container placed on the first hit carrier. The control device is configured to: determine the second workstation, generate a second transport instruction according to the second workstation, generate a second box return instruction according to the second container, and generate a second box picking instruction according to the second hit container corresponding to the second workstation; wherein the second container is any container on the second workbench. The first transporting equipment is configured to: according to the second transport instruction, move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation and move it to the second workstation. The second workstation includes a second container picking and placing device; the second container picking and placing device is configured to: according to the second box return instruction, move the second container to an empty cargo space on the first hit carrier, and according to the second box picking instruction, move the second hit container on the first hit carrier to the second workbench of the second workstation for picking.

[0008] A fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an electronic device, including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and the processor implements the method in any implementation manner of the first aspect when executing the computer program.

[0009] A fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer instructions are stored, and the computer instructions are used to enable the computer to execute the method in any implementation manner of the first aspect.

[0010] A sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure provides a computer program product, including a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the method in any implementation manner of the first aspect.

[0011] A seventh aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure provides a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the method in any implementation manner of the aforementioned first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0013] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a warehousing system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0014] FIG2 is a schematic structural diagram of a workstation provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a container taking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of another container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of another warehousing system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of another container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of another container taking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of another container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of another container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of another container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of another container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of another container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of another container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] FIG14 is a schematic diagram of another container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of another container picking and placing method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of a container picking and placing device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] [Corrected 07.02.2025 in accordance with Article 91]

[0030] [Corrected 07.02.2025 according to Rule 91] Figure 17 is a structural diagram of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention and to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0032] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure and to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure more obvious and easy to understand, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure are further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0033] In a goods-to-person and / or container-to-person warehousing system, robots can move carriers (such as shelves) to automatic pick-and-place workstations (also known as workstations). The workstation uses a robotic arm to take the container from the carrier or a fixed location and place it on the workbench so that workers and / or picking equipment can pick and shelve the goods.

[0034] In order to improve the efficiency of carrier switching and reduce the waiting time of carriers, that is, to improve the working efficiency of the warehousing system, after the robot transports the carrier to the workstation, the robotic arm corresponding to the workstation will take out the required container to be picked and place it on the workbench of the workstation. After the robotic arm takes out the container to be picked, the robot will transport the carrier away from the workstation; after the picking personnel completes the picking operation on the container to be picked placed on the workbench, the robotic arm corresponding to the workstation can return the container that has completed the picking operation to the carrier that arrives at the workstation later.

[0035] In some examples, the operating positions for placing containers on the workbench of the workstation are limited. For example, two operating positions may be provided on each workbench. When a container is placed on each operating position on the workbench, the containers to be picked that are subsequently taken out cannot continue to be placed on the workbench for picking. In this case, in order not to affect the subsequent picking, the containers placed on the workbench need to be put back on the carrier (i.e., return the box) before the containers to be picked can be taken out from the carrier and placed on the workbench (i.e., take the box) for picking. However, when there are no free cargo spaces on the carrier arriving at the workstation, and containers are placed on each operating position of the workstation, the robotic arm corresponding to the workstation can neither grab the container from the carrier and place it on the workbench, nor return the container on the workbench to the carrier, resulting in interruption of the work task, that is, the work task cannot continue, thereby affecting the work efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0036] To address the aforementioned issues, the disclosed embodiments provide a container retrieval and placement method that, when a carrier leaves a workstation, if it is determined that the current surface of the carrier is full, removes any container from the carrier, leaving a vacant cargo space on the carrier. This prevents the aforementioned task interruption at other workstations when the carrier is transported to another workstation while still full. In other words, the disclosed embodiments can prevent task interruptions caused by a full carrier surface and / or containers being placed at all operating positions on a workstation, thereby improving the picking and work efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0037] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a warehousing system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1 , the warehousing system 100 includes a plurality of carriers 10, a plurality of handling devices 20, at least one workstation 30, and a control device (not shown in Figure 1 ).

[0038] For example, the carrier 10 may include multiple cargo spaces (also referred to as storage spaces). The cargo spaces may be used to place containers or directly place goods. The present disclosure does not limit this, and the following embodiments are illustrative using cargo spaces used to place containers.

[0039] For example, the storage location can be a rectangular shaped storage space, and the multiple storage locations on the carrier 10 can be neatly arranged along the length, width, and height of the carrier 10. The container can be a supporting product specially designed for the carrier 10, or a common cargo box (also called a material box), or the packaging of the goods (also called an original box), which is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0040] In some examples, the carrier 10 can be a shelf, a turnover vehicle, a cage vehicle, etc. For example, the carrier 10 can be a movable shelf. The movable shelf includes at least one layer of partitions, which divides the carrier 10 into at least two layers. The partitions of the carrier 10 are provided with at least one storage position, and each storage position can accommodate at least one container. The container placed in each storage position can be a cargo box or a pallet, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the carrier 10 includes but is not limited to partition shelves, container shelves, picking shelves, movable shelves, etc. The carrier 10 provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure may refer to any carrier for placing containers.

[0041] In some examples, the carrier 10 can be a dense storage rack or a non-dense storage rack. When the carrier 10 is a dense storage rack, the gaps between containers are smaller. For example, the carrier 10 can be docked in the shelf area 101, which can be a dense storage area or a non-dense storage area. The shelf area 101 can include multiple storage locations, which can be neatly arranged in rows and columns, and each storage location can be used to dock a carrier 10.

[0042] In some examples, the carrier 10 can be a single-sided carrier, a double-sided carrier, or a four-sided carrier (i.e., containers can be taken from each of the four sides). This is not limited in the present embodiment. The present embodiment is described using the carrier 10 as a double-sided carrier as an example. For example, when the carrier 10 is a double-sided shelf, the carrier 10 can be provided with partitions between the multiple storage locations along the vertical direction; each side of the carrier 10 can be provided with 30 storage locations, for a total of 60 storage locations on both sides. The present embodiment does not limit the type of carrier 10 or the number of storage locations included, and this is merely an example.

[0043] For example, the number of workstations 30 in the storage system 100 may be one or more. Each workstation 30 may be provided with a corresponding vehicle docking area, which includes one or more docking positions for docking the vehicle 10 .

[0044] In some examples, the vehicle docking area of ​​the workstation 30 may include a picking area 301 and a queuing area 302. Both the picking area 301 and the queuing area 302 are used to dock vehicles 10. The picking area 301 is used to dock vehicles currently being picked by the workstation 30, while the queuing area 302 is used to dock at least one vehicle that has been selected by the workstation 30 but has not yet been picked. In other words, vehicles docked in the picking area 301 are currently being picked by the workstation 30, while vehicles docked in the queuing area 302 are waiting for the workstation 30 to pick.

[0045] Exemplarily, the transport device 20 may also be referred to as an automatic transport device or a carrier transport device, and is used to transport the carrier 10. For example, the transport device 20 may transport the carrier 10 in the shelf area 101 to a corresponding carrier docking area of ​​the workstation 30.

[0046] In some examples, the handling device 20 may be a handling robot, such as an automated guided vehicle (AGV). For example, the handling robot may move under the carrier 10 and then lift the carrier 10 off the ground, thereby carrying the carrier 10 for movement.

[0047] In some examples, the handling device 20 can transport the carrier 10 to the queue area 302 corresponding to the workstation 30. When the picking area 301 of the workstation 30 is free, the carrier 10 is transported from the queue area 302 to the picking area 301, so that the workstation 30 can perform a picking operation on the carrier 10. For example, the workstation 30 can remove a container from the carrier 10 parked in the picking area 301, or place the container in a storage location on the carrier 10.

[0048] It should be noted that the transporting equipment that transports the carrier 10 from the shelf area 101 to the queuing area 302 corresponding to the workstation 30 can be the same transporting equipment as the transporting equipment that transports the carrier 10 from the queuing area 302 to the picking area 301, or can be different transporting equipment.

[0049] For example, the control device can be coupled to the transport device 20 and the workstation 30, respectively, to control the operation of the transport device 20 and the workstation 30. For example, the control device can control the transport device 20 to move and transport the carrier 10, and can also control the workstation 30 to perform container pick-up and placement operations on the carrier 10 parked in the picking area 301.

[0050] For example, the control device may be a server or a terminal device, or a device deployed with a warehouse management system (WMS) and a robot management system (RMS). The terminal device may include at least one of a personal computer, a laptop, a smartphone, a tablet computer, and a portable wearable device; the server may include a standalone server or a server cluster consisting of multiple servers, which is not limited in the present embodiment.

[0051] In some examples, the control device is communicatively connected to the handling device 20 and the workstation 30 for data communication. For example, the control device can be communicatively connected to the handling device 20 and the workstation 30 via a local area network (LAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), or other networks.

[0052] The structure and working principle of the workstation provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure are described below with reference to FIG2 .

[0053] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a workstation provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2 , a workstation 30 includes a support frame 31 , a guide mechanism 32 , and a container placement device 33 .

[0054] In some examples, a guide mechanism 32 is provided to the support frame 31. The guide mechanism 32 is movable laterally and vertically relative to the support frame 31. The container access device 33 is provided to the guide mechanism 32 so that the container access device 33 can move laterally and / or vertically relative to the support frame 31.

[0055] In some examples, the container retrieval device 33 is coupled to a control device. When the transport device 20 transports the carrier 10 to the picking area 301 of the workstation 30 under the control of the control device, the container retrieval device 33 moves horizontally (e.g., in the L direction) and / or vertically (e.g., in the H direction) to reach a position corresponding to the storage location 15 in the carrier 10, thereby retrieving and placing the container in the storage location 15.

[0056] Exemplarily, the guide mechanism 32 may include a transverse moving device 34, a moving rod 35, and a vertical moving device 36. The transverse moving device 34 is provided to the support frame 31. The transverse moving device 34 is coupled to a control device. The transverse moving device 34 can move transversely relative to the support frame 31. The moving rod 35 extends in a vertical direction and is provided to the transverse moving device 34, so that the moving rod 35 can move transversely relative to the support frame 31. A vertical moving device 36 is provided to the moving rod 35. The vertical moving device 36 is coupled to the control device. The vertical moving device 36 can move vertically relative to the moving rod 35. The container picking and placing device 33 is provided to the vertical moving device 36, so that the container picking and placing device 33 can move vertically relative to the moving rod 35. Therefore, the container picking and placing device 33 can move transversely and / or vertically on the support frame 31.

[0057] In some examples, the workstation 30 may not be provided with the support frame 31 . When the workstation 30 is not provided with the support frame 31 , the container placing and retrieving device 33 may be moved laterally and / or vertically by the guide mechanism 32 .

[0058] For example, when the workstation 30 is not provided with the support frame 31, the workstation 30 may include at least one guide mechanism 32 and a container picking and placing device 33. The container picking and placing device 33 is provided to the guide mechanism 32, and the container picking and placing device 33 can move laterally and / or vertically through the guide mechanism 32.

[0059] In some embodiments, the lateral moving device 34 is coupled to the moving rod 35 and is configured to drive the moving rod 35 to move laterally; the moving rod 35 extends in the vertical direction, and the container picking and placing device 33 is set to the moving rod 35 so that the moving rod 35 drives the container picking and placing device 33 to move laterally; the vertical moving device 36 is coupled to the container picking and placing device 33 and is configured to drive the container picking and placing device 33 to move vertically relative to the moving rod 35.

[0060] In some examples, the lateral movement device 34 can be attached to the moving rod 35 or to the container retrieval device 33; the vertical movement device 36 can be attached to the moving rod 35. For example, the lateral movement device 34 and the vertical movement device 36 can be two drive motors. The disclosed embodiments do not limit the specific positions of the lateral movement device 34 and the vertical movement device 36; as long as the lateral movement device 34 can drive the moving rod 35 to move laterally and the vertical movement device 36 can drive the container retrieval device 33 to move vertically relative to the moving rod 35, it is sufficient.

[0061] In some examples, the guide mechanism 32 may be a robotic arm (e.g., an automated robotic arm), and the container pick-up and placement device 33 may be connected to the robotic arm. The container pick-up and placement device 33 may be moved laterally and / or vertically by the robotic arm (e.g., the robotic arm may move laterally and / or vertically with the container pick-up and placement device 33). The robotic arm may be fixed to the ground or a guide rail, such as permanently or temporarily, and this is not limited in the presently disclosed embodiments.

[0062] In some embodiments, the container picking and placing device 33 may include a picking and placing component that can move along the depth direction.

[0063] In some examples, when the container retrieval device 33 reaches the position corresponding to the storage location 15 through lateral movement and / or vertical movement, the retrieval component can be controlled to move along the depth direction, that is, the retrieval component can be extended toward the carrier to the storage location 15 to retrieve and place the container from the storage location 15. For example, as shown in FIG2 , when the container retrieval device 33 reaches the position corresponding to the storage location, the retrieval component (not shown in FIG2 ) can move along the depth direction (e.g., the Z direction) to the storage location 15 to pick up the container placed on the storage location 15.

[0064] Exemplarily, the pick-and-place component can be a component such as a claw, a fork or a suction cup connected to the container pick-and-place device 33. When the pick-and-place component is a claw, the pick-and-place component can pick and place the container from the storage position of the carrier 10 by grabbing; when the pick-and-place component is a fork, the pick-and-place component can pick and place the container from the storage position of the carrier 10 by holding; when the pick-and-place component is a suction cup, the pick-and-place component can pick and place the container from the storage position of the carrier 10 by sucking. The embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the specific structure of the container pick-and-place device 33. It should be noted that the embodiment of the present disclosure can be exemplified by taking the pick-and-place component as a suction cup as an example.

[0065] The container picking and placing method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is described below with reference to FIG3. It should be noted that the container picking and placing method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented by the storage system 100 in the above embodiment, such as by the control device in the storage system 100.

[0066] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3 , the container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure may include S301 - S304 as shown below.

[0067] S301: Obtain pending orders, as well as multiple hit containers and a first hit vehicle corresponding to the pending orders.

[0068] In some examples, a pending order may be a single order or a collection of multiple orders, which is not limited in the present disclosure. A pending order may indicate at least one type of goods (also referred to as target goods) that need to be picked, a hit container is a container for placing the target goods, and a first hit vehicle is a vehicle for placing the hit container.

[0069] For example, multiple hit containers for placing target goods can be placed on more than one carrier or on multiple carriers; when multiple hit containers are placed on multiple carriers, the first hit carrier is any one of the multiple carriers.

[0070] For example, the hit container for placing the target goods can be determined based on the target goods indicated by the pending order; then, based on the hit container, the first hit carrier for placing the hit container can be determined, and the cargo position on the first hit carrier for placing the hit container can be determined, that is, the cargo position of the hit container on the first hit carrier can be determined.

[0071] S302, control the first transport device to transport the first hit carrier to the first workstation, and control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the first hit container on the first hit carrier to the workbench of the first workstation for picking.

[0072] In some examples, the first handling equipment is a handling equipment used to carry the first hit carrier among multiple handling equipment in the warehousing system, and the first workstation is a workstation that can place the first hit container for staff to pick the target goods in the first hit container.

[0073] In some examples, the first workstation can be any workstation in the warehousing system. The pending orders may include a first order corresponding to the first workstation, and the first order corresponds to the first hit container on the first hit carrier. The first handling device transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation so as to perform a picking operation on the first hit container on the first hit carrier through the first workstation. The first order corresponding to the first workstation is the order assigned to the first workstation by the control device, and the goods required for the first order include the goods placed in the first hit container on the first hit carrier.

[0074] For example, the control device may generate a transport instruction based on the first hit carrier and send the transport instruction to the first transport device to control the first transport device to transport the first hit carrier from its current position to the picking area of ​​the first workstation. After receiving the transport instruction, the first transport device may move from its starting position to the current position of the first hit carrier according to the transport instruction, and transport the first hit carrier from its current position to the picking area of ​​the first workstation.

[0075] In some examples, the current position of the first hit vehicle may be located within the queuing area of ​​the workstation, or outside the queuing area and picking area of ​​the workstation, such as the shelf area, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0076] For example, when the current position of the first-hit vehicle is outside the queue area and the picking area of ​​the first workstation, and there are handling equipment and / or vehicles parked in the picking area of ​​the first workstation, the first handling equipment can transport the first-hit vehicle from the current position to the queue area of ​​the first workstation for queuing, and after the handling equipment and / or vehicles parked in the picking area of ​​the first workstation move away from the first workstation, the first handling equipment can transport the first-hit vehicle from the queue area of ​​the first workstation to the picking area of ​​the first workstation. For another example, when the current position of the first-hit vehicle is in the queue area of ​​the first workstation, the first handling equipment can transport the first-hit vehicle from the queue area of ​​the first workstation to the picking area of ​​the first workstation after the handling equipment and / or vehicles parked in the picking area of ​​the first workstation move away from the first workstation.

[0077] In some embodiments, each workstation includes a workbench, which is used to place containers that have completed picking, and / or containers to be picked (also referred to as hit containers). For example, the container picking and placing device of the workstation can take out the hit container on the carrier where the target goods are placed, and place the taken-out hit container on an idle workbench of the workstation. In this case, the hit container placed on the workbench is the container to be picked. After the hit container is placed on the workbench, the picking object of the workstation can pick the target goods in the hit container. After the picking is completed, the hit container placed on the workbench is the container that has completed picking. Among them, the picking object can be a picking device, such as a robotic arm, or a picking person, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

[0078] For example, the control device can generate a box-picking instruction based on the cargo position where the first hit container is placed in the first hit carrier, and send the box-picking instruction to the first workstation to control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to move the first hit container on the first hit carrier to the workbench of the first workstation for picking. Among them, the container picking and placing device of the first workstation can be called a first container picking and placing device. After receiving the box-picking instruction, the first workstation controls the first container picking and placing device to move to the cargo position where the first hit container is placed on the first hit carrier, and controls the picking and placing component to take the first hit container out of the cargo position of the first hit carrier, and then controls the first container picking and placing device to place the taken-out first hit container on an idle workbench of the first workstation for picking.

[0079] It should be noted that the box-picking instruction can be generated by the control device after the first transport equipment transports the first hit carrier to the picking area of ​​the first workstation, or it can be generated by the control device before the first transport equipment transports the first hit carrier to the picking area of ​​the first workstation. The embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit this.

[0080] S303. Before controlling the first handling equipment to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, if it is determined that the current surface of the first hit carrier is in a full state, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to take out the first container on the first hit carrier so that the current surface of the first hit carrier is in a non-full state.

[0081] In some examples, after the handling equipment transports the carrier to the picking area of ​​the workstation, the container retrieval device of the workstation transports the selected container on the carrier to the workbench of the workstation (which can be called a "box pick-up operation"). To improve carrier switching efficiency and work efficiency, the container retrieval device can also transport the containers to be returned placed on the workbench to an empty storage space on the carrier (which can be called a "box return operation"). After the container retrieval device completes the box pick-up / box return operation, the handling equipment moves the carrier away from the workstation. The containers to be returned on the workbench can include containers that have been picked by the workstation and / or other containers that need to be moved away from the workstation.

[0082] In some examples, after a container to be returned, placed on a workstation's workbench, is moved to an empty storage space on a carrier, the carrier's current side may be full, meaning there are no empty storage spaces on the side of the carrier currently facing the workstation. In this case, to ensure that the carrier's current side is not full when it is moved from the workstation, that is, to ensure that there is at least one empty storage space on the side of the carrier currently facing the workstation when it is moved from the workstation, so that there are empty storage spaces available for container return operations at other workstations after the carrier arrives at the other workstation, the status of the current storage space in front of the first-hit carrier can be determined before the handling device moves the carrier from the workstation.

[0083] For example, before controlling the first handling device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, the status of the cargo space in front of the first hit carrier is determined. If the status of the cargo space in front of the first hit carrier is full, the first container retrieval device of the first workstation is controlled to remove the first container from the first hit carrier, so that the cargo space in the current front of the first hit carrier for placing the first container is empty. This ensures that when the first hit carrier leaves the first workstation, there is an empty cargo space in the current front of the first hit carrier, that is, the status of the cargo space in front of the first hit carrier is not full. The first container is any container placed on the first hit carrier.

[0084] In some examples, the cargo space status indicates whether there are any available cargo spaces on the current side of the vehicle. The current side of the vehicle is the side of the first-hit vehicle facing the workstation. The cargo space status includes a full state and a non-full state. When there is at least one available cargo space on the current side of the vehicle, the current cargo space status of the vehicle is non-full; when there are no available cargo spaces on the current side of the vehicle, the current cargo space status of the vehicle is full.

[0085] The container picking and placing method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure can ensure that any carrier can be transported to the next workstation while keeping the current surface in a non-full state. Therefore, when there are containers placed on the workbench of the next workstation, the next workstation can return the containers on the workbench to the vacant cargo space on the carrier, so that the workbench on the next workstation is vacant for placing new containers for picking, thereby ensuring the continuous progress of the work tasks and improving the work efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0086] In some embodiments, before controlling the first transport device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, if it is determined that the current surface of the first hit carrier is not full, the first transport device is controlled to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation.

[0087] In some examples, any one of the multiple containers on the first hit carrier can be determined as the first container; or, the first container can be determined among the multiple containers based on the center of gravity position of the first hit carrier; or, the container on the first hit carrier that is closest to the container picking and placing device of the first workstation can be determined as the first container, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

[0088] In some examples, the first container picking and placing device taking out the container from the first hit carrier may include the picking and placing components in the first container picking and placing device grabbing the container, sucking the container, or holding the hit container, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0089] It should be noted that the method by which the control device controls the first container picking and placing device of the first workstation to remove the first container from the first hit carrier is similar to the method by which the first container picking and placing device is controlled to remove the first hit container from the first hit carrier. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0090] In some embodiments, controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to take out the first container on the first hit carrier includes: controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to take out the first container from the first hit carrier, and placing the first container on the container picking and placing device.

[0091] Exemplarily, the workstation includes at least one operating position, each of which can hold a container. When a container is placed on at least one operating position of the workstation, the control device can control the first container retrieval device to remove the first container from the storage position of the first hit carrier, and place the removed first container in the first container retrieval device for temporary storage.

[0092] In some examples, before the first hit carrier leaves the first workstation, the first container picking and placing device takes out the first container from the first hit carrier. When the first hit carrier leaves the first workstation and other carriers have not yet been transported to the first workstation, the first container picking and placing device temporarily does not need to perform the pick / place operation. Therefore, the first container picking and placing device can continue to pick up the first container until the next carrier to be picked enters the first workstation. The first container picking and placing device can transport the picked first container to the vacant storage position of the next carrier to be picked, and after placing the first container, continue to perform the pick-up operation on the next carrier to be picked, thereby improving the picking efficiency of the first workstation.

[0093] In some embodiments, after controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to take out the first container from the first hit carrier, the container picking and placing method further includes: when the second handling equipment transports the second hit carrier to the first workstation, controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the taken out first container to an empty cargo position on the second hit carrier.

[0094] In some examples, the second hit carrier is a carrier that has a hit container corresponding to the first workstation and has an empty cargo space, and the second handling equipment is a handling equipment that arrives at the first workstation after the first handling equipment and handles the second hit carrier.

[0095] For example, when the second handling device transports the second hit carrier to the picking area of ​​the first workstation, the control device can generate a return box instruction based on the vacant cargo space on the second hit carrier, and send the return box instruction to the first workstation to control the first container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the first container placed on the container picking and placing device to the vacant cargo space on the second hit carrier. After receiving the return box instruction, the first workstation will control the first container picking and placing device to move the first container to the vacant cargo space on the second hit carrier, and control the picking and placing component to transport the first container taken out from the first hit carrier to the vacant cargo space on the second hit carrier.

[0096] In some embodiments, controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to take out the first container on the first hit carrier also includes: controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to take out the first container from the first hit carrier and placing the first container in an idle cache position of the first workstation.

[0097] For example, since the number of operating positions on the workbench of the workstation is limited, when containers are placed on all the operating positions of the workstation, the control device controls the first container picking and placing device of the first workstation to take the first container out of the cargo position where the first container is placed in the first hit carrier, and then places the first container in the idle cache position of the first workstation to temporarily store the first container.

[0098] In some examples, each workstation includes a cache device, which includes at least one cache location for temporarily storing containers. The cache location can temporarily store containers removed from a carrier by a container retrieval device, or it can temporarily store containers that have been picked, although this is not limited in the presently disclosed embodiments. For example, when all operating locations on a workbench at a first workstation are not idle, the first container retrieval device can place the removed first container in an idle cache location at the first workstation.

[0099] In some embodiments, after controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to take out the first container from the first hit carrier and placing the first container in the free cache position of the first workstation, the container picking and placing method further includes: when the second handling equipment transports the second hit carrier to the first workstation, controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the first container from the free cache position to the free cargo position on the second hit carrier.

[0100] In some examples, when the first container is temporarily stored in an empty cache position at the first workstation, when the first container picking and placing device moves the first container from the empty cache position to an empty storage position on the second hit carrier, the second hit carrier can be the next carrier to be picked that arrives at the picking area of ​​the first workstation after the first hit carrier, or any carrier to be picked that arrives at the picking area of ​​the first workstation after the first hit carrier. Since the first container is temporarily stored in the cache position, the first container picking and placing device can normally perform picking operations on subsequent carriers to be picked that enter the picking area of ​​the first workstation. Therefore, the first container picking and placing device can implement a return operation for the first container according to actual conditions.

[0101] For example, the first container picking and placing device can return the first container to the next carrier to be picked that arrives at the first workstation, or it can return the first container to a carrier to be picked with more empty cargo spaces, or it can return the first container to a carrier to be picked that has a greater correlation with the container where the first container exists. The embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

[0102] It should be noted that the method of controlling the first container picking and placing device of the first workstation to move the first container from the idle cache position to the idle cargo position on the second hit carrier is similar to the method of controlling the first container picking and placing device to move the first container placed on the first container picking and placing device to the idle cargo position on the second hit carrier. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0103] S304, control the first handling equipment to transport the first hit carrier to the second workstation, and control the container picking and placing device of the second workstation to transport the second container to the empty cargo space on the first hit carrier, and transport the second hit container on the first hit carrier to the second workbench of the second workstation for picking.

[0104] In some examples, the second workstation can be another workstation in the warehousing system, and the pending order includes a second order corresponding to the second workstation and a second hit container on the first hit carrier corresponding to the second order. In other words, the goods required for the second order corresponding to the second workstation are placed in the second hit container, and the second hit carrier includes the second hit container. Therefore, after the first hit carrier completes picking at the first workstation, it needs to be transported by the first handling equipment to the second workstation for further picking.

[0105] In some examples, the second hit container can be a hit container for another target item, or a hit container for another pending order, which is not limited in the present embodiment. The second workstation can place the second hit container for the picking personnel of the second workstation to pick the target item in the second hit container.

[0106] In some examples, the second container is any container on the workbench of the second workstation (i.e., the second workbench). For example, the second container may be a container waiting to be returned on the second workbench. For example, the second container may include a container placed on the second workbench that has been picked, and / or a container that was moved to the workbench of the second workstation to ensure that the last carrier that left the second workstation remains partially full.

[0107] For example, the second workstation and the first workstation can be the same workstation or different workstations, and the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit this. It should be noted that the time when the first handling device transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation is different from the time when the first handling device transports the first hit carrier to the second workstation. For example, the first handling device transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation earlier than the first handling device transports the first hit carrier to the second workstation.

[0108] It should be noted that controlling the first handling equipment to transport the first hit carrier to the second workstation is similar to controlling the first handling equipment to transport the first hit carrier to the first workstation; controlling the container picking and placing device of the second workstation (hereinafter referred to as the second container picking and placing device) to transport the second container to the vacant cargo space on the first hit carrier is similar to controlling the first container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the first container placed on the first container picking and placing device to the vacant cargo space on the second hit carrier; transporting the second hit container on the first hit carrier to the second workbench of the second workstation for picking is similar to transporting the first hit container on the first hit carrier to the first workbench of the first workstation for picking. To avoid repetition, they will not be repeated here.

[0109] In some examples, in S302-S304, the first transport device that transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation, the first transport device that transports the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, and the first transport device that transports the first hit carrier to the second workstation may be the same, partially the same, or completely different. This is not limited in the presently disclosed embodiments.

[0110] For example, the transport device 1 can be controlled to transport the first hit carrier to the first workstation. Thereafter, when the first hit carrier needs to be moved away from the first workstation, the transport device 1 can be controlled to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, and the transport device 1 can be controlled to transport the first hit carrier to the second workstation. In this case, the first transport device that transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation, the first transport device that moves the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, and the first transport device that transports the first hit carrier to the second workstation are all transport device 1 (i.e., the same transport device).

[0111] For another example, the transport device 1 can be controlled to transport the first hit carrier to the first workstation, and after the transport device 1 transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation, the transport device 1 can be controlled to place the first hit carrier in the picking area of ​​the first workstation, and the transport device 1 can be controlled to leave the first workstation; thereafter, when it is necessary to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, the transport device 2 can be controlled to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, and the transport device 2 can be controlled to transport the first hit carrier to the second workstation. In this case, the first transport device that transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation is the transport device 1, the first transport device that moves the first hit carrier away from the first workstation and the first transport device that transports the first hit carrier to the second workstation are the transport device 2, the transport device 1 and the transport device 2 are two different transport devices, and the transport device 1 and the transport device 2 can both be referred to as the first transport device.

[0112] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of another container placement method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4 , the container placement method further includes S401-S402 as shown below. S401-S402 can be performed before S303 above.

[0113] S401. Before controlling the first transport device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, determine the current cargo position status in front of the third hit carrier transported by the third transport device.

[0114] In some examples, the third hit carrier is another carrier among the multiple hit containers for placing the target goods, and the third handling equipment is the next handling equipment to arrive at the first workstation after the first handling equipment. Since the multiple hit containers corresponding to the target goods required for the first order corresponding to the first workstation can be placed on multiple carriers, the third hit carrier can be another carrier among these multiple carriers that is different from the first hit carrier. It should be noted that the first order that hits the third hit carrier and the first order that hits the first hit carrier can be the same order or different orders, and this is not limited in the present embodiment.

[0115] For example, the control device may determine the status of the cargo position in front of the third hit carrier based on the containers placed on each cargo position in the third hit carrier; and / or the control device may control the acquisition device to capture images of the current front of the third hit carrier, then perform image processing on the captured images to determine whether containers are placed in each cargo position in front of the third hit carrier, thereby obtaining a processing result, and determine the storage status of the current front of the third hit carrier based on the processing result. The acquisition device may include sensors, cameras, monitoring systems, etc., which are not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0116] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of another warehousing system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG5 , the carrier docking area of ​​the workstation 30 in the warehousing system 100 further includes a detection area 303 .

[0117] In some examples, detection zone 303 may be located between picking zone 301 and queuing zone 302. Detection zone 303 is used to dock the next carrier arriving at picking zone 301. After the transport equipment transports the carrier to detection zone 303, the control device may use a detection device (not shown in FIG. 5 ) to determine the status of the cargo space in front of the carrier docked at detection zone 303. The detection device is in communication with the control device.

[0118] For example, as shown in FIG5 , the carriers docked in the picking area 301 are currently being picked at the workstation 30, and the carriers docked in the inspection area 303 and the carriers docked in the queuing area 302 are both waiting for picking at the workstation 30. While the carriers docked in the inspection area 303 are waiting for picking at the workstation 30, the control device determines the storage status of the carriers docked in the inspection area 303. After the carriers docked in the picking area 301 complete picking and leave the workstation 30, the carriers docked in the inspection area 303 are transported by the handling equipment to the picking area 301 for picking, while the carriers docked in the queuing area 302 are transported by the handling equipment to the inspection area 303 and continue to wait in the inspection area 303 for picking at the workstation 30, and the storage status of the carriers in the current state is determined.

[0119] In some embodiments, the warehousing system may include at least one detection device. The detection device may be located in the detection area, the picking area, or a workstation, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The detection device may capture images of the current surface of a vehicle docked in the detection area. The detection device may include a camera, a monitoring system, and the like.

[0120] In some examples, the detection device captures an image of the current surface of a vehicle docked in the detection zone to determine the storage state of the current surface of the vehicle. For example, a control device generates a detection instruction based on the vehicle docked in the detection zone and sends the detection instruction to the detection device to control the detection device to capture an image of the current surface of the vehicle in the detection zone. The control device then obtains the image captured by the detection device and processes the image captured by the detection device to obtain a processing result, thereby determining the storage state of the current surface of the vehicle.

[0121] It should be noted that the carrier located in the picking area will not block the carrier located in the detection area, that is, the carrier located in the picking area will not affect the detection equipment's image acquisition of the current surface of the carrier in the detection area.

[0122] S402. Based on the current cargo position status of the third hit carrier, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to move the third container to an empty cargo position on the first hit carrier or an empty cargo position of the third hit carrier.

[0123] In some examples, the third container is any container on the first workbench of the first workstation. For example, the third container may be a container that has been picked and placed on the first workbench, or the third container may be a container that has been moved to the workbench of the first workstation to ensure that the last carrier that was moved from the second workstation remains partially full.

[0124] For example, when at least one container to be returned exists on the first workbench of the first workstation, a return operation can be performed on the container placed on the first workbench to free up the operating position on the first workbench, thereby facilitating subsequent picking operations. If the at least one container to be returned on the first workbench includes a third container, the first workstation can return the third container to the first hit carrier currently being picked, or to the next third hit carrier that arrives at the first workstation.

[0125] It should be noted that controlling the first container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the third container to the vacant cargo position on the first hit vehicle or the vacant cargo position of the third hit vehicle is similar to controlling the first container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the first container placed on the first container picking and placing device to the vacant cargo position on the second hit vehicle. To avoid repetition, they will not be repeated here.

[0126] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of another container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 6, in the above S402, based on the current cargo position status in front of the third hit carrier, controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the third container to the vacant cargo position on the first hit carrier includes S601-S602 as shown below.

[0127] S601. If the cargo space in front of the third hit carrier is full, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to move the third container to an empty cargo space on the first hit carrier, so that there is an empty operating position on the workbench of the first workstation.

[0128] For example, if the current cargo space in front of the third hit carrier is full, this indicates that there are no vacant cargo spaces on the third hit carrier, and thus the third container on the first workbench of the first workstation cannot be placed. In this case, the first container placement device of the first workstation can be controlled to move the third container from the first workbench to an empty cargo space on the first hit carrier, so that there is an empty operating space on the workbench of the first workstation.

[0129] S602: Control the first transport device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation.

[0130] In some examples, after the first container picking and placing device transports the third container to an empty cargo space on the first hit carrier, the first transport equipment is controlled to transport the first hit carrier to the first workstation.

[0131] It should be noted that controlling the first transport device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation is similar to controlling the first transport device to move the first hit carrier to the first workstation. The difference is that the starting point and end point when the first transport device moves the first hit carrier away from the first workstation are different from the starting point and end point when the first transport device moves the first hit carrier to the first workstation.

[0132] For example, when the first transport device moves the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, the starting point of the first transport device is the first workstation and the end point is the next workstation or shelf area. When the first transport device moves the first hit carrier to the first workstation, the starting point of the first transport device is the shelf area and the end point is the first workstation.

[0133] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of another container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 7, in the above S420, based on the current cargo position status in front of the third hit carrier, controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the third container to the vacant cargo position of the third hit carrier includes S701-S702 as shown below.

[0134] S701. If the cargo space in front of the third hit carrier is not full, control the first handling device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation.

[0135] For example, if the current cargo space in front of the third hit carrier is not full, this indicates that there is an empty cargo space on the third hit carrier, and the third container on the first workbench can be placed. In this case, there is no need for the first container placement device to move the third container to the empty cargo space on the first hit carrier. Therefore, the first handling device can be controlled to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, thereby improving the efficiency of carrier switching and the operating efficiency of the warehouse system.

[0136] S702: Control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to move the third container to the vacant cargo position of the third hit carrier, so that there is an idle operating position on the workbench of the first workstation.

[0137] In some examples, after the third handling device carries the third hit carrier to the picking area of ​​the first workstation, the first container pick-and-place device may move the third container placed on the first workbench to an empty cargo space on the third hit carrier. The third hit carrier may include at least one empty cargo space, and the third container may be placed in any of the at least one empty cargo space. For example, the third container may be placed in an empty cargo space closest to the first container pick-and-place device, although this is not a limitation in the presently disclosed embodiments.

[0138] The container picking and placing method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure can enable at least one operating position on the workstation to be vacant, that is, there is an idle operating position on the workbench of the workstation for placing new containers for picking, thereby ensuring the continuous progress of the work tasks and improving the work efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0139] In some embodiments, when the distance between the first transport device and the third transport device is relatively far, the third transport device may not be able to reach the detection area of ​​the first workstation before the first transport device moves the first hit carrier away from the first workstation; in order to improve the switching efficiency of the carrier and thus improve work efficiency, the container picking and placing method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure also includes: if the third transport device has not reached the detection area of ​​the first workstation before the first transport device moves the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, then the first transport device is controlled to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation.

[0140] In some embodiments, the detection area is used to detect the status of the cargo position in front of the third hit carrier, that is, when the third hit carrier is located in the detection area, the control device can determine the status of the cargo position in front of the third hit carrier based on the detection results of the detection equipment.

[0141] That is to say, before the first handling equipment moves the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, if the third handling equipment has not reached the detection area of ​​the first workstation, it is impossible to determine the current status of the cargo position in front of the third hit carrier. In this case, in order to improve the picking efficiency of the first workstation, there is no need to transport the third container to the first hit carrier, and the first handling equipment can be controlled to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation.

[0142] In some embodiments, the container picking and placing method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure also includes: after the first handling device moves the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, if the third handling device carries the third hit carrier to the detection area of ​​the first workstation, and it is determined that the current surface of the third hit carrier is full, then the third handling device is controlled to carry the third hit carrier to the queuing area corresponding to the first workstation to queue up again and wait for picking.

[0143] In some examples, if the third handling device carries the third hit carrier to the inspection area of ​​the first workstation and determines that the current surface of the third hit carrier is full, it indicates that there is no vacant storage space for the third container on the third hit carrier. In this case, the third handling device can be controlled to move the third hit carrier to the corresponding queue area of ​​the first workstation to re-queue for picking. In this way, when the carrier before the third hit carrier is moved by the handling device to the picking area of ​​the first workstation, the third hit carrier will be moved by the third handling device to the inspection area of ​​the first workstation, and S401-S402 can be executed.

[0144] That is, after the first handling device moves the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, if it is determined that there is no vacant storage space on the third hit carrier that has arrived at the detection area, the picking operation may not be performed on the third hit carrier temporarily. Instead, the first hit carrier may be moved back to the queue area of ​​the first workstation to queue, and the status of the current storage space in front of the next carrier to be picked that arrives at the detection area is determined. If the current storage space in front of the next carrier to be picked is not full, the carrier to be picked may be moved to the first workstation, and the first container pick-and-place device may be controlled to move the third container to an empty storage space on the carrier to be picked, and the picking operation may be performed on the hit container on the carrier to be picked. When the status of the cargo space in front of the next carrier to be picked is full, the carrier to be picked can be moved to the queuing area to queue again, and the status of the cargo space in front of the next carrier to be picked that arrives at the inspection area can be repeated, and so on, until a carrier to be picked whose cargo space in front is not full is determined, and the carrier to be picked is moved from the inspection area to the picking area.

[0145] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of another container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG8 , the container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure includes S801 - S804 as shown below.

[0146] S801, determining whether the current surface is full before the current vehicle leaves the workstation.

[0147] If the current surface of the current vehicle is in a full surface state, execute S802 ; if the current surface of the current vehicle is not in a full surface state (ie, not in a full surface state), execute S804 .

[0148] S802, controlling the robotic arm of the workstation to take out a container from the current surface of the current carrier and temporarily store it on the robotic arm.

[0149] It should be noted that the robotic arm of the workstation can also be called a container picking device. Through S802, it can restore the state where there is an empty cargo space on the current side of the current carrier so that the current carrier can go directly to other workstations to perform tasks.

[0150] S803, after the next carrier enters the workstation, the robot arm of the control workstation places the container on the robot arm on the vacant storage space in front of the next carrier, and takes out the container to be picked from the next carrier.

[0151] S804: Control the transport equipment to transport the current carrier away from the workstation.

[0152] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of another container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG9 , the container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure further includes S901 - S904 as shown below.

[0153] S901, determining whether the current surface is full before the current vehicle leaves the workstation.

[0154] If the current surface of the current vehicle is in a full surface state, execute S902 ; if the current surface of the current vehicle is not in a full surface state (ie, not in a full surface state), execute S904 .

[0155] S902: Control the robot arm of the workstation to take out a container from the current surface of the current carrier and temporarily store it in the cache of the workstation.

[0156] S903, after the next carrier enters the workstation, the robot arm of the control workstation places the container in the cache position on the vacant position in front of the next carrier, and takes out the container to be picked from the next carrier.

[0157] S904: Control the transport equipment to transport the current carrier away from the workstation.

[0158] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of another container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG10 , another container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure includes S1001 - S1007 as shown below.

[0159] S1001: Before the current carrier leaves the workstation, determine whether there is a next carrier in the detection area.

[0160] If the next carrier exists in the detection area, execute S1002 ; if the next carrier does not exist in the detection area, execute S1005 .

[0161] S1002, determining whether the current surface of the next vehicle is full.

[0162] If the current surface of the next vehicle is in a full state, execute S1003 ; if the current surface of the next vehicle is not in a full state (ie, not in a full state), execute S1004 .

[0163] S1003, controlling the robotic arm of the workstation to place the container that has been picked in the workstation on an empty cargo space of the current carrier.

[0164] S1004, controlling the transport equipment to transport the current carrier out of the workstation, and controlling the robotic arm of the workstation to place the container that has been picked in the workstation on the vacant cargo space of the next carrier.

[0165] S1005: Control the transport equipment to transport the current carrier away from the workstation.

[0166] S1006: When the next carrier arrives at the inspection area, determine whether the current surface of the next carrier is full.

[0167] If the current surface of the next vehicle is in a full state, execute S1007 ; if the current surface of the next vehicle is not in a full state (ie, not in a full state), execute S1008 .

[0168] S1007, controlling the transport equipment to transport the next carrier out of the workstation and into the queue of the workstation again to queue up again.

[0169] S1008, controlling the transport equipment to transport the next carrier to the workstation, and controlling the robotic arm of the workstation to place the container that has been picked in the workstation on the vacant cargo space of the next carrier.

[0170] In some examples, when there is a container to be returned on the workbench of a workstation, after the carrier arrives at the workstation, the control device can hit an empty cargo space on the current surface of the carrier and control the container picking and placing device of the workstation to remove the container to be returned from the workbench and place the container to be returned on the empty cargo space on the carrier. This process is called the return process. After placing the container to be returned on the carrier, if there is still a container hit by the workstation on the carrier, the container picking and placing device can continue to remove the hit container from the carrier and move it to the workbench for picking. This process can be called the pick-up process. After completing the pick-up and / or return of the current carrier, the robot can move the current carrier away from the workstation and move the next carrier to the workstation. In the above process, due to the switching period between the two carriers arriving at the workstation (i.e., the period between the current carrier leaving the workstation and the next carrier arriving at the workstation), the container picking and placing device of the workstation may be in an idle state, waiting for the next carrier to arrive at the workstation to perform the corresponding pick-up and / or return operations.

[0171] In order to further improve the picking efficiency of the workstation, the container picking and placing method provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure can also disassemble the actions of the workstation's box returning process and box picking process, so as to control the container picking and placing device to complete part of the box picking or box returning process in advance before the previous carrier leaves the workstation and the next carrier arrives at the workstation, so as to reduce the time that the container picking and placing device is in an idle state and the waiting time for the picking object, thereby improving the operating efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0172] In some embodiments, before the above-mentioned S302, that is, before the first handling equipment transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation, the method also includes: determining whether there is a container to be returned at the first workstation; if there is a container to be returned at the first workstation, then before the first hit carrier arrives at the first workstation, determining a first target cargo location among multiple idle cargo locations on the first hit carrier; according to the first target cargo location, controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to move to the first return box position corresponding to the first target cargo location; when the first handling equipment transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation, controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transfer the container to be returned to the first target cargo location based on the first return box position.

[0173] That is, after the previous carrier leaves the first workstation and before the first hit carrier is moved to the first workstation, it can be determined whether there are any unreturned containers on the first workbench of the first workstation. The unreturned container can be any container that has been placed on the first workbench and has been picked; or it can be other containers that need to be returned, such as a container that was removed to ensure that the current surface of the previous carrier remains partially full.

[0174] When it is determined that there are containers to be returned at the first workstation, it is further determined whether the current surface of the first hit carrier that is about to arrive at the first workstation is full. In other words, it is determined whether there are any vacant storage locations on the current surface of the first hit carrier. If there is at least one vacant storage location on the current surface of the first hit carrier, a first target storage location is determined from the at least one vacant storage location. The first target storage location is a storage location for placing the containers to be returned.

[0175] After determining the first target location, the control device can pre-control the first container pick-up and placement device to pick up the container to be returned from the first workbench and move it to the first return location corresponding to the first target location. After the first hit carrier arrives at the first workstation, the control device can control the first container pick-up and placement device to transfer the container to the first target location. The first return location is the position on the first hit carrier facing the first workstation when the first hit carrier is docked in the picking area of ​​the first workstation. For example, the first return location is a position before the coordinate position of the first target location.

[0176] In some embodiments, after the to-be-returned container is transferred to the first target cargo location, the container picking and placing device of the first workstation is controlled to take out the first hit container from the first hit carrier, and transport the first hit container to the first workbench for picking.

[0177] That is, when the first handling device transports the first hit carrier to the picking area of ​​the first workstation, the first container pick-and-place device can transfer the container to be returned from the first return location to the first target location, thereby completing the container return operation. After completing the container return operation, the first container pick-and-place device can continue to perform the container removal operation, that is, remove the first hit container from the first hit carrier and transport it to the first workstation for picking.

[0178] Therefore, during the box return process, the container picking and placing method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure can, during the idle time during the switching between the two carriers (i.e., the previous carrier and the first hit carrier) at the first workstation, pre-control the first container picking and placing device to take out the container to be returned from the first workbench and move the container to be returned to the first box return position, thereby saving the box return operation time and improving the work efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0179] In some embodiments, the method also includes: if there is no container to be returned at the first workstation, then before the first hit carrier arrives at the first workstation, the first hit container and the second target cargo location where the first hit container is located are determined on the first hit carrier; according to the second target cargo location, the container picking and placing device of the first workstation is controlled to move to the box picking position corresponding to the second target cargo location; when the first handling equipment transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation, the container picking and placing device of the first workstation is controlled to take out the first hit container from the second target cargo location based on the box picking position, and transport the first hit container to the first workbench for picking.

[0180] In some examples, when there are no return containers on the first workstation, the first container on the first hit carrier and the second target location where the first hit container is located can be pre-determined. During the idle time between the previous carrier leaving the first workstation and the first hit carrier arriving at the first workstation, the first container retrieval device can be pre-controlled to move to the container retrieval position corresponding to the second target location. In this case, when the first hit carrier arrives at the first workstation, the first container retrieval device can move directly from the container retrieval position to the second target location and retrieve the first hit container from the second target location, thereby shortening the container retrieval process.

[0181] The pick-up location is the location of the second target location where the first hit container is located, facing the first workstation, when the first hit carrier is docked at the picking area of ​​the first workstation. For example, the pick-up location is a location before the coordinate position of the second target location.

[0182] That is, after determining that the first hit carrier is the next carrier to be picked to enter the first workstation, the control device pre-controls the first container pick-up and placement device of the first workstation to move from its current position to the box-picking position while the first handling device is transporting the first hit carrier to the picking area of ​​the first workstation. For example, after the first container pick-up and placement device completes the pick-up / placement operation on the container on the previous carrier, before the previous carrier leaves the first workstation and before the first hit carrier arrives at the workstation, the first container pick-up and placement device is pre-controlled to move to the box-picking position and wait for the arrival of the first hit carrier at the box-picking position.

[0183] Therefore, during the box picking process, the container picking and placing method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure can control the first container picking and placing device to move to the box picking position in advance during the idle time during the switching of the two carriers (i.e., the previous carrier and the first hit carrier) at the first workstation, thereby saving the time of the box picking operation and improving the work efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0184] The following describes in detail the container return and retrieval processes in the container retrieval method described above, with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiments do not specifically limit the workstations. The workstations in the following embodiments can be any workstation in the warehousing system. For example, the workstations in the following implementations can be the first workstation, the second workstation, or any other workstation. This is not limited in the presently disclosed embodiments.

[0185] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of another container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 11, the container picking and placing method includes S1110-S1140 as shown below.

[0186] S1110: Obtain tasks to be executed on the workstation.

[0187] It should be noted that the workstation in S1110 can also be any workstation in the above embodiments, such as the workstation can be the first workstation in the above embodiments, or the second workstation in the above embodiments. The embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this. The container picking and placing method of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to any workstation in the warehousing system.

[0188] In some examples, pending tasks may include pick-up tasks and return tasks. A pick-up task instructs a workstation to move containers on a carrier from the carrier's cargo area to a workstation's workbench for picking; a return task instructs a workstation to move containers on the workbench, awaiting return, from the workbench to the carrier's cargo area. Pending tasks can be determined based on pending orders. For example, a first workstation's pending tasks may be determined based on a first order corresponding to the first workstation, while a second workstation's pending tasks may be determined based on a second order corresponding to the second workstation.

[0189] For example, a container pickup task may include the container to be picked up and the cargo location of the container on the carrier; a container return task may include the container to be returned and the carrier to which the container needs to be returned and the cargo location on the carrier.

[0190] S1120: Determine, based on the task to be executed, a target container hit by the task to be executed and a target cargo location corresponding to the target container on the first target carrier.

[0191] It should be noted that the first target carrier can be a carrier hit by the first order corresponding to the first workstation, such as the first target carrier can include the first hit carrier in the above embodiment, the first target carrier can also be other carriers corresponding to the first workstation, such as the second hit carrier or the third hit carrier. The embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the embodiment of the present disclosure can be used for any carrier corresponding to the workstation.

[0192] For example, a transport device (such as the first transport device in the above embodiment) can transport carriers from the shelf area to the picking area of ​​the workstation for picking, or it can sequentially transport at least one carrier parked in the queue area of ​​the workstation to the picking area for picking. The at least one carrier can be parked in the queue area in a certain order and enter the picking area in sequence for picking.

[0193] In some examples, when a transport device transports a carrier parked in the queue area to a picking area for picking, the first target carrier may be the carrier that is about to be transported by the transport device to the picking area for picking. In other words, the first target carrier may be the carrier parked in the queue area and the next carrier to be transported by the transport device to the picking area for picking.

[0194] In some examples, the first target carrier is used to place a target container. For example, the target container can be a container on the first target carrier (such as the first hit container in the above embodiment), or a container that needs to be placed on the first target carrier (such as the to-be-returned container in the above embodiment).

[0195] In some embodiments, when the task to be executed is a box return task, the target container may include a container to be returned to be placed on a target cargo location of the first target carrier, and the target cargo location is a cargo location on the first target carrier for placing the container to be returned (such as the first target cargo location in the above embodiment).

[0196] In some examples, the container to be returned may be a container that has been picked on the workbench of the workstation; or, the container to be returned may be a container cached in the cache of the workstation, or, the container to be returned may be a container taken out by the workstation to ensure that the current surface of the previous carrier remains in a non-full state; that is, the container to be returned may be any container on the workstation that needs to be returned to the carrier, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

[0197] In some embodiments, based on the task to be executed, the to-be-returned container hit by the task to be executed at the workstation is determined, and the vacant cargo location on the first target carrier is determined as the target cargo location.

[0198] In some examples, there may be multiple vacant cargo spaces on the first target carrier, and a target cargo space corresponding to the container to be returned may be determined from the multiple vacant cargo spaces. The target cargo space corresponding to the container to be returned may also be referred to as a return cargo space (also referred to as a first target cargo space).

[0199] For example, any one of the multiple idle cargo locations on the first target carrier can be determined as the target cargo location corresponding to the container to be returned (also called the box return cargo location); or, the target cargo location corresponding to the container to be returned can be determined from the multiple idle cargo locations based on the center of gravity position of the first target carrier; or, the idle cargo location on the first target carrier that is closest to the next container to be taken out can be determined as the target cargo location corresponding to the container to be returned. The embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

[0200] In some embodiments, when the task to be executed is a box picking task, the target container may include a container to be picked up placed on a target cargo position of a first target carrier, and the target cargo position includes the cargo position of the container to be picked up on the first target carrier (i.e., the second target cargo position in the above embodiment).

[0201] In some examples, a container pickup task may target at least one container on a first target carrier (also referred to as a hit container). The container to be picked up (such as the first hit container in the above embodiment) may be the first container to be picked up from the at least one hit container. The first container to be picked up may be any container from the at least one hit container. The location of the container to be picked up on the first target carrier is the target location corresponding to the container to be picked up. The target location corresponding to the container to be picked up may also be referred to as a container pickup location (also referred to as a second target location).

[0202] S1130, control the transport equipment to transport the first target carrier to the workstation, and before the first target carrier arrives at the workstation, control the container picking and placing device of the workstation to move to the picking and placing box position corresponding to the target cargo location according to the target cargo location.

[0203] In some examples, the control device can generate a transport instruction based on the task to be performed. For example, the control device can send a transport instruction to a transport device based on the first target carrier, thereby controlling the transport device to transport the first target carrier from its current location to the picking area of ​​the workstation. It should be noted that when the workstation is the first workstation, the container pick-and-place device can be the first container pick-and-place device, the first target carrier can be the first hit carrier, and the transport device can be the first transport device.

[0204] For example, the transport device may move from a starting position to the current position of the first target carrier according to the transport instruction, and transport the first target carrier from the current position to the picking area of ​​the workstation. The current position of the first target carrier may be a carrier located in a queue area of ​​the workstation, about to enter the picking area of ​​the workstation.

[0205] In some examples, the control device can generate a container pickup or return instruction based on the target container and the target cargo location, and send it to the workstation to control the workstation to perform the container pickup or return operation on the target container. For example, the container pickup and placement device can be controlled to move horizontally and / or vertically based on the target cargo location to reach the container pickup and placement position.

[0206] In some embodiments, when the target container is a container to be picked up, the control device controls the container pick-up and placement device to move from its current position to a pick-up position corresponding to the pick-up position on the first target carrier, based on the pick-up position of the container to be picked up, before the first target carrier arrives at the workstation. The pick-up and placement position includes the pick-up position.

[0207] For example, the pickup position is the position on the side of the target cargo location (i.e., the pickup cargo location) where the container to be picked is located when the first target carrier is docked in the picking area, facing the workstation. For example, the pickup position is a position before the coordinate position of the pickup cargo location where the container to be picked is located.

[0208] In some examples, after determining that the first target carrier is the next carrier to enter the workstation, the control device can pre-control the container picking and placing device of the workstation to move from the current position to the box picking position during the process of the transporting equipment transporting the first target carrier to the picking area.

[0209] For example, after the container picking and placing device completes the container picking and placing operation on the previous carrier, before the previous carrier leaves the workstation and before the next carrier (such as the first target carrier) arrives at the workstation, the container picking and placing device is pre-controlled to move to the box picking position and wait for the arrival of the first target carrier at the box picking position.

[0210] The container picking and placing method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure uses the time between the switching of two carriers to control the container picking and placing device to reach the picking position in advance during the box picking process, thereby saving the time of subsequent box picking operations and improving the working efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0211] For example, the time required for a container retrieval device to move from its current position to the corresponding container retrieval location is approximately 1 second. Compared with related technologies, the container retrieval method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can save approximately 1 second in the retrieval process. It should be noted that the time saved (e.g., 1 second) given in the embodiments of the present disclosure is theoretical time. In actual processes, the movement speed of the container retrieval device (or robotic arm) may be slower, thus saving more time.

[0212] In some embodiments, when the target container is a to-be-returned container, the control device controls the container pick-up and placement device to pick up the to-be-returned container from the workbench of the workstation before the first target carrier arrives at the workstation based on the to-be-returned container's return location on the first target carrier, and to move the to-be-returned container from the workbench to the first return location corresponding to the return location. The pick-up and placement locations include the first return location.

[0213] For example, the first return location is the location of the target location (i.e., the return location) on the first target carrier facing the workstation when the first target carrier is docked in the picking area. For example, the first return location is a location before the coordinate position of the return location.

[0214] In some examples, when performing a box return task, before the first target carrier arrives at the workstation, the control device pre-controls the container picking and placing device to first pick up the container to be returned from the workbench and move the container to be returned to the box return position to wait for the arrival of the first target carrier at the box return position.

[0215] The container picking and placing method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure uses the time between the switching of two carriers to control the container picking and placing device to take out the container to be returned from the workbench and move it to the first return position during the return process, thereby saving the time for subsequent return and improving the work efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0216] For example, the time required for the container picking and placing device to take out the container to be returned from the workbench of the workstation and move it to the first return box position corresponding to the return box location is about 2.9 seconds. Compared with the related art, the container picking and placing method provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure can save about 2.9 seconds in the return box process.

[0217] It should be noted that when the container pick-up and placement device reaches the box pick-up and placement location (such as the box pick-up location or the first box return location), the first target carrier may not have been transported to the workstation's picking area by the handling equipment. In this case, the container pick-up and placement device waits for the first target carrier at the box pick-up and placement location. Alternatively, when the container pick-up and placement device reaches the box pick-up location, the first target carrier may have just arrived at the workstation's picking area. In this case, the container pick-up and placement device can continue to perform the next step of picking or placing the box at the box pick-up and placement location.

[0218] It should be noted that when the container picking and placing device is located at the box picking position or the first box returning position, the container picking and placing device will not affect the docking of the first target carrier in the picking area of ​​the workstation.

[0219] S1140: When the first target carrier arrives at the workstation, the container picking and placing device is controlled to take out the target container from the target location based on the pick-and-place box position, or to place the target container at the target location.

[0220] In some examples, through S1130, when the transport equipment transports the first target carrier to the workstation, the container picking and placing device is already waiting at the box picking position or the first box returning position, and the control device controls the picking and placing components in the container picking and placing device to continue to perform the next operation of picking up or returning the box.

[0221] For example, when the first target carrier arrives at the workstation, the pick-and-place component in the container pick-and-place device can be controlled to move from the pick-and-place box position to the target cargo location, and take out the target container from the target cargo location, or place the target container at the target cargo location.

[0222] For example, when the first target carrier arrives at the picking area, the control device can control the pick-and-place component of the container pick-and-place device to move from the container pick-up position to the container pick-up location on the first target carrier to retrieve the container to be picked up from the container pick-up location. Alternatively, the control device can control the pick-and-place component of the container pick-and-place device to move the container to be returned from the first container return location and place it in the container return location on the first target carrier.

[0223] In some examples, when the first target carrier arrives at the workstation, if it is determined that the error between the pick-and-place box position and the target cargo location is small, such as less than the error threshold, it indicates that the pick-and-place component can be extended more accurately from the pick-and-place box position and reach the target cargo location. In this case, the pick-and-place component can be controlled to move from the pick-and-place box position to the target cargo location.

[0224] In other examples, when the first target carrier arrives at the workstation, if it is determined that the error between the pick-up box position and the target cargo location exceeds the error threshold, it indicates that the pick-up component may not be able to extend from the pick-up box position and accurately reach the target cargo location. In this case, the position of the container pick-up device can be adjusted, that is, the position of the pick-up box can be fine-tuned so that the error between the adjusted pick-up box position and the target cargo location is less than the error threshold, and then the pick-up component is controlled to extend from the adjusted pick-up box position and move to the target cargo location.

[0225] It should be noted that the embodiment of the present disclosure can be exemplified by taking the example that the error between the pick-up box position and the target cargo location is less than the error threshold, that is, the pick-up component can be moved directly from the pick-up box position to the target cargo location.

[0226] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of another container retrieval method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a container retrieval process. As shown in Figure 12, after S1110, the container retrieval process includes S1210-S1230 as shown below.

[0227] S1210: Determine, based on the task to be executed, a container to be picked up placed on a first target carrier, and a target cargo location corresponding to the container to be picked up on the first target carrier.

[0228] S1220: Before the first target carrier arrives at the workstation, the container picking and placing device of the workstation is controlled to move to a container picking position corresponding to the target cargo location according to the target cargo location.

[0229] S1230: When the first target carrier arrives at the workstation, the container picking and placing device is controlled to take out the target container from the target cargo location based on the container picking position.

[0230] For example, when the first target carrier arrives at the workstation, the picking and placing component of the container picking and placing device can be controlled to extend from the current box picking position and move to the target cargo location to take out the target container from the target cargo location.

[0231] The container picking and placing method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure can decompose the box picking process of the workstation into two actions: the first is to control the container picking and placing device to move from the current position to the box picking position corresponding to the box picking position where the container to be picked is located (i.e., S1220); the second is to control the container picking and placing device to take out the container to be picked from the box picking position (i.e., S1230).

[0232] It should be noted that the above-mentioned S1120 includes S1210, the above-mentioned S1130 includes S1220, and the above-mentioned S1140 includes S1230, that is, S1210 to S1230 have been explained in the above-mentioned embodiment, and will not be repeated here to avoid repetition.

[0233] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of another container placement method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of a container return process. As shown in Figure 13, after S1110, the container return process includes S1310-S1340 as shown below.

[0234] S1310: Determine, based on the task to be executed, the to-be-returned container to be placed on the first target carrier and the target cargo location corresponding to the to-be-returned container on the first target carrier.

[0235] S1320: Before the first target carrier arrives at the workstation, control the container picking and placing device to pick up the container to be returned from the workbench of the workstation.

[0236] S1330: According to the target cargo location, control the container picking and placing device to move the container to be returned from the workbench to the first return position corresponding to the target cargo location.

[0237] S1340: When the first target carrier arrives at the workstation, the container picking and placing device is controlled to place the container to be returned at the target cargo location based on the first container placement position.

[0238] For example, when the first target carrier arrives at the workstation, the pick-and-place component of the container pick-and-place device can be controlled to extend from the current first return position and move to the target location to place the container to be returned at the target location.

[0239] The container picking and placing method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure can decompose the box return process of the workstation into three actions: the first is to control the container picking and placing device to pick up the container to be returned from the workbench (i.e., S1320); the second is to control the container picking and placing device to move the container to be returned from the workbench to the first box return position corresponding to the box return location (i.e., S1330); the third is to control the container picking and placing device to place the container to be returned to the box return location (i.e., S1340).

[0240] It should be noted that the above-mentioned S1120 includes S1310, the above-mentioned S1130 includes S1320 to S1330, and the above-mentioned S1140 includes S1340, that is, S1310 to S1340 have been explained in the above-mentioned embodiment, and will not be repeated here to avoid repetition.

[0241] In some examples, during the box retrieval process, if the container picking and placing device takes out the container to be picked up (i.e., the first hit container), there may be other hit containers on the first target carrier. In this case, the control device can control the container picking and placing device to move from the current position to the cargo position where each hit container is located to take out each hit container.

[0242] In some examples, when the container picking and placing device places the container to be returned on the return box storage location on the first target carrier, if there is at least one container hit by the workstation (such as the first hit container) on the first target carrier, the control device can control the container picking and placing device to move from the current position (such as the return box storage location of the container to be returned) to the storage location where each hit container is located to take out each hit container.

[0243] It should be noted that after taking out the first hit container (i.e., the container to be picked up) on the first target carrier, or placing the container to be returned in the return container position of the first target carrier, the container picking and placing device can move directly from the current position to the position where each hit container is located to continue taking out other hit containers, that is, further improving the efficiency of container picking and placing through a one-step box picking operation.

[0244] The container picking and placing method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure can determine the target container and the target cargo position corresponding to the target container on the first target carrier according to the acquired task to be executed; control the transport equipment to transport the first target carrier to the workstation, and before the first target carrier arrives at the workstation, control the container picking and placing device of the workstation to move to the pick-and-place box position corresponding to the target cargo position according to the target cargo position. When the first target carrier arrives at the workstation, the container picking and placing device is controlled to take out the target container from the target cargo position based on the pick-and-place box position, or place the target container in the target cargo position. The container picking and placing method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, by disassembling the box taking operation (such as taking a container) and the box returning operation (such as placing a container) of the container picking and placing device on the carrier, can realize that before the carrier arrives at the workstation, the container picking and placing device is moved to the pick-and-place box position corresponding to the target cargo position in advance. When the carrier arrives at the workstation, the container picking and placing device can directly take out the target container from the target cargo position, or place the target container in the target cargo position, thereby making full use of the time during the carrier exchange and improving the work efficiency of the warehousing system.

[0245] In some examples, in order to improve the operating efficiency of the warehousing system, the handling equipment usually does not place the carrier (such as the first target carrier) on the ground when transporting the carrier to the workstation for picking. The carrier can be placed on the handling equipment continuously. After the workstation completes picking of the carrier, the handling equipment can directly move the carrier away from the workstation.

[0246] In some examples, when a transport device carries a carrier to a workstation, one side of the carrier (such as the current side of the carrier in the above embodiment) needs to be facing the workstation for picking. At this time, the running direction of the transport device (such as the direction of the robot's front end) may be inconsistent with the running direction of the transport device leaving the workstation. Therefore, the transport device needs to be turned.

[0247] To further improve work efficiency, the handling device can pre-direct its movement toward the workstation before moving the first target carrier. For example, the control device can control the handling device to redirect the movement while the container placement device is placing or picking a container from the first target carrier. In this case, after completing the placement operation, the handling device can directly move the first target carrier out of the workstation's picking area.

[0248] In some examples, because a carrier is placed on a transport device, the turning of the transport device may cause the carrier to wobble, thereby affecting the container retrieval and placement of the target container by the container retrieval and placement device. For example, if the first target carrier sways when the container retrieval and placement device is about to retrieve a container from a retrieval location, the position of the retrieval container may shift, causing the container retrieval device to fail to retrieve the container, thereby reducing container retrieval efficiency.

[0249] In order to solve the above problems, the container picking and placing method provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure limits the timing of the turning of the transport equipment, so as to stagger the time when the container picking and placing device picks and places the container from the first target carrier with the turning time of the transport equipment, thereby avoiding the failure of container picking and placing caused by the shaking of the carrier caused by the turning of the transport equipment.

[0250] The following describes the direction of the handling equipment during the box retrieval process.

[0251] In some embodiments, when the transporting equipment transports the first target carrier to the workstation, the container picking and placing device is controlled to pick up the container to be picked up placed at the target cargo location based on the box picking position; after the container picking and placing device picks up the container to be picked up, the transporting equipment is controlled to turn to the target direction, and the container picking and placing device is controlled to take out the container to be picked up from the target cargo location.

[0252] In some examples, the target direction is the direction in which the transport device leaves the workstation. After the transport device turns to the target direction, it can leave the workstation in the target direction.

[0253] It should be noted that when the workstation is the first workstation and the handling equipment is the first handling equipment, the target direction is the direction in which the first handling equipment leaves the first workstation, the first target carrier is the first hit carrier, the target cargo location is the first target cargo location, and the container to be picked up is the first hit container.

[0254] For example, when the first target carrier arrives at the workstation, the picking and placing component of the container picking and placing device is controlled to move from the box picking position to the target cargo position, and pick up the container to be picked up at the target cargo position. After the picking and placing component picks up the container to be picked up, the handling equipment is controlled to turn to the target direction, and the picking and placing component is controlled to take out the container to be picked up from the target cargo position.

[0255] In some examples, during the container retrieval process, the timing for the handling equipment to turn can be determined as after the container retrieval device has picked up the container to be retrieved. The container retrieval device picking up the container to be retrieved can include the retrieval component of the container retrieval device grasping the container to be retrieved, sucking the container to be retrieved, or holding the container to be retrieved.

[0256] For example, if the container pick-and-place device's pick-and-place component is a suction cup, when the suction cup picks up a container from the unloading location, the control device can control the transport device to turn. Because the suction cup has already picked up the container, any shaking of the first target carrier caused by the transport device's turning will not affect the container pick-and-place device's removal of the container.

[0257] In some examples, after the container picking and placing device picks up the container to be picked up, the process of turning the transport equipment and the process of the container picking and placing device taking out the container to be picked up can be performed simultaneously or in sequence. The embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the sequence of the process of turning the transport equipment and the process of the container picking and placing device taking out the container to be picked up.

[0258] For example, the timing for the transport equipment to turn can be when the container picking and placing device picks up the first hit container (such as the first hit container) on the first target carrier, or when the container picking and placing device picks up any hit container on the first target carrier. The embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit this, and it only needs to ensure that the timing for the transport equipment to turn is after the container picking and placing device picks up the container.

[0259] In some examples, when the transport device is a robot (e.g., a transport robot), the steering of the transport device may include steering the robot's head from a current direction to a direction away from the workstation (i.e., a target direction). For example, the robot's head direction may be adjusted from a direction toward the workstation to a direction away from the workstation, although this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0260] It should be noted that while the container retrieval device is controlling the container to be retrieved from the retrieval location, the handling device maintains the same orientation as when it entered the workstation until the container is completely retrieved. Only after the container retrieval device has completely retrieved the container can the handling device turn.

[0261] The following describes the direction of the handling equipment during the box return process.

[0262] In some embodiments, when the first target carrier arrives at the workstation, the container picking and placing device is controlled to transport the container to be returned to the target cargo location based on the first return position. After the container to be returned arrives at the target cargo location, the transport equipment is controlled to turn to the target direction, and the container picking and placing device is controlled to place the container to be returned in the target cargo location.

[0263] For example, when the first target carrier arrives at the workstation, the picking and placing component of the container picking and placing device is controlled to move from the first return position to the target cargo location. After the container to be returned arrives at the target cargo location, the handling equipment is controlled to turn to the target direction, and the picking and placing component is controlled to place the container to be returned in the target cargo location.

[0264] In some examples, during the container return process, the transport device may be configured to turn when the container to be returned, taken by the pick-and-place component of the container pick-and-place device, reaches the container return location. This "arrival of the container to be returned" by the pick-and-place component of the container pick-and-place device may include when the pick-and-place component carries the container to be returned until it contacts the container return location.

[0265] For example, if the pick-and-place component in the container pick-and-place device is a suction cup, when the suction cup carries the container to be returned and contacts the return container location, the control device can control the transport device to turn. Since the container to be returned has already reached the return container location, any shaking of the first target carrier caused by the transport device's turning will not affect the pick-and-place component's operation of placing the container to be returned.

[0266] In some examples, when the container to be returned arrives at the return location, the process of turning the handling equipment and placing the container into the container to be returned can be performed simultaneously or in sequence. The embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the sequence of the process of turning the handling equipment and placing the container into the container to be returned.

[0267] The container picking and placing method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure limits the turning timing of the transporting equipment during the box picking process and the box returning process, so that the transporting equipment can be controlled to turn after the container picking and placing device completely picks up the container to be picked up, or after the container to be returned reaches the target cargo position, so that the shaking of the first target carrier will not affect the box picking and returning process, thereby reducing the probability of failure of the container picking and placing device when performing the box picking operation or the box returning operation on the first target carrier.

[0268] In some embodiments, after controlling the container picking and placing device to take out the container to be picked up from the target cargo location, the method also includes: controlling the handling equipment to move the first target carrier away from the workstation in the target direction, and controlling the container picking and placing device to place the container to be picked up on the workbench of the workstation, so that the picking object can pick the container to be picked up.

[0269] In some embodiments, if the transport device has been rotated to the target direction and there is no container to be taken on the first target carrier, the transport device is controlled to move the first target carrier away from the workstation.

[0270] In some examples, after the container placement device removes the container to be retrieved from the unloading location, since the container to be returned has already left the first target carrier, the first target carrier can be released, that is, the transport device is controlled to move the first target carrier away from the workstation. Before the transport device moves away from the first target carrier, it is necessary to ensure that the transport device is in the target direction and that no containers targeted by the workstation are on the first target carrier.

[0271] While the transport device is moving away from the first target carrier, the container pick-and-place device can continue to remove the containers to be picked and move them to the workbench for selection by the workstation's picking object. The picking object may include a picking person or a picking device (such as a robotic arm), which is not limited in the present embodiment.

[0272] For example, after removing the last hit container from the first target carrier, the container pick-and-place device can control the handling equipment to move the first target carrier away from the picking area of ​​the workstation to release the first target carrier in advance, and control the container pick-and-place device to move the removed hit container and place it on the workbench of the workstation for the picking object to pick the hit container. After completing the picking of the hit container, the container pick-and-place device can be controlled to return the hit container to a subsequent carrier that arrives at the workstation for picking.

[0273] The container picking and placing method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure releases the carrier in advance so that the picking object can pick the container taken out by the container picking and placing device during the switching between the current carrier and the next carrier, thereby improving the turnover speed of the carrier in the storage system and improving the working efficiency of the storage system.

[0274] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of another container placement method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 14, after the above S1230, the method further includes S1410-S1440 as shown below.

[0275] S1410: After the container to be picked is finished, the vacant storage location on the second target carrier is determined as the return storage location corresponding to the container to be picked that has finished picking.

[0276] In some examples, after the picking subject completes picking of the to-be-collected container at the workstation, the control device may determine the next carrier arriving at the workstation's picking area as the second target carrier. The second target carrier is the carrier to which the to-be-collected container, having already been picked, is to be returned, and any vacant storage location on the second target carrier is determined as the return storage location for the to-be-collected container.

[0277] It should be noted that, when the workstation is the first workstation and the first target carrier is the first hit carrier, the second target carrier may be the fourth hit carrier, wherein the fourth hit carrier may be a carrier that arrives at the first workstation after the first hit carrier, such as the fourth hit carrier may be the second hit carrier in the above embodiment, or the third hit carrier in the above embodiment, or other carriers to be picked, which is not limited in the present embodiment. The container to be picked that has completed picking is the first hit container that has completed picking in the above embodiment.

[0278] S1420 , before the second target carrier arrives at the workstation, control the container picking and placing device to pick up the container to be picked that has been picked from the workbench of the workstation.

[0279] S1430, according to the box return location, control the container picking and placing device to move the picked container to be picked from the workbench to the second box return position corresponding to the box return location.

[0280] For example, according to the return location, the picking and placing component of the container picking and placing device is controlled to pick up the container to be picked up that has been picked from the workbench, and then the container picking and placing device moves the container to be picked up that has been picked up from the workbench to the second return location corresponding to the return location.

[0281] In some examples, the second return location is the location on the side of the workstation facing the return location corresponding to the completed container to be picked on the second target carrier when the second target carrier is docked in the picking area. For example, the second return location is a location before the coordinate location of the return location corresponding to the completed container to be picked.

[0282] S1440: When the second target carrier arrives at the workstation, the container picking and placing device is controlled to transfer the picked containers to be picked to the return box location based on the second return box location.

[0283] For example, when the second target carrier arrives at the workstation, the pick-and-place component of the container pick-and-place device is controlled to move from the second box return position to the box return location, and transfers the picked container to be picked to the box return location.

[0284] For example, after the picked container is placed on the second target carrier, if there is a container hit by the workstation on the second target carrier, that is, there is both a box return task and a box pick-up task on the second target carrier, then the steering of the handling equipment can be performed in the box return process or in the subsequent box pick-up process.

[0285] In some embodiments, if the handling equipment turns during the return process of the second target carrier, then when the second target carrier arrives at the workstation, while controlling the container picking and placing device to transfer the picked containers to be picked based on the second return position to the return location, when the picked containers to be picked arrive at the return location, the handling equipment is controlled to turn to the target direction, and the container picking and placing device is controlled to place the picked containers to be picked into the return location.

[0286] In some examples, when the second target carrier arrives at the workstation, the picking and placing components in the container picking and placing device are controlled to move from the second box return position to the box return location; after the picking and placing components transport the picked container to be picked to the box return location, the transport equipment is controlled to turn to the target direction, and the picking and placing components in the container picking and placing device are controlled to place the picked container to be picked on the box return location.

[0287] It should be noted that the turning of the transport equipment during the box return process to the second target carrier is similar to the turning of the transport equipment during the box return process to the first target carrier in the above embodiment, and will not be described again here to avoid repetition.

[0288] The container picking and placing method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure can improve the turnover speed of each carrier in the storage system by releasing the first target carrier in advance, while reducing the idle waiting time of the picking object, further improving the working efficiency of the storage system.

[0289] For example, by releasing the first target carrier immediately after completing the container retrieval task, compared to releasing the first target carrier after completing the container to be picked and returning it, at least approximately 5.7 seconds can be saved, thereby improving the turnover rate of each carrier in the warehouse system. It should be noted that if the operation time for picking the object is longer, the time saved will be even greater, but this is not limited to this in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0290] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of another container picking and placing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 15, the container picking and placing method includes S1510-S1518 as shown below.

[0291] S1510: Determine whether there is a container to be returned.

[0292] For example, it is determined whether there are any containers on the workstation's workbench that have been picked and are to be returned, or containers that are to be put into storage. If there are any containers on the workstation's workbench that are to be returned, the process continues with S1511; if there are no containers on the workstation's workbench that are to be returned, the process proceeds to S1515.

[0293] S1511, before the target carrier arrives at the workstation, control the robotic arm gripper to pick up the container to be returned from the workbench.

[0294] S1512: Control the robotic arm to move the container to be returned to a free slot on the target carrier and wait.

[0295] For example, before the target carrier arrives at the workstation, an empty slot on the target carrier can be selected in advance as the return slot for the container to be returned, and the robotic arm can be controlled to move the container to be returned to the coordinate position of the return slot and wait.

[0296] S1513, when the target carrier arrives at the workstation, the robot arm is controlled to push the container to be returned into the target compartment, completing the container return task.

[0297] S1514, determining whether there is a container to be picked up on the target carrier.

[0298] After completing the task of returning the container to be returned, if the container hit by the workstation exists on the target carrier, it is further determined that there is a container to be picked up on the target carrier.

[0299] If there is a container to be picked up on the target carrier, continue to execute S1516; if there is no container to be picked up on the target carrier, execute S1518.

[0300] S1515: Before the target carrier arrives at the workstation, the robot arm gripper is controlled to move to the position in front of the grid where the container to be picked up is located.

[0301] For example, before the target carrier arrives at the workstation, a container to be picked up on the target carrier can be hit in advance, and the grid where the container to be picked up is located can be determined as the box picking grid, and the robotic arm can be controlled to move to the coordinate position of the box picking grid to wait.

[0302] S1516, when the target carrier arrives at the workstation, the robot arm is controlled to pick up the container to be returned from the grid where the container to be taken is located.

[0303] After S1514, the robot arm is controlled to move from its current position to the slot where the container to be picked up is located to pick up the container to be returned. After S1515, when the target carrier arrives at the workstation, the robot arm can be controlled to move from the position in front of the slot where the container to be picked up is located to the slot where the container to be picked up is located to pick up the container to be returned.

[0304] S1517, after the robotic arm completes the suction of the container to be picked up, the robot is controlled to adjust the direction of the vehicle head, and the robotic arm is controlled to take out the container to be picked up, completing the box picking task.

[0305] For example, the robot maintains the same orientation as when it entered the workstation until the robot arm completely picks up the container from the slot where it is located and places it on the robot arm's gripper. Once the container is picked up and placed on the robot arm's gripper, the robot is controlled to adjust its orientation to leave the workstation.

[0306] S1518, control the robot to move the target vehicle away from the workstation.

[0307] When the robot completes the turning and there is no container to be picked up on the target carrier, the robot can be controlled to move the target carrier away from the workstation.

[0308] Based on the same inventive concept, embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a container handling device for implementing the aforementioned container handling method. The solution provided by this device is similar to the solution described in the aforementioned method. Therefore, the specific limitations of one or more container handling device embodiments provided below can be found in the above-described limitations of the container handling method and will not be further elaborated here.

[0309] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of a container placing device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG16 , the container placing device 1600 includes an acquisition module 1610 and a control module 1620.

[0310] The acquisition module 1610 is configured to: acquire pending orders, and multiple hit containers and a first hit carrier corresponding to the pending orders; wherein the first hit carrier is a carrier for placing the hit container.

[0311] The control module 1620 is configured to: control the first transport device to transport the first hit carrier to the first workstation, and control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the first hit container on the first hit carrier to the first workbench of the first workstation for picking; wherein the plurality of hit containers include the first hit container;

[0312] Before controlling the first handling device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, if it is determined that the current surface of the first hit carrier is in a full state, controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to remove the first container on the first hit carrier so that the current surface of the first hit carrier is not in a full state; wherein the first container is any container placed on the first hit carrier;

[0313] Control the first handling equipment to transport the first hit carrier to the second workstation, and control the container picking and placing device of the second workstation to transport the second container to the vacant cargo space on the first hit carrier; wherein the second container is any container on the second workbench.

[0314] In some embodiments, the control module 1620 is further configured to: when the second handling equipment transports the second hit carrier to the first workstation, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the taken out first container to the vacant cargo space on the second hit carrier.

[0315] In some embodiments, the control module 1620 is further configured to: control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to take the first container out of the first hit carrier, and place the first container in an idle cache location of the first workstation.

[0316] In some embodiments, the control module 1620 is further configured to: when the second handling equipment transports the second hit carrier to the first workstation, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the first container from the idle cache position to the idle cargo position on the second hit carrier.

[0317] In some embodiments, the control module 1620 is further configured to: determine the current cargo position status of the third hit carrier being transported by the third transport device before controlling the first transport device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation; the third transport device is the next transport device to arrive at the first workstation after the first transport device; based on the current cargo position status of the third hit carrier, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the third container to the vacant cargo position on the first hit carrier or the vacant cargo position of the third hit carrier; the third container is any container on the first workbench of the first workstation.

[0318] In some embodiments, the control module 1620 is further configured to: if the cargo space in front of the third hit carrier is in a full state, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to move the third container to an empty cargo space on the first hit carrier, so that there is an empty operating position on the workbench of the first workstation; control the first transporting equipment to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation.

[0319] In some embodiments, the control module 1620 is further configured to: if the cargo position in front of the third hit carrier is not in a full state, control the first transport device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation; control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the third container to the vacant cargo position of the third hit carrier, so that there is an vacant operating position on the first workbench of the first workstation.

[0320] In some embodiments, the control module 1620 is further configured to: if the third transport device has not reached the detection area of ​​the first workstation before the first transport device moves the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, then control the first transport device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation; the detection area is used to detect the status of the cargo position in front of the third hit carrier.

[0321] In some embodiments, the control module 1620 is further configured to: after the first transport device moves the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, if the third transport device transports the third hit carrier to the detection area of ​​the first workstation, and determines that the current surface of the third hit carrier is full, then control the third transport device to move the third hit carrier to the queuing area corresponding to the first workstation to queue up again and wait for picking.

[0322] In some embodiments, the container retrieval device 1600 further includes a determination module configured to: determine whether there is a container to be returned at the first workstation before the first transport device transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation; wherein the container to be returned is a container on the first workbench; if there is a container to be returned at the first workstation, then before the first hit carrier arrives at the first workstation, determine a first target cargo location from among multiple vacant cargo locations on the first hit carrier. The control module 1620 is further configured to: control the container retrieval device of the first workstation to move to a first return container location corresponding to the first target cargo location based on the first target cargo location; and when the first transport device transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation, control the container retrieval device of the first workstation to transfer the container to be returned to the first target cargo location based on the first return container location.

[0323] In some embodiments, the control module 1620 is configured to: after transferring the return container to the first target location, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to take out the first hit container from the first hit carrier, and transport the first hit container to the first workbench for picking.

[0324] In some embodiments, the control module 1620 is further configured to: if there is no container to be returned at the first workstation, then before the first hit carrier arrives at the first workstation, determine the first hit container and the second target cargo location where the first hit container is located on the first hit carrier; according to the second target cargo location, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to move to the box picking position corresponding to the second target cargo location; when the first handling equipment transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to take out the first hit container from the second target cargo location based on the box picking position, and transport the first hit container to the first workbench for picking.

[0325] In some embodiments, the control module 1620 is configured to: before the first handling equipment transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to pick up the container to be returned from the first workbench; according to the first target cargo location, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the container to be returned from the first workbench to the first return box position corresponding to the first target cargo location.

[0326] In some embodiments, the control module 1620 is configured to: when the first handling equipment transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to pick up the first hit container placed at the second target cargo location based on the box picking position; after the container picking and placing device of the first workstation picks up the first hit container, control the first handling equipment to turn to the target direction, and control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to take out the first hit container from the second target cargo location; wherein, the target direction is the direction in which the first handling equipment leaves the first workstation.

[0327] In some embodiments, the control module 1620 is further configured to: control the first handling equipment to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation in the target direction, and control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to place the first hit container on the first workbench, so that the picking object of the first workstation can pick the first hit container.

[0328] In some embodiments, the control module 1620 is configured to: if the first transport device has rotated to the target direction and there is no other hit container corresponding to the first workstation on the first hit carrier, then control the first transport device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation.

[0329] In some embodiments, the determination module is further configured to: after the first workstation completes picking of the first hit container, determine the return box cargo position corresponding to the first hit container that has completed picking in the vacant cargo positions on the fourth hit carrier; wherein the fourth hit carrier is a carrier to be picked that arrives at the first workstation after the first hit carrier. The control module 1620 is further configured to: before the fourth hit carrier arrives at the first workstation, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to pick up the first hit container that has completed picking from the first workbench; according to the return box cargo position, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to move the first hit container that has completed picking from the first workbench to the second return box position corresponding to the return box cargo position; when the fourth hit carrier arrives at the first workstation, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transfer the first hit container that has completed picking to the return box cargo position based on the second return box position.

[0330] In some embodiments, the control module 1620 is configured to: when controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the first hit container that has completed picking to the return box location based on the second return box location, control the transport equipment used to transport the fourth hit carrier to turn to the target direction, and control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to place the first hit container that has completed picking into the return box location; wherein, the target direction is the direction in which the transport equipment that transports the fourth hit carrier leaves the first workstation.

[0331] In some embodiments, the first workstation is provided with a picking area and a queuing area, both of which are used to dock vehicles; the first hit vehicle includes a vehicle docked in the queuing area and about to enter the picking area. The control module 1620 is configured to control the first transport device to transport the first hit vehicle from the queuing area of ​​the first workstation to the picking area of ​​the first workstation.

[0332] In some embodiments, the first box return position is the position of the first target cargo location facing one side of the first workstation when the first hit carrier is located in the picking area of ​​the first workstation.

[0333] Regarding the specific limitations and beneficial effects that can be achieved by the container picking and placing device, please refer to the limitations of the container picking and placing method above, which will not be repeated here.

[0334] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the electronic device includes one or more processors and a memory. The memory is configured to store one or more programs. When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the container access method described in the above embodiment.

[0335] As shown in FIG17 , the electronic device 1000 includes a processor 1001 and a memory 1002 . Exemplarily, the electronic device 1000 may further include a communication interface 1003 and a communication bus 1004 .

[0336] The processor 1001, the memory 1002 and the communication interface 1003 communicate with each other via a communication bus 1004. The communication interface 1003 is used to communicate with other devices such as a client or other server network elements.

[0337] In some embodiments, the processor 1001 is configured to execute a program 1005, specifically, to execute the relevant steps in the above-mentioned container picking and placing method embodiment. Specifically, the program 1005 may include program code, which includes computer-executable instructions.

[0338] For example, the processor 1001 may be a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the embodiments of the present disclosure. The electronic device 1000 may include one or more processors of the same type, such as one or more CPUs, or different types of processors, such as one or more CPUs and one or more ASICs.

[0339] In some embodiments, the memory 1002 is used to store the program 1005. The memory 1002 may include a high-speed RAM memory, and may also include a non-volatile memory (NVM), such as at least one disk memory.

[0340] The program 1005 can be specifically called by the processor 1001 to enable the electronic device 1000 to perform operations of the container picking and placing method.

[0341] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium storing at least one executable instruction. When the executable instruction is executed on the electronic device 1000, the electronic device 1000 executes the container picking and placing method in the above embodiment.

[0342] The executable instructions may be specifically used to enable the electronic device 1000 to execute operations of the container picking and placing method.

[0343] For example, the computer-readable storage medium may be a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a compact disc (CD-ROM), a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device, and the like.

[0344] In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and the computer program includes program instructions. When the program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer executes the container picking and placing method described in any of the above embodiments.

[0345] In some embodiments, the present disclosure further provides a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, can implement the container picking and placing method described in any of the above embodiments.

[0346] The beneficial effects that can be achieved by the container picking and placing device, electronic device, computer-readable storage medium, computer program product, and computer program provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be referred to the beneficial effects of the container picking and placing method provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0347] It should be noted that, in the application, relational terms such as first and second, etc. are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article, or apparatus comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus comprising the element.

[0348] Each embodiment in this specification is described in a related manner. Similar portions between the embodiments can be referred to in conjunction with each other. Each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. In particular, the device embodiments are generally similar to the method embodiments, so their description is relatively simple. For related portions, refer to the description of the method embodiments.

[0349] The logic and / or steps represented in the flowchart or otherwise described herein may be considered, for example, as an ordered list of executable instructions for implementing logical functions, and may be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by, or in conjunction with, an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device (such as a computer-based system, a system including a processor, or other system that can fetch and execute instructions from an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device).

[0350] For the purposes of this specification, a "computer-readable medium" can be any apparatus that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0351] More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of computer-readable media include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires (electronic device), a portable computer disk cartridge (magnetic device), random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable and programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), fiber optic device, and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM).

[0352] In addition, the computer readable medium may even be paper or other suitable medium on which the program can be printed, because the program can be obtained electronically, for example, by optically scanning the paper or other medium, and then editing, interpreting, or processing it in other suitable ways as necessary, and then storing it in a computer memory. It should be understood that various parts of the present disclosure can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

[0353] In the above embodiments, multiple steps or methods can be implemented using software or firmware stored in a memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system. For example, if implemented using hardware, as in another embodiment, any one of the following technologies known in the art or a combination thereof can be used: a discrete logic circuit having logic gate circuits for implementing logic functions on data signals, an application-specific integrated circuit having suitable combinational logic gate circuits, a programmable gate array (PGA), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.

[0354] The above-described embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A container picking and placing method, applied to a control device, comprising: Obtaining a pending order, and a plurality of hit containers and a first hit carrier corresponding to the pending order; wherein the first hit carrier is a carrier on which the hit container is placed; Controlling a first transport device to transport the first hit carrier to a first workstation, and controlling a container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the first hit container on the first hit carrier to a first workbench of the first workstation for picking; wherein the plurality of hit containers include the first hit container; Before controlling the first transport device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, if it is determined that the current surface of the first hit carrier is in a full state, controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to remove the first container on the first hit carrier so that the current surface of the first hit carrier is not in a full state; wherein the first container is any container placed on the first hit carrier; Control the first handling equipment to transport the first hit carrier to the second workstation, and control the container picking and placing device of the second workstation to transport the second container to the vacant cargo space on the first hit carrier, and transport the second hit container on the first hit carrier to the second workbench of the second workstation for picking; wherein, the second container is any container on the second workbench.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein After the container picking and placing device controlling the first workstation takes out the first container from the first hit carrier, the method further includes: When the second transporting equipment transports the second hit carrier to the first workstation, the container picking and placing device of the first workstation is controlled to transport the taken out first container to the vacant cargo position on the second hit carrier.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to take out the first container from the first hit carrier includes: The container picking and placing device of the first workstation is controlled to take the first container out from the first hit carrier and place the first container in an idle cache position of the first workstation.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising: When the second transport device transports the second hit carrier to the first workstation, the container picking and placing device of the first workstation is controlled to transport the first container from the idle cache position to the idle cargo position on the second hit carrier.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Before controlling the first transport device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, determining the current cargo position status of the third hit carrier being transported by a third transport device; wherein the third transport device is the next transport device to arrive at the first workstation after the first transport device; Based on the current cargo position status in front of the third hit carrier, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to move the third container to an empty cargo position on the first hit carrier or an empty cargo position of the third hit carrier; wherein, the third container is any container on the first workbench.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to move the third container to an empty cargo space on the first hit carrier based on the current cargo space status of the third hit carrier includes: If the cargo space in front of the third hit carrier is full, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to move the third container to an empty cargo space on the first hit carrier, so that there is an empty operating space on the first workbench; Control the first transport device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the third container to an empty cargo space of the third hit carrier based on the current cargo space status of the third hit carrier includes: If the cargo space in front of the third hit carrier is not full, controlling the first transport device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation; The container picking and placing device of the first workstation is controlled to transport the third container to the vacant cargo position of the third hit carrier, so that there is an vacant operating position on the first workbench.

8. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: If the third transport device has not reached the detection area of ​​the first workstation before the first transport device moves the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, the first transport device is controlled to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation; wherein, the detection area is used to detect the current cargo position status in front of the third hit carrier.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: After the first transport device moves the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, if the third transport device transports the third hit carrier to the detection area of ​​the first workstation and determines that the current surface of the third hit carrier is full, the third transport device is controlled to move the third hit carrier to the queuing area corresponding to the first workstation to queue again and wait for picking.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein Before the container picking and placing device controlling the first workstation moves the first hit container on the first hit carrier to the first workbench of the first workstation for picking, the method further includes: Before the first transport device transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation, determining whether there is a container to be returned at the first workstation; wherein the container to be returned is a container on the first workbench; If the to-be-returned container exists at the first workstation, determining a first target cargo location among a plurality of vacant cargo locations on the first hit carrier before the first hit carrier arrives at the first workstation; According to the first target cargo location, controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to move to the first container return position corresponding to the first target cargo location; When the first transport device transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation, the container picking and placing device of the first workstation is controlled to transfer the to-be-returned container to the first target cargo position based on the first return position.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The container picking and placing device controlling the first workstation to transport the first hit container on the first hit carrier to the first workbench of the first workstation for picking includes: After transferring the to-be-returned container to the first target cargo location, the container picking and placing device of the first workstation is controlled to take out the first hit container from the first hit carrier, and transport the first hit container to the first workbench for picking.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The container picking and placing device controlling the first workstation to transport the first hit container on the first hit carrier to the first workbench of the first workstation for picking also includes: If the to-be-returned container does not exist at the first workstation, then before the first hit carrier arrives at the first workstation, the first hit container and the second target cargo location where the first hit container is located are determined on the first hit carrier; According to the second target cargo location, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to move to the container picking position corresponding to the second target cargo location; When the first handling equipment transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation, the container picking and placing device of the first workstation is controlled to take out the first hit container from the second target cargo position based on the box picking position, and transport the first hit container to the first workbench for picking.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The step of controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to move to the first container return position corresponding to the first target cargo location according to the first target cargo location includes: Before the first transport device transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation, controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to pick up the to-be-returned container from the first workbench; According to the first target cargo location, the container picking and placing device of the first workstation is controlled to move the container to be returned from the first workbench to the first return position corresponding to the first target cargo location.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to pick up the first hit container from the second target location based on the container picking position includes: When the first transport device transports the first hit carrier to the first workstation, the container picking and placing device of the first workstation is controlled to pick up the first hit container placed at the second target cargo position based on the container picking position; After the container picking and placing device of the first workstation picks up the first hit container, the first transport equipment is controlled to turn to the target direction, and the container picking and placing device of the first workstation is controlled to take out the first hit container from the second target cargo position; wherein, the target direction is the direction in which the first transport equipment leaves the first workstation.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein After the container picking and placing device of the first workstation is controlled to take out the first hit container from the second target location, the method further includes: Control the first transport equipment to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation in the target direction, and control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to place the first hit container on the first workbench, so that the picking object of the first workstation can pick the first hit container.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein The controlling the first transport device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation according to the target direction includes: If the first transport device has been rotated to the target direction and no other hit containers corresponding to the first workstation exist on the first hit carrier, the first transport device is controlled to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation.

17. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: After the first workstation completes picking of the first hit container, a return location corresponding to the first hit container that has completed picking is determined in the vacant locations on the fourth hit carrier; wherein the fourth hit carrier is a carrier to be picked that arrives at the first workstation after the first hit carrier; Before the fourth hit carrier arrives at the first workstation, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to pick up the first hit container that has completed picking from the first workbench; According to the box return location, control the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to move the first hit container that has completed picking from the first workbench to the second box return location corresponding to the box return location; When the fourth hit carrier arrives at the first workstation, the container picking and placing device of the first workstation is controlled to transfer the first hit container that has completed picking to the return box location based on the second return box location.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein The container picking and placing device controlling the first workstation transfers the first hit container that has completed picking to the return box location based on the second return box location, including: When controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the first hit container that has completed picking to the return box location based on the second return box location, controlling the transport equipment used to transport the fourth hit carrier to turn to the target direction, and controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to place the first hit container that has completed picking into the return box location; wherein, the target direction is the direction in which the transport equipment transporting the fourth hit carrier leaves the first workstation.

19. The method according to claim 10, wherein The first workstation is provided with a picking area and a queuing area, both of which are used to dock vehicles; the first hit vehicle includes a vehicle docked in the queuing area and about to enter the picking area; The controlling the first transport device to transport the first hit carrier to the first workstation includes: Control the first transport device to transport the first hit carrier from the queuing area of ​​the first workstation to the picking area of ​​the first workstation.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The first box return position is the position of the first target cargo location facing the side of the first workstation when the first hit carrier is located in the picking area of ​​the first workstation.

21. A container picking and placing device, comprising: An acquisition module is configured to: acquire a pending order, a plurality of hit containers that hit the pending order, and a first hit carrier; wherein the first hit carrier is a carrier on which the hit container is placed; The control module is configured to: control a first transport device to transport the first hit carrier to a first workstation, and control a container picking and placing device of the first workstation to transport the first hit container on the first hit carrier to a first workbench of the first workstation for picking; wherein the plurality of hit containers include the first hit container; Before controlling the first transport device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, if it is determined that the current surface of the first hit carrier is in a full state, controlling the container picking and placing device of the first workstation to remove the first container on the first hit carrier so that the current surface of the first hit carrier is not in a full state; wherein the first container is any container placed on the first hit carrier; Control the first handling equipment to transport the first hit carrier to the second workstation, and control the container picking and placing device of the second workstation to transport the second container to the vacant cargo space on the first hit carrier, and transport the second hit container on the first hit carrier to the second workbench of the second workstation for picking; wherein, the second container is any container on the workbench of the second workstation.

22. A warehousing system comprising: Multiple carriers, each carrier including multiple cargo spaces, each cargo space being used to place a container for storing goods; The control device is configured to: obtain a pending order, a plurality of hit containers and a first hit carrier corresponding to the pending order; generate a first transport instruction based on the first hit carrier, and generate a first return instruction based on a first hit container among the plurality of hit containers; wherein the first hit carrier is a carrier on which the hit container is placed; A first transport device is configured to: transport the first hit carrier to a first workstation according to the first transport instruction; The first workstation includes a first container picking and placing device; the first container picking and placing device is configured to: according to the first box return instruction, move the first hit container on the first hit carrier to the first workbench of the first workstation for picking; The control device is configured to: before controlling the first handling device to move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation, if it is determined that the current surface of the first hit carrier is in a full surface state, generate a first box removal instruction; The first container picking and placing device is configured to: according to the first box picking instruction, take out the first container on the first hit carrier so that the current surface of the first hit carrier is not full; wherein the first container is any container placed on the first hit carrier; The control device is configured to: determine a second workstation, generate a second transport instruction based on the second workstation, generate a second return instruction based on the second container, and generate a second take-out instruction based on the second hit container corresponding to the second workstation; wherein the second container is any container on the second workbench; The first transport device is configured to: move the first hit carrier away from the first workstation and to the second workstation according to the second transport instruction; The second workstation includes a second container picking and placing device; the second container picking and placing device is configured to: according to the second box return instruction, move the second container to the vacant cargo space on the first hit carrier, and according to the second box pick-up instruction, move the second hit container on the first hit carrier to the second workbench of the second workstation for picking.

23. The storage system according to claim 22, wherein: The first workstation also includes at least one guiding mechanism; the first container picking and placing device is arranged to the guiding mechanism, and the first container picking and placing device can be moved laterally and / or vertically through the guiding mechanism; the first container picking and placing device includes a picking and placing component, and the picking and placing component can be moved along the depth direction.

24. The storage system according to claim 23, wherein: The guiding mechanism comprises: a lateral movement device coupled to the movement rod and configured to: drive the movement rod to move laterally; The moving rod extends in a vertical direction, and the first container picking and placing device is arranged on the moving rod so that the moving rod drives the first container picking and placing device to move horizontally; and The vertical moving device is coupled to the first container picking and placing device and is configured to drive the first container picking and placing device to move vertically relative to the moving rod.

25. An electronic device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, wherein: When the processor executes the computer program, the steps of the container picking and placing method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 are implemented.

26. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the container picking and placing method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 are implemented.

27. A computer program product, comprising a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the container picking and placing method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

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