Box retrieval anomaly processing method and apparatus, and warehousing system

Abstract

A box retrieval anomaly processing method and apparatus, and a warehousing system. The method comprises: when a first handling device (31) performs a box retrieval operation on a first container at a first aisle within an inventory area (10) and box retrieval anomaly information sent by the first handling device (31) is received, on the basis of the box retrieval anomaly information, controlling the first handling device (31) to perform the box retrieval operation on the first container again; when the number of abnormal box retrieval operations performed by the first handling device (31) on the first container reaches a first operation threshold and the first handling device (31) satisfies an interchange condition, determining a second handling device from among a plurality of handling devices (20) within the inventory area (10); and controlling the second handling device to move from a second aisle to the first aisle, perform a box retrieval operation on the first container at the first aisle and perform a box retrieval operation on a first retrieval-pending container at the first aisle.

Description

Box taking exception processing method and device and warehouse system

[0001] The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411329211.X, filed on September 20, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of warehouse logistics, and in particular to a box taking exception processing method, device and warehouse system. BACKGROUND

[0003] In a warehouse system, robots can move in the aisles of the inventory area and perform taking / placing operations on the containers or goods on the shelves on both sides of the aisle to realize the warehousing or unwarehousing of goods. For example, the robot may fail to take a container during the taking operation in the aisle. Usually, the warehouse system will lock the abnormal location of the taking failure and wait for manual intervention to solve the problem. Since the manual intervention method needs to be processed after a long time, this method will cause the unwarehousing of goods required by the order to be completed in time, resulting in the delay of the supply chain time limit and affecting the work efficiency of the warehouse system. SUMMARY

[0004] The present disclosure provides a box taking exception processing method, device and warehouse system.

[0005] The first aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure provides a box taking exception processing method, which comprises: first, in the case that a first handling device in a warehouse system performs a taking operation on a first container in a first aisle of an inventory area and receives abnormal taking information sent by the first handling device, controlling the first handling device to perform a taking operation on the first container again according to the abnormal taking information. Second, in the case that the number of abnormal taking operations of the first handling device on the first container reaches a first number threshold and the first handling device meets the exchange condition, determining a second handling device from a plurality of handling devices in the inventory area; wherein the second handling device is a handling device that performs a taking operation on a second container in a second aisle of the inventory area. Then, controlling the second handling device to move from the second aisle to the first aisle and perform a taking operation on the first container in the first aisle, and perform a taking operation on the first container to be taken in the first aisle. Finally, controlling the first handling device to move from the first aisle to the second aisle and perform a taking operation on the second container to be taken in the second aisle.

[0006] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a warehouse system, comprising a plurality of handling devices and a storage area. The plurality of handling devices comprises a first handling device and a second handling device, and the storage area comprises a plurality of aisles. The handling devices perform a picking operation on a to-be-picked container in the aisles. The plurality of aisles comprises a first aisle of the first handling device and a second aisle in which the second handling device is located. The first handling device is configured to send abnormal picking information during the performance of the picking operation on the first container in the first aisle. A control device is configured to generate a first picking instruction according to the abnormal picking information. The first handling device is configured to perform the picking operation on the first container again according to the first picking instruction. The control device is configured to determine the second handling device among the plurality of handling devices in the storage area and generate a first scheduling instruction and a second scheduling instruction when the number of abnormal picking operations of the first handling device on the first container reaches a first threshold and a mutual exchange condition is met. The second handling device is a handling device that performs a picking operation on a second container in the second aisle of the storage area. The second handling device is configured to move from the second aisle to the first aisle according to the first scheduling instruction, perform the picking operation on the first container in the first aisle, and perform the picking operation on the first to-be-picked container in the first aisle. The first handling device is configured to move from the first aisle to the second aisle according to the second scheduling instruction and perform the picking operation on the second to-be-picked container in the second aisle.

[0007] In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a picking abnormality processing device, comprising a receiving module, a control module, and a determination module. The receiving module is configured to receive abnormal picking information sent by a handling device. The control module is configured to control a first handling device to perform a picking operation on a first container in a first aisle of a storage area again according to the abnormal picking information when the first handling device performs the picking operation on the first container in the first aisle of the storage area and receives the abnormal picking information sent by the first handling device. The determination module is configured to determine a second handling device among a plurality of handling devices in the storage area when the number of abnormal picking operations of the first handling device on the first container reaches a first threshold and the first handling device meets a mutual exchange condition. The second handling device is a handling device that performs a picking operation on a second container in a second aisle of the storage area. The control module is configured to control the second handling device to move from the second aisle to the first aisle, perform the picking operation on the first container in the first aisle, and perform the picking operation on a first to-be-picked container in the first aisle; and control the first handling device to move from the first aisle to the second aisle and perform the picking operation on a second to-be-picked container in the second aisle.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, an electronic device is provided, which includes a processor and a memory. The memory is configured to store computer-executable instructions. The processor is configured to read the instructions from the memory and execute the instructions to implement the case picking exception handling method of the first aspect.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores computer program instructions. When the computer program instructions are read by a computer, the case picking exception handling method of the first aspect is executed.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes a computer program stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program includes program instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to execute the case picking exception handling method of the first aspect.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a computer program is provided, which, when executed by a processor, can implement the case picking exception handling method of the first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0012] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed in the embodiments will be briefly introduced as follows. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort on the basis of these drawings.

[0013] FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a warehouse system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0014] FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of a case picking operation scenario according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0015] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a case picking exception handling method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0016] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another case picking operation scenario according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0017] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another case picking exception handling method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0018] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of yet another case picking exception handling method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0019] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an inventory area according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of still another case picking exception handling method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0021] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a case taking abnormality processing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In order to make the technical personnel in the art better understand the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, and make the above-mentioned purposes, characteristics and advantages of the embodiments of the present application more apparent and easy to understand, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0024] Generally, a robot management system (RMS) can schedule a case robot in a warehouse system to move in a lane of a storage area to perform a taking / placing operation on a case or goods placed on a shelf. For example, the case robot can take a case placed on a shelf (hereinafter referred to as a case taking operation) to perform a delivery task, or place a case to be stored on a corresponding shelf (hereinafter referred to as a case returning operation) to perform a storage task.

[0025] For example, in the case where the case robot performs a case taking operation on a case placed on a shelf in a storage area, a case taking failure can occur. When a case taking failure occurs, the RMS locks the location of the abnormal case and schedules the case robot to continue performing a case taking operation on other cases. After the case robot completes the case taking operation on the remaining cases to be taken, or after a preset time, an operator can enter the storage area to process the abnormal case. Since manual processing needs to consider safety issues, in the case of a case taking abnormality, the operator can enter the storage area for processing only after the case robot completes the operation task or the case robot stops operating. In this case, the abnormal case cannot be taken out in time, which can cause the goods required by an order to be picked out of the warehouse in time. For some orders with high priority, when the case corresponding to the order occurs an abnormality, the time efficiency of the entire supply chain is delayed, which affects the work efficiency of the warehouse system.

[0026] To solve the above problems, the present disclosure provides a case abnormality processing method, device and warehouse system. In the case where a case robot occurs a case taking abnormality, a retry mechanism and a robot exchange mechanism are used to automatically complete the processing of the case taking abnormality, reduce manual intervention, quickly recover task execution, reduce the waiting time of each task in the warehouse system, and improve the overall operation efficiency and stability of the warehouse system.

[0027] FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a warehouse system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1A, the warehouse system 100 includes an inventory area 10, a plurality of handling devices 20, and a control device (not shown in FIG. 1A).

[0028] In some examples, as shown in FIG. 1A, the inventory area 10 can include a plurality of aisles 101, and each aisle 101 can be provided with a plurality of storage locations on both sides of the aisle 101, and each storage location can be used to park a carrier 102. That is, a plurality of rows or columns of carriers 102 can be provided in the inventory area, and the area between two adjacent rows or columns of carriers 102 can be referred to as an aisle 101.

[0029] In some examples, each carrier 102 can include a plurality of storage spaces. The storage spaces can be used to place containers, or can be used to place bins, goods, or original boxes of goods. The present disclosure does not limit this, and the following embodiments are exemplarily described by taking the storage spaces as being used to place containers. For example, the storage spaces can be cuboid-shaped accommodation spaces, and the plurality of storage spaces on the carrier 102 can be arranged in a neat manner along the length direction, width direction, and height direction of the carrier. The containers can be specially designed matching products for the carrier, or can be ordinary bins (also referred to as bins), or can be packaging of goods (also referred to as original boxes), and the present disclosure does not limit this.

[0030] In some examples, the carrier 102 can be a shelf, a trolley, a cage, or the like. For example, the carrier 102 can be a movable shelf, or can be a fixed shelf. The shelf includes at least one partition, which divides the carrier into at least two layers, and the partition of the carrier is provided with at least one storage space, each storage space can accommodate at least one container, and the container placed in each storage space can be a bin or a tray, and the present disclosure does not limit this. It should be noted that the carrier includes, but is not limited to, a partitioned shelf, a container shelf, a picking shelf, a movable shelf, and the like. The carrier provided by the present disclosure can refer to any carrier used to place containers.

[0031] In some examples, the handling device 20 can move in the aisle 101 of the inventory area 10 to perform a bin picking operation or a bin returning operation on the containers on the carriers on both sides of the aisle 101. The handling device 20 can also be referred to as a bin robot.

[0032] For example, one handling device 20 can perform a bin picking operation or a bin returning operation on a plurality of containers hit by orders in a plurality of aisles. After completing the bin picking (or bin returning) operation on the hit containers in the current aisle, the handling device 20 can move to an aisle adjacent to the current aisle, and continue to perform the bin picking (or bin returning) operation on the hit containers in the aisle.

[0033] FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of a scenario of a container picking operation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1B, the handling device 20 moves in the aisle to perform a container picking operation on the containers 103 on the carrier 102 corresponding to the aisle.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 1B, the handling device 20 can include a mobile chassis 21, and the mobile chassis 21 can be provided with traveling wheels that rotate under the drive of a motor to drive the mobile chassis 21 to move in the aisle.

[0035] In some examples, the handling device 20 can further include a portal frame 22, which can be arranged on the mobile chassis 21. For example, the portal frame 22 can be fixedly connected with the mobile chassis 21, or connected in a detachable manner through a connecting component such as a bolt or a screw. The mobile chassis 21 can drive the portal frame 22 to move together.

[0036] In some examples, the handling device 20 can further include a picking device 23, which can be arranged on the portal frame 22 and can be raised and lowered along the portal frame 22 to adjust the height position of the picking device 23 on the portal frame 22, so as to pick or put containers stored at different levels of the carrier.

[0037] In some examples, the handling device 20 can further include a rotating device 24, which can be connected with the picking device 23, and the rotation of the rotating device 24 can drive the picking device 23 to rotate relative to the portal frame 22. For example, the rotating device 24 can rotate the import and export direction of the picking device 23 from one side of the portal frame 22 to the other side of the portal frame 22.

[0038] In some examples, the handling device 20 can further include a buffer device 25, which can be arranged on the portal frame 22; in the case that the import and export direction of the picking device 23 faces the portal frame 22, the import and export of the picking device 23 can be opposite to the buffer device 25, so as to place the picked container on the buffer device 25, or to pick the container placed on the buffer device 25 to put it back to the carrier.

[0039] For example, the buffer device 25 can be provided in plurality, and the plurality of buffer devices 25 can be arranged side by side in the vertical direction on the portal frame 22. Each buffer device 25 can place a container, so as to improve the handling capacity of the handling device 20 and improve the handling efficiency of the containers.

[0040] In some examples, as shown in FIG. 1B, the handling device 20 can pick the container 103 on the carrier 102 through the picking device 23 and place it on any idle buffer device 25; or, the handling device 20 can also carry the to-be-warehoused container placed on the buffer device 25 to the idle storage location on the carrier 102 through the picking device 23.

[0041] Exemplarily, the carrier 102 can include storage locations and buffer locations. The storage locations are located at the upper layer of the carrier 102, and the buffer locations are located at the lower layer or the bottom layer (which can also be referred to as bottom buffer locations) of the carrier 102, and are used to temporarily store containers to be picked out or to be put in.

[0042] In some examples, the handling device 20 can handle the container to be picked out taken out from the carrier storage location to the bottom buffer location for temporary storage, and then the handling robot can handle the container to be picked out placed on the bottom buffer location to the workstation for picking out; or the handling device 20 can also handle the handling robot to the container to be put in on the bottom buffer location to the storage location at the upper layer of the carrier, so as to realize the put-in operation of the container to be put in. That is, the handling device 20 can realize the transfer of the container between one location (storage location or buffer location) and another location (storage location or buffer location) on the carrier 102.

[0043] It should be noted that the present embodiment does not limit the taking operation (or returning operation) of the handling device 20, and the handling device 20 can place the container taken out from the carrier on the buffer device, or on the bottom buffer location.

[0044] Exemplarily, the control device can be coupled with the handling device 20, and is used to control the work of the handling device 20. For example, the control device can control the handling device 20 to move to the corresponding aisle, and perform the taking / returning operation on the hit container on the carrier in the aisle.

[0045] In some examples, the control device is in communication connection with the handling device 20 to perform data communication. For example, the control device can be in communication connection with the handling device 20 through a local area network (Local Area Network, LAN), a wireless local area network (Wireless Local Area Network, WLAN) and other networks.

[0046] In some examples, the control device can be a server or a terminal device, or a device deployed with a warehouse management system (Warehouse Management System, WMS) and a robot management system (Robot Management System, RMS). The terminal device can include at least one of a personal computer, a notebook computer, a smart phone, a tablet computer and a portable wearable device; the server can include a stand-alone server or a server cluster composed of multiple servers, and the present embodiment does not limit this.

[0047] In some embodiments, the control device is configured to, in a case where the first handling device in the warehouse system performs a picking operation on the first container in the first aisle of the inventory area, based on receiving the abnormal picking information sent by the first handling device, control the first handling device to perform the picking operation on the first container again; in a case where the abnormal picking number of times of the first handling device performing the picking operation on the first container reaches a first number threshold and a mutual exchange condition is met, determine a second handling device from among the plurality of handling devices in the inventory area; wherein the second handling device is a handling device performing a picking operation on a second container in a second aisle of the inventory area; control the second handling device to move from the second aisle to the first aisle and perform the picking operation on the first container in the first aisle, and perform the picking operation on a first to-be-picked container in the first aisle; and control the first handling device to move from the first aisle to the second aisle and perform the picking operation on a second to-be-picked container in the second aisle.

[0048] The warehouse system provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can control the first handling device to perform the picking operation on the first container again in a case where the picking operation performed by the first handling device on the first container in the first aisle is abnormal, until the number of times of abnormal picking operation exceeds a first number threshold. After the number of times of abnormal picking operation exceeds the first number threshold, in a case where it is determined that the first handling device meets a mutual exchange condition, a second handling device that replaces the first handling device is determined in the inventory area, and the second handling device is controlled to move to the first aisle to perform the picking operation on the first container. At the same time, the first handling device is controlled to move to the second aisle where the second handling device is located, and continue to perform the picking operation on the remaining to-be-picked containers in the second aisle. In a case where the handling device performs an abnormal picking operation, the embodiments of the present disclosure first use a retry mechanism, and in a case where the retry mechanism still cannot normally pick out the first container, a robot mutual exchange mechanism is used to replace another handling device to continue to perform the picking operation on the first container, thereby realizing automatic abnormal processing, quickly recovering task execution, reducing manual intervention and waiting time, and improving the overall operation efficiency and stability of the warehouse system.

[0049] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a picking abnormality processing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The picking abnormality processing method shown in FIG. 2 can be implemented by the warehouse system in the above embodiments, such as the control device in the warehouse system. As shown in FIG. 2, the method includes the following steps 210 to 240.

[0050] Step 210, in a case where the first handling device in the warehouse system performs a picking operation on the first container in the first aisle of the inventory area, and abnormal picking information sent by the first handling device is received, according to the abnormal picking information, the first handling device is controlled to perform the picking operation on the first container again.

[0051] In some examples, the plurality of handling devices in the warehouse system includes a first handling device, the plurality of aisles in the inventory area includes a first aisle, and the first handling device performs pick / put operations on the to-be-picked containers on the vehicles on both sides of the first aisle in the first aisle.

[0052] For example, the control device can generate a picking instruction according to the obtained to-be-processed order, and send the picking instruction to the first handling device. The first handling device picks the container (hereinafter referred to as a to-be-picked container) corresponding to the to-be-processed order from the corresponding storage location in the first aisle according to the picking instruction and places it on the buffer mechanism or the vehicle bottom layer buffer position of the first handling device. It should be noted that the container corresponding to the to-be-processed order is the container used to store the goods required by the to-be-processed order. The control device can perform a warehouse-out operation on the container corresponding to the to-be-processed order.

[0053] In some examples, the number of to-be-picked containers corresponding to the to-be-processed order can be multiple, and the multiple to-be-picked containers can be distributed in the first aisle, or part of the to-be-picked containers can be distributed in the first aisle and part of the to-be-picked containers can be distributed in other aisles. For example, the first handling device located in the first aisle can perform a picking operation on the to-be-picked containers in the first aisle, and the handling devices located in other aisles can perform a picking operation on the to-be-picked containers in the corresponding aisles, thereby completing the picking of the to-be-picked containers corresponding to the to-be-processed order; or the first handling device moves to other aisles and performs a picking operation on the to-be-picked containers in the corresponding aisles after performing a picking operation on the to-be-picked containers in the first aisle.

[0054] For example, the inventory area can be divided into a plurality of partitions, each partition including at least one aisle, and the number of aisles in each partition can be the same or different. There can be one handling device in each partition, or there can be multiple handling devices in each partition. When the number of handling devices in a partition is less than the number of aisles in the partition, some handling devices can perform pick / put operations on the to-be-picked containers in multiple aisles in the partition.

[0055] In some embodiments, the step 210 includes determining a picking abnormality type of the first handling device according to the abnormal picking information; and controlling the first handling device to perform a picking operation on the first container again in a case where the picking abnormality type of the first handling device is a first abnormality type. The first abnormality type refers to an abnormality caused by a container abnormality.

[0056] In some examples, the first handling device can fail to pick the first container during the picking operation of the first container in the first aisle. For example, the first handling device can fail to pick the first container due to a device failure, such as a failure of a picking device of the first handling device, a failure of the first handling device to properly position the picking device at a location of the first container, or a failure of the picking device to pick the first container after reaching the location of the first container. The present embodiments do not limit the failure of the picking operation.

[0057] In some examples, the first handling device can fail to pick the first container during the picking operation of the first container in the first aisle. For example, the first handling device can fail to pick the first container due to a device failure, such as a failure of a picking device of the first handling device, a failure of the first handling device to properly position the picking device at a location of the first container, or a failure of the picking device to pick the first container after reaching the location of the first container. The present embodiments do not limit the failure of the picking operation.

[0058] In some examples, the first handling device can fail to pick the first container during the picking operation of the first container in the first aisle. For example, the first handling device can fail to pick the first container due to a device failure, such as a failure of a picking device of the first handling device, a failure of the first handling device to properly position the picking device at a location of the first container, or a failure of the picking device to pick the first container after reaching the location of the first container. The present embodiments do not limit the failure of the picking operation.

[0059] In some examples, the first handling device can fail to pick the first container during the picking operation of the first container in the first aisle. For example, the first handling device can fail to pick the first container due to a device failure, such as a failure of a picking device of the first handling device, a failure of the first handling device to properly position the picking device at a location of the first container, or a failure of the picking device to pick the first container after reaching the location of the first container. The present embodiments do not limit the failure of the picking operation.

[0060] In some examples, the first handling device can fail to pick the first container during the picking operation of the first container in the first aisle. For example, the first handling device can fail to pick the first container due to a device failure, such as a failure of a picking device of the first handling device, a failure of the first handling device to properly position the picking device at a location of the first container, or a failure of the picking device to pick the first container after reaching the location of the first container. The present embodiments do not limit the failure of the picking operation.

[0061] In some examples, the first handling device can fail to pick the first container during the picking operation of the first container in the first aisle. For example, the first handling device can fail to pick the first container due to a device failure, such as a failure of a picking device of the first handling device, a failure of the first handling device to properly position the picking device at a location of the first container, or a failure of the picking device to pick the first container after reaching the location of the first container. The present embodiments do not limit the failure of the picking operation.

[0062] The abnormal box taking processing method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can determine the abnormal box taking type of the first carrying device by identifying the abnormal identification code in the abnormal box taking information sent by the first carrying device, and in the case that the abnormal box taking type is determined as a container abnormality, the first carrying device can be controlled to perform the box taking operation on the first container again, i.e., enter the retry mechanism.

[0063] In some embodiments, the step 210 includes determining the number of abnormal box taking operations performed by the first carrying device on the first container, and in the case that the number of abnormal box taking operations does not reach a first number threshold, controlling the first carrying device to move a preset distance from the first position to the second position and return from the second position to the first position in the first lane according to the offset correction information in the abnormal box taking information, and controlling the first carrying device to perform the box taking operation on the first container again at the first position.

[0064] For example, the first number threshold is pre-set in the control device, and the first number threshold is the upper limit of the number of box taking operations performed by the carrying device on the same container.

[0065] For example, after the first carrying device performs the first box taking operation on the first container and fails, the first carrying device can be controlled to perform the second box taking operation on the first container, and the second box taking operation succeeds, and the control device controls the first carrying device to continue to perform the box taking operation on other containers to be taken in the first lane; the second box taking operation also fails, and the control device determines whether the number of box taking operations on the first container reaches the first number threshold according to the abnormal box taking information sent by the first carrying device. In the case that the number of box taking operations does not reach the first number threshold, the first carrying device is controlled to perform the third box taking operation on the first container again; in the case that the number of box taking operations has reached the first number threshold, the first carrying device is controlled to stop the box taking operation on the first container, i.e., indicating that the retry mechanism fails.

[0066] It should be noted that the first number threshold can be set according to requirements, and the specific value of the first number threshold is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the first number threshold can be set to 3.

[0067] In some examples, the abnormal box taking information sent by the first carrying device further includes offset correction information. For example, the offset correction information can be determined according to the position information of the first container and the box taking information of the first carrying device. The offset correction information can provide a reference for the first carrying device to perform the box taking operation again.

[0068] For example, the first conveying device can be provided with an image acquisition device. When the first conveying device performs the box picking operation on the first container, the image acquisition device can acquire images of the process of the box picking operation and send the acquired image information to the first conveying device. The first conveying device determines the box picking information of the first conveying device according to the image information, and determines the offset correction information according to the box picking information. The offset correction information can include an offset angle and / or a distance.

[0069] For example, when the first conveying device is controlled to perform the box picking operation on the first container again, the position of the first conveying device can be adjusted according to the offset correction information. For example, the first conveying device can be controlled to move from the current position to a second position by a preset distance, then return to the original first position from the second position, and perform the box picking operation on the first container again at the first position.

[0070] For example, the preset distance can be in units of cells, for example, the preset distance can be a preset number of cells.

[0071] In some examples, when it is determined that the number of abnormal box picking operations of the first conveying device reaches a first number threshold, the first conveying device can be controlled to move from the current position to a second position by a preset number of cells along one direction of the first aisle according to the offset correction information, and then move from the second position to the first position by a preset number of cells along another direction of the first aisle to perform the box picking operation on the first container again at the first position.

[0072] For example, when the first conveying device returns to the original position and performs the box picking operation on the first container again, the new first position and the initial first position can completely overlap or not completely overlap. For example, the new first position and the initial first position can be the same in the transverse position along the aisle, and there is an offset in the longitudinal position along the aisle; or the angle of the first conveying device at the new first position and at the initial first position can be different. That is, the actual position or angle of the first conveying device during the movement of the first conveying device to the second position and then to the first position can be fine-tuned, and therefore, controlling the first conveying device to return to the first position to perform the box picking operation on the first container again can avoid box picking failure caused by the deviation of the position or angle.

[0073] In some examples, in a case where the number of abnormal picking operations of the first handling device on the first container reaches the first threshold, the first handling device can be controlled to move from the current position along one direction of the first aisle to a third position which is a first number of unit cells away from the current position, and perform the picking operation on the first container again at the third position. In some examples, the current position of the first handling device can not be able to directly pick the first container, and thus the picking position of the first handling device can be determined again according to the offset correction information (i.e., the third position), and the first handling device can be controlled to perform the picking operation on the first container again at the third position.

[0074] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another scenario of a picking operation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0075] As shown in FIG. 3, in a case where the first handling device 31 performs the picking operation on the first container 32 in the first aisle and an abnormal picking occurs, the first handling device 31 can be controlled to move from the current position (i.e., the first position) along the first direction to a second position which is two unit cells away from the current position, and then move from the second position along the second direction to the first position which is two unit cells away from the second position, and perform the picking operation on the first container 32 again at the first position.

[0076] At step 220, in a case where the number of abnormal picking operations of the first handling device on the first container reaches the first threshold, and the first handling device satisfies the exchange condition, a second handling device is determined from the plurality of handling devices in the storage area.

[0077] In some examples, in a case where the number of abnormal picking operations of the first handling device on the first container reaches the first threshold, and the picking operation is still not successful, it can be further determined whether the first handling device satisfies the exchange condition, i.e., whether the first handling device can enter the robot exchange mechanism.

[0078] For example, in a case where it is determined that the first handling device satisfies the exchange condition, the robot exchange mechanism can be entered, and a robot exchange process is triggered, so that the first handling device and the second handling device are exchanged. The second handling device is different from the first handling device among the plurality of handling devices. For example, the second handling device and the first handling device can be located in different aisles.

[0079] It should be noted that the number of abnormal picking operations of the first handling device on the first container reaching the first threshold indicates that the number of consecutive abnormal picking operations of the first handling device reaches the first threshold. That is, the first handling device does not successfully pick the first container within the first threshold.

[0080] For example, the step 220 further includes determining whether the first handling device satisfies the exchange condition. The case where the first handling device satisfies the exchange condition is described in detail below with reference to FIG. 4.

[0081] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another container picking exception handling method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the container picking exception handling method further includes steps 221 to 229 as shown below. The step 221 can be executed after the step 210 and before the step 220, and the step 229 can be executed before the step 230.

[0082] In the step 221, the priority of the first container is determined.

[0083] In some examples, the priority of the container can be determined by the priority of the order hitting the container. After receiving the order to be processed, the control device can determine the priority of the container to be picked (including the first container) corresponding to the order to be processed according to the order to be processed.

[0084] For example, the priority of the container is in a positive proportional relationship with the priority of the order, and a higher priority of the order indicates a higher priority of the container hitting the order. For example, the higher the urgency of the order, the earlier the order is placed, and the more important the customer corresponding to the order, the higher the priority of the container corresponding to the order.

[0085] In other examples, the priority of the container can also be pre-set and stored. For example, the priority of each container in the storage area can be pre-set according to the popularity of the container, etc. For example, the higher the popularity of the container, the higher the priority of the container. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not make specific limitations on the determination method of the priority of the container.

[0086] In some examples, the priority of the container can be represented by a priority level or a priority score. For example, the higher the priority score of the container, the higher the priority. For example, the priority score of the first container can be 90 points. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not make specific limitations on the specific representation method of the priority.

[0087] For example, a pre-set priority is pre-set in the control device, and the pre-set priority can be set according to the demand. For example, the pre-set priority can be set as a second priority (i.e., a priority level), or the pre-set priority can also be set as 80 points (i.e., a priority score). After determining the priority of the first container, the control device can compare the priority of the first container with the pre-set priority.

[0088] In the step 222, when the priority of the first container is higher than the pre-set priority, and the number of abnormal container picking operations performed by the first transfer device on the first container reaches a first threshold value, the storage location where the first container is located is marked, and timing is started.

[0089] For example, when it is determined that the priority of the first container is higher than the preset priority, and the first number threshold is reached, the first container can be identified, and timing can be started.

[0090] In some examples, when the priority of the first container is higher than the preset priority, the RMS can identify the location of the first container. The identification of the location by the RMS indicates that the RMS marks and records the location where the picking exception occurs, so that after the robot replacement process is performed subsequently, the replaced handling device can re-perform the picking operation on the container in the marked location.

[0091] In some examples, the control device can include a timing device. When the control device determines that the number of picking exceptions reaches the first number threshold, the control device can send a timing start instruction to the timing device to control the timing device to start timing. The timing device can be pre-configured with a preset time length. When the timing length reaches the preset time length, the timing device can send a timing end information to the control device, and the control device determines that the timing length reaches the preset time length according to the timing end information.

[0092] In other examples, the control device can be pre-configured with a preset time length. After the timing starts, the timing device can dynamically send the current timing length to the control device, and the control device compares the timing length sent by the timing device with the preset time length to determine whether the timing length reaches the preset time length.

[0093] For example, the preset time length can be set according to requirements, such as 20 minutes. The specific value of the preset time length is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0094] Step 223, when the timing length does not reach the preset time length, the first handling device is controlled to perform the picking operation on the third to-be-picked container in the first aisle.

[0095] In some examples, during the timing starts and the timing length does not reach the preset time length, the control device can control the first handling device to continue to perform the picking operation on other to-be-picked containers in the first aisle according to the to-be-processed order. The first aisle can have multiple to-be-picked containers in addition to the first container, and the third to-be-picked container can be any to-be-picked container in the first aisle except the first container.

[0096] For example, during the timing length does not reach the preset time length, the first handling device can perform the picking operation according to the priority of the multiple to-be-picked containers.

[0097] The method for handling the container taking exception provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can ensure that as many to-be-taken containers as possible are taken out before the exchange robot, and can further determine whether the container taking exception type of the first container is the first exception type (i.e., the container exception), so as to avoid the container taking failure caused by the equipment exception. Meanwhile, by setting the preset time and the timing, the second carrying device that exchanges with the first carrying device can be better matched.

[0098] In step 224, when the timing duration reaches the preset duration, it is determined that the first carrying device meets the exchange condition.

[0099] In some examples, when the timing duration reaches the preset duration, it is determined that the first carrying device meets the exchange condition, and the robot exchange process is triggered to perform the exchange operation on the first carrying device and the determined second carrying device.

[0100] For example, when the timing duration reaches the preset duration, the first carrying device is performing the container taking operation on the third to-be-taken container, the robot exchange process can be triggered after the first carrying device completes the container taking operation on the third to-be-taken container.

[0101] The method for handling the container taking exception provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can ensure that as many to-be-taken containers as possible are taken out before the exchange robot, and can further determine whether the container taking exception type of the first container is the first exception type (i.e., the container exception), so as to avoid the container taking failure caused by the equipment exception. Meanwhile, by setting the preset time and the timing, the second carrying device that exchanges with the first carrying device can be better matched.

[0102] In step 225, when the priority of the first container is lower than the preset priority, it is determined whether there is at least one target container in the first aisle, which has a priority higher than the preset priority.

[0103] For example, when it is determined that the priority of the first container is low and lower than the preset priority, it can be further determined whether there is another to-be-taken container in the first aisle, which has a priority higher than the preset priority. For example, the to-be-taken container in the first aisle, which has a priority higher than the preset priority, can be referred to as a target container.

[0104] In some examples, the priority of each to-be-taken container in the first aisle is determined, and according to the priority of each to-be-taken container, it is determined whether there is at least one target container in the first aisle. The first aisle can have no target container, or can have at least one target container.

[0105] It should be noted that, in the case that the first lane has the target container, steps 226 to 227 are continued to be executed; in the case that the first lane does not have the target container, step 228 is continued to be executed.

[0106] In the case that the first lane has at least one target container, step 226 controls the first handling device to perform a picking operation on the at least one target container in the first lane.

[0107] In the case that the first handling device completes the picking operation on the at least one target container, step 227 identifies the storage location of the first container and starts timing, and in the case that the timing duration reaches a preset duration, it is determined that the first handling device meets the exchange condition.

[0108] In some examples, in the case that the first lane has at least one target container, the first handling device is controlled to perform a picking operation on the at least one target container in the first lane to take the at least one target container from the carrier and place it on the buffer device, or place the taken target container on the bottom buffer position of the carrier so as to perform a subsequent outbound operation.

[0109] In some examples, after the first handling device takes out all the at least one target container, the storage location of the first container is identified, and timing is started, and in the case that the timing duration does not reach the preset duration, it is determined that the first handling device meets the exchange condition, and the robot exchange process is triggered. For example, in the case that the timing duration does not reach the preset duration, the first handling device is controlled to perform a picking operation on the third to-be-taken container in the first lane. It should be noted that this process is similar to step 223 described above, and details are not repeated here.

[0110] For example, in the case that the priority of the first container is higher than the preset priority, the storage location of the first container can be directly identified, and the timing task of the robot exchange process (i.e., steps 222 to 224) is started; in the case that the priority of the first container is lower than the preset priority and the first lane where the first container is located has a high-priority container, after the picking operation on the high-priority container is completed, the storage location of the first container is identified, and the timing task of the robot exchange process (i.e., steps 226 to 227) is started.

[0111] It should be noted that when the robot exchange process is entered, the storage location of the first container (or the picking task of the first container) can be identified (marked), and in the case that the timing duration of the identified storage location (or picking task) reaches the preset duration, the robot can be triggered to be replaced.

[0112] The method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can further determine whether there is another high-priority container to be taken in the first lane when the priority of the first container is low. When there is another high-priority container to be taken in the first lane, the first handling device can be controlled to preferentially perform the container taking operation on the high-priority container to be taken, so that the high-priority container to be taken can be ensured to be preferentially taken out of the warehouse. After the first handling device completes the container taking operation on the high-priority container to be taken, the control device can identify the storage location where the first container is located, and start timing. When the timing duration reaches a preset duration, a robot replacement process is triggered to exchange the handling devices, so that the container taking operation on the first container is re-performed.

[0113] In step 228, when there is no target container in the first lane and the number of abnormal container taking operations performed by the first handling device on the first container reaches a first number threshold, the storage location where the first container is located is identified, and timing is started. When the timing duration reaches a preset duration, it is determined that the first handling device meets the exchange condition.

[0114] In some examples, when there is no target container in the first lane, timing is started when the number of abnormal container taking operations performed by the first handling device on the first container reaches a first number threshold, and it is determined that the first handling device meets the exchange condition when the timing duration reaches a preset duration. It should be noted that this process is similar to step 222 described above, and thus will not be described here again to avoid repetition.

[0115] The method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can further determine whether there is another high-priority container to be taken in the first lane when the priority of the first container is low. When there is another high-priority container to be taken in the first lane, the first handling device can be controlled to preferentially perform the container taking operation on the high-priority container to be taken, so that the high-priority container to be taken can be ensured to be preferentially taken out of the warehouse. After the first handling device completes the container taking operation on the high-priority container to be taken, the control device can identify the storage location where the first container is located, and start timing. When the timing duration reaches a preset duration, a robot replacement process is triggered to exchange the handling devices, so that the container taking operation on the first container is re-performed.

[0116] In step 229, a second handling device is determined from a plurality of handling devices in the warehouse area.

[0117] In some examples, when it is determined that the first handling device meets the exchange condition, a second handling device that exchanges with the first handling device can be determined from a plurality of handling devices in the warehouse system. The second handling device is a handling device that performs a container taking operation on a second container in a second lane, and the second lane is different from the first lane.

[0118] In some examples, the second handling device and the first handling device are two handling devices respectively performing the case picking operation in different aisles. The second aisle where the second handling device is located and the first aisle where the first handling device is located can be two aisles of the same zone, or two aisles of different zones.

[0119] It should be noted that step 229 can be performed after the timing starts, or can be performed after the timing duration reaches the preset duration, and the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit this.

[0120] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another case picking exception handling method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure. The process of determining the second handling device in step 229 will be described in detail below in combination with FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5, the above step 229 includes step 2298 in step 2291 as shown below.

[0121] In step 2291, the running distance between each handling device of the plurality of handling devices of the inventory area and the first handling device is determined, and whether there is at least one to-be-exchanged handling device within the preset distance range is determined according to the running distance.

[0122] In some examples, the inventory area has a plurality of handling devices performing the case picking operation, which includes handling devices located in the same zone as the first handling device, and also includes handling devices located in different zones from the first handling device.

[0123] For example, the running distance between each handling device and the first handling device can be determined according to the position information of the first handling device and the position information of each handling device. The running distance can be the distance between each handling device and the first handling device, or the distance between the aisle where each handling device is located and the first aisle, or the distance between the aisle where each handling device is located and the first aisle.

[0124] In some examples, the control device can preset the preset distance range. The preset distance range can be set according to the needs, for example, the preset distance range can be set to 50m (i.e. 0 to 50m). That is, the running distance between any handling device and the first handling device is within the range of 0 to 50m, indicating that the running distance corresponding to the handling device is within the preset distance range.

[0125] In some examples, the running distances between each of the handling devices and the first handling device can be compared with the preset distance range, and it is determined whether each of the running distances is within the preset distance range, so as to determine at least one (e.g., one or more) preferred handling device within the preset distance range. That is, according to the running distance and the preset distance range, it is determined whether there is at least one handling device (i.e., a priority handling device) in the plurality of handling devices, the running distance between which and the first handling device is within the preset distance range.

[0126] Exemplarily, in the case where there is at least one priority handling device in the plurality of handling devices, it can be further determined whether there is a handling device to be exchanged in the at least one preferred handling device. The handling device to be exchanged includes a handling device whose abnormal taking number of times of taking the third container in the third aisle of the inventory area reaches the first number threshold, and the device state of the handling device to be exchanged is normal.

[0127] In some examples, the handling device to be exchanged is a handling device whose running distance with the first handling device is within the preset distance range, and whose abnormal taking number of times of taking the third container in the third aisle reaches the first number threshold, and whose device state is normal.

[0128] For example, the normal device state is used to indicate that the handling device to be exchanged can also perform normal taking operation on other containers to be taken in the third aisle within a preset time length in the case where the abnormal taking number of times of taking the third container reaches the first number threshold. That is, the handling device to be exchanged is a handling device in the plurality of handling devices, the running distance of which with the first handling device is within the preset distance range, and which satisfies the exchange condition. The number of the at least one handling device to be exchanged can be one or more.

[0129] It should be noted that the process of determining whether the other handling devices satisfy the exchange condition is similar to the process of determining whether the first handling device satisfies the exchange condition (e.g., steps 221 to 228), and thus will not be described herein again to avoid repetition.

[0130] Step 2292, in the case where there is one handling device to be exchanged within the preset distance range, the handling device to be exchanged is determined as the second handling device.

[0131] Step 2293, in the case where there are a plurality of handling devices to be exchanged within the preset distance range, the second handling device is determined in the plurality of handling devices to be exchanged according to the distance between each of the handling devices to be exchanged and the first handling device, and / or the priority of the remaining containers to be taken corresponding to each of the handling devices to be exchanged.

[0132] In some examples, the number of the at least one to-be-interchanged handling device is one, and the to-be-interchanged handling device can be determined as the second handling device. That is, the to-be-interchanged handling device is the handling device that needs to be interchanged with the first handling device.

[0133] In some examples, the number of the at least one to-be-interchanged handling device is multiple, and the second handling device can be further determined from the multiple to-be-interchanged handling devices.

[0134] For example, any to-be-interchanged handling device of the multiple to-be-interchanged handling devices can be determined as the second handling device; or the second handling device can be determined according to the distance (such as the running distance) between each to-be-interchanged handling device of the multiple to-be-interchanged handling devices and the first handling device; or the second handling device can be determined according to the priority of the remaining to-be-taken containers corresponding to each to-be-interchanged handling device; or the second handling device can be determined according to the distance between each to-be-interchanged handling device and the first handling device and the priority of the remaining to-be-taken containers corresponding to each to-be-interchanged handling device.

[0135] In some examples, the remaining to-be-taken container corresponding to the to-be-interchanged handling device can be the to-be-taken container that has not been taken by the to-be-interchanged handling device in the aisle where the to-be-interchanged handling device is located after satisfying the interchanging condition.

[0136] In some embodiments, in the multiple to-be-interchanged handling devices, the to-be-interchanged handling device closest to the first handling device and / or the to-be-interchanged handling device with the priority of the remaining to-be-taken container lower than the priority threshold can be determined as the second handling device.

[0137] In some examples, the to-be-interchanged handling device closest to the first handling device of the multiple to-be-interchanged handling devices can be determined as the second handling device to be interchanged with the first handling device. Wherein the running distance between each to-be-interchanged handling device of the multiple to-be-interchanged handling devices and the first handling device has been determined in the above step 2291, and thus the to-be-interchanged handling device with the minimum running distance, i.e., the to-be-interchanged handling device closest to the first handling device, can be determined as the second handling device according to the running distance between each to-be-interchanged handling device and the first handling device.

[0138] In other examples, the to-be-interchanged handling device with the priority of the remaining to-be-taken container lower than the priority threshold can be determined as the second handling device. After determining the priority of the remaining to-be-taken container corresponding to the to-be-interchanged handling device, the priority of each remaining to-be-taken container is compared with the priority threshold, and if the priority of the remaining to-be-taken container of the to-be-interchanged handling device is lower than the priority threshold, the to-be-taken container is determined as the second handling device. Wherein the priority threshold can be set according to the demand in advance, such as the priority threshold can be set to 90 points.

[0139] For example, in a case where the priorities of the remaining containers to be fetched in each container to be fetched are all lower than the priority threshold, the second carrying device can also be determined as the carrying device to be exchanged, which has a larger number of priorities of the remaining containers to be fetched lower than the priority threshold.

[0140] In yet some examples, the second carrying device can also be determined as the carrying device to be exchanged, which is closest to the first carrying device and has the priorities of the remaining containers to be fetched all lower than the priority threshold.

[0141] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an inventory area according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0142] As shown in FIG. 6, the inventory area 10 includes a plurality of carrying devices, such as carrying device A, carrying device B, carrying device C, carrying device D, carrying device E, carrying device F, carrying device G, and carrying device H. Wherein, according to the position of the carrying device A, when there is the carrying device B satisfying the exchange condition within the preset range (such as 50 m) corresponding to the carrying device A, the carrying device A and the carrying device B can be a group of carrying devices to be exchanged. Meanwhile, the carrying device C and the carrying device D can be another group of carrying devices to be exchanged.

[0143] As shown in FIG. 6, in the inventory area 10, two adjacent aisles can be divided into one partition, such as one gray area in FIG. 6. For example, a group of carrying devices to be exchanged (such as the carrying device A and the carrying device B, or the carrying device C and the carrying device D) can be located in different partitions.

[0144] Step 2294, in a case where there is no carrying device to be exchanged within the preset distance range, determining whether there is at least one candidate carrying device in the first partition corresponding to the first aisle.

[0145] For example, in a case where there is no any carrying device (i.e., no preferred carrying device) within the preset distance range corresponding to the first carrying device, or there is at least one carrying device within the preset range, but none of the at least one carrying device satisfies the exchange condition (i.e., the number of abnormal container fetching reaches the first number threshold, and the device state is normal), it can be determined that there is no carrying device to be exchanged within the preset range of the first carrying device.

[0146] In some examples, in a case where there is no carrying device to be exchanged within the preset distance range, it can be determined whether there is at least one candidate carrying device in the partition (i.e., the first partition) where the first carrying device is located. Wherein, the candidate carrying device is the carrying device performing the container fetching operation in any aisle of the first partition.

[0147] For example, the first partition further includes multiple passages in addition to the first passage, and some or all of the multiple passages can include a handling device performing the picking operation, which can be referred to as a candidate handling device. That is, the candidate handling device is a handling device other than the first handling device in the first partition.

[0148] It should be noted that the candidate handling device can be any handling device in the first partition that is normally performing the picking task. That is, the candidate handling device does not need to meet the condition of picking exception or the number of times of abnormal picking reaching the first threshold.

[0149] At step 2295, in the case where there is one candidate handling device in the first partition, the candidate handling device is determined as the second handling device.

[0150] At step 2296, in the case where there are multiple candidate handling devices in the first partition, the second handling device is determined from the multiple candidate handling devices according to the distance between each candidate handling device and the first handling device, and / or the priority of the remaining to-be-picked containers corresponding to each candidate handling device.

[0151] In some examples, the number of candidate handling devices in the first partition is one, and the candidate handling device can be determined as the second handling device. That is, the candidate handling device is the handling device that needs to be replaced with the first handling device.

[0152] In some examples, the number of candidate handling devices in the first partition is multiple, and the second handling device can be further determined from the multiple candidate handling devices.

[0153] For example, any candidate handling device from the multiple candidate handling devices can be determined as the second handling device; or the second handling device can be determined according to the distance (such as the running distance) between each candidate handling device and the first handling device; or the second handling device can be determined according to the priority of the remaining to-be-picked containers corresponding to each candidate handling device; or the second handling device can be determined according to the distance between each candidate handling device and the first handling device and the priority of the remaining to-be-picked containers corresponding to each candidate handling device.

[0154] In some examples, the candidate handling device closest to the first handling device can be determined as the second handling device; and / or the candidate handling device whose priority of the remaining to-be-picked containers is lower than the priority threshold can be determined as the second handling device.

[0155] It should be noted that the second passage where the second handling device determined by steps 2294 to 2296 is located and the first passage are two passages in the first partition.

[0156] Continuing to refer to FIG. 6, the conveying device E and the conveying device F are two conveying devices of the same partition, in the case that the conveying device E occurs the case of abnormal picking, there is no conveying device to be exchanged in the preset distance range of the conveying device E, the conveying device F can be determined as the conveying device to be exchanged with the conveying device E. That is, the conveying device E and the conveying device F are a group of conveying devices to be exchanged.

[0157] Step 2297, in the case that there is no candidate conveying device in the first partition, it is determined whether there is at least one candidate conveying device in a second partition in the plurality of partitions.

[0158] Exemplarily, there is no any conveying device in the first partition except the first conveying device, the second conveying device can be further determined in other partitions of the storage area. For example, it can be determined whether there is a candidate conveying device in a second partition in other partitions, wherein the second partition is other than the first partition in the plurality of partitions, and the candidate conveying device is a conveying device performing picking operation in any aisle of the second partition.

[0159] Step 2298, in the case that there is at least one candidate conveying device in the second partition, the second conveying device is determined from the at least one candidate conveying device according to the distance between each candidate conveying device and the first conveying device, and / or the priority of the remaining to-be-picked containers corresponding to each candidate conveying device.

[0160] In some examples, the number of the at least one candidate conveying device in the second partition is one, and the candidate conveying device can be determined as the second conveying device. That is, the candidate conveying device is the conveying device that needs to be replaced with the first conveying device.

[0161] In some examples, the number of the at least one candidate conveying device in the second partition is a plurality, and the second conveying device can be further determined from the plurality of candidate conveying devices.

[0162] Exemplarily, any candidate conveying device in the plurality of candidate conveying devices can be randomly determined as the second conveying device; or, the second conveying device can be determined according to the distance (such as the running distance) between each candidate conveying device in the plurality of candidate conveying devices and the first conveying device; or, the second conveying device can be determined according to the priority of the remaining to-be-picked containers corresponding to each candidate conveying device; or, the second conveying device can be determined according to the distance between each candidate conveying device and the first conveying device and the priority of the remaining to-be-picked containers corresponding to each candidate conveying device.

[0163] In some examples, the candidate handling device closest to the first handling device can also be determined as the second handling device, and / or the candidate handling device with the priority of the remaining to-be-taken container being lower than the priority threshold can also be determined as the second handling device.

[0164] For example, the second partition can be a partition adjacent to the first partition, and the second aisle of the second partition where the second handling device is located can be an aisle adjacent to the first aisle.

[0165] With reference back to FIG. 6, in the case that the handling device G has the case picking exception, there is no to-be-exchanged handling device within the preset distance range of the handling device G, and there is also no other handling device (i.e., candidate handling device) in the partition where the handling device G is located, the handling device H in the adjacent aisle of the aisle where the handling device G is located can be determined as the handling device to be exchanged with the handling device G. That is, the handling device G and the handling device H are a group of to-be-exchanged handling devices. The partition where the handling device H is located is different from the partition where the handling device G is located.

[0166] The case picking exception processing method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can select the most suitable second handling device as the handling device to be exchanged with the first handling device in the inventory area. The second handling device can be a handling device that meets the preset distance range and meets the exchange condition, can also be a handling device in the same partition as the first handling device, or can also be a handling device in the nearest partition different from the first handling device, so as to realize the exchange of handling devices.

[0167] For example, after the second handling device to be exchanged with the first handling device is determined, the first handling device and the second handling device can be exchanged, i.e., steps 230 and 240 described below are continued to be executed.

[0168] Step 230: control the second handling device to move from the second aisle to the first aisle, and perform the case picking operation on the first container in the first aisle and perform the case picking operation on the first to-be-taken container in the first aisle.

[0169] Step 240: control the first handling device to move from the first aisle to the second aisle, and perform the case picking operation on the second to-be-taken container in the second aisle.

[0170] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the execution order of steps 230 and 240, for example, step 230 can be executed before step 240, can also be executed after step 240, or can also be executed simultaneously with step 240, and the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit this.

[0171] In some examples, after determining the second handling device, the control device can generate a first scheduling instruction and a second scheduling instruction, and send the first scheduling instruction to the second handling device and the second scheduling instruction to the first handling device. The first scheduling instruction and the second scheduling instruction respectively include a corresponding movement path (such as an optimal movement path).

[0172] For example, the second handling device moves from the second aisle where it is currently located to the first aisle according to the first scheduling instruction, and the first handling device moves from the first aisle where it is currently located to the second aisle according to the second scheduling instruction. For example, the control device can control the second handling device to move to the first aisle, and then control the first handling device to move to the second aisle. Alternatively, the control device can also control the second handling device and the first handling device to move at the same time.

[0173] In some examples, in order to improve the exchange efficiency, the second handling device can be controlled to move to the first aisle at the same time as the first handling device moves to the second aisle. In this case, the movement path of the first handling device can overlap with the movement path of the second handling device. In order to avoid conflicts between the first handling device and the second handling device during the exchange process, causing congestion and deadlock, the first handling device or the second handling device needs to be scheduled to avoid.

[0174] In some embodiments, after controlling the first handling device to move from the first aisle to the corresponding avoidance point of the first aisle, the second handling device is controlled to move from the second aisle to the first aisle; and the first handling device is controlled to move from the first aisle to the second aisle, including: controlling the first handling device to move from the avoidance point to the second aisle.

[0175] In some examples, in the case where the movement paths of the first handling device and the second handling device overlap, the first handling device can be controlled to move to an avoidance point (such as a first avoidance point) first, and then the second handling device is controlled to pass through the avoidance point, i.e. to avoid the second handling device, and then the first handling device is controlled to continue to move to the second aisle, thereby avoiding the problem of deadlock or congestion between the first handling device and the second handling device.

[0176] For example, the first avoidance point can be a door position corresponding to the first aisle. Each aisle can correspond to a door position, and the door position can be arranged in the adjacent area of two aisles. For another example, the first avoidance point can also be a pre-set area specially used for avoidance, such as the first avoidance point can be arranged near the first aisle.

[0177] It should be noted that in the case that the moving paths of the first conveying device and the second conveying device overlap, the second conveying device can be controlled to move to the second avoidance point first, and then the first conveying device is controlled to pass through the second avoidance point, i.e., to avoid the first conveying device, and then the second conveying device is controlled to continue to move to the first lane.

[0178] Exemplarily, in the process that the second conveying device moves from the second lane to the first lane, the second conveying device can also be controlled to move to the rotatable position, and after turning at the rotatable position, move to the first lane. Through turning, the second conveying device can avoid the problem of abnormal picking of containers caused by the direction of the second conveying device.

[0179] In some examples, the rotatable position includes an intersection position of each lane in the inventory area, or a position in the high-speed running channel between the inventory area and the picking area. Since the intersection of each lane or the space of the high-speed running channel is relatively large, the intersection position of the running channel or the position in the running channel is used as the rotatable position to realize the turning of the conveying device.

[0180] Exemplarily, after the second conveying device moves to the second lane, the first container can be picked in the second lane, and after the second conveying device successfully picks the first container, the second conveying device can continue to pick other containers to be picked (i.e., first containers to be picked) in the first lane.

[0181] In some examples, after the first conveying device moves to the second lane, the second conveying device can pick the containers to be picked (i.e., second containers to be picked) in the second lane. Wherein, the second conveying device is a to-be-interchanged conveying device, and the second containers to be picked can be the containers to be picked in the second lane for which the second conveying device performs picking abnormally, and the remaining containers to be picked; the second conveying device is a candidate conveying device or an alternative conveying device, and the second containers to be picked can be the remaining containers to be picked in the second lane for which the second conveying device performs picking.

[0182] In some embodiments, in the case that the corresponding partition of the first lane and the corresponding partition of the second lane are different, after controlling the second conveying device to move from the second lane to the first lane, the mapping relationship between the second conveying device and the corresponding partition of the second lane is released, and a mapping relationship between the second conveying device and the corresponding partition of the first lane is established. After controlling the first conveying device to move from the first lane to the second lane, the mapping relationship between the first conveying device and the corresponding partition of the first lane is released, and a mapping relationship between the first conveying device and the corresponding partition of the second lane is established.

[0183] Exemplarily, in the case that the corresponding partition of the first lane and the corresponding partition of the second lane are different, the release or establishment of the mapping relationship between the partition and the conveying device can be performed.

[0184] In some examples, a mapping relationship is set between each zone and the handling device in each zone. The RMS can store the mapping relationship between each zone and the handling device in each zone (which can be referred to as a mapping relationship table below), and update the mapping relationship table when the handling devices in the zones are interchanged.

[0185] In some examples, in a case where it is determined that the first handling device and the second handling device need to be interchanged in the aisle, the RMS can determine, according to the mapping relationship table, whether the first aisle corresponding zone and the second aisle corresponding zone belong to the same zone. In a case where it is determined that the first aisle corresponding zone and the second aisle corresponding zone are not the same zone, after controlling the second handling device to move from the second aisle to the first aisle, since the zone where the second handling device is located changes, it is necessary to remove the mapping relationship between the second handling device and the second aisle corresponding zone, and establish the mapping relationship between the second handling device and the first aisle corresponding zone, and update the mapping relationship table.

[0186] In some examples, in a case where the first handling device is controlled to move from the first aisle to the second aisle, i.e., the first handling device moves from the first zone where the first aisle is located to the zone where the second aisle is located, since the zone where the first handling device is located changes, the mapping relationship between the first handling device and the first aisle corresponding zone can be removed, and the mapping relationship between the first handling device and the second aisle corresponding zone is established, and the mapping relationship table is updated.

[0187] For example, the handling devices in the same zone can move in multiple aisles in the zone to perform the picking operation on the to-be-picked containers in the aisles.

[0188] In some examples, in a case where the RMS can determine, according to the mapping relationship table, that the first aisle corresponding zone and the second aisle corresponding zone are the same zone, since the zones where the first handling device and the second handling device are located are both changed, the RMS does not need to unbind and recreate the mapping relationship between the second handling device and the zone corresponding thereto, nor does it need to unbind and recreate the mapping relationship between the first handling device and the zone corresponding thereto.

[0189] The container taking abnormality processing method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can control the first handling device to re-perform the container taking operation on the first container until the number of abnormal container taking operations exceeds the first number threshold. When the number of abnormal container taking operations exceeds the first number threshold and the first handling device meets the exchange condition, a second handling device that replaces the first handling device is determined in the storage area, and the second handling device is controlled to move to the first aisle to perform the container taking operation on the first container. At the same time, the first handling device is controlled to move to the second aisle where the second handling device is located, and the container taking operation is continued to be performed on the remaining to-be-taken containers in the second aisle. In the case of abnormal container taking operation of the handling device, the retry mechanism is first adopted, and when the retry mechanism still cannot normally take out the first container, the robot exchange mechanism is adopted to replace another handling device to continue to perform the container taking operation on the first container, thereby realizing automatic abnormality processing, quickly recovering task execution, reducing manual intervention and waiting time, and improving the overall operation efficiency and stability of the warehouse system.

[0190] In some embodiments, after the second handling device exchanges the aisle with the first handling device, the number of abnormal container taking operations of the second handling device on the first container in the first aisle reaches the first number threshold, and the exchange condition is met, a third handling device that exchanges with the second handling device is determined among the plurality of handling devices in the storage area; when the exchange number reaches the second number threshold, the storage location where the first container is located is locked, and an abnormal prompt information is output.

[0191] In some examples, after the second handling device reaches the first aisle, the container taking operation can be performed on the first container in the first aisle, which may be normal or abnormal. If the container taking operation is normal, the second handling device can continue to perform the container taking operation on other to-be-taken containers; if the container taking operation is abnormal, the second handling device can be controlled to perform the container taking operation on the first container again according to the retry mechanism until the number of abnormal container taking operations reaches the first number threshold, and then a third handling device that exchanges with the second handling device is determined again according to the robot replacement mechanism. The retry mechanism and the robot replacement mechanism are similar to step 220 in the above embodiments, and will not be described again here to avoid repetition.

[0192] For example, for the same container (such as the first container), after the handling devices exchanged for multiple times cannot normally complete the container taking operation, the storage location where the first container is located can be locked, i.e., the container taking operation on the first container is no longer performed. At the same time, the control device can control the output device in the warehouse system to output an abnormal prompt information. The abnormal prompt information is used to prompt that the first container is abnormal and needs manual intervention for processing.

[0193] In some examples, the second number threshold can be preset as an upper limit of the number of times of interchanging the carrying device. When the number of times of interchanging reaches the second number threshold, the de-boxing operation on the first container does not need to be performed again.

[0194] It should be noted that the de-boxing operation performed by the second carrying device on the first container in the first aisle is normal, and the de-boxing operation performed by the second carrying device on other to-be-taken containers in the first aisle is abnormal, and the abnormality can also be handled according to steps 210 to 240 in the above embodiment.

[0195] The de-boxing abnormality handling method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure sets an upper limit of the number of times of interchanging the carrying device (i.e., the second number threshold), so as to avoid endless replacement of the carrying device to perform the de-boxing operation on the same abnormal container. When the number of times of de-boxing abnormality reaches the second number threshold, the handling is performed in a manual intervention manner, so as to combine the automatic abnormality handling and the manual abnormality handling, and further improve the abnormality handling efficiency.

[0196] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of another de-boxing abnormality handling method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure. In the following, the carrying device is taken as a robot, the container is taken as a box, the de-boxing operation on the container is taken as a de-boxing task, and the de-boxing abnormality handling method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is described.

[0197] Step 701: A first robot performs a target de-boxing task on a target box on a target location.

[0198] Step 702: Whether the execution of the target de-boxing task is normal.

[0199] For example, in a case where the execution of the target de-boxing task is normal, step 703 is continued; in a case where the execution of the target de-boxing task is abnormal, step 704 is executed.

[0200] Step 703: The first robot continues to perform other de-boxing tasks.

[0201] For example, after the first robot successfully takes out the target box, the first robot can continue to perform other de-boxing tasks corresponding to the current aisle.

[0202] Step 704: Whether the target location reaches an upper limit of a retry number.

[0203] For example, in a case where the first robot fails to perform the target de-boxing task, a number of times of failure to perform the target de-boxing task is determined, and whether the number of times of failure to perform the target de-boxing task reaches the upper limit of the retry number is determined. Whether the target location reaches the upper limit of the retry number is whether the number of times of failure to perform the target de-boxing task reaches the upper limit of the retry number.

[0204] If the target bin does not reach the upper limit of the number of retries, step 705 is continued; if the target bin reaches the upper limit of the number of retries, step 708 is performed.

[0205] In step 705, the first robot reports abnormal retry information to the RMS.

[0206] For example, if the target bin does not reach the upper limit of the number of retries, the first robot needs to re-perform the target picking task on the target box. Therefore, the first robot can send abnormal retry information corresponding to the target picking task failure to the RMS, and the abnormal retry information includes offset correction information.

[0207] In step 706, the RMS marks the target picking task and inserts a moving task to control the first robot to move two cells.

[0208] For example, the RMS marks the target picking task according to the offset correction information, generates a moving task, and controls the first robot to move two cells in the target direction from the current position according to the moving task.

[0209] In step 707, the RMS arranges a retry task for the first robot to perform the target picking task.

[0210] For example, the first robot returns to the current position after moving two cells, and re-performs the target picking task on the target box at the current position. After the first robot performs the retry task on the target container, step 702 is continued.

[0211] In step 708, whether the target picking task is a high-priority picking task.

[0212] For example, if it is determined that the target bin reaches the upper limit of the number of retries, it is further determined whether the priority of the target picking task is high. The priority of the target picking task can be determined according to the priority of the target box, or can be determined according to the priority of the order corresponding to the target picking task.

[0213] If the target picking task is not a high-priority picking task, step 709 is continued; if the target picking task is a high-priority picking task, step 711 is performed.

[0214] In step 709, whether there is another high-priority picking task in the current lane.

[0215] For example, if the target picking task is not a high-priority picking task, it can be further determined whether there is another high-priority picking task in the lane where the first robot is located.

[0216] If there is another high-priority bin picking task in the current aisle, step 710 is continued; if there is no high-priority bin picking task in the current aisle, step 711 is performed.

[0217] In step 710, the first robot performs the high-priority bin picking task in priority.

[0218] For example, if there is another high-priority bin picking task in the aisle, the first robot performs the high-priority bin picking task.

[0219] In step 711, timing is started, and the first robot continues to perform other bin picking tasks until the first robot interchanges the aisle timing task is triggered.

[0220] For example, timing is started when there is no high-priority bin picking task in the aisle, and during the timing, the first robot continues to perform other bin picking tasks. When the timing duration reaches the preset duration, the robot interchanges the aisle timing task is triggered.

[0221] In step 712, a second robot that replaces the first robot is determined, and a robot replacement process is performed.

[0222] It should be noted that step 712 is similar to step 229 in the above embodiment, and to avoid repetition, it will not be described here.

[0223] In step 713, the second robot arrives at the current aisle and performs the target bin picking task marked in priority.

[0224] In step 714, whether the target bin picking task is performed normally.

[0225] For example, if the target bin picking task of the second robot is normal, step 715 is continued; if the target bin picking task of the second robot is abnormal, step 716 is performed.

[0226] In step 715, the second robot continues to perform other bin picking tasks in the current aisle.

[0227] In step 716, whether the upper limit of the number of robot replacements is reached.

[0228] For example, if the upper limit of the number of robot replacements is reached, step 717 is continued; if the upper limit of the number of robot replacements is not reached, step 718 is performed.

[0229] In step 717, a third robot that replaces the second robot is determined, and a robot interchanging process is performed.

[0230] In step 718, the target bin location is locked, and an abnormal prompt information is output.

[0231] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a box taking exception processing apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 8, the box taking exception processing apparatus 800 includes a receiving module 810, a control module 820 and a determination module 830. Wherein:

[0232] The receiving module 810 is configured to receive the exception box taking information sent by the handling device.

[0233] The control module 820 is configured to, in a case that the first handling device in the warehouse system performs the box taking operation on the first container in the first lane of the inventory area, and the exception box taking information sent by the first handling device is received, control the first handling device to perform the box taking operation on the first container again according to the exception box taking information.

[0234] The determination module 830 is configured to, in a case that the number of times of the exception box taking operation performed by the first handling device on the first container reaches a first number threshold, and the first handling device meets an exchange condition, determine a second handling device from the plurality of handling devices in the inventory area; wherein the second handling device is a handling device performing the box taking operation on a second container in a second lane of the inventory area.

[0235] The control module 820 is configured to control the second handling device to move from the second lane to the first lane, and perform the box taking operation on the first container in the first lane, and perform the box taking operation on the first container to be taken in the first lane; control the first handling device to move from the first lane to the second lane, and perform the box taking operation on the second container to be taken in the second lane.

[0236] In some embodiments, the control module 820 is configured to: determine the number of times of the exception box taking operation performed by the first handling device on the first container; in a case that the number of times of the exception box taking operation does not reach the first number threshold, control the first handling device to move a preset distance from the first position to the second position and return to the first position from the second position in the first lane according to the offset correction information in the exception box taking information; control the first handling device to perform the box taking operation on the first container again in the second position.

[0237] In some embodiments, the box taking exception processing apparatus 800 further includes a timing apparatus; wherein the determination module 830 is further configured to: determine the priority of the first container. The timing apparatus is configured to: start timing in a case that the priority of the first container is higher than a preset priority, and the number of times of the exception box taking operation performed by the first handling device on the first container reaches the first number threshold. The control module 820 is configured to: identify the storage location where the first container is located, and control the first handling device to perform the box taking operation on a third container to be taken in the first lane in a case that the timing duration does not reach a preset duration. The determination module 830 is configured to determine that the first handling device meets the exchange condition in a case that the timing duration reaches the preset duration.

[0238] In some embodiments, the determining module 830 is further configured to determine whether there is at least one target container in the first aisle whose priority is higher than the preset priority, in the case that the priority of the first container is lower than the preset priority. The control module 820 is configured to control the first handling device to perform a picking operation on the at least one target container in the first aisle, and identify the storage location of the first container, in the case that there is at least one target container in the first aisle. The timing device is configured to start timing in the case that the first handling device completes the picking operation on the at least one target container. The determining module 830 is configured to determine that the first handling device satisfies the exchange condition in the case that the timing duration reaches a preset duration.

[0239] In some embodiments, the control device is configured to identify the storage location of the first container. The timing device is configured to start timing in the case that the first aisle does not have at least one target container, and the number of abnormal picking times of the first handling device performing the picking operation on the first container reaches a first number threshold. The determining module 830 is configured to determine that the exchange condition is satisfied in the case that the timing duration reaches a preset duration.

[0240] In some embodiments, the determining module 830 is configured to determine the operating distance between each handling device of the plurality of handling devices of the inventory area and the first handling device, and determine whether there is at least one to-be-exchanged handling device within a preset distance range according to the operating distances. The to-be-exchanged handling device includes a handling device that performs a picking operation on a third container in a third aisle of the inventory area and the number of abnormal picking times of the handling device reaches a first number threshold, and the device state of the to-be-exchanged handling device is normal. In the case that there is one to-be-exchanged handling device within the preset distance range, the to-be-exchanged handling device is determined as the second handling device. In the case that there are a plurality of to-be-exchanged handling devices within the preset distance range, the second handling device is determined from the plurality of to-be-exchanged handling devices according to the distance between each to-be-exchanged handling device and the first handling device, and / or the priority of the remaining to-be-picked containers corresponding to each to-be-exchanged handling device.

[0241] In some embodiments, the determining module 830 is configured to determine, from the plurality of to-be-exchanged handling devices, the to-be-exchanged handling device that is closest to the first handling device, and / or the priority of the remaining to-be-picked containers of the to-be-exchanged handling device is lower than a priority threshold, as the second handling device.

[0242] In some embodiments, the determining module 830 is further configured to: in the case that there is no to-be-interchanged handling device in the preset distance range, determine whether there is at least one candidate handling device in the first partition corresponding to the first lane; the candidate handling device is a handling device performing a case picking operation in any lane of the first partition; in the case that there is one candidate handling device in the first partition, determine the candidate handling device as the second handling device; in the case that there are multiple candidate handling devices in the first partition, determine the second handling device from the multiple candidate handling devices according to the distance between each candidate handling device and the first handling device, and / or the priority of the remaining to-be-picked containers corresponding to each candidate handling device.

[0243] In some embodiments, the determining module 830 is further configured to: in the case that there is no candidate handling device in the first partition, determine whether there is at least one alternative handling device in a second partition of the multiple partitions; the alternative handling device is a handling device performing a case picking operation in any lane of the second partition; in the case that there is at least one alternative handling device in the second partition, determine the second handling device from the at least one alternative handling device according to the distance between each alternative handling device and the first handling device, and / or the priority of the remaining to-be-picked containers corresponding to each alternative handling device.

[0244] In some embodiments, the case picking exception processing apparatus 800 further comprises an updating module configured to: in the case that the partition corresponding to the first lane and the partition corresponding to the second lane are different partitions, after controlling the second handling device to move from the second lane to the first lane, cancel the mapping relationship between the second handling device and the partition corresponding to the second lane, and establish a mapping relationship between the second handling device and the partition corresponding to the first lane; after controlling the first handling device to move from the first lane to the second lane, cancel the mapping relationship between the first handling device and the partition corresponding to the first lane, and establish a mapping relationship between the first handling device and the partition corresponding to the second lane.

[0245] In some embodiments, the control module 820 is configured to: after controlling the first handling device to move from the first lane to the preset avoidance point, control the second handling device to move from the second lane to the first lane; control the first handling device to move from the avoidance point to the second lane.

[0246] In some embodiments, the control module 820 is configured to: determine, according to the exception case picking information, a case picking exception type of the first handling device; in the case that the case picking exception type of the first handling device is a first exception type, control the first handling device to perform a case picking operation on the first container again; the first exception type refers to a case picking failure caused by a container exception.

[0247] In some embodiments, the case taking exception handling apparatus 800 further comprises an exception reporting module; the determining module 830 is further configured to: in a case where the number of times of exception case taking of the second handling device performing the case taking operation on the first container in the first aisle reaches a first number threshold, and the second handling device meets the exchange condition, determining, from the plurality of handling devices in the inventory area, a third handling device to exchange with the second handling device. The exception reporting module is configured to: in a case where the number of times of exchange reaches a second number threshold, lock the storage location where the first container is located, and output an exception prompt information.

[0248] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the electronic device comprises 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 case taking exception handling method in the above embodiments.

[0249] As shown in FIG. 9, the electronic device 1000 comprises a processor 1001 and a memory 1002. The electronic device 1000 may, for example, further comprise a communications interface 1003 and a communications bus 1004.

[0250] The processor 1001, the memory 1002, and the communications interface 1003 complete communications with each other through the communications bus 1004. The communications interface 1003 is configured to communicate with network elements such as clients or other servers.

[0251] In some embodiments, the processor 1001 is configured to execute the program 1005, and specifically can execute the related steps in the case taking exception handling method embodiments described above. Specifically, the program 1005 can comprise program code including computer executable instructions.

[0252] The processor 1001 may, for example, be a central processing unit CPU, or an application specific integrated circuit ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement embodiments of the present disclosure. The one or more processors of the electronic device 1000 may, for example, be processors of the same type, such as one or more CPUs; or processors of different types, such as one or more CPUs and one or more ASICs.

[0253] In some embodiments, the memory 1002 is used to store the program 1005. The memory 1002 can include a high-speed RAM memory, and can also include a non-volatile memory (NVM), such as at least one disk memory.

[0254] The program 1005 can specifically be called by the processor 1001 to make the electronic device 1000 perform the operation of the case taking exception handling method.

[0255] The computer readable storage medium provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure stores at least one executable instruction, and the executable instruction makes the electronic device 1000 perform the case taking exception handling method in the above embodiments when the electronic device 1000 runs.

[0256] The executable instruction can specifically be used to make the electronic device 1000 perform the operation of the case taking exception handling method.

[0257] For example, the computer readable storage medium can be a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, and an optical data storage device, etc.

[0258] In some embodiments, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide 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, and when the program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer performs the case taking exception handling method described in any of the above embodiments.

[0259] In some embodiments, the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the case taking exception handling method described in any of the above embodiments can be implemented.

[0260] The beneficial effects of the case taking exception handling device, the electronic device, the computer readable storage medium, the computer program product and the computer program provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can refer to the beneficial effects of the case taking exception handling method provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0261] It is to be understood that the terminology "first", "second", etc. that is used in the disclosure simply serves to differentiate one entity or operation from another one, and does not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprising", "containing", or any other similar words are intended to encompass non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not necessarily include those elements only, but can include other elements not expressly listed, or can include elements inherent in such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without more limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element.

[0262] Each of the embodiments in the disclosure is described in a related manner, and the same or similar parts between the embodiments can be referred to each other. Each of the embodiments focuses on the difference from other embodiments. In particular, for the device embodiments, since they are basically similar to the method embodiments, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the part of the method embodiments.

[0263] The logic and / or steps represented in the flowcharts or otherwise described herein, for example, can be considered as a list of executable instructions for implementing logic functions, and can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, a system including a processor, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions, or in conjunction with these instruction execution systems, apparatus, or devices.

[0264] For the disclosure, "computer-readable medium" can be any device that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transmit programs for use by an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, or in conjunction with these instruction execution systems, apparatus, or devices.

[0265] More specific examples (non-exhaustive list) of computer-readable medium include the following: electrical connections having one or more wires (electronic devices), portable computer diskette (magnetic devices), random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), fiber optic devices, and portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM).

[0266] Further, a computer readable medium can even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, for instance via an optical scanner, then compiled, interpreted, or otherwise processed, as necessary, to create a machine executable form, and then stored in a computer memory. It will be understood that parts of this disclosure can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

[0267] In the embodiments described above, the various steps and methods can be implemented in software or firmware stored in memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system. For example, if implemented in hardware, as in another embodiment, any of the following technologies known in the art, or a combination thereof, can be used: discrete logic circuitry having logic gates for implementing logic functions upon data signals, application specific integrated circuits having appropriate combinational logic gates, programmable gate arrays (PGA), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and the like.

[0268] The embodiments of the disclosure described above do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for handling an abnormal picking operation, comprising: performing, by a first handling device in a warehouse system, a picking operation on a first container in a first aisle of a storage area, and receiving abnormal picking information sent by the first handling device, wherein, according to the abnormal picking information, the first handling device is controlled to perform a picking operation on the first container again; when the number of abnormal picking operations performed by the first handling device on the first container reaches a first threshold, and the first handling device meets an exchange condition, determining a second handling device from a plurality of handling devices in the storage area, wherein the second handling device is a handling device performing a picking operation on a second container in a second aisle of the storage area; controlling the second handling device to move from the second aisle to the first aisle, and perform a picking operation on the first container in the first aisle, and perform a picking operation on a first to-be-picked container in the first aisle; controlling the first handling device to move from the first aisle to the second aisle, and perform a picking operation on a second to-be-picked container in the second aisle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: determining the number of abnormal picking operations performed by the first handling device on the first container; when the number of abnormal picking operations does not reach the first threshold, controlling the first handling device to move a preset distance from a first position to a second position in the first aisle according to offset correction information in the abnormal picking information, and return from the second position to the first position; controlling the first handling device to perform a picking operation on the first container again at the first position.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising: determining the priority of the first container; when the priority of the first container is higher than a preset priority, and the number of abnormal picking operations performed by the first handling device on the first container reaches the first threshold, identifying the storage location of the first container, and starting a timer; when the timer duration does not reach a preset duration, controlling the first handling device to perform a picking operation on a third to-be-picked container in the first aisle; when the timer duration reaches the preset duration, determining that the first handling device meets the exchange condition.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: when the priority of the first container is lower than the preset priority, determining whether there is at least one target container in the first aisle whose priority is higher than the preset priority; when there is at least one target container in the first aisle, controlling the first handling device to perform a picking operation on the at least one target container in the first aisle; when the first handling device completes the picking operation on the at least one target container, identifying the storage location of the first container, and starting a timer; when the timer duration reaches the preset duration, determining that the first handling device meets the exchange condition.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: in a case where the first lane does not have the at least one target container and the number of abnormal bin picking operations performed by the first handling device on the first container reaches the first threshold, identifying a storage location where the first container is located and starting a timer; in a case where a duration of the timer reaches the preset duration, determining that the first handling device satisfies the exchange condition.

6. The method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein, The determining a second handling device from the plurality of handling devices in the inventory area comprises: determining a running distance between each handling device of the plurality of handling devices in the inventory area and the first handling device; determining, according to each running distance, whether there is at least one handling device to be exchanged within a preset distance range; wherein the handling device to be exchanged includes a handling device that performs an abnormal bin picking operation on a third container in a third lane of the inventory area and has a normal device state; in a case where there is one handling device to be exchanged within the preset distance range, determining the handling device to be exchanged as the second handling device; in a case where there are a plurality of handling devices to be exchanged within the preset distance range, determining the second handling device from the plurality of handling devices to be exchanged according to a distance between each handling device to be exchanged and the first handling device, and / or a priority of a remaining container to be picked by each handling device to be exchanged.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The determining the second handling device from the plurality of handling devices to be exchanged according to the distance between each handling device to be exchanged and the first handling device, and / or the priority of the remaining container to be picked by each handling device to be exchanged comprises: in the plurality of handling devices to be exchanged, determining a handling device to be exchanged that is closest to the first handling device, and / or has a priority of a remaining container to be picked that is lower than a priority threshold as the second handling device.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising: in a case where there is no handling device to be exchanged within the preset distance range, determining whether there is at least one candidate handling device in a first subzone corresponding to the first lane; wherein the candidate handling device is a handling device that performs a bin picking operation in any lane of the first subzone; in a case where there is one candidate handling device in the first subzone, determining the candidate handling device as the second handling device; in a case where there are a plurality of candidate handling devices in the first subzone, determining the second handling device from the plurality of candidate handling devices according to a distance between each candidate handling device and the first handling device, and / or a priority of a remaining container to be picked by each candidate handling device.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: in a case where the candidate handling device does not exist in the first partition, determining whether at least one candidate handling device exists in a second partition of the plurality of partitions, wherein the candidate handling device is a handling device performing a bin picking operation in any aisle of the second partition; in a case where the at least one candidate handling device exists in the second partition, determining the second handling device from the at least one candidate handling device according to a distance between each of the candidate handling devices and the first handling device, and / or a priority of a remaining to-be-picked container corresponding to each of the candidate handling devices.

10. The method of any one of claims 1-9, further comprising: in a case where the first aisle corresponding partition and the second aisle corresponding partition are determined to be different partitions, after controlling the second handling device to move from the second aisle to the first aisle, canceling a mapping relationship between the second handling device and the second aisle corresponding partition, and establishing a mapping relationship between the second handling device and the first aisle corresponding partition; after controlling the first handling device to move from the first aisle to the second aisle, canceling a mapping relationship between the first handling device and the first aisle corresponding partition, and establishing a mapping relationship between the first handling device and the second aisle corresponding partition.

11. The method of any one of claims 1-10, wherein, the controlling the second handling device to move from the second aisle to the first aisle comprises: controlling the first handling device to move from the first aisle to a preset avoidance point, and controlling the second handling device to move from the second aisle to the first aisle; the controlling the first handling device to move from the first aisle to the second aisle comprises: controlling the first handling device to move from the avoidance point to the second aisle.

12. The method of any one of claims 1-11, wherein, the controlling the first handling device to perform the bin picking operation on the first container again according to the abnormal bin picking information comprises: determining a bin picking abnormality type of the first handling device according to the abnormal bin picking information; in a case where the bin picking abnormality type of the first handling device is a first abnormality type, controlling the first handling device to perform the bin picking operation on the first container again; wherein the first abnormality type refers to an abnormality of bin picking failure caused by a container abnormality.

13. The method of any one of claims 1-12, wherein, after the controlling the second handling device to move from the second aisle to the first aisle, the method further comprises: in a case where an abnormal bin picking number of the second handling device performing the bin picking operation on the first container in the first aisle reaches the first number threshold, and the second handling device satisfies an exchange condition, determining a third handling device to exchange with the second handling device from a plurality of handling devices of the inventory area; in a case where an exchange number reaches a second number threshold, locking a storage location where the first container is located, and outputting an abnormal prompt information.

14. A warehouse system, comprising: a plurality of handling devices including a first handling device and a second handling device; The inventory area includes a plurality of aisles, and the handling device performs a picking operation on a to-be-picked container in the aisles; wherein the plurality of aisles include a first aisle where the first handling device is located and a second aisle where the second handling device is located; The first handling device is configured to send abnormal picking information during the picking operation on the first container in the first aisle; The control device is configured to generate a first picking instruction according to the abnormal picking information; The first handling device is configured to perform the picking operation on the first container again according to the first picking instruction; The control device is configured to determine a second handling device among a plurality of handling devices in the inventory area and generate a first scheduling instruction and a second scheduling instruction when the number of abnormal picking operations of the first handling device on the first container reaches a first number threshold and the first handling device meets an exchange condition; wherein the second handling device is a handling device that performs a picking operation on a second container in a second aisle of the inventory area; The second handling device is configured to move from the second aisle to the first aisle according to the first scheduling instruction, perform the picking operation on the first container in the first aisle, and perform the picking operation on a first to-be-picked container in the first aisle; The first handling device is configured to move from the first aisle to the second aisle according to the second scheduling instruction, and perform the picking operation on a second to-be-picked container in the second aisle.

15. A picking abnormality processing device, comprising: A receiving module configured to receive abnormal picking information sent by a handling device; A control module configured to control a first handling device in a warehouse system to perform a picking operation on a first container in a first aisle of an inventory area again according to abnormal picking information sent by the first handling device when the first handling device performs the picking operation on the first container in the first aisle of the inventory area and receives the abnormal picking information; A determination module configured to determine a second handling device among a plurality of handling devices in the inventory area when the number of abnormal picking operations of the first handling device on the first container reaches a first number threshold and the first handling device meets an exchange condition; wherein the second handling device is a handling device that performs a picking operation on a second container in a second aisle of the inventory area; The control module is configured to control the second handling device to move from the second aisle to the first aisle, perform the picking operation on the first container in the first aisle, and perform the picking operation on a first to-be-picked container in the first aisle; and control the first handling device to move from the first aisle to the second aisle, and perform the picking operation on a second to-be-picked container in the second aisle.

16. An electronic device, comprising: 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 case picking exception handling method according to any one of claims 1-13.

17. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the case picking exception handling method according to any one of claims 1-13.

18. A computer program product comprising a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the case picking exception handling method according to any one of claims 1-13.

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