Apparatus for processing information for picking item and method therefor

Abstract

According to the present disclosure, disclosed is a method for processing information in an electronic device, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining a picking request for a first type of item; identifying one or more places to which the first type of item belongs, among a plurality of places belonging to a logistics storage; determining a first place satisfying a set condition among the one or more places; and designating, as a picking target item, the first type of item belonging to the first place.

Description

Device and method for processing information for picking items

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and a method for processing information for picking items. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to an electronic apparatus and a method for determining a first location among one or more locations to which a first type of item requested for picking belongs that satisfies a set condition, and designating the first type of item belonging to the first location as a target item for picking.

[0002] With the development of electronic technology, e-commerce has established itself as a field of shopping. Users can purchase items online without having to visit a shopping mall or market in person, and items purchased online are delivered to the delivery address requested by the user.

[0003] As the e-commerce sector continues to expand, the overall demand for item delivery has steadily increased. Consequently, the quantity of items that need to be delivered is growing, and the types of items being delivered are becoming more diverse. As a result, items of the same type can be distributed and stored in multiple locations within a single warehouse, leading to a growing need to present an optimal method for picking items stored in the warehouse.

[0004] In this regard, prior art documents such as KR102289649B1 or KR102505693B1 may be referenced.

[0005] The problem that the present embodiment aims to solve is to provide an electronic device and a method thereof, which, in order to solve the aforementioned problem, receive a picking request for a first type of item, identify one or more locations among a plurality of locations belonging to a logistics storage facility to which the first type of item belongs, determine a first location among the one or more locations that satisfies a set condition, and designate the first type of item belonging to the first location as a picking target item.

[0006] The technical problems that this embodiment aims to solve are not limited to those described above, and other technical problems can be inferred from the following embodiments.

[0007] A method for processing information in an electronic device according to one embodiment includes the steps of: obtaining a picking request for a first type of item; identifying one or more locations among a plurality of locations belonging to a logistics storage facility to which the first type of item belongs; determining a first location among the one or more locations that satisfies a set condition; and designating the first type of item belonging to the first location as a picking target item.

[0008] According to one embodiment, the step of determining a first location satisfying the set conditions may include selecting the location among the one or more locations that has the highest number of times an item belonging to that location has been designated as a picking target during a set time range as the first location.

[0009] According to one embodiment, the method for processing the information may further include: a step of confirming that the quantity of the first type of item belonging to the first location is less than the quantity requested for picking for the first type of item; a step of determining a second location among the one or more locations in which the number of times an item belonging to that location is designated as a picking target during the set time range is the second highest after the first location; and a step of designating the first type of item belonging to the second location as a picking target item.

[0010] According to one embodiment, the step of determining a first place satisfying the set conditions may include: a step of checking whether the first type is included in the set type; and, if the first type is included in the set type, a step of selecting the place among the one or more places with the shortest remaining time until the item of the first type belonging to that place becomes unsellable as the first place.

[0011] According to one embodiment, the step of determining a first place satisfying the set conditions may include: determining whether there exists a place among the one or more places where the time remaining until the first type of item belonging to that place becomes unsellable is less than a threshold time; and if there exists at least one place where the time remaining until the first type of item belonging to that place becomes unsellable is less than a threshold time, selecting the place among the at least one place where the time remaining until the first type of item belonging to that place becomes unsellable is the shortest as the first place.

[0012] According to one embodiment, when an item of the first type is stored in a plurality of detailed storage units included in the first location, the step of designating an item of the first type belonging to the first location as a picking target item may include: a step of determining a first detailed storage unit that stores the most items of the first type not designated as a picking target among the plurality of detailed storage units; and a step of designating an item of the first detailed storage unit as a picking target item.

[0013] According to one embodiment, the method for processing the information may further include the step of verifying the quantity of a picking target item belonging to a location for each of the plurality of locations belonging to the logistics storage; and the step of providing information to a worker instructing the performance of a picking operation for the picking target item belonging to the location with the largest quantity.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the plurality of places may include a part of a passageway for worker passage and one or more detailed storage areas located adjacent to the part of the passageway.

[0015] According to one embodiment, when there are multiple first locations, the step of designating an item of the first location as a picking target item may include: a step of randomly selecting one of the multiple first locations; and a step of designating an item of the first type belonging to the randomly selected location as a picking target item.

[0016] According to one embodiment, when there are multiple first locations, the step of designating an item of the first location as a picking target item may include: a step of checking the quantity of the first type of item requested for picking; and a step of designating the first type of item belonging to the multiple locations as a picking target item such that the number of the first type of item designated as a picking target item for each of the multiple first locations is the same or differs by one.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the step of determining a first location satisfying the set conditions may include selecting the location closest in distance from the location associated with the worker among the one or more locations as the first location.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the step of determining a first location satisfying the set conditions includes the step of identifying at least one location among the one or more locations in which the quantity of an item designated as a picking target belonging to that location exceeds a threshold quantity, and the electronic device may not select the at least one location as the first location.

[0019] An electronic device for processing information according to one embodiment includes a memory for storing instructions and a processor, wherein the processor is connected to the memory to obtain a picking request for a first type of item, identifies one or more locations among a plurality of locations belonging to a logistics storage facility to which the first type of item belongs, determines a first location among the one or more locations that satisfies a set condition, and designates the first type of item belonging to the first location as a picking target item.

[0020] Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings.

[0021] According to the present disclosure, the cost of picking items can be reduced and the convenience of the worker can be improved.

[0022] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, by performing item picking while considering the item's sellable period, it is possible to manage the situation so that the frequency of cases where an item becomes unsellable does not become excessively high.

[0023] The effects of the invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other unmentioned effects will be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art from the description in the claims.

[0024] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a system for picking items according to one embodiment.

[0025] FIG. 2 is an operation flowchart illustrating how an electronic device according to one embodiment processes information.

[0026] FIG. 3 is a drawing for exemplarily explaining a method for determining a first place that satisfies a set condition according to one embodiment.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating, by way of example, a method for determining a detailed storage location to be designated for picking target items according to one embodiment.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a drawing for exemplarily explaining a method for determining a first place that satisfies a set condition according to one embodiment.

[0029] FIG. 6 is an example diagram of the configuration of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0030] The terms used in the embodiments have been selected to be as widely used as possible, taking into account their functions in the present disclosure; however, these may vary depending on the intent of those skilled in the art, case law, the emergence of new technologies, etc. Additionally, in specific cases, terms have been arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in such cases, their meanings will be described in detail in the relevant explanatory section. Therefore, terms used in the present disclosure should be defined not merely by their names, but based on their meanings and the overall content of the present disclosure.

[0031] When a part of a specification is described as “comprising” a certain component, this means that, unless specifically stated otherwise, it does not exclude other components but may include additional components. Furthermore, terms such as “...part” or “...module” as used in the specification refer to a unit that processes at least one function or operation, and this may be implemented in hardware or software, or as a combination of hardware and software.

[0032] The expression “at least one of a, b, and c” described throughout the specification may include ‘a alone’, ‘b alone’, ‘c alone’, ‘a and b’, ‘a and c’, ‘b and c’, or ‘a, b, and c all’.

[0033] The "terminal" mentioned below may be implemented as a computer or portable terminal capable of connecting to a server or other terminal via a network. Here, the computer includes, for example, a notebook, desktop, or laptop equipped with a web browser, and the portable terminal may include, for example, a wireless communication device that ensures portability and mobility, and may include all types of handheld-based wireless communication devices such as IMT (International Mobile Telecommunication), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), W-CDMA (W-Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), communication-based terminals, smartphones, tablet PCs, etc.

[0034] Embodiments of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the attached drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement them. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0035] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0036] In describing the embodiments, technical details that are well known in the technical field to which the present invention belongs and are not directly related to the present invention are omitted. This is intended to convey the essence of the present invention more clearly without obscuring it by omitting unnecessary explanations.

[0037] For the same reason, some components in the attached drawings have been exaggerated, omitted, or schematically depicted. Additionally, the size of each component does not entirely reflect its actual dimensions. Identical or corresponding components in each drawing have been assigned the same reference numbers.

[0038] The advantages and features of the present invention and the methods for achieving them will become clear by referring to the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below but can be implemented in various different forms. These embodiments are provided merely to ensure that the disclosure of the present invention is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the invention, and the present invention is defined only by the scope of the claims. Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals refer to the same components.

[0039] At this time, it will be understood that each block of the process flow diagrams and combinations of the flow diagrams can be executed by computer program instructions. Since these computer program instructions can be loaded into the processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing equipment, the instructions executed through the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment create means to perform the functions described in the flow diagram block(s). Since these computer program instructions can also be stored in computer-available or computer-readable memory that can be directed toward the computer or other programmable data processing equipment to implement the function in a specific way, the instructions stored in computer-available or computer-readable memory can also produce a manufactured item containing instruction means to perform the function described in the flow diagram block(s). Since computer program instructions can be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment, instructions that perform a series of operation steps on the computer or other programmable data processing equipment to create a process executed by the computer can also provide steps for executing the functions described in the flowchart block(s).

[0040] Additionally, each block may represent a module, segment, or part of code containing one or more executable instructions for executing a specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative execution examples, the functions mentioned in the blocks may occur out of order. For instance, two blocks described in succession may actually be executed substantially simultaneously, or the blocks may be executed in reverse order according to their corresponding functions.

[0041] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented as artificial intelligence (AI) through the processor and memory of an electronic device. The processor may be composed of one or more processors, and the one or more processors may be general-purpose processors such as CPUs, APs, and DSPs (digital signal processors), graphics-dedicated processors such as GPUs and VPUs (vision processing units), or AI-dedicated processors such as NPUs. The one or more processors may be controlled to process input data according to predefined operation rules or AI models stored in memory. Alternatively, if the one or more processors are AI-dedicated processors, the AI-dedicated processors may be designed with a hardware structure specialized for processing a specific AI model.

[0042] The predefined rules of operation or artificial intelligence models are characterized by being created through learning. Here, being created through learning means that a predefined rules of operation or artificial intelligence models configured to perform a desired characteristic (or objective) are created by a basic artificial intelligence model being trained using a number of learning data by a learning algorithm. Such learning may be performed on the electronic device itself where the artificial intelligence according to the present disclosure is executed, or it may be performed through a separate server and / or system. Examples of learning algorithms include supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, or reinforcement learning, but are not limited to the examples described above.

[0043] An artificial intelligence model may be composed of multiple neural network layers. Each of the multiple neural network layers has multiple weight values ​​and can perform neural network operations through operations between the results of previous layers and the multiple weights. The multiple weights possessed by the multiple neural network layers can be optimized based on the learning results of the artificial intelligence model. For example, the multiple weights can be updated so that the loss value or cost value obtained from the artificial intelligence model during the learning process is reduced or minimized. The artificial neural network may include, but is not limited to, deep neural networks (DNN), convolutional neural networks (CNN), recurrent neural networks (RNN), restricted Boltzmann machines (RBM), deep belief networks (DBN), bidirectional recurrent deep neural networks (BRDNN), or deep Q-networks.

[0044] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a system for picking items according to one embodiment.

[0045] According to various embodiments, a system for picking items includes an electronic device (110). According to one embodiment, a system for picking items may further include a worker's device (120). A system for picking items according to one embodiment may further include a network that supports the transmission and reception of information between at least some of the electronic device (110), the worker's device (120), and an external device.

[0046] The electronic device (110) and the worker's device (120) may include memory and a processor, and may further include a transceiver. Additionally, each of the electronic device (110) and the worker's device (120) represents a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which may be implemented in hardware or software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0047] Meanwhile, throughout the embodiments, the electronic device (110) and the worker's device (120) are each referred to as separate devices or servers, but they may be logically separated structures, and at least some of them may be implemented by functions separated from a single device or server. For example, throughout the disclosure, the electronic device (110) and the worker's device (120) may be implemented by a single device, in which case at least some of the processes of transmitting and receiving information between the electronic device (110) and the worker's device (120) can be understood as processes of exchanging data within a single device.

[0048] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (110) and the worker's device (120) may include a number of computer systems or computer software implemented as network servers. For example, at least some of the electronic device (110) and the worker's device (120) may refer to computer systems and computer software that are connected to sub-devices capable of communicating with other network servers via a computer network such as an intranet or the Internet, receive requests for work execution, perform the work, and provide the results. In addition, at least some of the electronic device (110) and the worker's device (120) may be understood in a broad sense as including a series of applications capable of operating on a network server and various databases built on internal or other connected nodes. For example, at least some of the electronic device (110) and the worker's device (120) may be implemented using network server programs provided in various ways depending on operating systems such as DOS, Windows, Linux, UNIX, or MacOS.

[0049] Meanwhile, for the sake of convenience of explanation, each operating entity has been referred to as an electronic device (110) and a worker's device (120), but these should be understood as devices of a comprehensive form that correspond to, include, or can be included in, various types of devices such as computer devices and mobile communication terminals.

[0050] The electronic device (110) is a device that processes and provides various information. The electronic device (110) can perform various tasks to process information for picking items. Specifically, the electronic device (110) receives a picking request for a first type of item, identifies one or more locations among a plurality of locations belonging to a logistics storage facility where the first type of item belongs, determines a first location among the one or more locations that satisfies a set condition, and designates the first type of item belonging to the first location as the item to be picked. According to one embodiment, the electronic device (110) may select the location among the one or more locations where the item belonging to that location has been designated as the item to be picked the most times during a set time range as the first location. However, various other embodiments for selecting the first location may also fall within the scope of this disclosure, and related details will be described later.

[0051] The "picking" described in this disclosure may be understood as a collection operation for gathering items stored in a logistics warehouse. Item picking according to this disclosure may be performed to deliver items to customers, but is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, item picking according to this disclosure may be performed for quality assurance of items or to move items to another logistics warehouse. Furthermore, the purpose of item picking according to this disclosure is not limited to the removal of items; for example, picking may be performed to move items to another location within the logistics warehouse.

[0052] The worker may include various entities that perform item picking. However, the work performed by the worker is not limited to item picking, and depending on the embodiment, various tasks such as item packing, delivery, and quality assurance may be performed.

[0053] Meanwhile, workers may include those working at a logistics warehouse, but are not limited to those working "only at a logistics warehouse," and may include various types of workers, such as delivery drivers, who perform work at multiple locations including a logistics warehouse, depending on the embodiment.

[0054] The worker's device (120) may be a device operated and managed by the worker. The worker's device (120) may interact with the worker or interact with a device such as an electronic device (110) and may perform additional actions related thereto. For example, the worker's device (120) may receive information from the electronic device (110) indicating that a first type of item belonging to a first location has been designated as a picking target item and provide this to the worker (e.g., display it on a screen). Additionally, the worker's device (120) may receive input from the worker indicating the progress of picking (e.g., input indicating that picking has been completed) and provide information indicating the progress of picking to the electronic device (110).

[0055] According to an embodiment, a specific determination of which item to request the worker to pick may be made by one or more of the electronic device (110) and the worker's device (120), and in this case, the worker's device (120) may request the worker to pick one or more items. Meanwhile, the picking request transmitted by the worker's device (120) may include a request to pick at least some of a plurality of items designated as picking target items, and the items to be requested to the worker to pick may include items of the first type, but are not necessarily limited to items of the first type (i.e., may additionally include items of other types designated as picking target items).

[0056] More detailed information regarding the operation of the electronic device (110) and the worker's device (120) will be described later in FIGS. 2 to 5, etc.

[0057] The electronic device (110) and the worker's device (120) may include a computer device, a mobile communication terminal, a server, etc. The electronic device (110) and the worker's device (120) may include an input device such as a touch pad, a mouse, or a keyboard for receiving input, or may be connected to an input device. Additionally, the electronic device (110) and the worker's device (120) may include an output device such as a screen, a speaker, or an interface device for providing information to a user, or may be connected to an output device. Furthermore, the input device and the output device of the electronic device (110) and the worker's device (120) may be configured as a single unit or interconnected, and, for example, an interface for receiving input may be displayed on at least one of the electronic device (110) and the worker's device (120).

[0058] Operations related to a series of information provision methods according to various embodiments may be implemented by a single physical device or may be implemented in a manner in which multiple physical devices are organically combined. For example, some of the components included in a system for picking items may be implemented by one physical device, and the remaining parts may be implemented by another physical device. For example, one physical device may be implemented as part of an electronic device (110), and another physical device may be implemented as part of a worker's device (120) or other external device. In some cases, each component included in a system for picking items may be distributed and placed in different physical devices, and the distributed components may be organically combined to be implemented to perform the functions and operations of the system for picking items. For example, the electronic device (110) of this specification may include at least one sub-device, and some operations described as being performed by the electronic device (110) may be performed by a first sub-device, and other operations may be performed by a second sub-device.

[0059] FIG. 2 is an operation flowchart illustrating how an electronic device according to one embodiment processes information.

[0060] Referring to FIG. 2, an electronic device (110) according to one embodiment obtains a picking request for a first type of item (210). The picking request received by the electronic device (110) may include various additional information according to the embodiment, in addition to type information of the item to be picked (i.e., information of the "first type"). For example, the picking request obtained by the electronic device (110) may include information on the quantity of items to be picked, information on the purpose of picking (e.g., picking for delivery to customer A), etc.

[0061] The picking request obtained by the electronic device (110) in the operation of drawing number 210 may be received from an external source (e.g., received from a customer's device), but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the electronic device (110) may generate picking request information itself based on a determination of whether picking is necessary, etc.

[0062] The electronic device (110) identifies one or more locations among multiple locations belonging to a logistics storage facility to which the first type of item belongs (220). The electronic device (110) can identify one or more locations to which the first type of item belongs based on inventory information for each of the multiple locations. Alternatively, the electronic device (110) may determine whether the first type of item belongs based on the history of items being stored and the history of items being picked up for each of the multiple locations (for example, if 5 first type items were brought into location B and 3 were picked up, it can be determined that location B is to which the first type of item belongs because 2 still exist).

[0063] The electronic device (110) determines a first location among one or more locations that satisfies a set condition (230). The electronic device (110) according to one embodiment may select the first location based on a history in which an item belonging to one or more locations was designated as a picking target. According to a more specific embodiment, the electronic device (110) may select the location among one or more locations that has the most times that an item belonging to that location was designated as a picking target during a set time range as the first location. The "set time range" may be a range based on the time of determination, such as "the last 30 minutes," or a range set separately from the time of determination, such as "the first quarter of XX year."

[0064] In the case of the “number of times designated as a picking target,” it may have a value corresponding to the quantity of items designated as picking targets, or it may have a value corresponding to the designated operation of the electronic device (110). For example, if the electronic device (110) performs an operation to designate 5 items as picking targets once and an operation to designate 3 items as picking targets once, according to the embodiment, the number of times designated as a picking target may be determined to be a total of “8 times” by occurring 5 times and 3 times by each operation, or a total of “2 times” by occurring 1 time by each operation. For convenience of explanation, the following description will focus on the case where the number of times designated as a picking target has a value corresponding to the quantity of items, but the following description may also apply to embodiments where the number of times designated as a picking target is determined based on other methods (e.g., a method having a value corresponding to the designated operation of the electronic device (110)).

[0065] The electronic device (110) may further determine whether the quantity of the first type of item belonging to the determined first location is less than the quantity of the first type of item requested for picking. If the quantity of the first type of item belonging to the first location is less than the quantity of the first type of item requested for picking, the electronic device (110) may further determine a second location for designating the first type of item belonging to that location as the item to be picked. For example, in relation to the aforementioned "example of selecting the location as the first location in which the number of times the item belonging to that location is designated as the item to be picked during a set time range", the electronic device (110) according to one embodiment may confirm that the quantity of the first type of item belonging to the first location is less than the quantity requested for picking for the first type of item, and determine a second location among one or more locations in which the number of times the item belonging to that location is designated as the item to be picked during a set time range is the next highest after the first location. In this case, the electronic device (110) may further designate a first-type item belonging to a determined second location as a picking target item. Of course, in a similar manner, if the quantity of first-type items requested for picking is not met even when adding first-type items belonging to a second location, a third location may be further determined, and similarly, a fourth location, a fifth location, ...etc. may be further determined.

[0066] Meanwhile, in determining the "quantity of items of type 1 belonging to the first location," the electronic device (110) may ensure that items of type 1 scheduled for picking by a worker, even if currently located at the first location, are not included in the quantity. For example, if 30 items of type 1 are stored at the first location, but information instructing the worker to perform picking operations for 20 items of type 1 currently stored at the first location has already been provided, the "quantity of items of type 1 belonging to the first location" may be determined to be 10. This can be understood as being because, in the case of items scheduled for picking, unless there are special circumstances such as the scheduled picking being canceled due to reversal, it is difficult to provide them for the "picking request" of drawing number 210.

[0067] In the following descriptions regarding the quantity of items belonging to a location and the quantity of items stored in a detailed storage area, unless specifically stated that "quantities scheduled for picking by workers are included," it can be understood that quantities scheduled for picking by workers are excluded.

[0068] Meanwhile, regarding an embodiment for further determining a second location, the method for determining a first location and the method for determining a second location by the electronic device (110) are not necessarily the same. For example, the electronic device (110) may select the location that has the highest number of times an item belonging to that location has been designated as a picking target during a set time range among one or more locations as the first location, while also selecting the location closest to the first location among locations that store items of the first type of item that are greater than or equal to the value obtained by subtracting the quantity of the first type of item belonging to the first location from the quantity of the first type of item requested for picking. In this way, a different determination method from that of the first location may be used for determining the second location, and through this, the effect of improving the convenience of the worker's work can be expected.

[0069] A more detailed example relating to an embodiment for selecting a first location based on a history in which an item belonging to one or more locations is designated as a picking target is illustrated in FIG. 3. FIGS. 3 to 5 can be understood as schematic images of a logistics storage facility viewed from the ceiling direction. FIGS. 3 to 5, the square boxes of the same shape illustrated can be understood as each corresponding to a detailed storage unit (e.g., a shelf). FIG. 3, the number indicated in the detailed storage unit can be understood as the number of times an item stored in that detailed storage unit has been designated as a picking target during a set period of time.

[0070] One or more locations to which the first type of item belongs may include location X, location Y, and location Z. An example of location X is as shown in drawing number 310, an example of location Y is as shown in drawing number 320, and an example of location Z is as shown in drawing number 330. Based on the quantity of the first type of item stored in the detailed storage areas belonging to location X (310), location Y (320), and location Z (330), it can be understood that during a set time, the item belonging to location X (310) was designated as a picking target a total of 11 times, the item belonging to location Y (320) a total of 8 times, and the item belonging to location Z (330) a total of 3 times.

[0071] In this case, the electronic device (110) according to one embodiment may select the location X (310) as the first location, where the number of times an item belonging to that location is designated as a picking target during a set time range is the highest.

[0072] Meanwhile, as can be seen in FIG. 3, the “multiple places” of the present disclosure may include a part of a passageway for the passage of workers and one or more detailed storage facilities located adjacent to the part of the passageway. Looking at places Y (320) and Z (330), it can be seen that they include a part of a passageway for the passage of workers and one or more detailed storage facilities located adjacent to the part of the passageway. Meanwhile, the “multiple places” of the present disclosure are not necessarily required to include a part of a passageway for the passage of workers and one or more detailed storage facilities located adjacent to the part of the passageway; for example, a place configured to include one or more detailed storage facilities (i.e., not including a part of the passageway), such as place X (310), may also be included in the “multiple places” of the present disclosure.

[0073] Figure 4 shows the quantity of first-type items stored in each detailed storage included in the location X (310) determined as the first location in Figure 3. In Figure 4, the number written in the detailed storage can be understood as the quantity of first-type items stored in each detailed storage.

[0074] Referring further to FIG. 4, it can be seen that the quantities of first-type items stored in each detailed storage of place X (310) are, in order from top to bottom, 5, 1, 6, 1, and 3. That is, it can be seen that the total quantity of first-type items belonging to place X (310) is 16. In this case, if the number of first-type items requested for picking is 15, the picking request can be processed by providing items from place X (310). On the other hand, if the number of first-type items requested for picking is 20, place Y (320) or place Z (330) shown in FIG. 3 may be further determined as the second place.

[0075] Meanwhile, regarding which item of the first type is designated as the item to be picked first (or actually picked) when multiple detailed storage units included in the first location are stored, various embodiments may be included in the present disclosure. To aid in understanding this, further reference may be made to FIG. 4, and a detailed description thereof will be provided later.

[0076] Returning to FIG. 2, according to an embodiment relating to the operation of reference numeral 230, the electronic device (110) checks whether a first type is included in a set type, and if it is included in a set type, it may select the place among one or more places where the time remaining until the first type item belonging to that place becomes unsellable as the first place. The set type may be specifically designated as "fresh food," "plants," and "ice cream," or may be defined as a condition such as "products where the expiration date is set shorter than the set period." According to a more specific example, the electronic device (110) checks that the item for which a picking request was obtained belongs to the "fresh food" category, and for that item (e.g., prior to logic such as "selecting the place where the item belonging to that place was designated as a picking target the most times during the set time range," etc.), it may select the place where the time remaining until the first type item belonging to that place becomes unsellable as the first place.

[0077] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (110) determines whether there exists a place among one or more places where the time remaining until the first type of item belonging to that place becomes unsellable is less than the critical time, and if there is at least one place where the time remaining until the first type of item becomes unsellable is less than the critical time, the place among the at least one place where the time remaining until the first type of item belonging to that place becomes unsellable is the shortest place among the places can be selected as the first place. For example, if there are two places where the time remaining until the first type of item becomes unsellable is less than one week, the electronic device (110) can select the place among the two places where the time remaining until the first type of item becomes unsellable is the shortest place among the two places as the first place. In other words, even if the first type does not correspond to a "set type," if there is an item among the first type of items stored in the logistics warehouse that is nearing its sellable deadline, the electronic device (110) can select the first place based on the sellable deadline.

[0078] According to one embodiment relating to the operation of Drawing No. 230, a first location can be determined based on a location associated with the operator of the electronic device (110). According to a more specific embodiment, among one or more locations of the electronic device (110), the location closest to the location associated with the operator can be selected as the first location. "Location associated with the operator" may include, but is not limited to, the operator's current location, and may be broadly interpreted to include the location of the place where work was most recently performed and the location of the place where work will be performed by the operator. Meanwhile, there may be various methods for determining the location associated with the operator, such as a method of determining based on GPS information of the operator terminal and a method of verifying the location of the detailed storage where the operator most recently performed work (more specific examples include determining based on information that instructed the operator to perform work or determining based on the operator's barcode scan information, etc.), and no specific method limits the scope of the present disclosure.

[0079] The term "worker" is not interpreted as being limited to a single entity, but can be understood to include one or more entities capable of performing the work. Furthermore, the criteria for determining whether "work can be performed" may include "not currently working," but is not limited thereto; for instance, even if work is currently being performed, it may be determined that work can be performed if the scheduled completion time of the ongoing work precedes the scheduled departure time. Various embodiments may exist. When "worker" includes multiple entities, the "location closest in distance from the location associated with the worker" can be understood to include the "location where the sum of the distances from the location associated with each of the multiple workers is the smallest."

[0080] A more detailed example relating to an embodiment in which the location closest to the location associated with the worker among one or more locations is selected as the first location is illustrated in FIG. 5. The location associated with the worker is illustrated by reference numeral 501, and in FIG. 5, it is illustrated exemplarily as the "worker's current location," but it has already been explained that the location associated with the worker is not limited to this.

[0081] The electronic device (110) can determine the distance between location X (310), location Y (320), and location Z (330) and the location (501) associated with the worker. The distance between location X (310) and the location (501) associated with the worker may be equal to the length of reference numeral 510. The distance between location Y (320) and the location (501) associated with the worker may be equal to the length of reference numeral 520. The distance between location Z (330) and the location (501) associated with the worker may be equal to the length of reference numeral 530. In the example of FIG. 5, since the length of reference numeral 530 is the shortest among the length of reference numeral 510, the length of reference numeral 520, and the length of reference numeral 530, location Z (530) may be selected as the first location.

[0082] Meanwhile, regarding a specific method for calculating the distance from a location associated with a worker, FIG. 5 determines the distance of "the shortest path to reach that place by passing through a passage from a location associated with a worker," but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the distance from a location associated with a worker may be calculated according to a method of determining "the length of a straight line drawn from a location associated with a worker to the center point of that place" or a method of determining "the shortest straight line length that can be reached in a straight line from a location associated with a worker to that place."

[0083] Returning to FIG. 2, according to an embodiment relating to the operation of reference numeral 230, the electronic device (110) identifies at least one location among one or more locations where the quantity of items designated as picking targets belonging to that location exceeds a threshold quantity, and may not select at least one identified location as the first location. The “quantity of items designated as picking targets belonging to that location” does not necessarily have to be the same concept as the “number of times items belonging to that location have been designated as picking targets.” For example, the “items designated as picking targets belonging to that location” are required to be items currently designated as picking targets, whereas in determining the “number of times items belonging to that location have been designated as picking targets,” even if an item is not currently designated as a picking target due to reasons such as having already been picked or being excluded from picking targets due to a change in circumstances, it may be included in the count if it has been designated as a picking target at some point.

[0084] Various embodiments related to Drawing No. 230, which determines a first location satisfying a set condition among one or more locations, have been described above. For convenience of explanation, they have been described as independent embodiments, but each embodiment is not mutually contradictory. For example, the operation of Drawing No. 230 of the present disclosure may be performed by combining an embodiment that "selects a first location based on a history in which an item belonging to one or more locations is designated as a picking target" and an embodiment that "determines a first location based on a location associated with a worker." In this regard, according to a specific example, an electronic device (110) may obtain a first value by multiplying a first weight by the number of times an item belonging to a location is designated as a picking target for each of the multiple locations, obtain a second value by multiplying a second weight by the distance from a location associated with a worker, obtain the sum of the first value and the second value, and select the location with the largest sum as the first location. In this example, the first weight may be 0 or positive and the second weight may be 0 or negative. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto.

[0085] According to another specific example, the electronic device (110) may prioritize considering the number of times an item belonging to a place is designated as a picking target during a set time range among one or more places, and select the place with the highest number of times an item belonging to that place is designated as a picking target as the first place, but if there are multiple first places, it may determine the distance from the location associated with the worker for each of the multiple first places and further consider the distance to finally determine which of the multiple first places the item of the place will be designated as a picking target item.

[0086] In addition to the examples above, various embodiments may fall within the scope of this disclosure, such as the judgment of Drawing No. 230 being made by combining the aforementioned embodiments, or even if the judgment of Drawing No. 230 is made based on a single embodiment, other embodiments may be further involved in performing the operation of Drawing No. 240 described later (e.g., an embodiment described above in which "when there are multiple first locations, the distance from the location associated with the operator is determined for each of the multiple first locations and the distance is further taken into consideration to finally determine which of the multiple first locations the item to be designated as the picking target item").

[0087] The electronic device (110) designates a first type of item belonging to a first location as a picking target item (240). The meaning of "designating a first type of item belonging to a first location as a picking target item" should be understood to mean that at least a portion of the first type of item belonging to a first location can be designated as a picking target item. That is, the electronic device (110) is not required to designate all of the first type of item belonging to a first location as a picking target item. (Of course, an embodiment in which all are designated as picking target items is not outside the scope of the present disclosure.)

[0088] When items of type 1 are stored in multiple detailed storage units included in the first location, the operation of drawing number 240, which designates the items of type 1 belonging to the first location as items to be picked, may include the operation of determining the first detailed storage unit that stores the most items of type 1 not designated as items to be picked among the multiple detailed storage units, and the operation of designating the items of the first detailed storage unit as items to be picked. For example, as in the example of FIG. 4, when the quantity of items of type 1 not designated as items to be picked stored in each detailed storage unit of location X (310) determined as the first location is 5, 1, 6, 1, and 3 in order from the top, the electronic device (110) may determine the detailed storage unit that stores 6 items of type 1 as the first detailed storage unit and designate the 6 items of type 1 stored in the first detailed storage unit as items to be picked.

[0089] However, the embodiment for determining the first sub-store that stores the most items of the first type that are not designated as picking targets among the plurality of sub-stores is merely an example of the operation of Drawing No. 240, and the scope of the present disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, the electronic device (110) may determine the "first sub-store that stores the most items of the first type among the plurality of sub-stores" (i.e., it may determine the sub-store that stores the most items of the first type by considering all items, including those not designated as picking targets). Alternatively, the electronic device (110) according to one example may designate the items of the first sub-store that have the most items designated as picking targets among the plurality of sub-stores as the picking target items. In addition, various other embodiments may fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0090] Various embodiments regarding how to perform the operation of Drawing No. 240 when there are multiple first locations may fall within the scope of this disclosure. According to one embodiment, multiple first locations may be treated as "one location," and the method of designating a first type of item belonging to a single first location as a picking target item may be applied as is. For example, regarding multiple sub-stores containing first type items that are stored within multiple first locations, a first sub-store that stores the most first type items not designated as picking targets among the multiple sub-stores may be determined, and the items in the determined first sub-store may be designated as picking target items. According to another embodiment, multiple first locations may be treated independently, and the method of designating a first type of item belonging to a single first location as a picking target item may be applied independently to each of the multiple first locations. For example, among multiple sub-stores where Type 1 items are stored, the first sub-store that stores the most Type 1 items not designated as picking targets can be determined "by multiple first locations."

[0091] If there are multiple first locations, the electronic device (110) may select one or more of the locations and designate an item of the first type of the selected location as a picking target item. According to a specific example, the electronic device (110) may randomly select one of the multiple first locations and designate an item of the first type belonging to the randomly selected location as a picking target item.

[0092] In addition, if there are multiple first locations, the items may be designated as picking target items as evenly as possible for each of the multiple first locations. According to a specific example, the electronic device (110) may designate items of the first type belonging to multiple locations as picking target items such that the number of items of the first type designated as picking target items for each of the multiple first locations is the same or differs by one. For example, if the quantity of items of the first type requested for picking is 20 and there are 4 first locations, 5 items of the first type may be designated as picking target items for each of the 4 first locations. As another example, if the quantity of items of the first type requested for picking is 22 and there are 4 first locations, 6, 6, 5, and 5 items of the first type may be designated as picking target items for each of the 4 first locations.

[0093] However, the first location designated for distributing the picking target items "so that the number of Type 1 items designated as picking target items is equal or differs by 1" may be understood to be limited to cases where the number of Type 1 items in that location is not insufficient. For example, if the quantity of Type 1 items requested for picking is 22 and there are 4 first locations, but one of the first locations contains only 1 Type 1 item, then "1," "7," "7," and "7" Type 1 items may be designated as picking target items for each of the 4 first locations. (That is, in the case of a first location with insufficient Type 1 items, the entire quantity of Type 1 items belonging to that location may be picked, and the remaining locations may be designated as picking target items as evenly as possible for the remaining quantity requested for picking.)

[0094] The electronic device (110) can provide information to the worker instructing the performance of a picking operation. According to one embodiment, the electronic device (110) can check the quantity of the picking target item belonging to each location in a logistics warehouse and provide information to the worker instructing the performance of a picking operation for the picking target item belonging to the location with the largest quantity of the picking target item. That is, the electronic device (110) is not required to connect the picking request obtained from drawing number 210 with the worker performing the picking operation on a one-to-one basis, and can assign the work by comprehensively considering the location and quantity of the picking target item existing at the time of assigning the work to the worker.

[0095] Meanwhile, in addition to the embodiment of "instructing the performance of a picking operation for a picking target item belonging to the location with the largest quantity of picking target items," there may be various embodiments related to the method of instructing the performance of a picking operation, such as providing information to the worker instructing the performance of a picking operation for a picking target item in the location closest in distance from the location associated with the worker, or providing information to the worker instructing the prioritized picking of items in a location where there exists a location where the quantity of picking target items is not zero but is less than a set threshold. Furthermore, regarding the method of instructing the performance of a picking operation, the methods of the aforementioned embodiments in relation to Drawing No. 230 may be applied.

[0096] An artificial intelligence model may be used to implement at least some of the embodiments described above. For example, in relation to the embodiment in which the aforementioned "electronic device (110) obtains a first value by multiplying the number of times an item belonging to a location is designated as a picking target by a first weight for each of the multiple locations, obtains a second value by multiplying the distance from a location associated with a worker by a second weight, obtains the sum of the first value and the second value, and selects the location with the largest sum as the first location," an artificial intelligence model may be used to optimize the first weight and the second weight. More specifically, the electronic device (110) may obtain history data in which the first value and the second value are obtained based on various weight values, train a model based on the obtained history data, and obtain one or more of the outputs of the model, such as "a score value per location" and "a first location determined based on the score," by providing the values ​​of "the number of times an item is designated as a picking target" and "distance from a location associated with a worker" to the trained model.

[0097] These examples are provided to aid in understanding the explanation and are not limited to the scope of the disclosure. For instance, in addition to the number of times an item is designated for picking and the distance from a location associated with the worker, information such as "time remaining until the item becomes unsellable" may be provided for the training and inference of the model.

[0098] FIG. 6 is an example diagram of the configuration of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0099] Referring to FIG. 6, the electronic device (110) includes a processor (610) and a memory (620), and may further include a transceiver (630) depending on the embodiment. The electronic device (110) can be connected to a worker's device (120) and an external device, etc., through the transceiver (630) and exchange data.

[0100] The processor (610) may include at least one device described through FIGS. 1 to 5 or perform at least one method described through FIGS. 1 to 5. The memory (620) may store information for performing at least one method described through FIGS. 1 to 5. The memory (620) may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory.

[0101] The processor (610) can control an electronic device (110) that executes a program and processes information for picking items. The code of the program executed by the processor (610) can be stored in memory (620).

[0102] In addition, the electronic device (110) of the embodiment may further include an interface capable of providing information to a user (e.g., a worker or a customer).

[0103] Meanwhile, the present specification and drawings disclose preferred embodiments of the present invention. Although specific terms have been used, they are used merely in a general sense to facilitate the explanation of the technical content of the present invention and to aid in understanding the invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that, in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein, other variations based on the technical concept of the present invention are possible.

[0104] A server or terminal according to the embodiments described above may include a processor, memory for storing and executing program data, permanent storage such as a disk drive, a communication port for communicating with an external device, and user interface devices such as a touch panel, a key, a button, etc. Methods implemented as software modules or algorithms may be stored on a computer-readable recording medium as computer-readable code or program instructions executable on the processor. Here, computer-readable recording media include magnetic storage media (e.g., ROM (read-only memory), RAM (random-access memory), floppy disks, hard disks, etc.) and optical reading media (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)). Computer-readable recording media may be distributed across networked computer systems, allowing computer-readable code to be stored and executed in a distributed manner. The medium may be readable by a computer, stored in memory, and executed by a processor.

[0105] The present embodiment may be represented by functional block configurations and various processing steps. These functional blocks may be implemented by various numbers of hardware and / or software configurations that execute specific functions. For example, the embodiment may employ integrated circuit configurations such as memory, processing, logic, look-up tables, etc., capable of executing various functions by the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices. Similar to how components may be implemented as software programming or software elements, the present embodiment may be implemented in programming or scripting languages ​​such as C, C++, Java, assembler, Python, etc., including various algorithms implemented as combinations of data structures, processes, routines, or other programming configurations. Functional aspects may be implemented as algorithms executed on one or more processors. Additionally, the present embodiment may employ prior art for electronic configuration, signal processing, and / or data processing. Terms such as “mechanism,” “element,” “means,” and “configuration” may be used broadly and are not limited to mechanical and physical configurations. The above terms may include the meaning of a series of software processes (routines) in conjunction with processors, etc.

[0106] The aforementioned embodiments are merely examples, and other embodiments may be implemented within the scope of the claims set forth below.

Claims

1. In a method of processing information in an electronic device, A step of obtaining a picking request for a first type of item; A step of identifying one or more locations among multiple locations belonging to a logistics storage facility to which the item of the first type belongs; A step of determining a first place among the above one or more places that satisfies a set condition; and A method for processing information, comprising the step of designating an item of the first type belonging to the first place as a picking target item.

2. In Paragraph 1, The step of determining a first location that satisfies the above-set conditions is A method for processing information, characterized by including the step of selecting the location among the above one or more locations as the first location in which the number of times an item belonging to that location is designated as a picking target during a set time range is the highest.

3. In Paragraph 2, A step of confirming that the quantity of the first type of item belonging to the first location is less than the quantity requested for picking for the first type of item; A step of determining a second location among the above one or more locations in which the number of times an item belonging to that location is designated as a picking target during the set time range is the second highest after the first location; and A method for processing information, characterized by further including the step of designating the item of the first type belonging to the second location as a picking target item.

4. In Paragraph 1, The step of determining a first location that satisfies the above-set conditions is A step of checking whether the above-mentioned first type is included in a set type; and A method for processing information characterized by including the step of selecting, as the first place, the place among the one or more places where the time remaining until the item of the first type belonging to that place becomes unsellable is the shortest when the first type is included in the set type.

5. In Paragraph 1, The step of determining a first location that satisfies the above-set conditions is A step of determining whether there exists a place among the above one or more places where the remaining time until the item of the first type belonging to that place becomes unsellable is less than a critical time; and A method for processing information, characterized by including the step of selecting, among the at least one place, the place with the shortest remaining time until the item of the first type belonging thereto becomes unsellable as the first place, when there exists at least one place where the time remaining until the item of the first type belonging to that place becomes unsellable is less than the critical time.

6. In Paragraph 1, If the first type of item is stored in a plurality of detailed storage units included in the first place, The step of designating the item of the first type belonging to the first location as the picking target item A step of determining the first detailed storage that stores the most items of the first type that are not designated as picking targets among the plurality of detailed storages; and A method for processing information characterized by including the step of designating an item in the first detailed storage as a picking target item.

7. In Paragraph 1, A step of confirming the quantity of picking target items belonging to each location for each of the multiple locations belonging to the above logistics storage facility; and A method for processing information, characterized by further including the step of providing information to a worker instructing the performance of a picking operation for a picking target item belonging to the place with the largest quantity.

8. In Paragraph 1, The above plurality of places are A method for processing information, characterized by including a part of a passage for the passage of a worker and one or more detailed repositories located adjacent to said part of the passage.

9. In Paragraph 1, In the case where there are multiple of the above-mentioned first locations, The step of designating the item at the first location above as the picking target item A step of randomly selecting one of the plurality of first locations; and A method for processing information, characterized by including the step of designating an item of the first type belonging to one of the randomly selected locations as a picking target item.

10. In Paragraph 1, In the case where there are multiple of the above-mentioned first locations, The step of designating the item at the first location above as the picking target item A step of verifying the quantity of the above-mentioned first type of item requested for picking; and A method for processing information, characterized by including the step of designating the first type of item belonging to the plurality of locations as the picking target item, such that for each of the plurality of first locations, the number of the first type of item designated as the picking target item is the same or differs by one.

11. In Paragraph 1, The step of determining a first location that satisfies the above-set conditions is A method for processing information, characterized by including the step of selecting the location closest in distance from the location associated with the worker among the above one or more locations as the first location.

12. In Paragraph 1, The step of determining a first location that satisfies the above-set conditions is The method includes the step of identifying at least one location among the above one or more locations where the quantity of an item designated as a picking target belonging to that location exceeds a threshold quantity. A method for processing information, characterized in that the electronic device does not select the at least one location as the first location.

13. A computer-readable, non-transient recording medium having a program for executing the method of paragraph 1 on a computer.

14. In an electronic device for processing information, It includes memory and a processor for storing instructions, The above processor is connected to the above memory, Acquire a picking request for a Type 1 item, and Among multiple locations belonging to a logistics warehouse, identify one or more locations to which the above-mentioned first type of item belongs, and Determining a first location among the above one or more locations that satisfies the set conditions, and An electronic device that designates an item of the first type belonging to the first place as a picking target item.

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