Sorting method, electronic device and computer program product

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application are a sorting method, an electronic device and a computer program product. The method comprises: receiving a sorting request sent by a sorting device, wherein the sorting request comprises parcel information of a parcel to be sorted, and the parcel information comprises destination information; on the basis of a sorting strategy and the destination information, determining chute information of a target chute into which said parcel is to be placed, wherein the sorting strategy is used for indicating a mapping relationship between the destination information and the chute information, and the sorting strategy is determined by means of simulating a sorting process in a virtual sorting scenario constructed by a digital twin model; and generating a sorting instruction comprising the chute information, and sending the sorting instruction to the sorting device, wherein the sorting instruction is used for instructing the sorting device to place, on the basis of the sorting instruction, said parcel into the chute corresponding to the chute information. The technical solution of the present application can improve the sorting efficiency.

Description

Sorting methods, electronic equipment and computer program products Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of logistics sorting technology, specifically to a sorting method, electronic equipment, and computer program product. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of e-commerce, the logistics industry is facing unprecedented challenges in the sorting of small items. Currently, sorting requires staff to manually create sorting plans based on the characteristics of small items, packing all parcels (e.g., small items) destined for the same destination into a single package for easier transport in subsequent stages. However, if the sorting plan is flawed, packages may be sent to the wrong destination, and these misdelivered packages may not be discovered until the next transit point, thus affecting delivery times.

[0003] Therefore, how to automatically generate sorting strategies for sorting scenarios and improve sorting efficiency has become an urgent technical problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, embodiments of this application provide a sorting method, electronic device, and computer program product that can automatically generate sorting strategies that conform to the sorting scenario and improve sorting efficiency.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a sorting method, the method comprising: receiving a sorting request sent by a sorting device, wherein the sorting request includes package information of a package to be sorted, and the package information includes destination information; determining, based on a sorting strategy and the destination information, the target slot information for which the package to be sorted should be placed, wherein the sorting strategy is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the destination information and the slot information, and the sorting strategy is determined by simulating the sorting process in a virtual sorting scenario built by a digital twin model; generating a sorting instruction including the slot information, and sending the sorting instruction to the sorting device, wherein the sorting instruction is used to instruct the sorting device to place the package to be sorted into the slot corresponding to the slot information according to the sorting instruction.

[0006] In one embodiment of this application, the sorting strategy includes, when the destination corresponding to the destination information is a parcel aggregation area, the sorting information is any one of multiple sorting information for the parcel aggregation area.

[0007] In one embodiment of this application, based on the sorting strategy and destination information, the target compartment information of the parcel to be sorted is determined, including: determining whether the destination corresponding to the destination information is a parcel gathering area; if the destination is a parcel gathering area, the compartment closest to the parcel to be sorted among multiple compartment information is taken as the target compartment, and the information of the target compartment is obtained as the compartment information.

[0008] In one embodiment of this application, the sorting strategy includes, when the destination corresponding to the destination information is a sparsely populated area of ​​packages, the sorting information is the same sorting information for multiple sparsely populated areas of packages.

[0009] In one embodiment of this application, based on the sorting strategy and destination information, the target compartment information of the parcel to be sorted is determined, including: determining whether the destination corresponding to the destination information is a parcel sparse area; if the destination is a parcel sparse area, the compartment corresponding to the parcel sparse area is taken as the target compartment, and the information of the target compartment is obtained as the compartment information.

[0010] In one embodiment of this application, the sorting strategy includes placing the package to be sorted into an adjacent compartment of the compartment corresponding to the area adjacent to the target destination contained in the destination information.

[0011] In one embodiment of this application, the target destination and the region adjacent to the target destination are geographically adjacent, and the grid corresponding to the target destination and the grid corresponding to the region adjacent to the target destination are adjacent in grid position.

[0012] In one embodiment of this application, before receiving a sorting request sent by a sorting device, the method further includes: obtaining a set of package information corresponding to multiple packages to be sorted; simulating sorting of the package information set through a virtual sorting scenario built by a digital twin model to obtain a sorting strategy.

[0013] In one embodiment of this application, a virtual sorting scenario built using a digital twin model is used to simulate sorting a set of package information and obtain a sorting strategy. This includes: using different sorting strategies based on the digital twin model to simulate sorting multiple packages to be sorted and obtaining multiple sorting results; and using the target sorting strategy corresponding to the target sorting result that meets the preset conditions among the multiple sorting results as the sorting strategy.

[0014] In one embodiment of this application, different sorting strategies include the strategy of using the fewest sorting personnel or the strategy of the shortest sorting time.

[0015] In one embodiment of this application, the sorting equipment includes multiple component modules, wherein the method for training a digital twin model includes: constructing a model for each component module among the multiple component modules, wherein the model for each component module includes a mechanistic model, a data model, and a display model for each component module; and obtaining a digital twin model based on the model for each component module.

[0016] In one embodiment of this application, the packages to be sorted are displayed with barcodes and / or QR codes, and the package information is obtained by the scanner in the sorting equipment after scanning the barcodes and / or QR codes.

[0017] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a computationally readable storage medium storing a computer program for executing the sorting method described in the first aspect.

[0018] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide an electronic device, including: a processor; and a memory for storing processor-executable instructions, wherein the processor is used to execute the sorting method described in the first aspect above.

[0019] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the sorting method described in the first aspect above.

[0020] This application provides a sorting method, electronic device, and computer program product. By receiving a sorting request sent by a sorting device, and based on a sorting strategy determined by a digital twin model and destination information included in the sorting request, the method determines the slot information where the package to be sorted should be placed. Then, it generates a sorting instruction including the slot information and sends the sorting instruction to the sorting device, so that the sorting device can place the package to be sorted into the slot corresponding to the slot information according to the sorting instruction. This allows the application to generate a sorting strategy that conforms to the sorting scenario and improves sorting efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0021] The accompanying drawings are provided to further illustrate the present disclosure and form part of the specification. They are used together with the embodiments of the present disclosure to explain the disclosure and do not constitute a limitation thereof. The above and other features and advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed exemplary embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a sorting system provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application.

[0023] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a sorting method provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application.

[0024] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a sorting method provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application.

[0025] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a digital twin model provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application.

[0026] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a sorting device provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application.

[0027] Figure 6 is a block diagram of an electronic device for sorting provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0029] Logistics transit centers are crucial nodes in the lifecycle of express parcels (also known as packages). Upon arrival, parcels are sorted by automated assembly line equipment and staff according to their destinations. The speed of sorting directly impacts delivery time. Equipment within transit centers includes rack-type sorting machines, small-parcel sorting machines, and sorting cabinets. Most parcels sorted at the distribution center are small packages. Branch outlets package these small packages into smaller parcels and transport them to the transit center. The transit center unpacks these smaller parcels and sorts them through the sorting equipment to their respective destination compartments for repackaging before loading them onto trucks for dispatch. Therefore, the efficiency of small-parcel sorting significantly affects delivery time.

[0030] However, current methods for sorting small parcels require sorting planners to create sorting plans based on the incoming parcels (i.e., small parcels) to group all parcels destined for the same destination into a single package for easier transport in subsequent stages. But since the daily incoming parcel situation (i.e., the destinations of each small parcel within a batch) varies, the sorting efficiency of the sorting equipment is affected. While creating a good sorting plan can improve efficiency to some extent, this method requires multiple sorting plans to be created for use in different waves (i.e., different time periods and different parcel distributions), which is time-consuming and labor-intensive.

[0031] To address the aforementioned problems, this application provides a sorting method. Various non-limiting embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0032] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a sorting system provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The sorting system includes an unloading port 110, a sorting device 120, a server 130, and a loading port 140. The sorting device 120 may include a packing area 121, a cart (also called a sorting cart) 122, a scanner 123, a compartment 124, and a feeding table 125, wherein the server 130 may include a digital twin model 131 for the sorting device 120.

[0033] After being unloaded from unloading port 110, logistics parcels are transported via a swing wheel to the unloading area 121 of sorting equipment 120, where staff unpack and unload the parcels. Then, staff at the supply station 125 place multiple unloaded parcels onto the supply station 125, which then transfers them to the cart 122 of sorting equipment 120. The cart 122, carrying the parcels, rotates along the sorting line. When the cart 122 passes scanner 123, scanner 123 scans the parcels on the cart and sends a sorting request to server 130. Server 130, using its internal digital twin model 131 to determine the sorting strategy, calculates the corresponding target compartment information for the parcel. A compartment can be understood as a location for storing multiple parcels with the same sorting needs, such as parcels with the same destination.

[0034] Furthermore, once the server 130 obtains the corresponding slot for the package to be sorted, the server 130 sends a sorting instruction to the sorting equipment 120, thereby controlling the trolley 122 of the sorting equipment 120 to move to the corresponding slot 124 and place the package to be sorted into the slot 124. When the number of packages to be sorted in the slot 124 reaches a certain number (for example, the slot is full), the packages to be sorted in the slot 124 are packaged and sent to the loading port 140 to complete the package sorting work.

[0035] Figure 2 is a schematic flowchart of a sorting method provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The method in Figure 2 is executed by a computing device, such as a server (i.e., server 130 in Figure 1). As shown in Figure 2, the sorting method includes the following:

[0036] S210: Receives a sorting request sent by the sorting equipment.

[0037] In one embodiment, the sorting request includes package information of the parcel to be sorted, including destination information. The parcel to be sorted may display an automatic identification code such as a barcode or QR code.

[0038] Specifically, staff will unpack the logistics packages in the unpacking area and empty them to obtain packages to be sorted. The packages to be sorted will then be placed on the feeding platform, which will convey the packages to a trolley. The trolley carrying the packages to be sorted will rotate along the sorting line. When the trolley passes the scanner, the scanner will scan the QR code (or barcode, etc.) on the packages to obtain package information and send a sorting request including the package information to the server.

[0039] In one embodiment, the package information may include the destination information of the package to be sorted (e.g., address such as city, urban area or street), mode of transportation (e.g., air, land or sea transport), recipient and time of receipt.

[0040] S220: Based on the sorting strategy and destination information, determine the target compartment information for the parcels to be sorted.

[0041] In one embodiment, the sorting strategy is used to indicate the mapping relationship between destination information and grid information, and the sorting strategy is determined by simulating the sorting process in a virtual sorting scenario built with a digital twin model. The digital twin model is a digital twin model of a small-item sorting device (i.e., sorting device 120 shown in Figure 1), which can reflect the status and behavior of the physical sorting device in real time. In other words, the digital twin model can build a virtual simulation scenario, i.e., a simulated virtual sorting scenario.

[0042] Specifically, destination information can be categorized into large-flow areas (i.e., package-clustered areas) and sparse-flow areas (i.e., package-sparse areas) based on the size of the package flow. Sorting strategies can be determined based on the size of the package flow to improve sorting efficiency. For example, package-clustered areas might correspond to multiple sorting slots, while multiple sparse-flow areas might correspond to a single sorting slot. In other words, large-flow areas occupy more sorting slots, while small-flow areas are divided among different slots.

[0043] In one embodiment, the sorting strategy may include, when the destination corresponding to the destination information is a parcel-gathering area, the sorting information being any one of multiple sorting information for the parcel-gathering area; and / or, when the destination corresponding to the destination information is a parcel-sparse area, the sorting information being the same sorting information for multiple parcel-sparse areas.

[0044] The sorting strategy can be determined based on a digital twin model running on the server. The server can first acquire a set of package information corresponding to multiple packages to be sorted. Then, based on the digital twin model, different sorting strategies are used to simulate the sorting of these multiple packages, resulting in multiple sorting results. These different sorting strategies can be understood as different sorting methods, such as applying the strategy of minimizing sorting time. Finally, the target sorting strategy corresponding to the target sorting result (e.g., the shortest sorting time value) among the multiple sorting results that meet preset conditions is taken as the final sorting strategy. It should be noted that a detailed description of obtaining the sorting strategy is provided in the following embodiments.

[0045] In one embodiment, the server can, based on the sorting strategy obtained through the digital twin model, match the destination information of the package to be sorted and obtain the target compartment information of the package to be sorted that corresponds to the destination information.

[0046] S230: Generates a sorting instruction including grid information and sends the sorting instruction to the sorting equipment.

[0047] In one embodiment, the sorting instruction is used to instruct the sorting equipment to place the package to be sorted into the corresponding compartment according to the compartment information.

[0048] Specifically, the server generates a sorting instruction that includes the slot information of the package to be sorted, and then sends the sorting instruction to the sorting equipment so that the trolley loaded with the package to be sorted in the sorting equipment can place the package to be sorted into the slot indicated by the slot information.

[0049] For example, parcels destined for Tianjin are placed into compartment number 16 by a mobile cart (i.e., the sorting strategy indicates that the corresponding compartment for Tianjin is compartment number 16).

[0050] Therefore, this application embodiment receives a sorting request sent by a sorting device, determines the sorting strategy based on the digital twin model and the destination information included in the sorting request, determines the slot information where the package to be sorted should be placed, generates a sorting instruction including the slot information, and sends the sorting instruction to the sorting device so that the sorting device can place the package to be sorted into the slot corresponding to the slot information according to the sorting instruction. This enables the application embodiment to generate a sorting strategy that conforms to the sorting scenario and improves sorting efficiency.

[0051] In one embodiment of this application, the sorting strategy includes, when the destination corresponding to the destination information is a parcel-gathering area, the sorting information is any one of multiple sorting information for the parcel-gathering area; and / or when the destination corresponding to the destination information is a parcel-sparse area, the sorting information is the same sorting information for multiple parcel-sparse areas.

[0052] Specifically, parcel-concentrated areas (also known as traffic-concentrated areas) can be understood as areas with high parcel traffic or volume within a specific logistics flow. Conversely, parcel-sparse areas can be understood as areas with low parcel traffic or volume within a specific logistics flow.

[0053] In one embodiment, when the destination of the parcels to be sorted is a parcel aggregation area (i.e., a major flow area where parcels are concentrated), this destination can correspond to multiple sorting slots. For example, when the destination is Beijing, the sorting slots matched with this destination are slots numbered 1 to 4.

[0054] When the destination of a package to be sorted is a sparsely populated area (i.e., a small-flow area with few packages), the destination of the package to be sorted and at least one other sparsely populated area with the same flow direction as the destination can jointly correspond to a single sorting station. For example, if the destination is Mangya City or Golmud City in Haixi Prefecture, the sorting station information matching these two destinations would be the station numbered 6, etc.

[0055] Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, the parcel clustering area corresponds to multiple sorting slots, which improves the parcel sorting efficiency for parcels destined for the parcel clustering area (i.e., the area with the largest flow of parcels). At the same time, allowing multiple sparse parcel areas to correspond to the same sorting slot avoids the problem of low sorting efficiency caused by the slot being occupied for a long time.

[0056] In one embodiment of this application, based on the sorting strategy and destination information, the target compartment information of the parcel to be sorted is determined, including: determining whether the destination corresponding to the destination information is a parcel gathering area; if the destination is a parcel gathering area, the information of the compartment closest to the parcel to be sorted among multiple compartment information is taken as the target compartment, and the information of the target compartment is obtained as the compartment information.

[0057] Specifically, it is determined whether the destination corresponding to the destination information is a parcel aggregation area. If the destination is a parcel aggregation area, the sorting strategy includes multiple grid information corresponding to the parcel aggregation area and the position of the trolley loaded with parcels to be sorted in the sorting equipment. Then, the information of the grid closest to the parcel to be sorted among the multiple grid information is used as the grid information to which the parcel to be sorted should be placed.

[0058] Therefore, this application embodiment improves the sorting efficiency of parcels destined for large-scale destinations by selecting the information of the parcel closest to the parcel to be sorted from multiple parcel collection points in the parcel collection area as the parcel to be placed in the parcel collection point.

[0059] In one embodiment of this application, the sorting strategy and destination information are used to determine the slot information to which the package to be sorted should be placed, including: determining whether the destination corresponding to the destination information is a sparse area of ​​packages; if the destination is a sparse area of ​​packages, the slot corresponding to the sparse area of ​​packages is taken as the target slot, and the information of the target slot is obtained as the slot information.

[0060] Specifically, it is determined whether the destination corresponding to the destination information is a sparsely populated area. If the destination is a sparsely populated area, the sorting strategy includes the grid information corresponding to the sparsely populated area, and the grid information corresponding to the sparsely populated area is used as the grid information to be placed for the package to be sorted.

[0061] It should be noted that the embodiments of this application can determine the destination (i.e., flow direction) corresponding to each grid in the sorting equipment, wherein the large flow direction occupies a large number of grids, and the small flow direction is divided into grids (i.e., multiple small flow direction areas correspond to one grid) to occupy a small number of grids.

[0062] In one embodiment of this application, the sorting strategy includes placing the package to be sorted into an adjacent compartment of the compartment corresponding to the area adjacent to the target destination contained in the destination information.

[0063] Specifically, the destination information for packages to be sorted includes the target destination to which the packages need to be sent, which can be a specific address such as a city or district, for example, Wuqing District, Tianjin. The areas adjacent to the target destination can be geographically adjacent areas, for example, if the target destination is Wuqing District, Tianjin, the adjacent area is Baodi District, Tianjin; or if the target destination is Dezhou City, the adjacent area is Jinan City.

[0064] In one embodiment, the grid information corresponding to the target destination is adjacent to the grid information corresponding to the region adjacent to the target destination. That is, the target destination and the region adjacent to the target destination are geographically adjacent, and their corresponding grids are also adjacent in grid position.

[0065] Therefore, this application embodiment reduces the risk and cost of missorting by placing the corresponding compartments of parcels to be sorted in adjacent areas adjacent to each other, so that when a parcel to be sorted is missorted, it can simply be transferred to an adjacent area.

[0066] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a sorting method provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The embodiment in Figure 3 is an example of the embodiment in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 3, before performing step S210 of the embodiment in Figure 2, the sorting method may further include the following.

[0067] S310: Obtain the set of package information corresponding to multiple packages to be sorted.

[0068] Specifically, multiple packages awaiting sorting can be represented in the form of a package table, etc. Furthermore, the package information set can be understood as the collection of package information corresponding to each package awaiting sorting. The package information set can be a collection of historical package information at the same time point, or it can be a collection of package information data that needs to be sorted in the current time period (wherein, if it is package information data that needs to be sorted in the current time period, then the multiple packages awaiting sorting can include the packages that need to be sorted currently). This application embodiment does not specifically limit this.

[0069] The method for obtaining multiple packages to be sorted can be manual input or by calling historical data stored in the memory, etc. This application embodiment does not specifically limit this.

[0070] S320: A virtual sorting scenario built based on a digital twin model is used to simulate the sorting of package information sets and obtain sorting strategies.

[0071] Specifically, simulated sorting can be a process of sorting multiple packages in a package information set using different sorting strategies within a virtual sorting scenario (i.e., a virtual simulated sorting scenario) built using a digital twin model that corresponds to the actual sorting scenario. The sorting strategy can be based on minimizing sorting time or minimizing the number of sorting personnel required, etc. This application's embodiments specifically define the sorting strategy. It should be noted that during peak periods such as shopping festivals, when a large number of packages accumulate in the area, the sorting strategy can be the one with the shortest sorting time. Alternatively, during off-peak logistics periods such as non-shopping festivals, when the number of packages in the area is small, the sorting strategy can be the one with the fewest sorting personnel to control sorting costs.

[0072] In one embodiment, multiple packages to be sorted are simulated and sorted using different sorting strategies based on a digital twin model to obtain multiple sorting results; the target sorting strategy corresponding to the target sorting result that meets the preset conditions among the multiple sorting results is taken as the sorting strategy.

[0073] Specifically, the preset conditions correspond to the sorting results. For example, in a simulated virtual sorting scenario built using a digital twin model, multiple sorting results are obtained based on the strategy with the shortest sorting time. These multiple sorting results can be numerical values ​​of sorting time, such as sorting results with a sorting time of 12 minutes, 10 minutes, or 8 minutes. Then, the target sorting strategy corresponding to the target sorting result with the shortest sorting time (i.e., the preset condition) (e.g., the strategy of completing sorting in 8 minutes) is taken as the sorting strategy.

[0074] For example, in a simulated virtual sorting scenario built using a digital twin model, multiple sorting results are obtained based on the strategy that minimizes the number of sorting personnel used during sorting. These multiple sorting results can represent the number of sorting personnel, such as 15 or 14 people. Then, the target sorting strategy corresponding to the target sorting result with the minimum number of sorting personnel (i.e., the preset condition) (e.g., the strategy of using 14 people to complete the sorting) is taken as the sorting strategy.

[0075] Therefore, it can be seen that the embodiments of this application use digital twin models for accurate simulation, which enables the embodiments of this application to dynamically adjust the sorting strategy according to the real-time sorting package data, optimize the sorting strategy, and reduce the probability of sorting errors.

[0076] In one embodiment of this application, the sorting equipment includes multiple component modules, wherein the method for training a digital twin model includes: constructing a model for each component module among the multiple component modules, wherein the model for each component module includes a mechanistic model, a data model, and a display model for each component module; and obtaining a digital twin model based on the model for each component module.

[0077] Specifically, sorting equipment can be understood as being constructed from multiple component modules, which may include a feeding station, sorting line, sorting cart, and sorting slots. Building a digital twin model of the sorting equipment requires building models for each of these component modules. For example, referring to Figure 4, digital twin model 400 includes models of the feeding station 410, the sorting cart 420, the six-sided scanner 430, the sorting slots 440, and the sorting personnel 450. Furthermore, it is necessary to build a mechanistic model, a data model, and a visual model (also known as a 3D model) for each component module. After building the models for each component module, these models are combined to obtain digital twin model 400.

[0078] The mechanism model can refer to the actual operating logic of the component modules. For example, the mechanism model of the feeding station is to determine whether there are packages to be sorted in the cart in front of the feeding station. If there are no packages to be sorted in the cart, the packages to be sorted placed on the feeding station by the sorting personnel are transferred to the cart.

[0079] A data model can refer to device attribute parameters that cannot be directly set by the constituent modules and need to be statistically derived through mathematical methods such as machine learning, such as the scan no-read rate of a scanner. A display model can refer to a model showcasing the appearance and dimensions of the constituent modules, which must be consistent with the dimensions and operational actions of real-world objects.

[0080] It should be noted that the basic parameters set by the digital twin simulation platform are consistent with those of the actual sorting equipment on site, which improves the user experience.

[0081] Therefore, this application embodiment provides a guarantee for subsequent optimization of sorting strategies by building a digital twin model that can reflect the physical sorting equipment in real time.

[0082] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a sorting device 500 provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 5, the sorting device 500 includes: a receiving module 510, a determining module 520, a generating and sending module 530, and an acquiring module 540.

[0083] The receiving module 510 is used to receive a sorting request sent by the sorting equipment, wherein the sorting request includes package information of the package to be sorted, and the package information includes destination information; the determining module 520 is used to determine the target compartment information of the package to be sorted based on the sorting strategy and the destination information, wherein the sorting strategy is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the destination information and the compartment information, and the sorting strategy is determined by simulating the sorting process in a virtual sorting scenario built by a digital twin model; the generating and sending module 530 is used to generate a sorting instruction including the compartment information and send the sorting instruction to the sorting equipment, wherein the sorting instruction is used to instruct the sorting equipment to place the package to be sorted into the compartment corresponding to the compartment information according to the sorting instruction.

[0084] This application provides a sorting device that receives a sorting request from a sorting device, determines the slot information for the package to be sorted based on a sorting strategy determined by a digital twin model and the destination information included in the sorting request, generates a sorting instruction including the slot information, and sends the sorting instruction to the sorting device. This allows the sorting device to place the package to be sorted into the slot corresponding to the slot information according to the sorting instruction. This enables the application to generate a sorting strategy that conforms to the sorting scenario and improves sorting efficiency.

[0085] According to one embodiment of this application, the sorting strategy includes, when the destination corresponding to the destination information is a parcel-gathering area, the sorting information is any one of multiple sorting information for the parcel-gathering area; and / or when the destination corresponding to the destination information is a parcel-sparse area, the sorting information is the same sorting information for multiple parcel-sparse areas.

[0086] According to one embodiment of this application, the determining module 520 is used to determine whether the destination corresponding to the destination information is a parcel gathering area; if the destination is a parcel gathering area, the information of the parcel closest to the parcel to be sorted among multiple parcel information is taken as the target parcel, and the information of the target parcel is obtained as the parcel information.

[0087] According to one embodiment of this application, the determining module 520 is used to determine whether the destination corresponding to the destination information is a sparsely populated area; if the destination is a sparsely populated area, the grid corresponding to the sparsely populated area is taken as the target grid, and the information of the target grid is obtained as the grid information.

[0088] According to one embodiment of this application, the sorting strategy includes placing the parcel to be sorted into an adjacent compartment of the compartment corresponding to the area adjacent to the target destination contained in the destination information.

[0089] According to one embodiment of this application, the acquisition module 540 is used to acquire a set of package information corresponding to multiple packages to be sorted; and to simulate sorting the package information set through a virtual sorting scenario built by a digital twin model to acquire a sorting strategy.

[0090] According to one embodiment of this application, the acquisition module 540 is used to simulate sorting multiple packages to be sorted using different sorting strategies based on a digital twin model, and obtain multiple sorting results; the target sorting strategy corresponding to the target sorting result that meets the preset conditions among the multiple sorting results is taken as the sorting strategy.

[0091] According to one embodiment of this application, the sorting equipment includes multiple component modules. The acquisition module 540 is used to construct a model of each component module among the multiple component modules, wherein the model of each component module includes a mechanism model, a data model and a display model of each component module; and a digital twin model is obtained based on the model of each component module.

[0092] It should be understood that the specific working process and functions of the receiving module 510, determining module 520, generating and sending module 530 and obtaining module 540 in the above embodiments can be referred to the description in the sorting method provided in the embodiments of Figures 2 to 3 above. In order to avoid repetition, they will not be described again here.

[0093] Figure 6 is a block diagram of an electronic device 600 for sorting provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application.

[0094] Referring to FIG6, the electronic device 600 includes a processing component 610, which further includes one or more processors, and memory resources represented by memory 620 for storing instructions, such as application programs, that can be executed by the processing component 610. The application programs stored in memory 620 may include one or more modules, each corresponding to a set of instructions. Furthermore, the processing component 610 is configured to execute instructions to perform the sorting method described above.

[0095] Electronic device 600 may also include a power supply component configured to perform power management of electronic device 600, a wired or wireless network interface configured to connect electronic device 600 to a network, and an input / output (I / O) interface. Electronic device 600 may operate based on an operating system stored in memory 620, such as Windows Server™, Mac OS X™, Unix™, Linux™, FreeBSD™, or similar.

[0096] A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, when the instructions in the storage medium are executed by the processor of the aforementioned electronic device 600, enables the electronic device 600 to perform a sorting method, comprising: receiving a sorting request sent by a sorting device, wherein the sorting request includes package information of a package to be sorted, the package information including destination information; determining the slot information to be placed in for the package to be sorted based on a sorting strategy and the destination information, wherein the sorting strategy is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the destination information and the slot information, and the sorting strategy is determined by simulating the sorting process in a virtual sorting scenario built by a digital twin model; generating a sorting instruction including the slot information, and sending the sorting instruction to the sorting device, wherein the sorting instruction is used to instruct the sorting device to place the package to be sorted in the slot corresponding to the slot information according to the sorting instruction.

[0097] This application also provides a computer program product, including a computer program used to execute the steps of the sorting method described in the above method embodiments. For details, please refer to the above method embodiments, which will not be repeated here. This computer program product can be implemented through hardware, software, or a combination thereof. In one optional embodiment, the computer program product is specifically embodied as a computer storage medium; in another optional embodiment, the computer program product is specifically embodied as a software product, such as a software development kit (SDK), etc.

[0098] All of the above-mentioned optional technical solutions can be combined in any way to form optional embodiments of this application, and will not be described in detail here.

[0099] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0100] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0101] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0102] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0103] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0104] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a portion of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program verification codes, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0105] Furthermore, in the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0106] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Any modifications or equivalent substitutions made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A sorting method, characterized in that, include: Receive a sorting request sent by a sorting device, wherein the sorting request includes package information of the package to be sorted, and the package information includes destination information; Based on the sorting strategy and the destination information, the target compartment information of the package to be sorted is determined, wherein the sorting strategy is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the destination information and the compartment information, and the sorting strategy is determined by simulating the sorting process in a virtual sorting scenario built by a digital twin model. A sorting instruction including the grid information is generated, and the sorting instruction is sent to the sorting device, wherein the sorting instruction is used to instruct the sorting device to place the package to be sorted into the grid corresponding to the grid information according to the sorting instruction.

2. The sorting method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sorting strategy includes, when the destination corresponding to the destination information is a parcel aggregation area, the sorting information is any one of multiple sorting information for the parcel aggregation area.

3. The sorting method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The step of determining the target compartment information for the parcel to be sorted, based on the sorting strategy and the destination information, includes: Determine whether the destination corresponding to the destination information is the area where the packages are concentrated; If the destination is the area where the packages are concentrated, the compartment closest to the package to be sorted among the multiple compartment information is taken as the target compartment, and the information of the target compartment is obtained as the compartment information.

4. The sorting method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The sorting strategy includes, when the destination corresponding to the destination information is a sparsely populated area, the sorting slot information is the same slot information for multiple sparsely populated areas.

5. The sorting method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The step of determining the target compartment information for the parcel to be sorted, based on the sorting strategy and the destination information, includes: Determine whether the destination corresponding to the destination information is the area with sparse packages; If the destination is the sparsely populated area of ​​packages, the compartment corresponding to the sparsely populated area is taken as the target compartment, and the information of the target compartment is obtained as the compartment information.

6. The sorting method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The sorting strategy includes placing the packages to be sorted into the adjacent compartment of the compartment corresponding to the region adjacent to the target destination contained in the destination information.

7. The sorting method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The target destination and the region adjacent to the target destination are geographically adjacent, and the grid corresponding to the target destination and the grid corresponding to the region adjacent to the target destination are adjacent in grid position.

8. The sorting method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, Before receiving the sorting request from the sorting device, the following is also included: Obtain a set of package information corresponding to multiple packages to be sorted; The package information set is simulated and sorted using a virtual sorting scenario built by the digital twin model to obtain the sorting strategy.

9. The sorting method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The process of simulating sorting the package information set using the virtual sorting scenario built through the digital twin model to obtain the sorting strategy includes: Based on the digital twin model, different sorting strategies are used to simulate the sorting of the multiple packages to be sorted, and multiple sorting results are obtained. The target sorting strategy corresponding to the target sorting result that meets the preset conditions among the multiple sorting results is taken as the sorting strategy.

10. The sorting method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The different sorting strategies include those that use the fewest sorting personnel or those that minimize sorting time.

11. The sorting method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The sorting equipment includes multiple component modules, wherein the method for training the digital twin model includes: Construct a model for each of the plurality of component modules, wherein the model for each component module includes a mechanism model, a data model, and a presentation model for each component module; The digital twin model is obtained based on the model of each component module.

12. The sorting method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that, The packages to be sorted have barcodes and / or QR codes displayed on them. The package information is obtained by scanning the barcodes and / or QR codes by the scanner in the sorting equipment.

13. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program for executing the sorting method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: processor; Memory used to store the processor's executable instructions. The processor is used to execute the sorting method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

15. A computer program product, comprising a computer program, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the sorting method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

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