CN112224733B

CN112224733B - Warehouse management system and method

Info

Publication number: CN112224733B
Application number: CN202011223032.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 卢泓翰; 李考准
Original assignee: Beijing Jizhijia Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Jizhijia Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-11-05
Filing date: 2020-11-05
Publication date: 2022-08-12
Anticipated expiration: 2040-11-05
Also published as: WO2022095835A1; CN112224733A

Abstract

The application provides a warehouse management system and a method, wherein the system comprises: the system comprises a control server, an autonomous mobile robot, a workstation, a temporary storage area and a stacker, wherein the stacker and the autonomous mobile robot are respectively in communication connection with the control server; the control server is configured to determine a target storage container hit by the first order, a storage position of the target storage container, a target connection position, a target workstation and a target temporary storage area, send a container taking instruction to the target stacker, and send a container carrying instruction to the target autonomous mobile robot according to the first order; the target stacker is configured to retrieve and transport a target storage container from the storage location to a target docking location in response to a container retrieval instruction; the target autonomous mobile robot is configured to, in response to the container handling instruction, carry the target storage container from the target docking location to the target workstation to complete at least one of a picking mission and a target temporary storage area for caching of the order.

Description

Warehouse management system and method

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of warehousing technologies, and in particular, to a warehousing management system and method.

Background

With the rapid development of electronic commerce, electronic commerce plays an increasingly important role in consumer life, the number of orders of users increases in geometric multiples every year, and the processing capacity of a storage center is subjected to severe tests.

In the existing automatic logistics center, AS an automatic Storage and Retrieval System (AS/RS) which is widely applied AS an automatic dense Storage device, the AS/RS has a large market holding capacity, and meanwhile, the conventional AS/RS generally realizes the whole-tray or on-line whole-box zero-removal warehouse-out operation through a warehouse end conveying System; the warehouse end conveying system is composed of a chain conveying line, a roller conveying line and a transplanter, can only realize horizontal movement of an X/Y axis according to a line connection mode and is influenced by the efficiency of horizontal transplanting, the carrying capacity at an inflection point is only 40 torr/hour approximately, the straight line segment conveying capacity can reach 200 torr/hour, and online sorting can only realize whole-warehouse delivery and zero-disassembly delivery of a small amount of whole boxes. In addition, warehouse returning operation is required after the goods are sorted, and partial goods need to be wound with films again for fixing when being returned to the warehouse, if partial SKUs (Stock Keeping units) are sorted for many times in a certain order batch, the goods need to be repeatedly put in and out of the warehouse or occupy a warehouse end conveying system for circular conveying, and the warehouse outlet efficiency is low.

Therefore, how to solve the above problems and improve the warehouse-out efficiency of the warehouse management system becomes a problem that the technical staff needs to solve urgently.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, the present application provides a warehouse management system and method to solve the technical defects in the prior art.

According to a first aspect of embodiments herein, there is provided a warehouse management system, the system comprising: one or more control servers, one or more automated access systems, a plurality of autonomous mobile robots, a plurality of workstations, and a plurality of temporary storage areas; the automatic access system comprises a high-level goods shelf and a stacker running on the high-level goods shelf, and the stacker and the autonomous mobile robot are respectively in communication connection with the control server; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the control server is configured to determine one or more target storage containers hit by a first order, storage positions of the one or more target storage containers in the high-level shelf, target docking positions and at least one of a target workstation and a target temporary storage area, send a container fetching instruction to one or more target stackers of the plurality of stackers and send a container handling instruction to one or more target autonomous mobile robots of the plurality of autonomous mobile robots, according to the first order;

the target stacker is configured to respond to the container taking instruction, operate to the storage position of the target storage container on the high-level shelf, take out the target storage container from the storage position and carry the target storage container to the target connection position;

the target autonomous mobile robot is configured to respond to the container carrying instruction, operate to the target docking position to dock the target storage container, and carry the target storage container from the target docking position to the target workstation to complete at least one of a picking task and a target temporary storage area for caching of the order.

Optionally, the first order is from an order group combined according to a predetermined rule.

Optionally, the control server is further configured to send a container handling instruction to the target autonomous mobile robot after determining that the picking task of the first order is completed at the target workstation;

the first autonomous mobile robot is further configured to transfer the target storage container from the workstation to the target temporary storage area in response to the container transfer instruction.

Alternatively to this, the first and second parts may,

the control server further configured to send container handling instructions to the target autonomous mobile robot upon determining that a picking task of the first order is about to be executed at the target workstation;

the target autonomous mobile robot is further configured to, in response to the container handling instruction, carry the target storage container from the target temporary storage area to the target workstation.

Optionally, the autonomous mobile robot carries the target storage container to a target temporary storage area for caching and leaves the target temporary storage area; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the control server further configured to send a container handling instruction to another autonomous mobile robot of the plurality of autonomous mobile robots upon determining that a picking task of the first order is about to be performed at the target workstation;

the other autonomous mobile robot is configured to transfer the target storage container from the target temporary storage area to the target workstation in response to the container transfer instruction.

Alternatively to this, the first and second parts may,

the control server further configured to send a container handling instruction to one or more other autonomous mobile robots of the plurality of autonomous mobile robots in response to a second order of the combination of orders;

the other autonomous mobile robot configured to transport the target storage container from the target temporary storage area to the target workstation in response to the container transport instruction.

In the alternative,

the control server is further configured to determine storage locations of the target storage containers in the overhead racks and target docking locations, send container handling instructions to other autonomous mobile robots of the plurality of autonomous mobile robots, and send container stocking instructions to other stackers of the plurality of stackers, after determining that the picking tasks of all orders in the order group are completed;

the other autonomous mobile robot further configured to, in response to the container handling instructions, handle the target storage container from the target workstation to the target docking location;

the other pilers are configured to respond to the container storing instruction, operate to the target connection position to connect the target storage container, and store the target storage container into the storage position.

Optionally, a workstation binds at least one temporary storage area.

Optionally, a distance between the temporary storage area and the workstation bound thereto is less than or equal to a preset threshold.

Optionally, the target autonomous mobile robot is further configured to move to the target docking position in advance to wait for the target storage container to be transferred to the target docking position in response to the container transfer instruction.

Optionally, the other stacker is further configured to move to the target connection position in advance to wait for the target storage container to be transported to the target connection position in response to the container deposit instruction.

Optionally, the target storage container is configured with a readable mark, and the stacker and/or the autonomous mobile robot is configured with an identification device, and the identification device determines the position of the target storage container and/or information of the storage container by identifying the readable mark.

Optionally, the target connection position is located in a roadway between the high-level racks or at a roadway opening.

According to a second aspect of embodiments of the present application, there is provided a method of warehouse management, including:

the control server determines one or more target storage containers hit by the first order, storage positions of the one or more target storage containers in an overhead shelf, target connection positions and at least one of a target workstation and a target temporary storage area according to the first order, sends a container taking instruction to one or more target stackers of the plurality of stackers and sends a container handling instruction to one or more target autonomous mobile robots of the plurality of autonomous mobile robots;

the target stacker responds to the container taking instruction, operates to the storage position of the target storage container on the high-position shelf, takes out the target storage container from the storage position and carries the target storage container to the target connection position;

and the target autonomous mobile robot responds to the container carrying instruction, operates to the target transfer position to transfer the target storage container, and carries the target storage container from the target transfer position to the target workstation to complete at least one of the picking task of the order and the caching of the target temporary storage area.

Optionally, the control server sends a container handling instruction to the target autonomous mobile robot after determining that the picking task of the first order is completed at the target workstation;

the first autonomous mobile robot transfers the target storage container from the workstation to the target temporary storage area in response to the container transfer instruction.

Alternatively to this, the first and second parts may,

the control server sends a container handling instruction to the target autonomous mobile robot when determining that the picking task of the first order is about to be executed at the target workstation;

the target autonomous mobile robot, in response to the container handling instruction, carries the target storage container from the target temporary storage area to the target workstation.

the control server, upon determining that a picking task of the first order is about to be performed at the target workstation, sending a container handling instruction to another autonomous mobile robot of the plurality of autonomous mobile robots;

the other autonomous mobile robot transfers the target storage container from the target temporary storage area to the target workstation in response to the container transfer instruction.

Alternatively to this, the first and second parts may,

the control server sending a container handling instruction to one or more other autonomous mobile robots of the plurality of autonomous mobile robots in response to a second order of the combination of orders;

In the alternative,

after determining that the picking tasks of all orders in the order group are completed, the control server determines storage positions and target connection positions of the target storage containers in the high-level shelf, sends container carrying instructions to other autonomous mobile robots in the plurality of autonomous mobile robots and sends container storing instructions to other stackers in the plurality of stackers;

the other autonomous mobile robot handling the target storage container from the target workstation to the target docking location in response to the container handling instruction;

Optionally, a workstation binds at least one temporary storage area.

Optionally, a distance between the temporary storage area and the workstation bound to the temporary storage area is less than or equal to a preset threshold.

Optionally, the target autonomous mobile robot moves to the target docking position in advance in response to the container handling instruction to wait for the target storage container to be handled to the target docking position.

Optionally, the other stacker moves to the target connection position in advance in response to the container deposit instruction to wait for the target storage container to be transported to the target connection position.

Optionally, the target connection position is located in a roadway between the high-level shelves or at a roadway opening.

According to the warehouse management system provided by the embodiment of the application, according to a first order, a control server determines one or more target storage containers hit by the first order, at least one of storage positions of the one or more target storage containers in an overhead shelf, a target connection position and a target workstation and a target temporary storage area, sends a container taking instruction to one or more target stackers of a plurality of stackers, and sends a container carrying instruction to one or more target autonomous mobile robots of the plurality of autonomous mobile robots; the target stacker is configured to respond to the container taking instruction, operate to the storage position of the target storage container on the high-level shelf, take out the target storage container from the storage position and carry the target storage container to the target connection position; the target autonomous mobile robot is configured to respond to the container carrying instruction, operate to the target docking position to dock the target storage container, and carry the target storage container from the target docking position to the target workstation to complete at least one of a picking task and a target temporary storage area for caching of the order.

The warehouse management system is directly butted with the stacker based on the flexibility characteristic of the autonomous mobile robot, is flexible and improves the efficiency; meanwhile, a temporary storage area is set, when partial commodities in the same order group can not be completely picked in single transportation, the commodities which are picked out of the warehouse in the whole order can be transported to the temporary storage area before being picked, when the commodities need to be picked again in subsequent orders in the order group, the commodities in the temporary storage area are preferentially positioned to be taken out of the warehouse, the operation efficiency is improved, meanwhile, the cost waste in the traditional scheme is reduced, and the flexible requirement of business is flexibly met.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic system structure diagram of a warehouse management system according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a stacker for accessing storage containers provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a transfer robot for transferring pallets according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of a warehouse management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present application. This application is capable of implementation in many different ways than those herein set forth and of similar import by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of this application and is therefore not limited to the specific implementations disclosed below.

The terminology used in the one or more embodiments of the present application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the one or more embodiments of the present application. As used in one or more embodiments of the present application and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and/or" as used in one or more embodiments of the present application refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein in one or more embodiments of the present application to describe various information, these information should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one type of information from another. For example, a first aspect may be termed a second aspect, and, similarly, a second aspect may be termed a first aspect, without departing from the scope of one or more embodiments of the present application. The word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at … …" or "when … …" or "in response to a determination", depending on the context.

In the present application, a warehouse management system and method are provided, which are described in detail in the following examples one by one.

Fig. 1 is a schematic system diagram illustrating a warehouse management system according to an embodiment of the present application, where the system includes: one or more control servers 110, a plurality of workstations 120, a fixed Storage area 130, a plurality of temporary Storage areas 140, one or more Automated Storage and Retrieval systems (AS/RS) comprising a plurality of high shelves and a plurality of stackers 150 operating on the plurality of high shelves, and a plurality of autonomous mobile robots 160.

The control server 110 is connected with the stacker 150 and/or the autonomous mobile robot 160 in a wireless communication manner, a worker operates the control server 110 through the operation console 114, the control server 110 is a software system running on the server and having data storage and information processing capabilities, and can be connected with the stacker 150, the autonomous mobile robot 160, the software system of the workstation 120 and the like through wireless, the control server 110 may include one or more servers, which may be a centralized control architecture or a distributed computing architecture, the control server 110 has a processor 111 and a memory 112, an order pool 113 may be provided in the memory 112, and order information is stored in the order pool 113.

The workstation 120 is a manual picking area, after the storage container 131 is transported to the workstation 120, the staff member of the workstation 120 takes out the goods in the storage container 131 for scanning according to the order prompting information, and after the order is processed, the control server 110 pushes the next order to the workstation 120.

The fixed storage area 130 may be a dense storage area or a non-dense storage area, a plurality of high racks are disposed in the fixed storage area 130, storage containers 131 are stored on the high racks, various commodities are placed on the storage containers 131, at least one tunnel through which the stacker 150 passes is disposed between the plurality of high racks, at least one docking position 132 is disposed at a tunnel opening of the tunnel close to the workstation 120, the docking position 132 may also be located in the tunnel between the high racks, the storage containers 131 may be trays stacked in the dense storage, and the storage containers 131 are configured with readable marks for being recognized by recognition devices on the stacker 150 and/or the autonomous mobile robot 160 to determine the positions of the storage containers 131 and/or storage container information.

The temporary storage area 140 is an area for temporarily storing storage containers, since the number of the workstations 120 is limited, a plurality of orders of the same item in one order group may exist in one order group, but the workstations 120 cannot process all the orders in the order group at a time, that is, when the items cannot be completely picked in a single transportation process, the temporary storage area 140 temporarily stores the items in the same order group which are picked out in a whole tray, the current order is completed but the next order is not completed, and when the items are picked in a subsequent order, the items in the temporary storage area 140 may be preferentially located, for example, 10 orders in one order group, and 10 orders require 15 items in total, wherein the 1 st order requires 10 items of a, the 5 th order requires 5 items of a, when the 1 st order is executed, the M storage container storing the items of a is transported to the workstation, after the staff picks up 10 items of merchandise, the M storage containers are transported to the temporary storage area 140, and when the 5 th order is executed, the control server controls the autonomous mobile robot to transport the M storage containers from the temporary storage area 140 to the workstation, thereby providing picking of the items a.

The stacker 150 executes the task of taking out and storing the storage container 131 under the control of the control server 110, as shown in fig. 2, fig. 2 shows the stacker provided in the embodiment of the present application, and the stacker may include a fork, and a fork direction of the fork is parallel to a traveling direction of the stacker, so as to avoid that a roadway is too wide due to steering when the stacker takes out and stores the storage container. In addition, the stacker can also comprise a controller for controlling the fork to move up and down in parallel, a target identification component (not shown in fig. 2) and the like; the stacker 150 may be moved between lanes of the fixed storage area 130 and the stacker 150 is also provided with identification means to identify readable marks on the storage containers.

The autonomous mobile robot 160 performs a transfer task of the storage container 131 under the control of the control server 110, and may be a transfer robot for piggyback of a tray; fig. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a transfer robot for transferring a tray according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 3, in which a tray is provided on the top of the transfer robot shown in fig. 3 for transferring a storage container. The autonomous mobile robot 160 is adapted to move between the docking station 132 and the workstation 120, between the workstation 120 and the temporary storage area 140, and between the docking station 132 and the temporary storage area 140, the autonomous mobile robot 160 also being provided with identification means for identifying readable indicia on the storage container.

It should be noted that the stacker 150 and/or the autonomous mobile robot 160 may be configured to perform navigation based on vision, in this case, the stacker 150 and/or the autonomous mobile robot 160 further includes a navigation recognition component for recognizing a navigation mark (such as a two-dimensional code) on the paved surface, in an example, the stacker 150 and/or the autonomous mobile robot 160 at least includes a downward camera, and the traveling route of the stacker 150 and/or the autonomous mobile robot 160 is planned and generated by the control server 110 according to the navigation mark captured by the downward camera.

In a traditional solution of an automatic intensive storage mode, a manual fixed cache area is usually adopted, a mode of picking commodities in a zero-removing mode is solved by using an external parallel cache line mode, the manual fixed cache area and the external parallel cache line both bring increase of storage cost, and the commodities need to be returned to a warehouse after each picking is finished, so that the picking efficiency is low, and the industrial development is difficult to adapt.

The warehousing management system and the warehousing management method provided by the embodiments of the present application are described in detail through various embodiments.

Example one

As shown in fig. 1, the warehouse management system includes a control server 110, a workstation 120, a fixed storage area 130, a temporary storage area 140, a stacker 150, and an autonomous mobile robot 160, where the fixed storage area 130 has a storage container 131 and a docking position 132, the docking position 132 is located at a junction between the fixed storage area 130 and the workstation 120, and a distance between the temporary storage area 140 and the workstation 120 is less than or equal to a preset threshold; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the control server 110 is configured to determine, according to a first order in the order group information, a target storage container 1311 hit by the first order and a first storage position 1301 of the target storage container 1311 in the fixed storage area 130, determine a first target stacker 1501 to pick up the target storage container 1311, a first target autonomous mobile robot 1601 to transport the target storage container, and a first target docking position 1321 to dock the target storage container, and send a container pickup instruction to the first target stacker 1501 and a container transfer instruction to the first target autonomous mobile robot 1601.

The order group information is specifically comprehensive information of a plurality of orders in one order wave; the first order is a currently processed order, and the first order can be a single order or a certain order in an order group; the target storage container is a storage container where the target commodity is located; the first storage location is a storage location of the target storage container currently in the fixed storage area; the first target stacker is equipment used for taking out a target storage container in a fixed storage area; the first autonomous mobile robot is a device for handling a target storage container; the first target connection position refers to a connection position for connecting a target storage container when the target storage container is taken out of the fixed storage area, so that the first target stacker and the first target autonomous mobile robot complete the handover operation of the target storage container.

Specifically, taking an article B in an order group as an example, the order group is a combination of a plurality of orders acquired by a control server, the order group includes a plurality of orders, each order includes one or more articles, for example, there are 5 orders in the order group, where the total number of articles B in a first order and a third order is 30, according to a first order request, a tray M corresponding to the article B and a first storage position 1301 of the tray M in a fixed storage area are determined, and at the same time, a stacker S1 for taking out the tray M, a transfer robot C1 for transferring the tray M, and a first target connection position 1321 where the stacker S1 and the transfer robot C1 perform connection are determined.

The first target stacker 1501 is configured to operate to the storage location 1301 of the target storage container 1311 on the high-level shelf in response to the container retrieval instruction, retrieve the target storage container 1311 from the storage location 1301, and transport the target storage container 1311 to the target docking location 1321.

Specifically, following the above example, the stacker S1 takes out the tray M from the first storage position 1301 and conveys the tray M to the first target docking position 1321.

The first target autonomous mobile robot 1601 is configured to, in response to the container handling instruction, operate to dock the target storage container 1311 to the target docking location 1321 and to carry the target storage container 1311 from the first target docking location 1321 to the workstation 120 to complete the picking task of the order.

In practical applications, in order to improve the work efficiency, the first target autonomous mobile robot 1601 is further configured to move in advance to the first target docking position 1321 to wait for the target storage container 1311 to be transferred to the first target docking position 1321 in response to the container transfer instruction.

Specifically, following the above example, the transfer robot C1 moves to the first target docking position 1321 in advance, performs docking with the stacker S1, and transfers the pallet M to the workstation.

After the task of picking up the goods is completed, the control server determines that the goods in the target storage container 1311 will be picked up again in the subsequent order according to the order group information, so that the first temporary storage position 1401 of the target storage container 1311 is determined in the temporary storage area 140, and a container carrying instruction is sent to the first target autonomous mobile robot 1601.

Specifically, following the above example, the staff in the workstation takes out 10 items B in the tray M according to the order information presented on the screen in the workstation, and the control server determines that 20 items B are still needed in the third order task based on the order group information, so the control server determines the first temporary storage position 1401 of the tray M in the temporary storage area, and sends a container transfer instruction to the transfer robot C1 to transfer the tray M to the first temporary storage position 1401.

The first target autonomous mobile robot 1601 is further configured to, in response to the container handling instruction, handle the target storage container 1311 from the workstation 120 to the first temporary storage location 1401.

Specifically, following the above example, the transfer robot C1 transfers the tray M to the first temporary access position 1401 in response to the container transfer instruction.

Meanwhile, the control server 110 is further configured to determine a second target autonomous mobile robot 1602 to transfer the target storage container 1311 in response to a second order in the order group information, and transmit a container transfer instruction to the second target autonomous mobile robot 1602.

It is to be noted that the first target autonomous mobile robot 1601 and the second target autonomous mobile robot 1602 may be the same autonomous mobile robot or may be different autonomous mobile robots.

In practical applications, a plurality of orders may be placed in an order group, and the items in each order are different, and there is usually a case that the same item appears in different orders, in a conventional warehousing management system, after each order is completed, a storage container is transported back to a fixed storage area for warehousing, which greatly reduces the sorting efficiency.

Specifically, following the above example, when the control server executes the third order request in the order group, the third order request requires 20 items B, determines the autonomous mobile robot C2, and transmits a container transfer instruction to the autonomous mobile robot C2.

The second target autonomous mobile robot 1602 configured to, in response to the container handling instruction, carry the target storage container 1311 from the first temporary storage location 1401 to the workstation 120 for a picking task of a second order.

Specifically, following the above example, the transfer robot C2 transfers the tray M from the first temporary access position 1401 to the workstation in response to the container transfer instruction, and performs the picking task of the third order request.

Correspondingly, after the picking task of the second target order is completed, whether the goods in the target storage container 1311 are picked is determined according to the information in the order group, and if the goods need to be picked in the subsequent orders in the order group, the control server 110 is further configured to determine the second temporary storage location 1402 of the target storage container 1311 in the temporary storage area according to the information of the order group, and send a container handling instruction to the second target autonomous mobile robot 1602.

The second target autonomous mobile robot 1602 is further configured to, in response to the container handling instruction, handle the target storage container 1311 from the workstation 120 to the second temporary storage location 1402 to await a next order request.

Accordingly, when the picking task of the second target order is completed, and no goods are present in the subsequent orders in the order group or the number of goods in the target storage container 1311 is insufficient, the control server 110 is further configured to determine, according to the order group information, a second storage position 1302 of the target storage container 1311 in the fixed storage area 130, a second target stacker 1502 which stores the target storage container 1311, and a second target docking position 1322 which docks the target storage container, and send a container handling instruction to the second target autonomous mobile robot 1602 and a container storing instruction to the second target stacker 1502.

It should be noted that the first target stacker 1501 and the second target stacker 1502 may be the same stacker or different stackers; the first storage location 1301 and the second storage location 1302 may be the same storage location, or may be different storage locations; the first target docking position 1321 and the second target docking position 1322 may be the same docking position or different docking positions, and the docking position is determined from the vacant docking positions.

Specifically, following the above example, when the picking task of the article B in the order group is completed, the control server determines the second storage position 1302, the second target docking position 1322, and the stacker S2 in the fixed storage area 130 of the tray M, transmits a container transfer instruction to transfer the tray M to the second target docking position 1322 to the transfer robot C2, and transmits a container deposit instruction to deposit the tray M in the second storage position 1302 to the stacker S2.

The second target autonomous mobile robot 1602, further configured to, in response to the container handling instructions, handle the target storage container 1311 from the workstation 120 to the second target docking location 1322.

Specifically, following the above example, the transfer robot C2 transfers the pallet M from the workstation 120 to the second target docking position 1322 in response to the container transfer instruction.

The second target stacker 1502 is configured to receive the target storage container 1311 at the second target docking location 1322 and store the target storage container 1311 at the second storage location 1302 in response to the container deposit instruction.

In practical applications, in order to improve the work efficiency, the second target stacker 1502 is further configured to move in advance to the second target docking position 1322 to wait for the target storage container 1311 to be transported to the second target docking position 1322 in response to the container deposit instruction.

Specifically, following the above example, the stacker S2 moves to the second target docking position 1322 in advance, performs docking with the transfer robot C2 with respect to the pallet M, and transfers and stores the pallet M to the second storage position 1302.

In the embodiment provided by the application, the warehousing management system can be applied to a traditional warehousing environment or an intensive warehousing environment, and a storage scene applied by the warehousing system at least comprises a fixed storage area, a temporary storage area and a workstation, wherein the fixed storage area is used for storing storage containers, such as high-level shelves, the control server is used for storing, updating and managing a storage information base, and the storage state of the storage containers is integrally managed by issuing instructions to equipment according to received requests or indications and the storage information base.

The stacker 150 is provided in the fixed storage area, And is configured to store or retrieve the storage container, the stacker 150 may perform operations of accessing And transporting the storage container according to an instruction sent by the control server, And the stacker 105 may use any one or a combination of a plurality of navigation modes, such as a navigation mode or a set thereof, such as a two-dimensional code, an instant positioning And Mapping (SLAM).

In the embodiment provided by the application, the temporary storage area 140 is adjacent to the workstation 120, the distance between the temporary storage area 140 and the workstation 120 is smaller than the preset threshold, when the storage container is used for executing the picking task of the current order at the workstation, the storage container can be transported to the temporary storage area 140 by the autonomous mobile robot for temporary storage, and when other order tasks in the order group are executed, the storage container can be transported to the workstation from the temporary storage area 140 for picking operation of other order tasks, so that the commodity picking efficiency is improved, and the warehousing cost is reduced.

In the embodiment provided by the application, one side of the fixed storage area 130, which is close to the workstation, is provided with a connection position for connecting the connection operation between the stacker and the autonomous mobile robot, the connection position is at least one, in order to make full use of the space, the preferred connection position is multiple, the connection position can be set as a fixed position area, and the set area can also be flexibly changed according to the storage condition, so that the storage efficiency is improved. The storage container is stored, transported, and taken out by the stacker 150 and the autonomous mobile robot 160 in cooperation with each other at the docking position 132.

The warehousing management system provided by the embodiment of the application reduces the cost of warehousing management through the cooperation of the stacker and the autonomous mobile robot, realizes the automation of the warehousing system, avoids the condition that equipment and people are mixed, simplifies the integral operation environment of the warehousing system, improves the operation efficiency, and simultaneously carries the target storage containers which are not selected to the temporary storage area under the condition that goods in the target storage containers are selected in a plurality of orders when processing a plurality of order requests in the order group, preferentially positions the target storage containers in the temporary storage area under the condition that other orders in the order group also hit the target storage containers, fully utilizes the flexibility of the autonomous mobile robot, and further improves the operation efficiency.

Example two

The present embodiment provides another implementation manner of the warehousing system, as shown in fig. 1, the system includes: the system comprises one or more control servers 110, a plurality of workstations 120, a fixed storage area 130, a plurality of temporary storage areas 140, one or more automatic access systems, a plurality of automatic access systems and a plurality of automatic access systems, wherein the automatic access systems comprise an overhead shelf and a stacker 150 running on the overhead shelf, the automatic access systems comprise a plurality of autonomous mobile robots 160, a storage container 131 and a connection position 132 are arranged in the fixed storage area 130, the connection position 132 is positioned at the intersection of the fixed storage area 130 and the workstations 120, and the distance between the temporary storage area 140 and the workstations 120 is smaller than or equal to a preset threshold value; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

In practical application, a plurality of orders in one order group may exist, and a plurality of orders may have a plurality of commodities, but the commodities may not be hit by the currently processed orders, so that the storage containers corresponding to the commodities may be first placed in the temporary storage area, and when the corresponding order tasks are executed, the storage containers are transported from the temporary storage area to the workstation to execute the order tasks, thereby improving the sorting efficiency.

Specifically, taking an article C as an example, there are 5 pieces of order information in the order group, it is determined that 10 articles C are required for the third order and the fourth order based on the order group information, the article C corresponds to the tray M, the first storage position 1301 of the tray M in the fixed storage area determines the stacker S1 that takes out the tray M, the transfer robot P1 that transfers the tray M, the first docking position 1321 of the stacker S1 and the transfer robot P1, and the first temporary storage position 1401 of the tray M in the temporary storage area 140, and the control server 110 issues a container take-out instruction to take out the tray M from the first storage position 1301 and transfer the tray M to the first docking position 1321 to the stacker S1, and a container transfer instruction to transfer the tray M to the first temporary storage position 1401 to the transfer robot P1.

The first target stacker 1501 is configured to retrieve the target storage container 1311 from the fixed storage area and transport to the first target docking location 1321 in response to the container retrieval instruction.

Specifically, following the above example, the stacker S1 moves to the first storage position 1301, takes out the tray M, and carries the tray M to the first target docking position 1321 in response to the container take-out instruction.

The first target autonomous mobile robot 1601 configured to, in response to the container transfer instruction, transfer the target storage container 1311 from the first target docking location 1321 to the first temporary storage location 1401.

Specifically, following the above example, the transfer robot P1, in response to the container transfer command, performs docking with the stacker S1 at the first target docking position 1321, and transfers the docked tray M to the first temporary storage position 1401 in the temporary storage area 140.

The control server 110 is further configured to determine a second target autonomous mobile robot 1602 for handling the target storage container 1311 in response to a first order in the group of orders, and to send a container handling instruction to the second target autonomous mobile robot 1602.

Specifically, following the above example, when the control server is processing the third order, 4 items of merchandise C are required in the third order, and the tray M corresponding to the item of merchandise C is located at the first temporary storage position 1401 of the temporary storage area 140, the transfer robot P2 for transferring the tray M is determined, and a container transfer instruction for transferring the tray M to the workstation is transmitted to the transfer robot P2.

The second target autonomous mobile robot 1602 configured to, in response to the container handling instruction, carry the target storage container 1311 from the first temporary storage location 1401 to the workstation 130.

Specifically, following the above example, the transfer robot P2 moves to the first temporary storage position 1401 in response to the container transfer instruction, and moves the tray M from the first temporary storage position 1401 to the workstation.

Optionally, the system further includes:

the control server 110 is further configured to determine a second temporary storage location 1402 of the target storage container 1311 in the temporary storage area according to the order group information, and send a container handling instruction to the second target autonomous mobile robot.

Specifically, following the above example, the control server 110 determines that the tray M will be used in the subsequent order processing task based on the order group information, determines the second temporary storage area 1402 in which the tray M is stored in the temporary storage area, and sends a container transfer instruction to the transfer robot P2 to transfer the tray M to the second temporary storage area 1402.

The second target autonomous mobile robot 1602 is further configured to transfer the target storage container 1311 from the workstation 120 to the second temporary storage location 1402 in response to the container transfer instruction.

Specifically, following the above example, the transfer robot P2 transfers the tray M from the workstation to the second temporary storage position 1402 in response to the container transfer instruction.

Optionally, the system further includes:

the control server 110 is further configured to determine, according to the order group information, a second storage position 1302 of the target storage container 1311 in the fixed storage area, a second target stacker 1502 that stores the target storage container 1311, and a second target docking position 1322 that docks the target storage container, send a container handling instruction to the second target autonomous mobile robot 1602, and send a container storing instruction to the second target stacker 1502.

Specifically, following the above example, when the control server 110 determines that the tray M is not used in the subsequent order processing based on the order group information, and determines that the tray M is to be transported back to the fixed storage area 130, the control server 110 determines the second storage position 1302 of the tray M in the fixed storage area 130, determines the stacker S2 for storing in the overhead rack and the second target docking position 1322 for docking the tray M, and transmits a container transporting instruction for transporting the tray M from the workstation to the second target docking position 1322 to the transfer robot P2 and a container storing instruction for transporting the tray M from the second target docking position 1322 to the second storage position 1302 to the stacker S2.

Specifically, following the above example, the transfer robot P2 transfers the pallet M from the workstation to the second target docking position 1322 in response to the container transfer instruction.

The second target stacker 1502, in response to the container deposit instruction, is configured to receive the target storage container 1311 at the second target docking location 1322 and deposit the target storage container 1311 into the second storage location 1302.

Specifically, following the above example, the stacker S2 and the transfer robot P2 perform docking with respect to the tray M at the second target docking position 1322, then transfer the tray M to the second storage position 1302, and store the tray M in the second storage position 1302.

The warehouse management system that this application embodiment provided, cooperation through stacker and autonomous mobile robot, warehouse management's cost has been reduced, warehouse system's automation has been realized, the condition that equipment and people are thoughtlessly gone has been avoided, the holistic operational environment of warehouse system has been simplified, operating efficiency has been improved, control server is according to order group information, the storage container that corresponds with the commodity that the order hit is deposited in temporary buffer area in advance, under the condition of carrying corresponding order task, carry the storage container to the workstation in temporary buffer area and carry out the task of selecting, make full use of autonomous mobile robot's flexibility, under the condition of order crest, can further effectively improve operating efficiency.

EXAMPLE III

Fig. 4 illustrates a warehouse management method provided by an embodiment of the present application, which may be implemented by the warehouse management system in the first embodiment, and is suitable for a traditional warehouse environment or a dense storage environment, where the warehouse management method is applied to a scenario that includes at least one or more control servers, one or more automatic access systems, a plurality of autonomous mobile robots, a plurality of workstations, and a plurality of temporary storage areas; the automatic storing and taking system comprises a plurality of high-level goods shelves and a plurality of stackers running on the high-level goods shelves, the stackers and the autonomous mobile robot are respectively in communication connection with the control server, and the warehouse management method specifically comprises the following steps:

step 402: the control server determines one or more target storage containers hit by the first order, storage positions of the one or more target storage containers in an overhead shelf, target connection positions and at least one of a target workstation and a target temporary storage area according to the first order, sends a container taking instruction to one or more target stackers of the plurality of stackers and sends a container handling instruction to one or more target autonomous mobile robots of the plurality of autonomous mobile robots.

Step 404: and the target stacker responds to the container taking instruction, operates to the storage position of the target storage container on the high-position shelf, and takes out the target storage container from the storage position and carries the target storage container to the target connection position.

Step 406: and the target autonomous mobile robot responds to the container carrying instruction, operates to the target transfer position to transfer the target storage container, and carries the target storage container from the target transfer position to the target workstation to complete at least one of the picking task of the order and the caching of the target temporary storage area.

Alternatively to this, the first and second parts may,

the target autonomous mobile robot transfers the target storage container from the target temporary storage area to the target workstation in response to the container transfer instruction.

Optionally, the autonomous mobile robot carries the target storage container to a target temporary storage area for caching, and leaves the target temporary storage area; wherein, the first and the second end of the pipe are connected with each other,

Alternatively to this, the first and second parts may,

after determining that the picking tasks of all orders in the order group are completed, the control server determines storage positions and target connection positions of the target storage containers in the high-level shelf, sends container carrying instructions to other autonomous mobile robots in the plurality of autonomous mobile robots, and sends container storing instructions to other stackers in the plurality of stackers;

the other pilers are configured to respond to the container storing instruction, operate to the target connection position to connect the target storage container, and store the target storage container in the storage position.

Optionally, a workstation binds at least one temporary storage area.

Optionally, the other stackers move in advance to the target connection position in response to the container deposit instruction, and wait for the target storage container to be transported to the target connection position.

The warehouse management method provided by the embodiment reduces the warehouse management cost through the cooperation of the stacker and the autonomous mobile robot, realizes the automation of the warehouse system, avoids the mixed operation of equipment and people, simplifies the overall operation environment of the warehouse system, improves the operation efficiency, when a plurality of order requests in an order group are processed simultaneously, and when items in a target storage container are sorted in a plurality of orders, the target storage container which is not sorted is transported to a temporary storage area, or the storage container corresponding to the commodity hit by the order is stored in the temporary buffer area in advance, and when the corresponding order task is executed, the storage containers are conveyed to the work stations to carry out the picking task in the temporary buffer area, the flexibility of the autonomous mobile robot is fully utilized, and the working efficiency can be further effectively improved under the condition of order wave peaks.

The foregoing description of specific embodiments of the present application has been presented. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In some cases, the actions or steps recited in the claims may be performed in a different order than in the embodiments and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In some embodiments, multitasking and parallel processing may also be possible or may be advantageous.

It should be noted that, for the sake of simplicity, the above-mentioned method embodiments are described as a series of acts or combinations, but those skilled in the art should understand that the present application is not limited by the described order of acts, as some steps may be performed in other orders or simultaneously according to the present application. Further, those skilled in the art should also appreciate that the embodiments described in the specification are preferred embodiments and that the acts and modules referred to are not necessarily required in this application.

In the above embodiments, the descriptions of the respective embodiments have respective emphasis, and for parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, reference may be made to related descriptions of other embodiments.

The preferred embodiments of the present application disclosed above are intended only to aid in the explanation of the application. Alternative embodiments are not exhaustive and do not limit the invention to the precise embodiments described. Obviously, many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the application and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best understand and utilize the application. The application is limited only by the claims and their full scope and equivalents.

Claims

1. A warehouse management system, the system comprising: one or more control servers, one or more automated access systems, a plurality of autonomous mobile robots, a plurality of workstations, and a plurality of temporary storage areas; the automatic access system comprises a plurality of high-level goods shelves and a plurality of stackers running on the high-level goods shelves, the stackers and the autonomous mobile robot are respectively in communication connection with the control server, and the distances between the temporary storage areas and the workstations are smaller than or equal to a preset threshold value; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the target autonomous mobile robot is configured to operate to the target docking position to dock the target storage container in response to the container handling instruction, and to handle the target storage container from the target docking position to the target workstation to complete at least one of a picking task and a target temporary storage area for caching of the first order.

2. The warehouse management system of claim 1, wherein the first order is from a group of orders that are combined according to predetermined rules.

3. The warehouse management system of claim 2, wherein the control server is further configured to send a container handling instruction to the target autonomous mobile robot upon determining that the picking task of the first order is completed at the target workstation;

the target autonomous mobile robot is further configured to transfer the target storage container from the workstation to the target temporary storage area in response to the container transfer instruction.

4. The warehouse management system of claim 1,

5. The warehouse management system of claim 1, wherein the autonomous mobile robot transports the target storage container to a target temporary storage area for caching and leaves the target temporary storage area; wherein, the first and the second end of the pipe are connected with each other,

6. The warehouse management system of claim 3,

7. The warehouse management system of claim 2,

8. The warehouse management system of claim 1, wherein a workstation binds at least one temporary storage area.

9. The warehouse management system of claim 8, wherein a distance between the temporary storage area and the workstation to which it is bound is less than or equal to a preset threshold.

10. The warehouse management system of claim 1, wherein the target autonomous mobile robot is further configured to move ahead to the target docking location to wait for the target storage container to be transferred to the target docking location in response to the container transfer instructions.

11. The warehouse management system of claim 7, wherein the other stockers are further configured to move ahead to the target docking location to wait for the target storage container to be transported to the target docking location in response to the container deposit command.

12. The warehouse management system of claim 1, wherein the target storage container is configured with a readable mark, and the stacker and/or the autonomous mobile robot is configured with an identification device that determines a location of the target storage container and/or information of the storage container by identifying the readable mark.

13. The warehouse management system of claim 1, wherein the target docking location is located in a roadway between the high-level racks or at an intersection of the roadway.

14. A method of bin management, comprising:

the control server determines one or more target storage containers hit by the first order, storage positions of the one or more target storage containers in an overhead shelf, target connection positions and at least one of a target workstation and a target temporary storage area according to the first order, wherein the distance between the plurality of temporary storage areas and the plurality of workstations is smaller than or equal to a preset threshold value, and sends a container fetching instruction to one or more target stackers in the plurality of stackers and a container handling instruction to one or more target autonomous mobile robots in the plurality of autonomous mobile robots;

15. The warehouse management method of claim 14, wherein the first order is from a group of orders that are combined according to a predetermined rule.

16. The warehouse management method of claim 15, wherein the control server, upon determining that the picking task of the first order is completed at the target workstation, sends a container handling instruction to the target autonomous mobile robot;

the target autonomous mobile robot transfers the target storage container from the workstation to the target temporary storage area in response to the container transfer instruction.

17. The warehouse management method according to claim 14, wherein,

18. The warehouse management method according to claim 14, wherein the autonomous mobile robot transports the target storage container to a target temporary storage area for caching and leaves the target temporary storage area; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

19. The warehouse management method according to claim 16,

20. The warehouse management method according to claim 15, wherein,

21. The warehouse management method of claim 14, wherein a workstation binds at least one temporary storage area.

22. The warehouse management method of claim 21, wherein a distance between the temporary storage area and the workstation to which it is bound is less than or equal to a preset threshold.

23. The warehouse management method of claim 14, wherein the target autonomous mobile robot moves ahead to the target docking location to wait for the target storage container to be transferred to the target docking location in response to the container transfer command.

24. The warehouse management method of claim 20, wherein the other stockers move ahead to the target docking location in response to the container deposit command, waiting for the target storage container to be transported to the target docking location.

25. The warehouse management method according to claim 14, wherein the target storage container is configured with a readable mark, and the stacker and/or the autonomous mobile robot is configured with an identification device that determines a location of the target storage container and/or information of the storage container by identifying the readable mark.

26. The warehouse management method of claim 14, wherein the target docking location is located in a roadway between the high-level racks or at an intersection of the roadway.