CN113269494A

CN113269494A - Inventory scheduling method, equipment and system

Info

Publication number: CN113269494A
Application number: CN202110605543.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 喻润方; 艾鑫
Original assignee: Shenzhen Kubo Software Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Kubo Software Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-05-31
Filing date: 2021-05-31
Publication date: 2021-08-17

Abstract

The application provides an inventory scheduling method, equipment and a system, which comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps of obtaining order information, inventory information of a plurality of movable shelves, storage areas where the movable shelves are located and operation information of lanes corresponding to the movable shelves, determining the storage position information of a container to be delivered from the order information according to the order information, the inventory information of the movable shelves, the storage areas where the movable shelves are located and the operation information of the corresponding lanes, and generating a carrying instruction according to the storage position information of the container to be delivered so that a carrying robot carries the container to be delivered from the warehouse according to the carrying instruction. The influence of the switch states of the movable goods shelves corresponding to the roadways in different storage areas on the delivery efficiency of the containers is considered, so that the delivery efficiency of the containers can be controlled.

Description

Inventory scheduling method, equipment and system

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of intelligent warehousing, in particular to a warehousing scheduling method, equipment and system.

Background

With the continuous development of social trade and the continuous progress of scientific technology, the warehousing technology is also continuously improved, and how to more efficiently distribute the inventory becomes a hot problem.

Normally, the lanes to the positions on the shelves in the warehouse are normally open. In order to improve the storage density of the warehouse, the lanes corresponding to the shelves are in a normally closed state, the shelves in the storage unit are movable, and the shelves are moved when the goods on the shelves need to be taken out, so that the lanes corresponding to the shelves are opened.

However, existing inventory allocation strategies are based on fixed shelves and are not applicable to movable shelves.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides an inventory scheduling method, equipment and a system, and aims to provide a scheme for efficiently taking out a container from a movable shelf.

In a first aspect, the present application provides an inventory scheduling method, where the method is applied to a scheduling device, and the method includes:

the method comprises the steps of obtaining order information, inventory information of a plurality of movable shelves, storage areas where the movable shelves are located and operation information of lanes corresponding to the movable shelves;

determining the position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of the goods to be taken in the order information according to the order information, the inventory information of the plurality of movable shelves, the storage area where the movable shelves are located and the operation information of the corresponding roadway;

and generating a carrying instruction according to the position information of the container to be delivered out of the warehouse, so that the carrying robot carries the container to be delivered out of the warehouse according to the carrying instruction.

In an embodiment, determining the storage location information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of the goods to be taken in the order information according to the order information, the inventory information of the plurality of movable shelves, the storage area where the movable shelves are located and the operation information of the corresponding roadway specifically includes:

determining a storage area associated with the order information according to the order information, the inventory information of the movable shelf, the storage area where the movable shelf is located and the operation information of the corresponding roadway;

determining the position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of the goods to be taken according to the order information, the switch state of the laneway in the associated storage area and the inventory information of the movable goods shelf;

the operation information of the roadway comprises an on-off state, and the on-off state comprises an on state and an off state.

splitting the order information according to the order information, the inventory information of the movable shelf and the storage area where the movable shelf is located to obtain at least one piece of sub-order information and the storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information;

determining the position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of the goods to be taken according to the at least one piece of sub-order information, the opening and closing state of the tunnel in the storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information and the inventory information of the movable goods shelf;

In an embodiment, splitting order information according to the order information, the inventory information of the movable shelf, and the storage area where the movable shelf is located, and obtaining at least one piece of sub-order information and the storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information specifically includes:

determining alternative containers of the goods to be taken and storage areas where the alternative containers are located according to the order information, the inventory information of the plurality of movable shelves and the storage areas where the alternative containers are located;

splitting the order information according to the alternative container of the object to be picked and the storage area where the alternative container is located, and obtaining at least one piece of sub-order information and the storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information.

splitting the order information according to the order information, the inventory information of a plurality of movable shelves, the storage areas where the movable shelves are located and the number of the handling robots operating in each storage area to obtain at least one piece of sub-order information and a storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information;

the operation information of the roadway comprises the opening and closing state of the roadway and the number of the carrying robots for operation, and the opening and closing state comprises an opening state and a closing state.

In an embodiment, splitting order information according to the order information, inventory information of a plurality of movable shelves, a storage area where the movable shelves are located, and the number of handling robots operating in each storage area to obtain at least one piece of sub-order information and a storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information specifically includes:

sequentially polling each storage area according to the sequence from small to large of the number of the handling robots operating in the storage area, and determining alternative containers of goods to be taken and the storage area where the alternative containers are located according to the inventory information and the order information of the movable shelves in the storage area until all the alternative containers of the goods to be taken in the order information are determined;

In one embodiment, each sub-order information may include a minimum number of types of items to be picked and/or a minimum number of storage areas associated with each sub-order.

selecting a storage area with the least number of containers to be delivered from each storage area as a first target storage area;

when the inventory of the first target storage area meets the requirement of the goods to be taken in the order information, determining the position information of the goods to be taken out of the container of the goods to be taken according to the requirement information of the goods to be taken in the order information, the opening and closing state of the roadway in the first target storage area and the inventory information of the movable goods shelf in the first target storage area.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises:

when the inventory of the first target storage area meets the requirement of a first part of goods to be taken in the order information, selecting a storage area with the least quantity of containers to be taken out of the storage area as a second target storage area;

when the inventory of the second target storage area meets the requirement of a second part of goods to be taken in the order information, determining the position information of the goods to be taken out of the second part of goods according to the requirement information of the second part of goods to be taken, the opening and closing state of the tunnel in the second target storage area and the inventory information of the movable goods shelf in the second target storage area, wherein the order information comprises the requirement of the first part of goods to be taken and the requirement of the second part of goods to be taken.

In an embodiment, for the goods to be taken in the order information, a distance from a roadway corresponding to the container to be taken out of the warehouse to the roadway in the open state of the goods to be taken is less than or equal to a distance from a roadway corresponding to the unselected alternative container to the roadway in the open state, and the alternative container is a container stored with the goods to be taken.

In an embodiment, determining the storage location information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of the goods to be taken according to the at least one piece of sub-order information, the switch state of the tunnel in the storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information, and the inventory information of the movable shelf specifically includes:

calculating and obtaining the distance from the roadway corresponding to the alternative container of each object to be picked in the sub-order information to the roadway in the opening state aiming at each storage area;

and selecting a container to be taken out of the warehouse from the alternative containers to be taken according to the distance from the roadway corresponding to the alternative container to be taken to the roadway in the on-off state in the sub-order information, and acquiring the position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of each cargo to be taken.

polling the inventory information of the movable goods shelf in the storage area associated with the sub-order information aiming at the goods to be taken in each sub-order information, and determining a target container according to the inventory information of the movable goods shelf; the polling sequence comprises polling each movable shelf in turn according to a preset sequence from the movable shelf corresponding to the roadway in the switch state, wherein the preset sequence is the sequence from the movable shelf corresponding to the roadway close to the switch state to the movable shelf corresponding to the roadway far away from the switch state;

stopping polling when a preset polling stopping condition is met, determining a target container as a container to be delivered out of the warehouse, and acquiring the position information of the container to be delivered out of the warehouse;

wherein the preset polling stop condition comprises: and the stock in each target container meets the requirement of goods to be taken in the sub-order information.

In one embodiment, the predetermined sequence further comprises: for each movable shelf, the order is from close to the sorting table to far from the sorting table.

In one embodiment, the presetting of the stop polling condition further comprises: the total amount of inventory within the target container is minimal.

In one embodiment, the total number of movable shelves corresponding to the container to be delivered is less than or equal to the total number of movable shelves corresponding to any alternative container combination;

and the stock in each alternative container combination meets the requirement of goods to be taken in the order information.

arranging and combining the alternative containers of each to-be-taken goods in the sub-order information to obtain a plurality of groups of alternative container combinations;

selecting a target alternative container combination from the alternative container combinations; the containers in the target alternative container combination are containers to be delivered from the warehouse, and the total number of the movable shelves corresponding to the target alternative container combination is smaller than or equal to the total number of the movable shelves corresponding to any one alternative container combination.

In an embodiment, the arranging and combining the alternative containers of each to-be-taken goods in the sub-order information to obtain a plurality of groups of alternative container combinations specifically includes:

polling the movable goods shelves according to the sequence of the number of the alternative containers on each movable goods shelf from large to small, storing the demand information of the goods to be taken in the sub-order information which is satisfied by the stock in the alternative containers on the polled movable goods shelves, and obtaining the alternative container combination according to the alternative containers on the polled movable goods shelves.

In an embodiment, the total distance from the roadway corresponding to each alternative container in the target alternative container combination to the roadway in the open state is less than or equal to the distance from the roadway corresponding to each alternative container in the unselected alternative container combination to the roadway in the open state.

In one embodiment, the total amount of inventory within the container to be depalletized is minimal; and/or

The total distance from the container to be delivered to the warehouse to the sorting table is minimum.

In one embodiment, the method for generating a carrying instruction according to the position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse specifically includes:

acquiring the number of the carrying robots in the roadway in the opening state in real time;

and generating a carrying instruction according to the number of the carrying robots and the position information of the containers to be delivered from the warehouse on the movable goods shelves corresponding to the roadway in the opening state.

In an embodiment, the generating the conveying instruction according to the number of the conveying robots and the position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse specifically includes:

when the number of the transfer robots reaches a preset threshold value, generating a transfer instruction for controlling the transfer robots to travel to a cache region according to the storage position information of the containers to be delivered from the warehouse on the movable goods shelves corresponding to the roadway in the open state, so that the robots wait in the cache region;

and when the number of the transfer robots is smaller than a preset threshold value, generating a transfer instruction for controlling the transfer robots to travel to the roadway according to the information of the positions of the containers to be delivered from the warehouse on the movable goods shelves corresponding to the roadway in the opening state.

In one embodiment, after the carrying instruction is generated according to the position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse, the method further comprises the following steps:

acquiring the delivery state of each container to be delivered from the warehouse on the movable goods shelf corresponding to the roadway in the opening state;

when the delivery states of all containers to be delivered from the warehouse on the movable goods shelves corresponding to the roadway in the opening state are delivery states, generating an opening instruction;

the opening instruction is used for opening a roadway which is closest to the roadway in the opening state at present and is provided with a movable goods shelf for goods to be delivered out of the warehouse.

In a second aspect, the present application provides an inventory scheduling device, including:

the acquisition module is used for acquiring order information, inventory information of a plurality of movable shelves, storage areas where the plurality of movable shelves are located and operation information of lanes corresponding to the plurality of movable shelves;

the processing module is used for determining the storage position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of the goods to be taken in the order information according to the order information, the inventory information of the plurality of movable shelves, the storage area where the movable shelves are located and the operation information of the corresponding roadway;

and the processing module is also used for generating a carrying instruction according to the position information of the container to be delivered out of the warehouse, so that the carrying robot carries the container to be delivered out of the warehouse according to the carrying instruction.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a scheduling apparatus, including: a memory, a processor;

a memory; a memory for storing processor-executable instructions;

wherein the processor is configured to perform the inventory scheduling method according to the first aspect and the alternative.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a robot system including the scheduling apparatus and the transfer robot according to the third aspect and the optional embodiments.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for implementing the inventory scheduling method according to the first aspect and the alternative.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising computer instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the inventory scheduling method according to the first aspect and the alternative.

According to the inventory scheduling method, equipment and system, in a plurality of storage units, due to the fact that the switch states of the lanes corresponding to the movable shelves in the same storage area can be mutually influenced, the switch states of the lanes corresponding to the movable shelves in different storage areas can not be mutually influenced, when inventory scheduling is conducted, besides the order information and the storage position information of the movable shelves, containers to be delivered are determined according to the switch states of the lanes corresponding to the movable shelves and the storage areas where the movable shelves are located, the influence of the switch states of the lanes corresponding to the movable shelves in the storage areas on delivery efficiency of the containers can be considered, and delivery efficiency of the containers can be controlled.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present application and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the application.

Fig. 1 is a layout diagram of a plurality of memory cells according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a memory cell according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a state change based on the memory cell shown in FIG. 2 provided in the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a memory cell according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state change of the memory cell shown in FIG. 4 according to the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a robotic system provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is an interaction diagram of an inventory scheduling method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a state change based on the memory cell shown in FIG. 2 provided in the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a state change based on the memory cell shown in FIG. 4 provided in the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a state change based on the memory cell shown in FIG. 2 provided in the present application;

FIG. 11 is an interactive schematic diagram of an inventory scheduling method according to another embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 12 is a layout diagram of a plurality of memory cells according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of an inventory scheduling device according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 14 is a schematic diagram of a scheduling apparatus according to another embodiment of the present application.

With the above figures, there are shown specific embodiments of the present application, which will be described in more detail below. These drawings and written description are not intended to limit the scope of the inventive concepts in any manner, but rather to illustrate the inventive concepts to those skilled in the art by reference to specific embodiments.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, like numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise indicated. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with certain aspects of the present application, as detailed in the appended claims.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the warehousing system applied to the inventory scheduling method provided by the present application includes a plurality of storage areas 100, and a plurality of movable shelves 10 and a guide rail 20 for moving the movable shelves 10 are disposed on each storage area 100. Each movable shelf 10 is provided with a plurality of shelves, and each shelf is provided with a plurality of storage positions 101.

When there is no task of taking and placing goods in the storage area 100, the movable shelves 10 in the storage area 100 are arranged in the manner shown in fig. 2, that is, there is no tunnel between the two movable shelves 10 for the transfer robot 40 to walk, and by so arranging, the density of the positions in the storage area 100 can be increased.

As shown in fig. 3, when there is a task of taking and placing goods in the storage area 100, the movable racks 10 are moved along the guide rails 20, and a tunnel 30 is left between the two movable racks 10, so that the transfer robot 40 can walk along the tunnel 30 and take and place goods on the seats on the movable racks on one side or both sides of the tunnel.

It should be noted that the width of the tunnel between the two movable racks 10 may be only for one transfer robot to travel, or may be for a plurality of transfer robots to travel side by side. A lane in which only one transfer robot can travel is referred to as a single lane. A lane in which a plurality of transfer robots can travel side by side is called a multi-lane.

In the memory cell 100 shown in fig. 2 and 3, a plurality of lanes can be simultaneously opened. Referring to the 4 th movable shelf located in the center area of the storage unit 100, if the inventory on the movable shelf to the left of the 4 th movable shelf is taken, for example: inventory on the 2 nd movable shelf, it is necessary to move the 1 st movable shelf to the left to leave a lane 30 between the 1 st movable shelf and the 2 nd movable shelf. If the stock on the movable shelf on the right of the 4 th movable shelf is taken, for example: inventory on the 5 th movable shelf, the 6 th movable shelf and the 7 th movable shelf need to be moved to the right to leave a lane 30 between the 5 th movable shelf and the 6 th movable shelf.

In the storage unit 100 shown in fig. 4 and 5, only one lane can be opened at the same time, and if the stock on the 4 th movable shelf is taken, the 1 st to 3 rd movable shelves are all required to be moved to the left to leave the lane 30 between the 3 rd movable shelf and the 4 th movable shelf.

The lane between the two movable shelves is defined as the lane corresponding to the two movable shelves, and when the movable shelves 10 are arranged in the manner shown in fig. 2 and 4, the lane corresponding to the movable shelf is in a closed state, that is, the transfer robot 40 cannot take out the inventory on the movable shelf. When the movable shelf 10 is laid out in the manner shown in fig. 3 and 5, it indicates that the lane corresponding to the movable shelf is in an open state, for example: in fig. 3, the lanes corresponding to the 1 st movable shelf and the 2 nd movable shelf are in an open state, and the lanes corresponding to the 5 th movable shelf and the 6 th movable shelf are in an open state.

It should be noted here that in the storage unit 100 shown in fig. 2, the 1 st movable shelf and the 7 th movable shelf are located at the outermost positions, and their corresponding lanes are always in the open state. In the storage unit 100 shown in fig. 4, the 1 st movable shelf is located at the outermost side, and the corresponding lane is always in the open state.

The warehousing system further comprises a robot system, as shown in fig. 6, comprising a dispatching device 201 and a handling robot 202. The scheduling apparatus 201 is configured to send a transfer instruction to the transfer robot 202, so that the transfer robot 202 transfers the inventory to a specified position according to the transfer instruction.

The warehousing system also comprises an order management system, an inventory management system and a shelf control system. The order management system is used for receiving the order information sent by the client and sorting the order information. The inventory management system is used for dynamically managing various items of inventory information stored in the inventory unit. The shelf control system is used for controlling the movement of the movable shelf and receiving information collected by the sensor arranged on the movable shelf.

And the warehouse system is also provided with a sorting table, and after receiving the order task, the carrying robot carries the stock in the storage unit to the sorting table for sorting and then packaging and delivering out of the warehouse.

As shown in fig. 7, an embodiment of the present application provides an inventory scheduling method, which is applied to a robot system including a scheduling apparatus and a transfer robot. The inventory scheduling method specifically comprises the following steps:

s301, the scheduling equipment acquires order information, inventory information of a plurality of movable shelves, storage areas where the plurality of movable shelves are located and operation information of lanes corresponding to the plurality of movable shelves.

The order information includes demand information of the goods to be taken, for example: the goods to be picked include SKU1 and SKU2, wherein the number of SKUs 1 is 10 pieces and the number of SKUs 2 is 20 pieces.

The inventory information of the plurality of movable shelves refers to the type of inventory and the quantity of inventory stored in each storage position of each movable shelf. For example: with 50 SKUs 1 stored in a library location.

Each storage area within the warehousing system is marked, for example: storage area No. 1, storage area No. 2, etc., and the storage areas where the plurality of movable shelves are located may be represented by the marks of the storage areas, for example: the movable shelf is located in storage area No. 1.

The operation information of the lanes corresponding to the movable shelves can only comprise the switch states of the lanes, and can also comprise the switch states of the lanes and the number of robots operating in the lanes, and the switch states of the lanes comprise that the lanes corresponding to the movable shelves are in the opening state or in the closing state.

When the order information is obtained, the user inputs the order information through the terminal equipment, and the order information is transmitted to the dispatching equipment by the terminal equipment. Or after receiving the order information input by the user, the terminal device uploads the order information to the order management device, and then the order management device transmits the order information to the scheduling device.

When acquiring the inventory information of a plurality of movable shelves, the inventory information can be directly read from the inventory management system.

When the storage areas where a plurality of movable shelves are located are obtained, basic information of the movable shelves can be directly read from the shelf control system.

When the switch states of the lanes corresponding to the plurality of movable shelves are obtained, information can be directly read from the shelf control system. The dispatching equipment can also directly receive information collected by the sensors arranged on the movable shelves, and determine the switch states of the tunnels corresponding to the movable shelves according to the collected information.

S302, the dispatching equipment determines the position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of the goods to be taken in the order information according to the order information, the inventory information of the plurality of movable shelves, the storage area where the movable shelves are located and the operation information of the corresponding roadway.

The opening and closing state of the roadway corresponding to the movable goods shelf can influence the difficulty of goods taking, and if the roadway corresponding to the movable goods shelf is in the closing state, the movable goods shelf needs to be moved so that the roadway corresponding to the movable goods shelf is in the opening state. In the plurality of storage units, the opening and closing states of the lanes corresponding to the movable shelves in the same storage area are mutually influenced, and the opening and closing states of the lanes corresponding to the movable shelves in different storage areas are not mutually influenced.

Therefore, when the container to be delivered from which the goods to be taken are determined from the containers on the movable shelves, the container to be delivered can be selected according to the storage area where the movable shelves are located and the switch states of the lanes corresponding to the movable shelves on the basis of matching of the demand information and the inventory information, besides that the demand information of the goods to be taken in the order information is matched with the inventory information of each movable shelf.

In one embodiment, when the storage position information of the container to be delivered from the warehouse of the object to be taken is determined, the storage area associated with the order information is determined according to the order information, the inventory information of the movable shelf, the storage area where the movable shelf is located and the operation information of the corresponding roadway, and then the storage position information of the container to be delivered from the warehouse of the object to be taken is determined according to the order information, the opening and closing state of the roadway in the associated storage area and the inventory information of the movable shelf.

As a specific implementation manner, when determining a storage area associated with order information, the order information may be split into a plurality of pieces of sub-order information according to the storage area, and the storage area associated with each piece of sub-order information may be obtained. And then determining the stock meeting the demand information of the goods to be taken in the sub-order information in each storage area, and taking the container corresponding to the stock as a container to be taken out of the warehouse.

Compared with the case carrying robot which concentrates the containers to be delivered out of the warehouse in the same storage area, the number of the roadways in the opening state in the same storage area is limited, the carrying robot cannot simultaneously execute a plurality of case carrying tasks, the containers to be delivered out of the warehouse are dispersed in the plurality of storage areas through the arrangement, and the carrying robot can simultaneously execute the case carrying operation in different storage areas by utilizing the dispersibility of the plurality of storage areas, so that the case carrying efficiency of the carrying robot is improved.

As a specific implementation manner, when determining the storage area associated with the order information, a storage area with the smallest number of existing containers to be delivered may be selected as a target storage area, and containers are allocated to the objects to be taken in the order information in the target storage area. If the inventory in the target storage area can meet the requirement information of each goods to be taken in the order information, the next target storage area does not need to be selected. And if the stock in the target storage area does not meet the requirement information of each goods to be taken in the order information, continuously taking the storage area with the least number of the containers to be taken out of the storage area in the rest storage areas as a next target storage area until the requirement information of all the goods to be taken in the order information is met.

Through the arrangement, the number of the containers to be delivered from the warehouse in each storage area can be balanced, the phenomenon that the waiting time for taking out the newly distributed containers to be delivered from the warehouse in the storage area is too long due to the fact that the number of the containers to be delivered from the warehouse in part of the storage areas is too large is avoided, and therefore the container moving efficiency of the transfer robot is improved.

The following describes an implementation manner of determining a container to be delivered from a warehouse in a plurality of storage areas, taking any one of the storage areas satisfying the demand information of the goods to be taken as an example.

In one embodiment, the lane in the open state is referred to as a first lane. Containers on each movable shelf which meet the requirement information of each object to be picked in the order information are called alternative containers. Namely, the goods to be taken are stored in the preparation box.

And aiming at each object to be picked, the distance from the roadway corresponding to the container to be picked out of the warehouse to the first roadway is less than or equal to the distance from the roadway corresponding to the unselected alternative container to the first roadway. Because when opening the tunnel between the portable goods shelves, it is earlier to open the tunnel nearer apart from the tunnel that opens at present, opens the tunnel far away apart from the tunnel that opens at present again, through so setting up, can reduce the displacement of portable goods shelves when taking out the goods of waiting to get from memory cell 100, reduces the tunnel between the portable goods shelves and opens or close the number of times to make and wait to get the goods and can take out from each position of storehouse fast, improve goods warehouse-out efficiency.

The principle of determining containers to be delivered is described below in terms of the storage area shown in figures 2 and 4. As shown in fig. 8, lanes corresponding to the 1 st, 2 nd, 5 th and 6 th movable shelves are in an open state. The first lane is the lane that the 1 st portable goods shelves correspond, the lane that the 2 nd portable goods shelves correspond and the 5 th lane that corresponds with the 6 th portable goods shelves. Alternative cargo containers for SKU1 are located on the 3 rd and 6 th movable shelves. There are 2 alternative containers on the 3 rd mobile pallet, and there are 50 SKUs 1 in total in the two alternative containers. There are 1 alternative cargo box on the 6 th mobile pallet and 50 SKUs 1 in the alternative cargo box.

If the required number of SKUs 1 is 10. And selecting the alternative container on the 6 th movable shelf as the container to be delivered from the warehouse if the distance from the lane corresponding to the alternative container on the 3 rd movable shelf to the first lane corresponding to the 2 nd movable shelf is farther and the alternative container on the 6 th movable shelf meets the requirement of SKU 1. And the unselected alternative containers are two alternative containers on the 3 rd movable pallet. The distance from the roadway corresponding to the container to be taken out of the warehouse to the first roadway is smaller than the distance from the roadway corresponding to the unselected alternative container to the first roadway.

If the required number of SKUs 1 increases to 60, then one of the alternative containers on the 6 th movable pallet and one on the 3 rd movable pallet would need to be selected. And the unselected alternative container is another alternative container on the 3 rd movable pallet. The distance from the roadway corresponding to the container to be taken out of the warehouse to the first roadway is smaller than or equal to the distance from the roadway corresponding to the unselected alternative container to the first roadway.

As shown in fig. 9, the lanes corresponding to the 3 rd and 4 th movable shelves are in an open state. The first lane is the 3 rd lane corresponding to the 4 th movable shelf. Alternative cargo containers for SKU1 are located on the 5 th and 6 th movable shelves. There is one alternative cargo box on each of the 5 th and 6 th movable pallets, and there are 50 SKUs 1 in each alternative cargo box.

If the required number of SKUs 1 is 10. And the distance from the lane corresponding to the alternative container on the 5 th movable shelf to the first lane corresponding to the 2 nd movable shelf is shorter, the distance from the lane corresponding to the alternative container on the 6 th movable shelf to the first lane corresponding to the 2 nd movable shelf is longer, and the alternative container on the 5 th movable shelf meets the requirement of SKU1, so that the alternative container on the 5 th movable shelf is selected as the container to be delivered. And the unselected alternative container is the alternative container on the 6 th movable pallet.

In one embodiment, the total number of movable racks corresponding to the container to be unloaded is less than or equal to the total number of movable racks corresponding to any one alternative container combination. Through such setting, can reduce the opening and the number of times of closing of tunnel between the portable goods shelves when taking out the goods of waiting to get from memory cell 100 to make the goods of waiting to get can take out from each position of storehouse fast, improve goods warehouse-out efficiency.

And matching the demand information of the goods to be taken in the order information with the inventory information on the movable goods shelf to determine the combination of the multiple groups of the alternative containers. And the stock of all the alternative containers in each alternative container combination meets the requirement information of the goods to be taken.

Continuing with the principle of selecting containers to be shipped from the warehouse as an example in FIG. 2, the required number of SKUs 1 in the order information is 10 and the required number of SKUs 2 is 20. As shown in FIG. 10, the 6 th movable shelf has one alternate cargo box of SKU1 and one alternate cargo box of SKU 2. And 50 pieces of stock are in each alternative container. There are two alternative cargo containers of SKU1 on the 3 rd movable pallet, and 50 SKU1 in each alternative cargo container.

The alternate bin of SKU1 on the 6 th movable shelf and the alternate bin of SKU2 all of the inventory has met the demand information for the item to be picked in the order information, and the alternate bin of SKU1 on the 6 th movable shelf and the alternate bin of SKU2 are combined as a first group of alternate bins.

The alternative cargo container for the SKU2 on the 6 th movable shelf and the alternative cargo container for one of the SKU1 on the 3 rd movable shelf all have met the demand information for the cargo to be taken in the order information, and then the alternative cargo container for the SKU2 on the 6 th movable shelf and the alternative cargo container for one of the SKU1 on the 3 rd movable shelf are combined into a second group of alternative cargo containers.

The alternate bin of SKU2 on the 6 th movable shelf and the alternate bin of another SKU1 on the 3 rd movable shelf may also be combined into a third set of alternate bin combinations.

Namely, three groups of alternative container combinations are provided, the number of the movable shelves of the first group of alternative container combination is 1, the number of the movable shelves of the second group and the third group of alternative container combination is 2, and the first group of alternative container combination is selected as the container to be delivered.

In an embodiment, the total distance from the roadway corresponding to the container to be taken out of the warehouse to the roadway in the open state in the order information is less than or equal to the total distance from the roadway corresponding to each alternative container in the unselected alternative container combination to the roadway in the open state.

And the alternative containers of the SKU1 and the SKU2 in the first group of alternative container combination are both positioned at the 6 th movable shelf, and the roadway corresponding to the 6 th movable shelf is in an open state, so that the total distance from the roadway corresponding to the two alternative containers in the first group of alternative container combination to the roadway corresponding to the 6 th movable shelf is zero.

And the alternative container of the SKU1 in the second group of alternative container combinations is positioned at the 6 th movable shelf, the alternative container of the SKU2 is positioned at the 3 rd movable shelf, and the total distance obtained by calculation is the distance from the lane corresponding to the 3 rd movable shelf to the lane corresponding to the 2 nd movable shelf.

And the total distance obtained by calculation in the third group of alternative container combinations is the same as the total distance obtained by calculation in the second group of alternative container combinations.

And selecting the alternative containers in the first group of alternative container combinations as containers to be delivered from the warehouse.

It should be noted that the selected combination of alternative containers may have the following embodiments when the minimum number of movable shelves and the minimum total distance between the alternative containers cannot be satisfied.

For example: the multiple groups of alternative containers can be combined and sorted from small to large according to the number of the movable shelves to obtain a first sequence, and the multiple groups of alternative containers can be combined and sorted from small to large according to the total distance of the alternative containers to obtain a second sequence. When the alternative container combination is selected as the container to be delivered, ensuring that the selected alternative container combination is positioned at the first K in the first sequence and positioned at the first P in the second sequence, wherein K and P are positive integers; or setting the weight of each factor, and determining the containers to be delivered in a weighted average mode.

And S303, the dispatching equipment generates a carrying instruction according to the position information of the container to be delivered from the warehouse of the object to be taken.

And the dispatching equipment plans a path according to the position information of all containers to be delivered from the warehouse and generates a carrying instruction according to a path planning result. When the path planning is carried out, the information of the positions of the containers to be delivered out of the warehouse is considered, and the information can be combined with the existing carrying tasks of the carrying robot. The general principles of path planning may be shortest distance, minimum number of transfer robots to be handled, etc.

And S304, the dispatching equipment sends a conveying command to the conveying robot.

And S305, the carrying robot carries the container to be delivered out of the warehouse according to the carrying instruction.

The carrying robot receives the carrying instruction from the dispatching equipment, analyzes the carrying instruction to obtain a planned path, and takes out the container to be delivered from the warehouse from the movable goods shelf according to the planned path.

In the technical scheme, in the warehousing system with a plurality of storage units, because the opening and closing states of the tunnels in the two different storage units cannot influence each other, the containers to be delivered are determined according to the opening and closing states of the tunnels corresponding to the movable shelves and the storage areas where the movable shelves are located, besides the order information and the storage position information of the movable shelves, the influence of the opening and closing states of the tunnels corresponding to the movable shelves in each storage area on the delivery efficiency of the containers can be considered, and therefore the delivery efficiency of the containers can be controlled.

As shown in fig. 11, an embodiment of the present application provides an inventory scheduling method, which specifically includes the following steps:

s401, the scheduling equipment obtains order information, inventory information of a plurality of movable shelves, storage areas where the plurality of movable shelves are located and operation information of lanes corresponding to the plurality of movable shelves.

The steps have been described in detail in the above embodiments, and are not described herein again.

S402, the dispatching equipment determines the storage position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of the goods to be taken in the order information according to the order information, the inventory information of the plurality of movable shelves, the storage area where the movable shelves are located and the operation information of the corresponding roadway.

When the storage position information of the container to be delivered from the warehouse of the object to be taken is determined, the storage area associated with the order information is determined according to the order information, the inventory information of the movable goods shelf, the storage area where the movable goods shelf is located and the operation information of the corresponding roadway, and then the storage position information of the container to be delivered from the warehouse of the object to be taken is determined according to the order information, the opening and closing state of the roadway in the associated storage area and the inventory information of the movable goods shelf.

As one implementation manner, when a container to be taken out of a warehouse is determined, the order information is firstly split into a plurality of pieces of sub-order information, and a storage area associated with each piece of sub-order information is determined. And then, determining containers to be taken out of the warehouse in each storage area, wherein the containers to be taken out of the warehouse are in each sub-order information.

In an embodiment, the order information is split according to the order information, the inventory information of the movable shelf and the storage area where the movable shelf is located, at least one piece of sub-order information and the storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information are obtained, and the storage position information of the container to be delivered from the warehouse of the object to be delivered is determined according to the at least one piece of sub-order information, the opening and closing state of the roadway in the storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information and the inventory information of the movable shelf.

When the order information is split, the alternative containers of the goods to be taken and the storage areas where the alternative containers are located are determined according to the order information, the inventory information of the plurality of movable shelves and the storage areas where the alternative containers are located. More specifically, the order information and the inventory information on each movable shelf are matched with each other to obtain an alternative container of the goods to be taken, and the alternative container of the goods to be taken is determined according to the storage area of the movable shelf where the alternative container is located.

After the alternative container of the goods to be taken and the storage area where the alternative container is located are obtained, splitting order information according to the alternative container of the goods to be taken and the storage area where the alternative container is located, and obtaining at least one piece of sub-order information and the storage area where the at least one piece of sub-order information is associated. More specifically, the demand information of goods to be taken corresponding to the alternative containers located in the same storage area is distributed to the same sub-order to obtain at least one sub-order, and the storage area where the at least one sub-order information is associated with each sub-order information is obtained.

Through the arrangement, goods to be taken with the alternative goods boxes in the same storage area can be split into the same sub-order, so that the goods to be taken are distributed to the goods to be taken out according to the opening and closing states of the roadways in the same storage area and the inventory information of the movable goods shelves, the opening and closing times of each roadway are reduced, and the goods taking efficiency of the goods boxes is improved.

For example, as shown in fig. 12, the storage system includes four storage units, which are labeled as storage unit a, storage unit B, storage unit C, and storage unit D, the items to be picked in the order information include SKUs 1 and SKUs 2, and the number of SKUs 1 and SKUs 2 is 10.

Matching the goods to be taken in the order information with the inventory in each storage unit, determining a storage unit A with a SKU1 alternative container, a storage unit B with a SKU2 alternative container, a storage unit C with SKU1 and SKU2 alternative containers, 60 SKU1 in the SKU1 alternative container and 60 SKU2 in the SKU2 alternative container.

In order splitting, the demand information for SKU1 is placed in one sub-order, which is associated with storage area A, and the demand information for SKU2 is placed in another sub-order, which is associated with storage area B.

In one embodiment, the order information is split according to the order information, the inventory information of a plurality of movable shelves, the storage area where the movable shelves are located and the number of the handling robots operating in each storage area to obtain at least one piece of sub-order information and the storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information, and the storage position information of the container to be delivered of the goods is determined according to the at least one piece of sub-order information, the opening and closing state of the tunnel in the storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information and the inventory information of the movable shelves.

When the order information is split, sequentially polling each storage area according to the sequence from small to large of the number of the handling robots operating in the storage areas, and determining the alternative containers of the goods to be taken and the storage areas where the alternative containers are located according to the stock information and the order information of the movable shelves in the storage areas until all the alternative containers of the goods to be taken in the order information are determined. That is, when polling each storage area, the inventory information and the order information of the movable shelves in the currently polled storage area are matched with each other, the alternative containers in the currently polled storage area are determined, and the goods to be taken of the alternative containers which are already allocated and the goods to be taken of the alternative containers which are not allocated in the order information are determined. If there is no item to be picked up in the order information that has no alternative container allocated, the polling may be terminated. And if the order information contains the goods to be taken which are not allocated with the alternative containers, updating the currently polled storage area according to the sequence from small to large of the number of the handling robots operating in the storage area, and continuously determining the alternative containers in the currently polled storage area.

After the alternative container of the goods to be taken and the storage area where the alternative container is located are obtained, splitting order information according to the alternative container of the goods to be taken and the storage area where the alternative container is located, and obtaining at least one piece of sub-order information and the storage area where the at least one piece of sub-order information is associated.

The storage areas with few carrying robots are preferentially selected to distribute containers to be delivered out of the warehouse for the objects to be taken in the order information, and the waiting time for taking out the containers to be delivered out of the warehouse for the objects to be taken in the order information is shortened, so that the box carrying efficiency of the carrying robots is improved.

For example: with continued reference to fig. 12, assume that the number of containers to be delivered allocated within the storage units a to D is 5, 4, 3, and 2 in this order. The inventory in the storage unit D is polled, the inventory information in the storage unit D is matched with the demand information of goods to be taken, and the storage area D is determined to be free of the inventory of SKU1 and SKU 2. And polling the stock in the storage unit C to determine that the stock in the storage area C has SKU1 and SKU2, and the stock can completely meet the demand information of goods to be taken in the order information, and stopping the round. The alternative containers to be taken from the order information are located in the storage area C and are located in the same storage area, that is, the order information includes a piece of sub-order information.

In one embodiment, when the order information is split according to the alternative containers to be picked and the storage areas where the alternative containers are located, each piece of sub-order information satisfies any one or more of the following conditions: the type of goods to be taken in each sub-order information is the least, and/or the number of storage areas associated with each sub-order is the least.

Through the arrangement, order information is dispersed to more storage areas, the characteristic that the opening states of roadways in different storage areas cannot influence each other can be utilized, and containers to be delivered from a warehouse are taken out from a plurality of storage areas by a plurality of transfer robots simultaneously, so that the delivery efficiency of the containers is improved.

Assuming that the number of containers to be shipped out of the storage units a to D is 5, 3, 4, and 2, the storage unit B is polled before the storage unit C, and the storage unit B has SKU2 container candidates, but the SKU1 requirement information cannot be satisfied, it is necessary to continue polling the storage unit C, which has SKU1 and container candidates and SKU2 container candidates. In splitting the order, the demand information for SKU1 may be split into one of the sub-orders associated with storage unit B and the demand information for SKU2 may be split into the other sub-order associated with storage unit C. The demand information for SKU1 and SKU2 may also continue to be placed in the same order that is associated with storage unit C.

As another embodiment, when a container to be taken out of a warehouse is determined, the storage area with the least number of containers to be taken out of the warehouse is selected from the storage areas as the first target storage area. When the inventory of the first target storage area meets the requirement of the goods to be taken in the order information, determining the position information of the goods to be taken out of the container of the goods to be taken according to the requirement information of the goods to be taken in the order information, the opening and closing state of the roadway in the first target storage area and the inventory information of the movable goods shelf in the first target storage area.

When the inventory of the first target storage area can only meet part of the to-be-picked goods demands in the order information, for example: the order information comprises a first part of goods to be taken requirements and a second part of goods to be taken requirements. When the inventory of the first target storage area meets the requirement of the first part of goods to be taken in the order information, the storage area with the least number of the containers to be taken out of the storage is selected from the remaining storage areas as a second target storage area. And when the inventory in the second target storage area meets the requirement of the second part of goods to be taken in the order information, determining the position information of the goods containers to be taken out of the second part of goods to be taken according to the requirement information of the second part of goods to be taken, the opening and closing state of the tunnel in the second target storage area and the inventory information of the movable goods shelf in the second target storage area.

The storage area with the least number of the containers to be delivered is preferentially selected to distribute the containers to be delivered for each object to be delivered in the order information, so that the waiting time for taking out the containers to be delivered for each object to be delivered in the order information is shortened, and the box moving efficiency of the transfer robot is improved.

The following describes an implementation manner of determining a container to be delivered from a warehouse in a storage area, taking any one of the storage areas capable of meeting the demand information of the goods to be taken as an example.

And aiming at any one storage area, if the sub-order information corresponding to each storage area is determined by splitting the order information, determining the container to be taken out of the warehouse of the goods to be taken in the sub-order information according to the sub-order information corresponding to the storage area, the opening and closing state of the roadway in the storage area and the position information of the movable goods shelf in the storage area.

And aiming at any one storage area, if a target storage area is selected according to the number of the distributed containers to be delivered, and then the requirement information met in each target storage area is determined according to the inventory in the target storage area, determining the containers to be delivered of the goods according to the requirement information met by the target storage area, the switch state of the roadway in the storage area and the storage position information of the movable goods shelf in the storage area.

For convenience of description, the sub-order information corresponding to the storage area and the demand information satisfied by the target storage area are collectively referred to as demand information corresponding to the storage area.

As a first implementation manner of determining containers to be taken out of a warehouse, when containers to be taken out of the warehouse are determined, the distance from the roadway corresponding to the containers to be taken out of the warehouse to the first roadway is smaller than or equal to the distance from the roadway corresponding to the unselected alternative containers to the first roadway.

In one embodiment, the alternative container of each goods to be taken is determined according to the demand information corresponding to the storage area and the inventory information of the plurality of movable shelves. That is, the demand information corresponding to the storage area is matched with the inventory information of each movable goods shelf to obtain each alternative goods box of the goods to be taken. And for each goods to be taken, after a plurality of alternative containers of the goods to be taken are determined, calculating to obtain a first distance from a roadway corresponding to each alternative container to a first roadway, and selecting the containers to be taken out of the warehouse from the alternative containers according to the first distance. Namely, the alternative container with shorter first distance is selected as the container to be delivered, so that the distance from the roadway corresponding to the container to be delivered of the object to be taken to the first roadway is smaller than or equal to the distance from the roadway corresponding to the unselected alternative container to the first roadway.

The distance from any optional container to the roadway in the open state is directly calculated, and a complex polling step is not needed, so that the algorithm complexity is reduced, and the calculation speed is increased.

With continued reference to FIG. 10, the 6 th movable shelf has one alternate bin of SKU1 and one alternate bin of SKU 2. And 50 pieces of stock are in each alternative container. There are two alternative cargo containers of SKU1 on the 3 rd movable pallet, and 50 SKU1 in each alternative cargo container.

Aiming at the SKU1, the distance from a lane corresponding to the alternative container of the SKU1 on the 6 th movable shelf to a lane corresponding to the 6 th movable shelf is calculated, the distance from a lane corresponding to the alternative container of the SKU1 on the 3 rd movable shelf to a lane corresponding to the 2 nd movable shelf is also calculated, the distance of the alternative container of the SKU1 on the 6 th movable shelf is shortest, the requirement of the SKU1 in the requirement information corresponding to the storage area can be met, and the alternative container of the SKU1 on the 6 th movable shelf is selected as the container to be delivered out of the warehouse.

The selection of containers to be picked from the alternatives in the SKU2 is the same and will not be described further herein.

In one embodiment, for each item to be picked, the inventory information for each movable shelf is polled and a target container is determined from the inventory information for the movable shelf. And stopping polling when the preset polling stopping condition is met, and determining the target container as the container to be delivered out of the warehouse. So as to ensure that the distance from the roadway corresponding to the container to be taken out of the warehouse to the first roadway is less than or equal to the distance from the roadway corresponding to the unselected alternative container to the first roadway.

When the movable shelves are polled, each movable shelf is polled in sequence according to a preset sequence from the movable shelf corresponding to the first roadway. The preset sequence comprises a sequence from the movable shelf close to the corresponding first lane to the movable shelf far away from the corresponding first lane. The polling stopping condition comprises the requirement information corresponding to the storage area that the inventory in each target container meets.

By firstly polling the storage position information of the movable goods shelf close to the opening roadway and matching the storage position information with the demand information of goods to be taken, the goods to be taken of each goods box to be taken are determined, the distance from the roadway corresponding to all the alternative goods boxes to the roadway in the opening state does not need to be calculated, and the data calculation amount is reduced.

In one embodiment, the predetermined sequence further comprises: for each movable shelf, the order is from close to the sorting table to far from the sorting table. That is, when the movable shelves are polled according to a predetermined sequence, the inventory information in each container is polled sequentially from the position close to the sorting table to the position far from the sorting table, and the inventory information is matched with the demand information of the goods to be taken, so that the target container of the goods to be taken is determined.

Through so setting up, can reduce the walking distance of transfer robot when taking out the packing box from the storehouse position to can reduce packing box warehouse-out time, promote packing box warehouse-out efficiency.

In one embodiment, the presetting of the stop polling condition further comprises: the total number of target containers is minimal. That is, when the inventory in each target container meets the requirement information corresponding to the storage area and the total number of the target containers is minimum, the polling is stopped.

Through making the total number of target packing boxes minimum, can reduce transfer robot's transport number of times, shorten packing box warehouse-out time, promote packing box warehouse-out efficiency.

With continued reference to FIG. 10, the 6 th movable shelf has one alternate bin of SKU1 and one alternate bin of SKU 2. And 50 pieces of stock are in each alternative container. There are two alternative cargo containers of SKU1 on the 3 rd movable pallet, and 50 SKU1 in each alternative cargo container. The required number of SKUs 1 was 60 and the required number of SKUs 2 was 20 pieces. The first lane is the lane corresponding to the 1 st and the 2 nd movable shelves and the lane corresponding to the 5 th and the 6 th movable shelves.

For SKU1, first polling the inventory information of the 1 st, 2 nd, 5 th and 6 th movable shelves, and if the 6 th movable shelf has inventory of SKU1, then selecting the container on the 6 th movable shelf as the target container.

If the inventory in the target container fails to meet the demand information for SKU1, then it is necessary to continue polling the 3 rd and 7 th movable racks. When polling inventory information on the 3 rd movable shelf, the polling is done in order from the distance from the sorting station. Two containers on the 3 rd movable shelf are in stock with SKU1, the container closer to the sorting deck is polled first, and the container closer to the sorting deck on the 3 rd movable shelf is selected as the target container.

And stopping polling when a target container on the 6 th movable shelf and a target container on the 3 rd movable shelf close to the sorting table meet the requirement information of the SKU1, wherein the number of the target containers is minimum so as to ensure that the number of containers to be delivered is minimum. And finally, taking the target container on the 3 rd movable shelf and the 6 th movable shelf as the container to be delivered out of the warehouse. The alternate container of the other SKU1 on the 3 rd movable pallet is the unselected alternate container. And the distance from the lane corresponding to the container to be delivered from the warehouse on the 3 rd movable goods shelf and the 6 th movable goods shelf to the first lane is smaller than or equal to the distance from the lane corresponding to the other alternative container on the 3 rd movable goods shelf to the first lane.

As a second embodiment of determining the container to be delivered, when determining the container to be delivered of the goods, the total number of the movable shelves corresponding to the container to be delivered is smaller than or equal to the total number of the movable shelves corresponding to any alternative container combination.

In one embodiment, the alternative containers of each to-be-taken goods are determined according to the demand information corresponding to the storage area and the inventory information of the plurality of movable shelves. And arranging and combining the alternative containers of each to-be-taken cargo to obtain a plurality of groups of alternative container combinations, and selecting a target alternative container combination from the alternative container combinations. And the total number of the movable shelves corresponding to the target alternative container combination is less than or equal to the total number of the movable shelves corresponding to any alternative container combination. And the containers in the target alternative container combination are containers to be delivered from the warehouse.

The multiple groups of alternative container combinations are obtained by arranging and combining the alternative containers, so that the total number of the movable shelves corresponding to the selected target alternative container combination is the minimum, and the opening and closing times of the movable shelves are the minimum when the containers to be delivered from the warehouse are taken out from the movable shelves, thereby improving the delivery efficiency.

In an embodiment, when the alternative containers of each to-be-taken cargo are combined in a permutation manner, the alternative containers of each to-be-taken cargo can be randomly selected to be combined into an alternative container combination, and when the combination is performed, it is required to ensure that the required information corresponding to the storage area is stored in each alternative container in the alternative container combination.

The alternative containers of each container to be taken are directly and randomly selected to be combined into an alternative container combination without complex polling steps, so that the algorithm complexity is reduced, and the calculation speed is increased.

In one embodiment, the movable shelves are polled in the order of the number of the alternative containers on each movable shelf from large to small, the polling is stopped when the inventory in the alternative containers on the polled movable shelves meets the demand information of the goods to be taken, and the alternative container combination is obtained according to the alternative containers on the polled movable shelves.

The alternative container combination is determined by polling each movable goods shelf, all the alternative container combinations do not need to be obtained through combination, the total number of the movable goods shelves corresponding to all the alternative container combinations does not need to be calculated, and the calculation complexity can be reduced.

In an embodiment, when a target alternative container combination is selected from a plurality of alternative container combinations, in addition to making the total number of movable shelves corresponding to the target alternative container combination smaller than or equal to the total number of movable shelves corresponding to any one of the alternative container combinations, the total distance from the lane corresponding to each alternative container in the target alternative container combination to the lane in the open state should be made smaller than or equal to the total distance from the lane corresponding to each alternative container in the unselected alternative container combination to the lane in the open state.

It should be noted here that, if the total number of movable containers in a plurality of groups of candidate container combinations is the minimum, the candidate container combination with the shortest total distance from the roadway corresponding to each candidate container to the roadway in the open state is selected as the target container combination. Through so setting up, can further reduce opening or closing the number of times of portable goods shelves, and then promote the efficiency of leaving warehouse.

In an embodiment, the total number of candidate containers in the target combination of candidate containers is minimal, and/or the total distance of the candidate containers in the target combination of candidate containers to the sorting table is minimal.

It should be noted here that, when there are multiple groups of candidate combinations in which the total number of movable containers is the minimum, and there are multiple groups of candidate combinations in which the total distance from each of the multiple groups of candidate containers to the roadway in the open state is the minimum, the candidate combination in which the total number of the candidate containers is the minimum may be selected as the target candidate container combination, so as to reduce the carrying times of the transfer robot, and the candidate combination in which the total distance from each of the candidate containers to the sorting table is the minimum may also be selected as the target candidate container combination, so as to reduce the walking distance of the transfer robot when taking out the containers to be delivered from the warehouse.

The number of the alternative containers on the 3 rd movable goods shelf and the 6 th movable goods shelf are both two, and the number of the alternative containers on the 1 st movable goods shelf, the 2 nd movable goods shelf, the 4 th movable goods shelf, the 5 th movable goods shelf and the 7 th movable goods shelf is 0. The bin position information for the 6 th movable shelf is polled first to combine the alternate bin of SKU1 on the 6 th movable shelf with the alternate bin of SKU2 in a first alternate bin combination. The bin position information of the 3 rd movable shelf is polled to select a combination of the alternate bin of any of the SKUs 1 on the 3 rd movable shelf and the alternate bin of the SKU2 on the 6 th movable shelf, labeled as a second alternate bin combination and a third alternate bin combination.

When the target combination is selected from the three groups of alternative container combinations, the alternative container combination with the least number of movable shelves is selected, the total number of the movable shelves of the first group of alternative container combination is the least, the distance between two alternative containers in the first group of alternative container combination and the roadway in the open state is also the shortest, and the first group of alternative container combination is selected as the container to be delivered.

And S403, the dispatching equipment generates a carrying instruction according to the position information of the container to be delivered from the warehouse of the object to be taken.

Wherein, according to the position information generation transport instruction of waiting to get the storehouse of waiting to leave warehouse packing box of goods, specifically include: the method comprises the steps of acquiring the number of the carrying robots in the roadway in the opening state in real time, and generating a carrying instruction according to the number of the carrying robots and the position information of containers to be delivered from the warehouse on the movable goods shelves corresponding to the roadway in the opening state.

And when the number of the transfer robots reaches a preset threshold value, generating a transfer instruction for controlling the transfer robots to travel to the cache region according to the storage position information of the containers to be delivered from the warehouse on the movable goods shelves corresponding to the roadway in the open state, so that the transfer robots wait in the cache region.

Since the number of the transfer robots that can operate in each lane is limited, the number of the transfer robots that have already operated in each lane needs to be considered when generating the transfer command for controlling the transfer robot, and if the number of the transfer robots is large, the transfer robots are controlled to wait in the waiting area. And if the number of the transfer robots is smaller, controlling the transfer robots to directly enter a roadway for operation, and taking the containers to be delivered out of the warehouse from the corresponding movable goods shelves.

The dispatching equipment acquires the number of the carrying robots operating in the roadway in real time, updates the carrying instructions in real time according to the number of the carrying robots, and dispatches the carrying robots to enter the roadway to execute carrying tasks.

And S404, the dispatching equipment sends a conveying command to the conveying robot.

And S405, the carrying robot carries the container to be delivered out of the warehouse according to the carrying instruction.

S406, the dispatching equipment acquires the delivery state of each container to be delivered from the warehouse on the movable shelf corresponding to the roadway in the opening state.

The container to be delivered may be sent to the dispatching device each time the transfer robot takes out a container to be delivered from the storage space on the movable shelf.

And S407, when the delivery states of all containers to be delivered from the warehouse on the movable goods shelves corresponding to the roadway in the opening state are delivery states, the dispatching equipment generates an opening instruction.

And when the situation that all containers to be delivered from the warehouse on the movable goods shelves on two sides of the roadway in the opening state are completely delivered from the warehouse is determined, namely the roadway in the opening state does not have a goods taking task, opening the next roadway which is closest to the current roadway and is stored with containers to be delivered from the warehouse.

In the technical scheme, the distance from the roadway corresponding to the container to be delivered to the warehouse to the roadway in the opening state is shortest, or the total number of the movable goods shelves corresponding to the container to be delivered to the warehouse is minimum, so that the opening or closing times of the movable goods shelves when the container to be delivered to the warehouse is taken out can be reduced, and the delivery efficiency is improved.

As shown in fig. 13, an embodiment of the present application provides an inventory scheduling device 500, where the inventory scheduling device 500 includes:

the acquiring module 501 is configured to acquire order information, inventory information of a plurality of movable shelves, storage areas where the plurality of movable shelves are located, and operation information of lanes corresponding to the plurality of movable shelves;

the processing module 502 is configured to determine, according to the order information, the inventory information of the plurality of movable shelves, the storage area where the movable shelves are located, and the operation information of the corresponding lane, the storage location information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of the goods in the order information;

the processing module 502 is further configured to generate a carrying instruction according to the position information of the container to be delivered, so that the carrying robot carries the container to be delivered out of the warehouse according to the carrying instruction.

In an embodiment, the processing module 502 is specifically configured to:

In an embodiment, for each article to be taken in the order information, a distance from a roadway corresponding to the container to be taken out of the warehouse to the roadway in the open state of the article to be taken is less than or equal to a distance from a roadway corresponding to the unselected alternative container to the roadway in the open state, and the alternative container is a container stored with the article to be taken.

In an embodiment, the processing module 502 is specifically configured to:

Referring to fig. 14, an embodiment of the present application provides a scheduling apparatus 600, and the scheduling apparatus 600 includes a memory 601 and a processor 602.

A memory 601 for storing computer execution instructions;

a processor 602 configured to execute the computer executable instructions stored in the memory to implement the steps performed by the inventory scheduling method in the above embodiments. Reference may be made specifically to the related description in the foregoing inventory scheduling method embodiment.

Alternatively, the memory 601 may be separate or integrated with the processor 602.

When the memory 601 is provided separately, the processing device further includes a bus for connecting the memory 601 and the processor 602.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer-executable instructions are stored, and when the processor executes the computer-executable instructions, the inventory scheduling method executed by the processing device is implemented.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, which includes computer instructions, and when executed by a processor, the computer instructions implement the inventory scheduling method executed by the processing device.

Other embodiments of the present application will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the application and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the application being indicated by the following claims.

It will be understood that the present application is not limited to the precise arrangements described above and shown in the drawings and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the application is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An inventory scheduling method, the method being applied to a scheduling device, the method comprising:

acquiring order information, inventory information of a plurality of movable shelves, storage areas where the movable shelves are located and operation information of lanes corresponding to the movable shelves;

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the bin position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of the goods to be taken in the order information according to the order information, the inventory information of the plurality of movable shelves, the storage area where the movable shelves are located and the operation information of the corresponding lane specifically comprises:

determining the position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of the goods to be taken according to the at least one piece of sub-order information, the opening and closing state of the tunnel in the storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information and the inventory information of the movable shelf;

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein splitting the order information according to the order information, the inventory information of the movable shelf, and the storage area where the movable shelf is located to obtain at least one piece of sub-order information and a storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information specifically comprises:

determining the alternative containers of the goods to be taken and the storage areas where the alternative containers are located according to the order information, the inventory information of the plurality of movable shelves and the storage areas where the alternative containers are located;

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the bin position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of the goods to be taken in the order information according to the order information, the inventory information of the plurality of movable shelves, the storage area where the movable shelves are located and the operation information of the corresponding lane specifically comprises:

splitting the order information according to the order information, the inventory information of the plurality of movable shelves, the storage areas where the movable shelves are located and the number of the handling robots operating in each storage area to obtain at least one piece of sub-order information and a storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information;

the operation information of the roadway comprises the on-off state of the roadway and the number of the carrying robots for operation, and the on-off state comprises an on state and an off state.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein splitting the order information according to the order information, the inventory information of the plurality of movable shelves, the storage areas where the movable shelves are located and the number of the transfer robots operating in each storage area to obtain at least one piece of sub-order information and the storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information specifically comprises:

sequentially polling each storage area according to the sequence from small to large of the number of the handling robots operating in the storage area, and determining alternative containers of goods to be taken and the storage area where the alternative containers are located according to the inventory information of the movable shelves in the storage area and the order information until all the alternative containers of the goods to be taken in the order information are determined;

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the category of the goods to be taken in each sub-order information is minimized, and/or the number of storage areas associated with each sub-order is minimized.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the bin position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of the goods to be taken in the order information according to the order information, the inventory information of the plurality of movable shelves, the storage area where the movable shelves are located and the operation information of the corresponding lane specifically comprises:

when the inventory of the first target storage area meets the demand of goods to be taken in the order information, determining the inventory position information of the goods to be taken out of the container according to the demand information of the goods to be taken in the order information, the opening and closing state of the tunnel in the first target storage area and the inventory information of the movable goods shelf in the first target storage area.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

when the inventory of the first target storage area meets the requirement of the first part of goods to be taken in the order information, selecting a storage area with the least quantity of containers to be taken out of the storage area as a second target storage area;

9. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that:

and aiming at the goods to be taken in the order information, the distance from the roadway corresponding to the goods container to be taken out of the warehouse to the roadway in the opening state of the goods to be taken is less than or equal to the distance from the roadway corresponding to the unselected alternative goods container to the roadway in the opening state, and the alternative goods container is the goods container in which the goods to be taken are stored.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein determining the bin position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of the goods to be taken according to at least one piece of sub-order information, the switch state of the tunnel in the storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information, and the inventory information of the movable shelf specifically comprises:

and selecting a container to be taken out of the warehouse from the alternative containers of each to-be-taken goods according to the distance from the roadway corresponding to the alternative container of each to-be-taken goods in the sub-order information to the roadway in the on-off state, and acquiring the position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of each to-be-taken goods.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein determining the bin position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of the goods to be taken according to at least one piece of sub-order information, the switch state of the tunnel in the storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information, and the inventory information of the movable shelf specifically comprises:

stopping polling when a preset polling stopping condition is met, determining that the target container is the container to be delivered out of the warehouse, and acquiring the position information of the container to be delivered out of the warehouse;

wherein the preset stop polling condition comprises: and the warehouse in each target container meets the requirement of goods to be taken in the sub-order information.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the predetermined sequence further comprises: for each movable shelf, the order is from close to the sorting table to far away from the sorting table.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the preset stop polling condition further comprises: the total amount of inventory within the target container is minimal.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the total number of the movable shelves corresponding to the container to be delivered is less than or equal to the total number of the movable shelves corresponding to any alternative container combination;

and the stock in each alternative container combination meets the requirement of the goods to be taken in the order information.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein determining the bin position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse of the goods to be taken according to at least one piece of sub-order information, the switch state of the lane in the storage area associated with the at least one piece of sub-order information, and the inventory information of the movable shelf specifically comprises:

selecting a target alternative container combination from the alternative container combinations; the containers in the target alternative container combination are containers to be delivered from a warehouse, and the total number of the movable shelves corresponding to the target alternative container combination is smaller than or equal to the total number of the movable shelves corresponding to any alternative container combination.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the arranging and combining the alternative containers of each to-be-taken goods in the sub-order information to obtain a plurality of groups of alternative container combinations specifically comprises:

polling the movable goods shelves according to the sequence of the number of the alternative goods boxes on each movable goods shelf from large to small, warehousing the demand information of goods to be taken in the sub-order information which is satisfied by the alternative goods boxes on the polled movable goods shelves, and obtaining the alternative goods box combination according to the alternative goods boxes on the polled movable goods shelves.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the total distance from the roadway corresponding to each alternative container in the target alternative container combination to the roadway in the open state is less than or equal to the distance from the roadway corresponding to each alternative container in the unselected alternative container combination to the roadway in the open state.

18. The method of claim 10, 15, 16 or 17, wherein:

the total amount of the stock in the container to be delivered is minimum; and/or

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the generating of the handling instruction according to the bin position information of the container to be taken out of the bin specifically comprises:

and generating a carrying instruction according to the number of the carrying robots and the position information of the containers to be delivered from the warehouse on the movable goods shelves corresponding to the laneways in the opening state.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein generating the handling instruction according to the number of the handling robots and the bin position information of the container to be taken out of the warehouse comprises:

when the number of the transfer robots reaches a preset threshold value, generating a transfer instruction for controlling the transfer robots to travel to a cache region according to the position information of containers to be delivered from the warehouse on the movable goods shelves corresponding to the roadway in the open state, so that the robots wait in the cache region;

and when the number of the transfer robots is smaller than the preset threshold value, generating a transfer instruction for controlling the transfer robots to travel to the roadway according to the information of the positions of the containers to be delivered from the warehouse on the movable goods shelves corresponding to the roadway in the opening state.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein after generating handling instructions based on the bin position information for the container to be picked, the method further comprises:

and the opening instruction is used for opening the roadway which is closest to the roadway in the opening state at present and is provided with the movable goods shelf of the container to be delivered out of the warehouse.

22. An inventory scheduling device, comprising:

23. A scheduling apparatus, comprising: a memory, a processor;

a memory; a memory for storing the processor-executable instructions;

wherein the processor is configured to perform the inventory scheduling method of any one of claims 1 to 21.

24. A robot system comprising the scheduling apparatus of claim 23 and a transfer robot.

25. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a processor, implement the inventory scheduling method of any one of claims 1 to 21.

26. A computer program product comprising a computer program, characterized in that the computer program, when being executed by a processor, carries out the inventory scheduling method according to any one of claims 1 to 21.