CN113283838A

CN113283838A - Inventory scheduling method, equipment and system

Info

Publication number: CN113283838A
Application number: CN202110605544.0A
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: 2021-08-20

Abstract

The application provides an inventory scheduling method, equipment and a system, which comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps of obtaining the storage position information of a plurality of containers to be transported, the opening and closing states of lanes corresponding to a plurality of movable shelves and the transportation information of at least one transportation robot, wherein the containers to be transported are located on the movable shelves, generating a container transporting task according to the storage position information of the containers to be transported, the opening and closing states of the lanes corresponding to the movable shelves and the transportation information of the at least one transportation robot, generating a container transporting instruction according to the container transporting task, and sending the container transporting instruction to a target transportation robot for controlling the target transportation robot to transport the containers to be transported corresponding to the container transporting task from the movable shelves to a destination. The influence of the opening and closing state of the corresponding roadway of the movable goods shelf on the execution of the box moving task is considered, and the carrying efficiency of the box to be moved 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:

acquiring the storage position information of a plurality of containers to be conveyed, the opening and closing states of roadways corresponding to a plurality of movable goods shelves and the conveying information of at least one conveying robot; wherein, the container to be carried is positioned on the movable goods shelf;

generating a box moving task according to the storage position information of the multiple containers to be moved, the opening and closing states of the roadways corresponding to the multiple movable shelves and the moving information of at least one moving robot;

and generating a box carrying command according to the box carrying task, sending the box carrying command to the target carrying robot, and controlling the target carrying robot to carry the box to be carried corresponding to the box carrying task from the movable goods shelf to a destination.

In an embodiment, the method for generating a container moving task according to the storage location information of a plurality of containers to be moved, the opening and closing states of lanes corresponding to a plurality of movable shelves, and the moving information to at least one transfer robot specifically includes:

acquiring the total number of containers to be moved which are associated with each storage area in real time;

polling each storage area in the sequence from small to large according to the total amount, and generating a box moving task according to the storage position information of the box to be moved in the storage area, the opening and closing state of a roadway corresponding to a movable goods shelf in the storage area and the moving information of at least one moving robot;

wherein the plurality of movable shelves are located within the at least one storage area.

and polling each storage area from small to large according to the distance between the storage area and the sorting table, and generating a box moving task according to the storage position information of the box to be moved in the storage area, the opening and closing state of a roadway corresponding to the movable goods shelf in the storage area and the moving information of at least one moving robot.

In an embodiment, the method for generating a container moving task according to the storage location information of the container to be moved in the storage area, the opening and closing state of the lane corresponding to the movable shelf in the storage area, and the moving information of at least one transfer robot specifically includes:

acquiring the distance between a roadway corresponding to the container to be moved in the storage area and the roadway in the open state aiming at each storage area;

sequentially polling each movable goods shelf according to the sequence of the distance from small to large, and associating the storage position information of the goods boxes to be moved on the movable goods shelves with the identification information of the carrying robots until all the carrying robots are in a full box state or the storage information of all the goods boxes to be moved is associated;

generating a box carrying task of each carrying robot according to the correlation result; wherein the carrying information of the carrying robot includes identification information.

In an embodiment, associating the storage location information of the container to be handled on the movable shelf with the identification information of the transfer robot specifically includes:

acquiring the total number of containers to be conveyed on a movable goods shelf and the number of the remaining storage units of the conveying robot;

when the total number of the containers to be moved on the movable goods shelf is smaller than the number of the remaining storage units of the transfer robot, associating the identification information of the transfer robot closest to the containers to be moved with the storage position information of the containers to be moved;

and when the total number of the containers to be moved is greater than or equal to the number of the remaining storage units of the transfer robot, associating the storage position information of the containers to be moved with the identification information of the transfer robot according to the priority of the containers to be moved.

In an embodiment, generating a box handling instruction according to a box handling task specifically includes:

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

and generating a box carrying command of the target carrying robot according to the box carrying task and the number of the carrying robots operating in the roadway in the opening state.

In an embodiment, generating a tote conveying command of a target tote robot according to the tote conveying task and the number of tote robots operating in the lane in the open state specifically includes:

when the number of the transfer robots operating in the roadway in the open state is greater than or equal to a preset threshold value, generating a box transfer instruction for controlling the target transfer robot to travel to the cache region according to the box transfer task, so that the target transfer robot waits in the cache region;

and when the number of the transfer robots operating in the roadway in the opening state is smaller than a preset threshold value, generating a box carrying instruction for controlling the target transfer robot to travel to the roadway according to the box carrying task.

In one embodiment, after generating the box handling instruction according to the box handling task, the method further comprises:

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

when the delivery states of all containers to be delivered on the movable goods shelves corresponding to the laneways in the opening states are delivery states, generating opening instructions;

the opening instruction is used for opening a roadway which is closest to the roadway in the opening state at present and corresponds to the movable goods shelf with the goods box to be moved.

In a second aspect, the present application provides an inventory scheduling method, where the inventory scheduling method is applied to a target transfer robot, and the method includes:

receiving a box moving instruction sent by dispatching equipment, wherein the box moving instruction is generated according to a box moving task, the box moving task is generated according to the storage position information of a plurality of containers to be moved, the opening and closing states of lanes corresponding to a plurality of movable shelves and the conveying information of at least one conveying robot, and the containers to be moved are positioned on the movable shelves;

and carrying the container to be carried corresponding to the box carrying task from the movable goods shelf to the destination according to the box carrying command.

In an embodiment, the method for transporting a container to be transported corresponding to a container transporting task from a movable rack to a destination according to a container transporting instruction specifically includes:

when the number of the transfer robots operating in the roadway in the open state is greater than or equal to a preset threshold value, driving to a cache region for standby;

and when the number of the carrying robots operating in the roadway in the opening state is smaller than a preset threshold value, driving the carrying robots to the roadway in the opening state, and carrying the containers to be carried in the roadway in the opening state to a destination from the movable goods shelves.

In one embodiment, after the container to be handled corresponding to the container handling task is handled from the movable rack to the destination according to the container handling command, the method further includes:

sending a task completion instruction to the dispatching equipment so that the dispatching equipment can acquire the delivery state of each container to be delivered on the movable goods shelf corresponding to the roadway in the opening state according to the task completion instruction, and generating the opening instruction when the delivery state of each container to be delivered on the movable goods shelf corresponding to the roadway in the opening state is the delivery state;

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

the system comprises an acquisition module, a storage module and a storage module, wherein the acquisition module is used for acquiring the storage position information of a plurality of containers to be conveyed, the opening and closing states of roadways corresponding to a plurality of movable goods shelves and the conveying information of at least one conveying robot; wherein, the container to be carried is positioned on the movable goods shelf;

the first processing module is used for generating a box moving instruction according to the storage position information of the multiple containers to be moved, the opening and closing states of the roadways corresponding to the multiple movable goods shelves and the moving information of at least one moving robot;

and the processing module is also used for generating a box carrying command according to the box carrying task, sending the box carrying command to the target carrying robot and controlling the target carrying robot to carry the box to be carried corresponding to the box carrying task from the movable goods shelf to a destination.

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

the system comprises a receiving module, a dispatching device and a dispatching module, wherein the dispatching device is used for dispatching containers, the dispatching module is used for receiving container dispatching instructions sent by the dispatching device, the container dispatching instructions are generated according to container dispatching tasks, the container dispatching tasks are generated according to the storage position information of a plurality of containers to be dispatched, the opening and closing states of roadways corresponding to a plurality of movable shelves and the dispatching information of at least one handling robot, and the containers to be dispatched are positioned on the movable shelves;

and the second processing module is used for transporting the container to be transported corresponding to the container transporting task from the movable goods shelf to a destination according to the container transporting instruction.

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

wherein the memory is used for storing the executable instructions of the processor;

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

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a transfer robot comprising: a memory and a processor;

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

In a seventh aspect, the present invention provides a transfer robot system including the scheduling apparatus according to the fifth aspect and the transfer robot according to the sixth aspect.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for implementing the inventory scheduling method of the first aspect or the second aspect.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising computer instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the inventory scheduling method of the first aspect or alternative aspect or of the second aspect or alternative aspect.

When a storage unit with a movable goods shelf executes a box moving task, the opening and closing state of a roadway corresponding to the movable goods shelf influences the efficiency of the box moving task, when the roadway is in a closed state, the movable goods shelf needs to be moved to enable the roadway to be switched to an open state, therefore, when the inventory scheduling is carried out, besides the information of the storage positions of various boxes to be moved and the carrying information of a carrying robot, the opening and closing state of the roadway corresponding to the movable goods shelf needs to be considered, a box moving instruction is generated according to the information, and the control of the carrying efficiency of the boxes to be moved is realized.

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 regions according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

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

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

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a state change based on the memory region shown in FIG. 4 provided by 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 an interactive schematic diagram of an inventory scheduling method according to another embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a state change based on the memory region shown in FIG. 2 provided by the present application;

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

fig. 11 is a block diagram of an inventory scheduling device according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a block diagram of an inventory scheduling device according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a block diagram of a scheduling apparatus according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 14 is a block diagram of a transfer robot 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.

The warehousing system applied to the inventory scheduling method provided by the application comprises at least one storage area 100. When the warehousing system includes only one storage area 100, the warehousing system is a single-storage-area warehousing system, and as shown in fig. 1, when the warehousing system includes only a plurality of storage areas 100, the warehousing system is a multi-storage-area warehousing system.

As shown in fig. 2, in both the single storage area stocker system and the multi-storage area stocker system, a plurality of movable shelves 10 and a guide rail 20 for moving the movable shelves 10 are provided in 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.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, multiple lanes may be simultaneously opened in the memory area 100. Referring to the 4 th movable shelf located in the center area of the storage area 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.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, only one lane can be opened in the storage area 100 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 area 100 shown in fig. 2, the 1 st movable shelf and the 7 th movable shelf are located outermost, and their corresponding lanes are always in an open state. In the storage area 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 transfer robot 202 has a plurality of storage units 2021, and each storage unit 2021 is used for storing a container. The scheduling device 201 is configured to send a box handling instruction to the transfer robot 202, so that the transfer robot 202 carries the inventory to a specified position according to the box handling 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 stocks in the storage area 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 dispatching equipment acquires the storage position information of a plurality of containers to be conveyed, the opening and closing states of the lanes corresponding to the movable shelves and the conveying information of at least one conveying robot.

The container to be moved is a container located on the movable goods shelf, and the container to be moved can be a container to be delivered which meets the information of goods demand in a certain delivery order, and can also be a container which needs to be moved to other storage positions when the storage is managed.

The information of the storage location of the container to be moved is the position information capable of reflecting the storage location of the container to be moved, for example: the storage position information is specifically the first storage position of the seventh layer of the 7 th movable shelf.

The switch states of the lanes corresponding to the plurality of movable shelves comprise that the lanes corresponding to the plurality of movable shelves are in an opening state or in a closing state.

The handling information of the handling robot includes any one or more combinations of identification information of the handling robot, the total number of storage units in an idle state within the handling robot, and position information. The identification information is used for uniquely identifying the transfer robot, the capacity information refers to the number of containers which can be transferred by the transfer robot at one time, and the position information is used for indicating the current position of the transfer robot.

When the information of the positions of the containers to be moved is obtained, the information of the positions of the containers to be moved can be received through the terminal equipment, and the information of the positions of the containers to be moved can also be directly obtained from the data of the containers pre-stored in the dispatching equipment.

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.

When the transfer information of the transfer robot is acquired, the information may be directly acquired from the data of the transfer robot stored in advance in the scheduling device. The scheduling device and the transfer robot may communicate with each other to inquire about transfer information of the transfer robots.

And S302, the dispatching equipment generates a box conveying task according to the storage position information of the multiple containers to be conveyed, the opening and closing states of the lanes corresponding to the multiple movable shelves and the conveying information of at least one conveying robot.

In the storage system with a single storage area, the distance from each container to be transported to the roadway in the open state can be determined according to the storage position information of each container to be transported and the opening and closing state of the roadway, and the container to be transported is distributed to the transport robots so as to generate the container transporting tasks of the transport robots. And determining the distance between the carrying robot and the container to be carried and distributing the container to be carried to each carrying robot according to the storage position information of each container to be carried and the position information of the carrying robot.

In a storage system having a plurality of storage areas, the switching states of lanes corresponding to the respective movable racks in the same storage area affect each other, and the switching states of lanes corresponding to the respective movable racks in different storage areas do not affect each other. Therefore, when the box carrying task is generated, the box to be carried in each storage area can be allocated to the carrying robot one by one.

In an embodiment, the allocation sequence of the storage areas may be determined according to distances from the storage areas to the sorting table, or may be determined according to the number of containers to be transported, which have been allocated to the transfer robot by the storage areas.

The allocation of containers to be moved in each storage area in the storage system having a plurality of storage areas is the same as the allocation of containers to be moved in a storage area in the storage system having a single storage area, and is not described herein again.

And S303, the scheduling equipment generates a box carrying command according to the box carrying task.

After the dispatching equipment generates the box moving task, path planning is carried out according to the storage position information of the box to be moved in the box moving task and the position information of the target carrying robot, and a box moving instruction is generated according to a path planning result and the identification information of the target carrying robot.

Here, it should be noted that the container transfer command may be generated based on stock information of the containers to be transferred. The inventory information of the container to be moved is used for indicating information such as the name and the quantity of goods in the container to be moved.

And S304, the dispatching equipment sends a box carrying command to the target carrying robot.

And S305, the target transfer robot transfers the container to be transferred corresponding to the box transfer task from the movable shelf to the destination according to the box transfer command.

The target carrying robot analyzes the box carrying command and carries the box to be carried from the original storage position to the destination according to the carrying path in the analysis result.

In the technical scheme, in the storage area with the movable goods shelves, the conveying instruction is generated according to the opening and closing state of the roadway corresponding to the movable goods shelves, the position information of the goods box to be conveyed and the conveying information of the conveying robot, so that the influence of the opening and closing state of the roadway corresponding to the movable goods shelves on the difficulty of taking out the goods box to be conveyed from the position is taken into consideration, and the conveying efficiency of the goods box to be conveyed is controlled.

As shown in fig. 8, 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:

s401, the dispatching equipment acquires the storage position information of a plurality of containers to be conveyed, the opening and closing states of the roadways corresponding to the movable shelves and the conveying information of at least one conveying robot.

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

S402, the dispatching equipment generates a box moving task according to the storage position information of the multiple containers to be moved, the opening and closing states of the lanes corresponding to the multiple movable shelves and the conveying information of at least one conveying robot.

When the warehousing system is a warehousing system with a plurality of storage areas, the box moving task can be generated by distributing the boxes to be moved in each storage area to the transfer robot one by one.

In one embodiment, the total number of containers to be moved, which are associated with each storage area, is obtained in real time. The total number of the associated containers to be handled refers to the containers to be handled of the assigned transfer robot on the movable shelf, and the containers to be handled of the assigned transfer robot can be determined according to container data stored in the scheduling information. Since the operation of allocating the transfer robot to the containers to be transferred is performed in real time, the transfer robot takes the containers to be transferred out of the storage space in real time, that is, the total number of the containers to be transferred, which are associated with each storage area, is updated in real time.

After the total number of containers to be moved which are associated with each storage area is obtained, each storage area is polled from small to large according to the total number, and a container moving task is generated according to the storage position information of the containers to be moved in the storage areas, the opening and closing state of a roadway corresponding to a movable goods shelf in the storage areas and the moving information of at least one moving robot aiming at the current polled storage areas.

The total number of containers to be handled, which have been associated with each storage area, may be the total number of containers to be handled, which need to be handled, determined in each storage area, or may be the total number of containers to be handled, which have been associated with the handling task assigned to the robot in each storage area, which is not limited herein.

The opening and closing state of the roadway corresponding to the movable goods shelf can affect the difficulty degree of taking out goods from the movable goods shelf, namely when the roadway is in a closed state, the goods shelves can be taken out from the movable goods shelf only when the roadway is switched to an open state, through the arrangement, the number of the goods shelves to be carried of the associated carrying robots in partial storage areas is avoided being too large, the roadway corresponding to the movable goods shelf where the goods shelves to be carried are located is enabled only after the carrying robots need to wait for a long time, the number of the goods shelves to be carried of the associated carrying robots in each storage area is balanced, the waiting time of each carrying robot is shortened, and the carrying efficiency of the carrying robots is improved.

In one embodiment, each storage area is polled from small to large according to the distance between the storage area and the sorting table, and a box moving task is generated according to the storage position information of the box to be moved in the storage area, the opening and closing state of a roadway corresponding to a movable goods shelf in the storage area and the moving information of at least one moving robot.

Through the arrangement, the packing boxes to be moved close to the sorting table can be timely delivered out of the warehouse, the carrying efficiency of the packing boxes to be moved is improved, the time for carrying tasks by the carrying robot is shortened, and the utilization rate of the carrying robot is improved.

In one embodiment, when a transfer robot is allocated to a container to be transferred in a currently polled storage area, the distance between a roadway corresponding to the container to be transferred in the storage area and a roadway in an open state is acquired, each movable goods shelf is polled in sequence according to the sequence from small to large, and the storage position information of the container to be transferred on each movable goods shelf is associated with the identification information of the transfer robot until all the transfer robots are in a full container state or the storage information of all the containers to be transferred is associated. And then generating a box carrying task of each carrying robot according to the correlation result.

Through the arrangement, when goods to be taken out from the movable goods shelf are taken out, the moving distance of the movable goods shelf can be reduced, and the opening or closing times of a roadway between the movable goods shelf are reduced, so that the goods to be taken out can be taken out from each storage position quickly, and the goods delivery efficiency is improved.

In one embodiment, when allocating a transfer robot for a tote on a currently polled movable rack, the total number of totes on the currently polled movable rack and the number of storage units remaining for the transfer robot are obtained.

When the total number of the containers to be moved on the movable goods shelf is smaller than the number of the remaining storage units of the transfer robot, namely the transfer robot can take all the containers to be moved on the current movable goods shelf out of the storage position, the identification information of the transfer robot closest to the containers to be moved is associated with the storage position information of the containers to be moved, and through the arrangement, part of the containers to be moved are taken out of the storage position after the transfer robot travels the shortest travel path, so that the transfer efficiency is improved.

When the total number of the containers to be moved is larger than or equal to the number of the remaining storage units of the transfer robot, the storage position information of the containers to be moved is associated with the identification information of the transfer robot according to the priority of the containers to be moved, and the containers to be moved with higher priority can be taken out from the storage positions in time and then transferred to the destination through the arrangement, so that the transfer efficiency of the containers to be moved with higher priority is ensured.

For example: in a warehousing system with 4 storage areas, 4 storage units are sequentially marked as a storage area A, a storage area B, a storage area C and a storage area D. The number of containers to be handled, to which 4 storage areas have been associated, is in

turn

5, 6, 3 and 4. The polling sequence of the 4 storage areas is storage area C, storage area D, storage area a, and storage area B.

The number of the containers to be conveyed in the storage area A, the storage area B, the storage area C and the storage area D is 5, 4, 3 and 2 in sequence. The 3 transfer robots can perform the box transfer task, and the total number of storage units per transfer robot is 3.

As shown in fig. 9, in the storage unit C, lanes corresponding to the 1 st, 2 nd, 5 th, and 6 th movable shelves are in an open state. The containers to be handled are located on the 3 rd and 6 th movable racks.

The tunnel that 6 th portable goods shelves correspond is in the open mode, and the tunnel that 3 rd portable goods shelves correspond is farther to the distance of the first tunnel that 2 nd portable goods shelves correspond, and the polling order of portable goods shelves is: the 6 th movable shelf and the 3 rd movable shelf.

The 6 th movable goods shelf is provided with a goods box to be moved, the total number of storage units of the transfer robot is 9, the total number of the goods box to be moved on the 6 th movable goods shelf is smaller than the total number of the storage units of the transfer robot, the transfer robot closest to the goods box to be moved on the 6 th movable goods shelf is determined according to the position information of the 3 transfer robots, and if the 1 st transfer robot is closest, the storage position information of the goods box to be moved on the 6 th movable goods shelf is firstly associated with the identification information of the 1 st transfer robot.

The total number of storage units of the transfer robot is updated to 8 in real time, the number of containers to be transferred on the 3 rd movable goods shelf is 2, the total number of the containers to be transferred on the 3 rd movable goods shelf is smaller than the total number of the storage units of the transfer robot, the transfer robot closest to the containers to be transferred on the 3 rd movable goods shelf is determined according to the position information of the 3 rd transfer robot, and the storage position information of the 2 rd containers to be transferred on the 3 rd movable goods shelf is associated with the identification information of the 2 nd transfer robot on the assumption that the 2 nd transfer robot is closest.

As shown in fig. 10, the total number of storage units of the transfer robot is updated in real time to 6 in the storage unit D, and the 1 st transfer robot has 2 storage units free, the 2 nd transfer robot has 1 storage unit free, and the 3 rd transfer robot has 3 storage units free. The lanes corresponding to the 3 rd and 4 th movable shelves are in an open state. The containers to be handled are located on the 5 th and 6 th movable racks.

The distance from the tunnel corresponding to the 5 th movable shelf to the tunnel corresponding to the 4 th movable shelf is closer, the distance from the tunnel corresponding to the 6 th movable shelf to the tunnel corresponding to the 4 th movable shelf is farther, and the polling sequence of the movable shelves is as follows: the 5 th movable shelf and the 6 th movable shelf.

The method comprises the steps that 1 container to be moved is arranged on the 5 th movable goods shelf, the total number of storage units of the transfer robot is 6, the total number of containers to be moved on the 5 th movable goods shelf is smaller than the total number of storage units of the transfer robot, the transfer robot closest to the container to be moved on the 5 th movable goods shelf is determined according to position information of the 3 transfer robots, and the storage position information of the container to be moved on the 5 th movable goods shelf is related to the identification information of the 2 nd transfer robot on the assumption that the 2 nd transfer robot is closest.

The total number of storage units of the transfer robot is updated to 5 in real time, the 1 st transfer robot has 2 storage units free, and the 3 rd transfer robot has 3 storage units free. The number of the containers to be conveyed on the 6 th movable shelf is 1, the total number of the containers to be conveyed on the 6 th movable shelf is smaller than the total number of the storage units of the conveying robots, the conveying robot closest to the containers to be conveyed on the 6 th movable shelf is determined according to the position information of the 2 conveying robots, and the storage position information of the 1 container to be conveyed on the 3 rd movable shelf is associated with the identification information of the 3 rd conveying robot on the assumption that the 3 rd conveying robot is closest.

And S403, the scheduling equipment generates a box carrying command according to the box carrying task.

The method specifically comprises the following steps of generating a box moving instruction according to a box moving task: and acquiring the number of the carrying robots in the opened roadway in real time, and generating a box carrying command of the target carrying robot according to the box carrying task and the number of the carrying robots operating in the opened roadway.

And when the number of the transfer robots operating in the roadway in the open state is greater than or equal to a preset threshold value, generating a box carrying instruction for controlling the target transfer robot to travel to the cache region according to the box carrying task, so that the target transfer robot waits in the cache region.

The dispatching equipment acquires the number of the carrying robots operating in the roadway in real time, updates the carrying box 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.

Since the number of transfer robots that can operate in each lane is limited, when a box transfer command for controlling the transfer robots is generated, the number of transfer robots that have already operated in each lane needs to be taken into consideration. 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 transferred out of the corresponding movable goods shelves. Through such setting, the too much and jam that appears of carrying robot number in can avoiding the tunnel to guarantee the operating efficiency of carrying robot.

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

And S405, the transfer robot transfers the container to be transferred corresponding to the box transfer task from the movable shelf to the destination according to the box transfer command.

And the carrying robot analyzes the box carrying command, and if the box carrying command is generated when the number of the carrying robots operating in the roadway in the open state is greater than or equal to a preset threshold value, the carrying robot drives to the cache region to be ready.

And if the number of the carrying robots operating in the roadway in the opening state is smaller than that generated by the preset threshold value, the carrying robots drive to the roadway in the opening state and carry the containers to be carried in the roadway in the opening state to the destination from the movable goods shelves.

S406, the dispatching equipment acquires the delivery state of each container to be delivered on the movable goods 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 the containers to be delivered on the movable goods shelves corresponding to the laneway in the opening state are the delivery states, the dispatching equipment generates an opening instruction.

And when the situation that the containers to be moved on the movable goods shelves on the two sides of the roadway in the opening state are all taken out of the warehouse is determined, namely the roadway in the opening state does not have a goods taking task, the next roadway is opened, and the roadway is closest to the current roadway and stores the roadway of the containers to be moved.

In the technical scheme, the movable goods shelves are polled in sequence according to the distance from the movable goods shelf where each container to be moved is located to the roadway in the opening state, the carrying robot is distributed to the containers to be moved on each movable goods shelf, the opening or closing times of the movable goods shelves when the containers to be moved are taken out can be reduced, and therefore the warehouse-out efficiency is improved.

As shown in fig. 11, an embodiment of the present application provides an inventory scheduling apparatus 500, which includes:

an obtaining module 501, configured to obtain storage location information of multiple containers to be handled, an opening/closing state of a lane corresponding to multiple movable shelves, and handling information of at least one handling robot; wherein, the container to be carried is positioned on the movable goods shelf;

the first processing module 502 is configured to generate a container moving task according to the storage location information of the containers to be moved, the opening and closing states of the lanes corresponding to the plurality of movable shelves, and the moving information to the at least one transfer robot;

the first processing module 502 is configured to generate a box handling instruction according to the box handling task, send the box handling instruction to the target transfer robot, and control the target transfer robot to transfer the to-be-handled box corresponding to the box handling task from the movable rack to a destination.

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

As shown in fig. 12, an embodiment of the present application provides an inventory scheduling apparatus 600, which includes:

the receiving module 601 is configured to receive a box moving instruction sent by the scheduling device, where the box moving instruction is generated according to a box moving task, the box moving task is generated according to the storage location information of multiple containers to be moved, the switching states of lanes corresponding to multiple movable shelves, and the moving information of at least one transfer robot, and the containers to be moved are located on the movable shelves;

and the second processing module 602 is configured to transport the container to be transported corresponding to the container transporting task from the movable rack to a destination according to the container transporting instruction.

In an embodiment, the second processing module 602 is specifically configured to:

In an embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a sending module 603 configured to:

As shown in fig. 13, an embodiment of the present application provides a scheduling apparatus 700, where the scheduling apparatus 700 includes a memory 701 and a processor 702.

A memory 701 for storing computer-executable instructions;

a processor 702 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 701 may be separate or integrated with the processor 702.

When the memory 701 is provided separately, the processing device further includes a bus for connecting the memory 701 and the processor 702.

As shown in fig. 14, an embodiment of the present application provides a transfer robot 800, and the transfer robot 800 includes a memory 801 and a processor 802.

A memory 801 for storing computer-executable instructions;

a processor 802 for executing computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to implement the steps performed by the inventory scheduling method in the above-described embodiments. Reference may be made specifically to the related description in the foregoing inventory scheduling method embodiment.

Alternatively, the memory 801 may be separate or integrated with the processor 802.

When the memory 801 is provided separately, the processing device further includes a bus for connecting the memory 801 and the processor 802.

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, where the computer program product includes computer instructions, and when the processor executes the computer instructions, the inventory scheduling method performed by the processing device is implemented.

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 the storage position information of a plurality of containers to be conveyed, the opening and closing states of roadways corresponding to a plurality of movable goods shelves and the conveying information of at least one conveying robot; the container to be carried is positioned on the movable goods shelf;

generating a box moving task according to the storage position information of the plurality of containers to be moved, the opening and closing states of the roadways corresponding to the plurality of movable shelves and the moving information to the at least one moving robot;

and generating a box carrying command according to the box carrying task, and sending the box carrying command to a target carrying robot for controlling the target carrying robot to carry the box to be carried corresponding to the box carrying task from the movable goods shelf to a destination.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein generating a box conveying task according to the storage location information of the plurality of containers to be conveyed, the opening and closing states of the lanes corresponding to the plurality of movable racks, and the conveying information to the at least one conveying robot includes:

polling each storage area in the sequence from small to large according to the total amount, and generating a box moving task according to the storage position information of the box to be moved in the storage area, the opening and closing state of a roadway corresponding to the movable goods shelf in the storage area and the moving information of the at least one moving robot;

wherein the plurality of movable shelves are located within at least one storage area.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein generating a box conveying task according to the storage location information of the plurality of containers to be conveyed, the opening and closing states of the lanes corresponding to the plurality of movable racks, and the conveying information to the at least one conveying robot includes:

and polling each storage area from small to large according to the distance between the storage area and the sorting table, and generating a box moving task according to the storage position information of the box to be moved in the storage area, the opening and closing state of a roadway corresponding to the movable goods shelf in the storage area and the moving information of the at least one moving robot.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the step of generating a box conveying task according to the storage location information of the box to be conveyed in the storage area, the opening and closing state of the lane corresponding to the movable rack in the storage area, and the conveying information of the at least one conveying robot specifically comprises the steps of:

acquiring the distance between a roadway corresponding to the container to be moved in the storage area and the roadway in an open state aiming at each storage area;

sequentially polling each movable goods shelf according to the sequence of the distance from small to large, and associating the storage position information of the goods boxes to be moved on the movable goods shelf with the identification information of the carrying robot until all the carrying robots are in a full box state or the storage information of all the goods boxes to be moved is associated;

generating a box carrying task of each carrying robot according to the correlation result; wherein the transfer information of the transfer robot includes identification information.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein associating the storage location information of the container to be handled on the movable rack with the identification information of the transfer robot includes:

acquiring the total number of containers to be conveyed on the movable goods shelf and the number of the remaining storage units of the conveying robot;

and when the total number of the containers to be conveyed is greater than or equal to the number of the remaining storage units of the conveying robot, associating the storage position information of the containers to be conveyed with the identification information of the conveying robot according to the priority of the containers to be conveyed.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein generating a box handling instruction according to the box handling task specifically comprises:

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein generating the tote handling instruction of the target tote robot based on the tote handling task and the number of the tote robots operating in the open lane specifically includes:

when the number of the transfer robots operating in the roadway in the open state is greater than or equal to a preset threshold value, generating a box transfer instruction for controlling the target transfer robot to travel to a cache region according to the box transfer task, so that the target transfer robot waits in the cache region;

and when the number of the transfer robots operating in the roadway in the opening state is smaller than the preset threshold value, generating a box transfer instruction for controlling the target transfer robot to travel to the roadway according to the box transfer task.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein after generating a tote command from the tote task, 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 for carrying the goods box.

9. An inventory scheduling method, applied to a target handling robot, comprising:

and carrying the container to be carried corresponding to the box carrying task from the movable goods shelf to a destination according to the box carrying instruction.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the transporting the container to be transported corresponding to the container transporting task from the movable rack to a destination according to the container transporting command specifically comprises:

and when the number of the carrying robots operating in the roadway in the opening state is smaller than the preset threshold value, the carrying robots drive the roadway in the opening state, and carry the containers to be carried in the roadway in the opening state from the movable goods shelves to the destination.

11. The method of claim 9 or 10, wherein after the container to be handled corresponding to the container handling task is handled from the movable rack to a destination according to the container handling instructions, the method further comprises:

sending a task completion instruction to the dispatching equipment so that the dispatching equipment acquires the delivery state of each container to be delivered on the movable goods shelf corresponding to the roadway in the opening state according to the task completion instruction, and generating an opening instruction when the delivery state of each container to be delivered on the movable goods shelf corresponding to the roadway in the opening state is the delivery state;

12. An inventory scheduling device, comprising:

the system comprises an acquisition module, a storage module and a storage module, wherein the acquisition module is used for acquiring the storage position information of a plurality of containers to be conveyed, the opening and closing states of roadways corresponding to a plurality of movable goods shelves and the conveying information of at least one conveying robot; the container to be carried is positioned on the movable goods shelf;

the first processing module is used for generating a box moving instruction according to the storage position information of the plurality of containers to be moved, the opening and closing states of the roadways corresponding to the plurality of movable shelves and the conveying information of the at least one conveying robot;

and the processing module is further used for generating a box carrying command according to the box carrying task, transmitting the box carrying command to a target carrying robot, and controlling the target carrying robot to carry the box to be carried corresponding to the box carrying task from the movable goods shelf to a destination.

13. An inventory scheduling device, comprising:

the system comprises a receiving module, a dispatching device and a dispatching module, wherein the dispatching module is used for receiving a box moving instruction sent by the dispatching device, the box moving instruction is generated according to a box moving task, the box moving task is generated according to the storage position information of a plurality of containers to be moved, the opening and closing states of roadways corresponding to a plurality of movable shelves and the conveying information of at least one conveying robot, and the containers to be moved are positioned on the movable shelves;

and the second processing module is used for transporting the container to be transported corresponding to the box transporting task from the movable goods shelf to a destination according to the box transporting instruction.

14. A scheduling apparatus, comprising: a memory and a processor;

wherein the memory is used for storing the memory of the executable instruction of the processor;

the processor is configured to perform the inventory scheduling method of any of claims 1 to 8.

15. A transfer robot, characterized by comprising: a memory and a processor;

the processor is configured to perform the inventory scheduling method of any of claims 9 to 11.

16. A transfer robot system characterized by comprising the scheduling apparatus of claim 14 and the transfer robot of claim 15.

17. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for execution by a processor for implementing the inventory scheduling method of any one of claims 1 to 8, or of any one of claims 9 to 11.

18. A computer program product comprising computer instructions, characterized in that the computer instructions, when executed by a processor, implement the inventory scheduling method of any one of claims 1 to 8, or any one of claims 9 to 11.