CN108726062B

CN108726062B - Method and system for picking or supplementing goods based on robot

Info

Publication number: CN108726062B
Application number: CN201810545727.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 马庆光
Original assignee: Beijing Jizhijia Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Jizhijia Technology Co Ltd
Filing date: 2018-05-30
Publication date: 2024-06-21
Anticipated expiration: 2038-05-30

Abstract

The embodiment of the application discloses a method and a system for picking or supplementing goods based on a robot, which belong to the technical field of intelligent logistics, wherein the method is applied to a mobile robot, and the mobile robot is provided with a grabbing device and at least one containing position; comprising the following steps: walking from a starting position to a first target goods shelf according to a navigation path, and grabbing one or more target objects from the target goods shelf by utilizing the grabbing device and placing the target objects in the accommodating position; and walking from the first target goods shelf to a target work station according to the navigation path, and capturing the target object from the accommodating position in advance by utilizing the capturing device and waiting for picking or supplementing before picking or supplementing. By the scheme of the application, the article sorting efficiency is improved.

Description

Method and system for picking or supplementing goods based on robot

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of intelligent logistics, in particular to a robot-based goods picking or supplementing method and system.

Background

With the development of electronic commerce, new retail modes are continuously rising, and the shopping concepts of people are continuously changing, so that the consumption experience is increasingly focused, and the timeliness plays a vital role for the user experience.

The warehousing service plays a critical role in the timeliness of goods as an important link behind the consumption service. At present, all large logistics enterprises at home and abroad seek to accelerate the throughput speed of a warehouse so as to improve the timeliness of goods and reduce the transportation time of the goods. The main current intelligent warehouse solutions mainly comprise an automatic three-dimensional warehouse solution and an intelligent warehouse robot solution. The automatic three-dimensional warehouse is in a 'goods-to-person' form for directly conveying goods to a pick-up person, wherein the automatic three-dimensional warehouse is high in goods picking efficiency and throughput, but is high in construction and maintenance cost and inflexible to use. While the intelligent storage robot has lower goods picking efficiency than an automatic three-dimensional warehouse, the intelligent storage robot has flexible use mode, low input cost, higher input and output and flexible operation and maintenance.

The robot intelligent storage robot solution of goods arrival people has obtained extensive popularization, but robot intelligent storage robot solution also has problems, for example, if need pick up a goods, the robot needs to lift the goods shelves that this goods is located to pick up the goods station, picks up the goods personnel and takes out the goods according to the system suggestion corresponding goods check, runs into the goods of putting on the upper strata because of the goods shelves are higher, picks up the goods personnel and needs to use the ladder to pick up goods, owing to pick up goods efficiency lower, often can appear that the robot is carrying goods shelves and is queuing at pick up the goods station, picks up the bottleneck of the whole system efficiency.

Disclosure of Invention

In the existing automatic storage robot system, the cooperation of a robot and a person is still required, and various uncertainties such as proficiency and easy fatigue exist for the person relative to the machine, so that the work of the worker is simplified by gradually perfecting the design of the system, and the influence of the uncertainties of the person on the system efficiency is reduced. At present, the picking efficiency of the picking staff of the workstation becomes the bottleneck of an automatic storage robot system, and the improvement of the picking efficiency of the picking station greatly improves the efficiency of the robot system. In view of the above, embodiments of the present invention provide a method and a system for picking or replenishing goods based on a robot, which at least partially solve the problems in the prior art.

In a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a robot-based method of picking or restocking, the method being applied to a mobile robot having a gripping device and at least one accommodation site; the method comprises the following steps:

Walking from a starting position to a first target goods shelf according to a navigation path, and grabbing one or more target objects from the target goods shelf by utilizing the grabbing device and placing the target objects in the accommodating position;

And walking from the first target goods shelf to a target work station according to the navigation path, and capturing the target object from the accommodating position in advance by utilizing the capturing device and waiting for picking or supplementing before picking or supplementing.

According to a specific implementation of an embodiment of the present invention, the target workstation includes a preparation area and a waiting area.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, the walking from the first target shelf to the target workstation according to the navigation path, before picking up or supplementing the goods, uses the grabbing device to grab the target object from the accommodation site in advance and wait for picking up or supplementing the goods, including:

according to the navigation path, the first target goods shelf is moved to the preparation area, and the grabbing device is utilized to grab the target object from the accommodating position;

From the preparation area to the waiting area for queuing to wait for the target object to be picked or restocked.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, after the capturing the target object from the accommodation site by using the capturing device, the method further includes:

The gripping device gripping the target object is adjusted to a preset pick-up or replenishment height so that the gripping device reaches the preset pick-up or replenishment height before exiting the preparation area.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, if a plurality of target objects are picked or restocked, after the last target object is picked or restocked, the method further includes:

Returning from the waiting area to the preparation area again, and grabbing a next target object from the accommodating position by utilizing the grabbing device;

from the preparation area to the waiting area for queuing to wait for the next target object to be picked or restocked.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, after all the target objects are picked or restocked, the target objects automatically leave the workstation and travel to a preset position according to the navigation path to wait for a new task.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises:

the target object is placed on the transfer start end of the transfer device.

A transfer terminal end which is moved to the transfer device, and the receiving position is used for loading the target objects after picking or supplementing;

and according to the navigation path, the target object is grabbed from the accommodating position by utilizing the grabbing device and placed into a second target goods shelf when the target object walks to the second target goods shelf from the transmission ending end of the transmission device.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a robot-based pick or restock system comprising:

a workstation, which is a region where the target object is picked up or restocked;

The mobile robot is provided with a grabbing device and at least one containing position, and is used for walking to a first target goods shelf from a starting position according to a navigation path, grabbing one or more target objects from the first target goods shelf by the grabbing device and placing the one or more target objects in the containing position; and the system is also used for walking from the first target goods shelf to the workstation according to a navigation path, and grabbing the target object from the accommodating position by utilizing the grabbing device and waiting for picking or supplementing before picking or supplementing.

According to a specific implementation of an embodiment of the invention, the workstation comprises a preparation area and a waiting area.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, the mobile robot is configured to walk from the first target shelf to the preparation area, and grasp a target object from the accommodation site by using the grasping device; and is further configured to travel from the preparation area to the waiting area for queuing to wait for the target object to be picked or restocked.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the at least one accommodating position is at least one interlayer overlapped along the vertical direction, and the grabbing device can be adjusted to any interlayer according to the picking or replenishment height, so that the target object grabbed by the grabbing device together reaches the preset picking or replenishment height before the mobile robot leaves the preparation area.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the waiting area can accommodate a plurality of mobile robots waiting for picking or replenishment at the same time.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the target object is an order object or a container filled with the order object.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the system further comprises:

a seeding wall into which the target object is placed after being picked up.

The turnover box, the turnover box set up in one side of waiting area, the turnover box below is provided with display device, display device is used for the suggestion to be picked or the information of the target object of replenishment.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the system further comprises: a transfer device located at the workstation, the transfer device including a transfer start end and a transfer end;

the mobile robot is further used for controlling the grabbing device to place the target object on the conveying starting end of the conveying device to wait for picking after the mobile robot walks to the workstation.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, the mobile robot is further configured to control the gripping device to grip the picked target object into the accommodation site at the transfer termination end of the transfer device, walk from the transfer termination end of the transfer device to the second target shelf, and grip the picked target object from the accommodation site by using the gripping device and place the picked target object into the second target shelf.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the conveying device is a conveying belt.

According to the robot-based goods picking or supplementing method and system provided by the embodiment of the invention, the workstation is arranged, so that the mobile robot can pick up goods in advance and adjust the goods picking height to be proper when transporting a plurality of goods picking at one time, and the goods picking work of the goods is completed rapidly on the goods picking waiting platform, so that the goods picking efficiency is improved.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings that are needed in the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and that other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a picking or restocking system based on a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a mobile robot according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a target shelf structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another robot-based pick or restocking system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a picking or replenishment method based on a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It should be understood that the described embodiments are merely some, but not all, embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

Referring to fig. 1, an embodiment of the present invention provides a robot-based pick or restock system, comprising:

the workstation comprises a preparation area 4 and a waiting area 5.

A mobile robot 1 having a gripping device and at least one accommodation site, the mobile robot being adapted to travel from a starting position to a first target pallet 2 according to a navigation path and to grip one or more target objects from the first target pallet by means of the gripping device and to be placed in the accommodation site; and the system is also used for walking from the first target goods shelf to the work station according to the navigation path, and grabbing the target object from the containing position by utilizing the grabbing device and waiting for picking or supplementing before picking or supplementing.

The mobile robot 1 can communicate with the dispatch server 3, and the mobile robot 1 can acquire form contents by making a communication connection with the dispatch server 3. The form content may be an order for goods to be picked according to the needs of the user, and the form may contain various types of articles (goods to be sorted), and the articles to be sorted on the same form need to be packaged by one or more devices (e.g., a turnover box). The items corresponding to the forms are usually placed using a storage container (for example, a transfer box), and after the mobile robot 1 acquires the contents of the forms, the storage container 4 associated with the forms can be selected and transported. Referring to fig. 2, the mobile robot 1 has a gripping device 104 and a plurality of receiving locations 1031.

The dispatch server 3 is a control unit of a robot-based pick or restock system, the dispatch server 3 being capable of acquiring item pick requirements (e.g., item orders) based on which it is determined to use one or more mobile robots 1 to acquire and ship items related to the pick requirements.

The first target rack is located in the article storage area, and the article rack stores target objects, and the gripping device 104 on the mobile robot 1 can select one or more target objects from the first target rack, and place the target objects in the accommodating position 1031.

The preparation area 4 may be a specially configured platform, or may be a part of an area divided on the ground, where the area of the preparation area 4 has a geographic location coordinate or identifier (for example, a two-dimensional code or an electronic tag such as an RFID), and after the mobile robot 1 recognizes the geographic location coordinate or identifier on the preparation area 4, the target object is taken out from the accommodation site 1031 by using the gripping device 104 in the preparation area 4, and the target object is adjusted to a first preset height. The first preset height is a height which is convenient for picking articles.

The waiting area 5 may be a specially configured platform, or may be a part of an area divided on the ground, where the area of the waiting area 5 has a geographic location coordinate or identifier (for example, a two-dimensional code or an RFID or other electronic tag), and after the mobile robot 1 recognizes the geographic location coordinate or identifier on the waiting area 5, it stays at a specific location of the waiting area 5 according to the instruction of the scheduling server 3, and waits for the target object to be picked up in the waiting area 5 at a first preset height.

Referring to fig. 2, an embodiment of the present invention provides a mobile robot 1 including a driving device 101, a body 102, a receiving device 103, and a gripping device 104.

The driving means 101 is a driving assembly of the mobile robot 1, and as an example, the driving means 101 may comprise one or more wheels, which move the mobile robot 1 by rolling of the wheels. The driving device 101 may be disposed at the bottom of the mobile robot 1. Of course, the driving device 101 may be provided at another position of the mobile robot 1.

The mobile robot 1 can communicate with a server for scheduling transportation of articles, and the communication method may be a wired method or a wireless method. By communicating with the dispatch server, the mobile robot 1 is able to learn an item transportation task including destination coordinates assigned to the mobile robot 1 and a specific ID identification (e.g., item number, etc.) of the target item, and the driving device 101 automatically moves the mobile robot 1 to a preset position based on the task received by the mobile robot 1.

The body 102 is an integral supporting member of the mobile robot 1, and as one case, the body 102 is disposed above the driving device 101, and the body 102 is used for supporting the mobile robot 1.

In order to be able to facilitate the transport of items, a receiving device 103 is provided on the mobile robot 1 for placing one or more items, said receiving device 103 being provided on the body 102, said receiving device 103 having one or more receiving locations 1031, each receiving location 1031 being capable of placing one or more items 7 to be transported.

And at least one holding position is a vertically overlapped interlayer, at least one interlayer is arranged, and the grabbing device can be adjusted to any interlayer according to the goods picking or supplementing height, so that the target objects grabbed by the grabbing device together reach the preset goods picking or supplementing height before the mobile robot leaves the preparation area.

After the driving device 101 conveys the mobile robot 1 to the preset position, the target object is automatically selected by the gripping device 104. The gripping device 104 selects a target article from the article storage devices corresponding to the preset positions based on the task received by the mobile robot 1, and automatically places the selected target article in the accommodation position 1031 of the accommodation device 103.

The gripping device 104 may be implemented in various manners, and according to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, the gripping device 104 includes a telescopic assembly 1042, where the telescopic assembly 1042 selects a target object from the object storage device, and in order to match the telescopic assembly 1042, the gripping device 104 may further include a telescopic support 1043, where the telescopic support 1043 is used to support the telescopic assembly 1042.

The height of the target objects in the object storage device is different, in order to enable the target objects with different heights to be placed in the accommodating position 1031, according to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the gripping device 104 includes a lifting assembly 1045, where the lifting assembly 1045 lifts the telescopic assembly 1042 to a height matching the target objects, and the lifting assembly 1045 may be any device capable of lifting and lowering.

In the process of selecting the article, the gripping device 104 needs to perform posture adjustment based on actual needs, and according to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, the automatic article transporting device further includes: a rotating assembly 105, said receiving means 103 and said gripping means 104 are arranged above said rotating assembly 105.

The telescopic assembly 1042 may select the object in various manners, and according to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, the telescopic assembly 1042 includes a clamping portion 1041, and the clamping portion 1041 selects the target object from the object storage device corresponding to the preset position in a clamping manner.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a target shelf 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the storage container and the picking container may be a specific implementation of the target shelf 2, and the target shelf 2 stores the articles 7. In a particular embodiment, the target pallet 2 comprises a plurality of storage bins, each capable of holding an item 7. In addition, in certain embodiments, the items 7 may also be suspended from hooks or bars within the target pallet 2 or on the target pallet 2. The items 7 can be placed on the target pallet 2 in any suitable manner on the interior or exterior surface of the target pallet 2. The target pallet 2 can be rolled, carried or otherwise moved by the mobile robot 1. To facilitate movement of the target pallet 2 by the mobile robot, the target pallet 2 includes one or more supports 202 and a temporary pallet identification point 201 for identifying temporary pallet identities, and the item storage system may include any suitable number of target pallets 2.

The item 7 represents any item suitable for storage sorting, or transfer in an automated inventory, warehouse, manufacturing, and/or parts handling system, which may be any material, either animate or inanimate. As an example, the item 7 may represent an item of merchandise stored in a warehouse. The mobile robot 1 may retrieve a designated target pallet 2, which target pallet 2 contains a particular item 7 associated with a customer order to be packaged for delivery to the customer or other party.

As another example, item 7 may represent luggage stored in a luggage facility at an airport. The mobile robot 1 may retrieve a target pallet 2 containing baggage to be transported and tracked. This may include selecting a particular baggage item for explosives screening, moving a baggage item associated with a flight that has switched gate, or removing a baggage item belonging to a passenger that has missed a flight.

As yet another example, the article 7 may represent various components of a manufacturing kit. More specifically, these components may represent components intended to be included in an assembled product, such as computer components for custom computer systems. In such an embodiment, the mobile robot 1 may retrieve the particular component identified by the specification associated with the customer order.

As yet another example, the item 7 may represent a person. For example, in a hospital environment, the target pallet 2 may represent a bed containing a particular patient. Thus, the item storage system may be configured to provide a safe and effective system for moving hospital beds, which limits the possibility of patient injury and reduces the possibility of errors due to human error. In general, the item 7 may be any suitable item suitable for storage on any suitable form of the target pallet 2.

In operation, the mobile robot 1 is able to move between points within a workspace associated with the item storage system and, when coupled to the target pallet 2, is able to transport the target pallet 2 between locations within the workspace and also to acquire a target object on the target pallet by the gripping means. Based on the received command, the mobile robot 1 may determine a movement destination of the mobile robot 1. For example, in certain embodiments, the mobile robot 1 may receive information identifying the destination of the mobile robot 1 from an administrator or management device (e.g., dispatch server 3) of the object storage system. The mobile robot 1 may receive information through a wireless interface, a wired connection, or using any other suitable means to facilitate communication with an operator or management device of the item storage system. Generally, the mobile robot 1 may be controlled to any desired place in whole or in part based on a command of a control management device or an operator.

According to a specific implementation of an embodiment of the invention, the waiting area 5 is able to house a plurality of mobile robots 1 waiting for picking at the same time.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the target object is an article to be picked or a container filled with the article to be picked.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the system further comprises: a seeding wall 6, the seeding wall 6 being a temporary area for placing target objects that are picked up in the pick operation area, the picked-up target objects being placed into the seeding wall 6 in connection with the order.

The mobile robot 1 may have a sensing device, through which the mobile robot 1 can determine whether the target object at the preset height is picked out, and according to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, after the target object at the preset height on the mobile robot 1 is picked out, the mobile robot 1 automatically leaves the waiting area 5.

Referring to fig. 4, when the robot needs to replenish, two forms of manual replenishment and robot-assisted replenishment can be adopted, if a small amount of goods need to be replenished, a form of robot-assisted replenishment can be adopted, similar to the form of robot-assisted replenishment, the robot grabs the bin from the goods storage device of the robot in the robot preparation area and adjusts to a proper height, the picker directly puts the goods needing to be replenished into the bin, and the robot puts the bin into the goods storage device and leaves the robot waiting area to go to the goods shelf area. If a large amount of replenishment is needed, the robot can collect a large number of bins from the goods shelf area, and the robot can directly and manually replenish the cargoes by a pickers when arriving at the robot waiting area, and after the cargo storage device of one robot is filled, the robot leaves the robot waiting area and goes to the goods shelf area. According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, when the mobile robot 1 needs replenishment, the mobile robot 1 grabs a replenishment container from the accommodating position 1031, and moves the replenishment container to the waiting area 5 at a second preset height.

In order to ensure accurate picking of goods, a display device is arranged at the position below the turnover box to be picked on one side of the waiting area of the robot and used for prompting names and quantity of goods to be picked, and the display device can be in a projection mode or an electronic display screen mode. The projector or the electronic display screen receives the instruction of the server, ensures that the displayed information is correct according to a specific implementation mode of the embodiment of the invention, and the system further comprises: the turnover case, the turnover case set up in one side of waiting area 5, the turnover case below is provided with display device, display device is used for the information of suggestion waiting to examine article.

In addition, if the condition that the turnover box is empty after picking up the goods is met, the goods picking person can directly pack up the turnover box, so that the robot is prevented from sending the turnover box back to the goods shelf area, and the time waste caused by the fact that the turnover box is transported to the robot waiting area is also needed by the goods supplementing opportunity robot.

In addition, a conveying belt can be added in the process of picking the goods by the mobile robot 1, the goods picking robot and the conveying belt are matched to pick the goods, as shown in fig. 4, after the goods box is put down by the robot in a goods placing area, the robot is conveyed to the goods picking position of a goods picking person by the conveying belt, after the goods picking person picks the goods, the goods box is conveyed to the other end of the conveying belt by the conveying belt, the goods box is collected by the mobile robot 1 in a goods collecting area of the robot, and after the goods storage device of the mobile robot 1 is filled, the goods picking robot conveys the goods box back to a goods shelf area.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the system further comprises: a conveyor (e.g., a conveyor belt) receives the target object after the mobile robot 1 moves to the waiting area 5.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the conveying device conveys the turnover box of the target object to a preset position after the target object positioned on the conveying device is picked at the picking position.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, the mobile robot 1 receives the turnover box conveyed by the conveying device at a preset position, and conveys the turnover box to a shelf area.

Corresponding to the above system, referring to fig. 5, the embodiment of the invention also discloses a picking or replenishing method based on a robot, which is applied to a mobile robot, wherein the mobile robot is provided with a grabbing device and at least one containing position; the method comprises the following steps:

According to a specific implementation of an embodiment of the invention, the target workstation comprises a preparation area and a waiting area.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, walking from the first target shelf to the target workstation according to the navigation path, before picking up or supplementing the goods, using a grabbing device to grab the target object from the accommodation site in advance and wait for picking up or supplementing the goods, including:

According to the navigation path, the user walks from the first target goods shelf to the preparation area, and the target object is grabbed from the accommodating position by utilizing the grabbing device:

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, after the target object is grabbed from the accommodation site by using the grabbing device, the method further includes:

The gripping device gripping the target object is adjusted to a preset pick or restock level so that the gripping device reaches the preset pick or restock level before exiting the preparation area.

The robot-based goods picking or supplementing method of the technical proposal comprises the following steps of,

S501, determining one or more mobile robots based on article picking requirements, wherein the mobile robots are provided with a plurality of accommodation positions;

S502, selecting one or more target objects from a target shelf by utilizing a grabbing device of the mobile robot, and placing the target objects in the accommodating positions;

s503, after the mobile robot enters a workstation, the grabbing device takes the target object out of the accommodating position and adjusts the target object to a first preset height;

S504, the mobile robot moves the target object from the preparation area to a waiting area at the adjusted first preset height.

The operation flow in steps S501 to S504 corresponds to the operation manner in the above system embodiment, and is not described herein.

returning to the preparation area from the waiting area, and grabbing the next target object from the accommodating position by utilizing a grabbing device;

from the preparation area to the waiting area to wait for the next target object to be picked or restocked.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, after all target objects are picked or restocked, the target objects automatically leave the workstation and travel to a preset position according to the navigation path to wait for a new task.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises: the mobile robot places the target object on the transfer start end of the transfer device.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises: the mobile robot walks to the transmission terminal end of the transmission device and loads the object after picking or supplementing goods by using the containing position;

The mobile robot walks to the second target goods shelf from the transmission ending end of the transmission device according to the navigation path, the target object is grabbed from the containing position by the grabbing device, and the grabbed target object is placed in the second target goods shelf.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the picking waiting platform can accommodate a plurality of mobile robots waiting for picking at the same time.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the target objects are picked in a picking operation area, and the picked target objects are placed in a sowing wall related to the order.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, after the target objects at the preset height on the mobile robot are picked, the mobile robot automatically leaves the pick-waiting platform.

When the mobile robot needs to supplement goods, the mobile robot grabs the supplement goods container from the containing position and moves the supplement goods container to the goods-picking waiting platform at a second preset height.

And a display device is arranged below the turnover box to be picked on one side of the goods picking waiting platform and used for prompting information of the goods to be checked.

After the mobile robot moves to the pick-up stand-by platform, the target object is placed on a conveyor adjacent to the pick-up stand-by platform.

After the target objects positioned on the conveying device are picked at the picking position, the turnover box carrying the target objects is conveyed to a preset position by the conveying device.

The mobile robot receives the turnover box conveyed by the conveying device at a preset position and conveys the turnover box to a goods shelf area.

It will be understood that the terms "a" and "an" should be interpreted as referring to "at least one" or "one or more," i.e., in one embodiment, the number of elements may be one, while in another embodiment, the number of elements may be plural, and the term "a" should not be interpreted as limiting the number.

Although ordinal numbers such as "first," "second," etc., will be used to describe various components, those components are not limited herein. The term is used merely to distinguish one component from another. For example, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and likewise, a second component may be referred to as a first component, without departing from the teachings of the inventive concept. The term "and/or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing various embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular is intended to include the plural as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, or groups thereof.

Terms used herein, including technical and scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, provided that the terms are not defined differently. It is to be understood that terms defined in commonly used dictionaries have meanings that are consistent with the meaning of the terms in the prior art.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions easily contemplated by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention should be included in the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the invention is subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A robot-based method of picking or restocking, the method being applied to a mobile robot having a gripping device and at least one accommodation site, the method comprising:

According to the navigation path, walking from the first target goods shelf to a target work station, and before picking or supplementing goods, utilizing the grabbing device to grab the target object from the accommodating position in advance and waiting for picking or supplementing goods;

The method further comprises the steps of: the mobile robot placing the target object on a conveyor configured to receive the target object after the mobile robot moves to a waiting area; the transfer device is configured to convey the transfer box of the target object to a preset position after the target object located at the transfer device is picked at a picking position, and the mobile robot receives the transfer box conveyed by the transfer device at the preset position and conveys the transfer box to a goods shelf area.

2. The robot-based pick or restock method of claim 1, wherein the target workstation comprises a preparation area.

3. The robot-based pick or restock method of claim 2, wherein the walking from the first target shelf to a target workstation according to a navigation path, prior to picking or restocking, utilizing the gripping device to grasp a target object from the containment location in advance and await picking or restocking, comprises:

4. A robot-based pick or restock method as claimed in claim 3, further comprising, after the grabbing of the target object from the accommodation site with the grabbing device:

5. The robot-based pick or restock method of claim 1, wherein after all target objects are picked or restocked, automatically leave the workstation and travel to a preset location according to a navigation path waiting for a new task.

6. The robot-based pick or restock method of claim 1, further comprising:

the target object is placed on the transfer start end of the transfer device.

7. The robot-based pick or restock method of claim 6, further comprising:

a transfer termination end which is moved to the transfer device, and the target objects which are picked up or supplemented are loaded by the containing position;

8. A robot-based pick or restock system, comprising:

The mobile robot is provided with a grabbing device and at least one containing position, and is used for walking to a first target goods shelf from a starting position according to a navigation path, grabbing one or more target objects from the first target goods shelf by the grabbing device and placing the one or more target objects in the containing position; the system is further used for walking from the first target goods shelf to the workstation according to a navigation path, and grabbing target objects from the accommodating position by utilizing the grabbing device and waiting for picking or supplementing before picking or supplementing; wherein the method comprises the steps of

Wherein the system further comprises a transfer device configured to receive the target object after the mobile robot moves to a waiting area; the transfer device is configured to convey the transfer box of the target object to a preset position after the target object located at the transfer device is picked at a picking position, and the mobile robot receives the transfer box conveyed by the transfer device at the preset position and conveys the transfer box to a goods shelf area.

9. The robot-based pick or restock system of claim 8, wherein the workstation comprises a preparation area.

10. The robot-based pick or restock system of claim 9, wherein the mobile robot is configured to walk from the first target shelf to the preparation area and grasp a target object from the holding location with the grasping device; and is further configured to travel from the preparation area to the waiting area for queuing to wait for the target object to be picked or restocked.

11. The robot-based pick or restock system of claim 10, wherein the at least one containment location is at least one compartment vertically stacked, the gripping device being adjustable to either compartment according to pick or restock height so that the target object being gripped by the gripping device in conjunction reaches a predetermined pick or restock height before the mobile robot leaves the staging area.

12. The robot-based pick or restock system of claim 9, wherein the waiting area is capable of simultaneously accommodating a plurality of mobile robots waiting for pick or restock.

13. The robot-based pick or restock system as claimed in any one of claims 8-12, wherein the target object is an order item or a container containing an order item.

14. The robot-based pick or restock system of any of claims 8-12, wherein the system further comprises:

a seeding wall into which the target object is placed after being picked up.

15. The robot-based pick or restock system of claim 10, wherein the system further comprises:

16. The robot-based pick or restock system of claim 8, wherein the system further comprises: a transfer device located at the workstation, the transfer device including a transfer start end and a transfer end;

17. The robot-based pick or restock system of claim 16, wherein,

The mobile robot is further used for controlling the grabbing device to grab the picked target object into the accommodating position at the conveying terminal end of the conveying device, enabling the target object to walk to the second target goods shelf from the conveying terminal end of the conveying device, grabbing the picked target object out of the accommodating position by the grabbing device, and placing the picked target object into the second target goods shelf.

18. A robotic based pick or restock system as claimed in claim 16 or claim 17, wherein the conveyor is a conveyor belt.