CN110721914A

CN110721914A - Sorting system, sorting method, storage medium and apparatus

Info

Publication number: CN110721914A
Application number: CN201910775322.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈德平; 周迪
Original assignee: Beijing Wide-Sighted Robot Technology Co Ltd; Zhejiang Guozi Robot Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Wide-Sighted Robot Technology Co Ltd; Zhejiang Guozi Robot Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-08-21
Filing date: 2019-08-21
Publication date: 2020-01-24

Abstract

The invention provides a sorting system, a sorting method, a storage medium and a device. The sorting system comprises a processor, a first conveying device, a plurality of second conveying devices and a plurality of feeding devices; the processor is configured to: determining a target container for accommodating the first target cargo according to the cargo information; controlling the first conveying equipment to transfer the first target cargo to the second conveying equipment for conveying, and controlling target transfer trolleys in the target transfer trolley group to move to a preset material receiving position; when the second conveying equipment conveys the first target goods to the material shifting position and the target transfer trolley reaches the preset material receiving position, the second conveying equipment is controlled to convey the first target goods to the target transfer trolley; and when the target transfer trolley reaches the target layer of the goods shelf, controlling the target transfer trolley to convey the first target goods into the target container. The three-dimensional sorting structure of the sorting system avoids the problem of large occupied area of the traditional sorting equipment, and can improve the sorting efficiency.

Description

Sorting system, sorting method, storage medium and apparatus

Technical Field

The invention belongs to the field of sorting, and particularly relates to a sorting system, a sorting method, a storage medium and a device.

Background

At present, with the rapid development of the logistics transportation industry, the quantity of goods which are sorted and processed by each logistics enterprise in daily life is increased.

In order to relieve the pressure of cargo sorting and transportation and improve the express delivery efficiency, automatic sorting equipment such as a cross sorting belt and a sliding shoe type sorting belt is put into use in succession.

However, the existing sorting system is generally in a planar layout, which results in a large floor space, and the corresponding control method is relatively extensive and not fine and accurate enough, which results in low sorting efficiency.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, the present invention provides a sorting system, a sorting method, a storage medium and a device, so as to solve the problems of large floor area, extensive control method and low sorting efficiency of the sorting system in the prior art.

In order to solve the technical problem, the invention is realized as follows:

in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a sorting system, where the sorting system includes a processor, a first conveying device, a plurality of second conveying devices, and a plurality of feeding devices; the second conveying devices are respectively butted with the first conveying devices, and the feeding devices are distributed along the conveying paths of the second conveying devices; each feeding device comprises at least one switching trolley group and at least one row of goods shelves, each layer of each row of the goods shelves is provided with at least one container, and each row of the goods shelves corresponds to one switching trolley group; a plurality of switching trolleys in each switching trolley group move along a preset direction, and the preset direction is different from the conveying direction of the second conveying equipment;

the processor is configured to:

determining a target container for accommodating the first target cargo according to the cargo information of the first target cargo;

controlling the first conveying equipment to transfer the first target cargo to second conveying equipment corresponding to the target container for conveying, and controlling a target transfer trolley in a target transfer trolley group corresponding to the target container to move to a preset material receiving position;

when the second conveying equipment conveys the first target cargo to a material shifting position and the target transfer trolley reaches the preset material receiving position, controlling the second conveying equipment to convey the first target cargo to the target transfer trolley; the material shifting position is a position on the second conveying equipment corresponding to the target transfer trolley group;

and when the target transfer trolley reaches the target layer of the goods shelf corresponding to the target container, controlling the target transfer trolley to convey the first target goods to the target container.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a sorting method, including:

In a third aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored, which when executed by a processor implements the steps of the sorting method described above.

In a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus, including a processor, a memory, and a computer program stored on the memory and operable on the processor, where the computer program, when executed by the processor, implements the steps of the sorting method described above.

In an embodiment of the invention, the sorting system comprises a processor, a first conveying device, a plurality of second conveying devices and a plurality of feeding devices; the second conveying devices are respectively butted with the first conveying devices, and the feeding devices are distributed along the conveying paths of the second conveying devices; each feeding device comprises at least one switching trolley group and at least one row of goods shelves, each layer of each row of the goods shelves is provided with at least one container, and each row of the goods shelves corresponds to one switching trolley group; a plurality of switching trolleys in each switching trolley group move along a preset direction, and the preset direction is different from the conveying direction of the second conveying equipment; the processor is configured to: determining a target container for accommodating the first target cargo according to the cargo information of the first target cargo; controlling the first conveying equipment to transfer the first target cargo to the second conveying equipment corresponding to the target container for conveying, and controlling the target transfer trolleys in the target transfer trolley group corresponding to the target container to move to the preset material receiving position; when the second conveying equipment conveys the first target goods to the material shifting position and the target transfer trolley reaches the preset material receiving position, the second conveying equipment is controlled to convey the first target goods to the target transfer trolley; the material shifting position is a position on the second conveying equipment corresponding to the target transfer trolley group; and when the target transfer trolley reaches the target layer of the goods shelf corresponding to the target container, controlling the target transfer trolley to convey the first target goods into the target container. The three-dimensional sorting structure of the sorting system avoids the problem of large occupied area of the traditional sorting equipment, can provide more containers for sorting and storing goods, and can improve the sorting efficiency. The processor can determine a proper target container according to the cargo information of the first target cargo, control the first conveying equipment, the second conveying equipment and the target transfer trolley to convey the first target cargo to the target container, fully consider the action time delay of the first conveying equipment, the second conveying equipment and the target transfer trolley in the cargo sorting and conveying process, ensure that the connection time of all the equipment is proper, and effectively improve the cargo sorting efficiency.

The foregoing description is only an overview of the technical solutions of the present invention, and the embodiments of the present invention are described below in order to make the technical means of the present invention more clearly understood and to make the above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention more clearly understandable.

Drawings

Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. Also, like reference numerals are used to refer to like parts throughout the drawings. In the drawings:

fig. 1 is a block diagram of a sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic three-dimensional view of the layout of the feeding devices in a sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic end view of a feeding device in a sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional schematic view of a feeding device in a sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a feeding device near a second conveyor device in a sorting system according to embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a feeder device rack of a sorting system according to embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating steps performed by a processor according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of steps performed by a processor according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a block diagram of an apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the invention can be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

Example one

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 1, the sorting system may include: the system comprises a processor 10, a first conveying device 11, a plurality of second conveying devices 12 and a plurality of feeding devices 13; the second conveying devices 12 are respectively butted with the first conveying devices 11, and the feeding devices 13 are distributed along the conveying paths of the second conveying devices 12; each feeding device 13 comprises at least one transfer trolley group 131 and at least one row of shelves 132, each layer of each row of shelves 132 is provided with at least one container 1321, and each row of shelves 132 corresponds to one transfer trolley group 131; the plurality of transfer trolleys 1311 in each transfer trolley group 131 move in a preset direction, which is different from the conveying direction of the second conveying equipment 12.

Each transfer car set 131 here refers to a train of transfer cars moving in the vertical direction in the charging installation 13, as fig. 2 shows an example in which one charging installation 13 comprises 3 transfer car sets 131. That is, each set of relay trolleys 131 includes one or more relay trolleys that move in a vertical direction. It should be noted that in a specific implementation, the multiple transfer trolley sets 131 in each feeding device 13 may be integrated, for example, the multiple transfer trolley sets 131 may be moved up and down by the same set of lifting mechanism; of course, the multiple transfer trolley sets 131 in each feeding device 13 may also be independent of each other, for example, each transfer trolley set 131 may be moved up and down by a respective lifting mechanism, and the multiple transfer trolley sets 131 in each feeding device 13 may be fixed by a fixed connection mechanism in some examples according to actual requirements.

Each dosing device 13 is directed towards the second conveyor device 12 on one side, from which side openings the goods from the second conveyor device 12 can be received. At least one row of racks 132 is arranged on the other side of each feeding device 13, i.e. each row of racks 132 is arranged on the rear side of one transfer trolley group 131 of one feeding device 13, which is the side facing away from the second conveying device 12. When the goods are transported to the opening position, the goods can be transferred to one of the transfer trolleys in the transfer trolley group 131 through the material shifting mechanism on the feeding device 13 or the second transporting device 12. When the transfer trolley moves in the feeding equipment 13 along the vertical direction, the transfer trolley carries cargoes to move up and down. For example, when the transfer trolley rises to the highest point, the transfer trolley can be turned over, moves downwards on the other side, descends to the height corresponding to the target container, and then puts the goods into the target container. Similarly, the transfer trolley can be turned over when the transfer trolley descends to the lowest point, moves upwards on the other side, rises to the height corresponding to the target container, and then puts the goods into the target container.

The first conveying device 11 and the second conveying device 12 may be a linear type or a circularly rotatable belt conveyor, a roller conveyor, or the like. As shown in fig. 2 and 3, a plurality of second conveyor apparatuses 12 may be arranged along both sides of the conveying path of the first conveyor apparatus 11, and may be used to convey the goods from the first conveyor apparatus 11. The feeding device 13 is a sorting device at the end of the goods sorting process for transferring goods from the second conveying device 12 to the containers. In particular, as shown in fig. 3 to 6, each feeding device 13 comprises at least one transfer trolley set 131, at least one row of shelves 132, each row of shelves 132 may be a multi-layer structure, each layer is provided with at least one container 1321, and the containers 1321 are used for containing goods, and may be material boxes, material boxes or material bags with standardized sizes. Each row of shelves 132 corresponds to one transfer trolley group 131, for example, there are three rows of shelves 132 along the vertical direction, correspondingly, the feeding device 13 includes three transfer trolley groups 131, and each row of shelves 132 corresponds to one transfer trolley group 131. The plurality of transfer carts 1311 in each transfer cart group 131 are cyclically moved in a preset direction, which is different from the conveying direction of the second conveying apparatus 12. Taking the transfer trolley group 131 in fig. 5 as an example, the plurality of transfer trolleys 1311 in the transfer trolley group 131 may move in the vertical direction, and the conveying direction of the second conveying device 12 may move in a certain direction on the horizontal plane, so that the three-dimensional sorting of the goods may be realized through cooperation between the devices.

The processor 10 is a programmable processor, and is connected to the control circuits of the first conveying device 11, the second conveying device 12 and the feeding device 13, and is configured to execute the steps of the flow shown in fig. 7:

step 101, determining a target container for accommodating a first target cargo according to cargo information of the first target cargo.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the goods to be sorted is the first target goods, and it can be understood that, in order to achieve traceability of the first target goods, a goods label (such as a bar code, a two-dimensional code, an RFID label, etc.) is usually attached to the first target goods, and the label is used for identifying goods information such as a goods size, a goods type (large goods, irregular goods, fragile goods, liquid, etc.), a goods order number, an address, etc. Then, after the goods information is obtained through image recognition, scanning or reading the goods label, etc., a container can be determined as a target container for containing the first target goods according to the goods information and information such as the number, position and state of the container (e.g., whether the container is empty or full, etc.) pre-configured in the system. For example, the corresponding target container may be determined according to the order number of the goods, or the corresponding target container may be determined according to the receiving address, or a container with an appropriate size may be selected as the target container according to the size of the goods.

And 102, controlling the first conveying equipment to transfer the first target cargo to second conveying equipment corresponding to the target container for conveying, and controlling a target transfer trolley in a target transfer trolley group corresponding to the target container to move to a preset material receiving position.

When the target container is determined, that is, the sorting position of the first target goods in the sorting system is determined, the devices may be controlled to perform the transportation of the first target goods. Since the first target cargo is on the first conveyor apparatus, and the first conveyor apparatus is simultaneously docked with a plurality of second conveyor apparatuses, the plurality of second conveyor apparatuses may correspond to different orders to go or different destinations to go. The first transport device is therefore required to transfer the first target cargo to the second transport device corresponding to the target container. Specifically, when the first target cargo moves to the corresponding position of the second conveying equipment along with the first conveying equipment, the movement direction can be changed through mechanisms such as a mechanical arm, a mechanical push plate, a high-pressure air blowing device, a mechanical deflector rod or a universal ball conveying platform, the first target cargo is transferred to the second conveying equipment, and the second conveying equipment continues conveying. In order to save sorting time and avoid the problem of time asynchronism when the first target goods and the target transfer trolleys reach the corresponding positions, the target transfer trolleys in the target transfer trolley group corresponding to the target container are controlled to move to the preset material receiving position in the process of movement of the first target goods. The target transfer trolley is an idle trolley when reaching the preset material receiving position, namely, the target transfer trolley only needs to be guaranteed to be idle when reaching the preset material receiving position and can contain the first target goods, whether the target transfer trolley is idle before the target transfer trolley is not needed to be concerned, and before the target transfer trolley, the target transfer trolley can finish sorting of other goods firstly, so that the target transfer trolley is prevented from being idle for a long time. Therefore, the first target goods and the target transfer trolley move independently at the same time, time difference between the first target goods and the target transfer trolley is reduced, coordination and consistency are guaranteed, and sorting efficiency can be improved.

103, when the second conveying equipment conveys the first target cargo to a material shifting position and the target transfer trolley reaches the material receiving position, controlling the second conveying equipment to convey the first target cargo to the target transfer trolley; and the material shifting position is a position on the second conveying equipment corresponding to the target transfer trolley group.

When the first target cargo is on the second conveying device, the first target cargo needs to be transferred from the second conveying device to the target transfer trolley in the feeding device, and therefore, the spatial positions of the first target cargo and the second target cargo need to be ensured to be aligned. The first target goods need to be conveyed to a position, corresponding to the target transfer trolley group, on the second conveying device, the position is a material shifting position, the target transfer trolley needs to move to a height position suitable for receiving the first target goods, and the position is a preset material receiving position. When the first target goods reach the material shifting position, the target transfer trolley reaches the preset material receiving position, and at the moment, accurate transfer of the first target goods can be guaranteed. It should be understood that the second conveying device is provided with a corresponding material shifting mechanism at the material shifting position for transferring the goods from the material shifting position to the target transfer trolley, and the material shifting mechanism can be implemented as a mechanical arm, a mechanical push plate, a high-pressure air blowing device, a mechanical shifting rod or a universal ball conveying platform.

And 104, controlling the target transfer trolley to convey the first target goods to the target container when the target transfer trolley reaches the target layer of the goods shelf corresponding to the target container.

Since the target transfer cart group is arranged next to the racks, which are provided with containers, the target transfer cart can be moved to a position corresponding to the target container when the first target goods are transferred from the second conveyor device into the target transfer cart. When the target transfer trolley reaches the target layer of the shelf corresponding to the target container, that is, the target transfer trolley is already at the position opposite to the target container, the first target cargo can be conveyed into the target container through the target transfer trolley.

In summary, according to the sorting system provided by the embodiment of the invention, the three-dimensional sorting structure of the sorting system avoids the problem of large occupied area of the traditional sorting equipment, and more containers can be provided for sorting and accommodating goods, so that the sorting efficiency can be improved. The processor can determine a proper target container according to the cargo information of the first target cargo, control the first conveying equipment, the second conveying equipment and the target transfer trolley to convey the first target cargo to the target container, fully consider the action time delay of the first conveying equipment, the second conveying equipment and the target transfer trolley in the cargo sorting and conveying process, ensure that the connection time of all the equipment is proper, and effectively improve the cargo sorting efficiency.

Example two

The structure of the sorting system provided by the second embodiment of the present invention is still based on the system in the first embodiment, and based on the system structure, sorting and clustering are performed in the warehouse by the logistics enterprise according to the order information of the goods in this embodiment.

In the first embodiment, the sorting system may further include a feeding device (not shown in the figure), the feeding device is connected to the first conveying device, and the processor is configured to execute the steps of the process shown in fig. 8, where the steps are as follows:

step 201, if it is determined that the first target goods meet the sorting condition according to the goods information of the first target goods, controlling the feeding device to transfer the first target goods to the first conveying device.

Specifically, an automated feeding device may be provided at a first target cargo entrance of the first conveying device, and the first target cargo may be conveyed to the first conveying device by the feeding device. Correspondingly, when the feeding device supplies goods to the first conveying device, the processor can control the sensor on the feeding device to identify and acquire the goods information of the first target goods, and if the first target goods meet the sorting conditions according to the received goods information, the feeding device is controlled to operate so as to transfer the first target goods to the first conveying device, the goods which do not meet the sorting conditions can be prevented from being mistakenly conveyed to the first conveying device, and follow-up sorting rework is prevented.

Optionally, the sorting condition of step 201 includes at least one of the following:

a. the first target good does not belong to a specified goods type;

b. the order to which the first target goods belong comprises a plurality of goods;

c. all goods in the order to which the first target goods belong are in a picking completion state;

d. in the order of the first target goods, other goods except the first target goods can be picked within a preset time; and the number of the first and second groups,

e. the number of the idle containers is larger than or equal to the number of the containers required to be occupied by all the goods in the order to which the first target goods belong.

Specifically, first, the first target cargo does not belong to a designated cargo type, which may be over-sized cargo (e.g., cargo exceeding a predetermined maximum length, width, and height), fragile goods, liquid, valuables, and the like, that are not suitable for machine conveyance of sorted cargo. Secondly, when the order to which the first target goods belong is a single piece of goods, the first target goods can be directly packed and enter a distribution link without entering first conveying equipment, and therefore the order corresponding to the goods which can enter the first conveying equipment comprises a plurality of goods. Thirdly, since the order information of the first target goods is obtained in the picking process, the first target goods which can enter the first conveying equipment can also be the goods of which all goods in the order are in the picking completion state, that is, all goods in the order to which the first target goods belongs are recorded with the order information, so that time is not consumed for waiting for goods to be queued for picking, and the waiting time of the target container is favorably reduced. Fourthly, a preset time can be set for information input from the order placing to the goods picking, and if the goods except the first target goods in the order to which the first target goods belongs can be picked within the preset time, the first target goods can be conveyed to the first conveying equipment under the condition that the sorting waiting time of the goods except the first target goods in the order is not prolonged. Fifthly, in order to avoid that the first target goods are retained on the first conveying equipment or the second conveying equipment to wait for the empty containers to be vacated from the feeding equipment, the first target goods can be conveyed to the first conveying equipment when the number of the empty containers is larger than or equal to the number of the containers to be occupied by all goods in the order to which the first target goods belong.

In summary, the above sorting conditions can be set out from the first target goods themselves, and the entry into the first conveying device is restricted for the sake of goods safety, and also from the viewpoint of ensuring efficient sorting efficiency, and the waiting time between the goods and the devices can be shortened as much as possible.

Step 202, determining a target container for accommodating the first target cargo according to the cargo information of the first target cargo.

Specifically, in the embodiment of the present invention, the goods to be sorted is the first target goods, and it is understood that, in order to achieve traceability of the first target goods, a goods tag (such as a bar code, a two-dimensional code, an RFID tag, and the like) is usually attached to the first target goods, and the tag is used for identifying goods information such as a goods size, a goods type (large goods, irregular goods, fragile goods, liquid, and the like), a goods order number, an address, and the like. For example, the processor may determine a container as a target container according to order information represented by an order number of goods therein, so as to sort and cluster goods of the same order into one container, thereby facilitating subsequent uniform packaging according to the order and facilitating circulation and distribution of the goods.

For step 202, the processor may specifically perform the following steps:

step 2021, if it is determined that the first target cargo is the first cargo to be sorted in the order according to the cargo information, selecting one of the empty containers according to a first selection condition and determining the selected one as a target container.

Specifically, after the goods information of the first target goods is obtained, it is easily known from the order information in the first target goods that the first target goods is the goods placed in the order, and if the first target goods is the first goods to be sorted in the order, that is, other goods in the order are not delivered to the container, one of the containers determined to be the target container can be selected from the empty containers according to the first selection condition for containing the first goods to be sorted. It can be understood that, in order to shorten the sorting time, the first selection condition should be based on high efficiency, and may be conditioned on the shortest conveying path, the shortest conveying time, a strategy for balancing the workload of a plurality of feeding devices, or a combination of the foregoing conditions, and may be specifically selected in combination with the actual system structural arrangement, and the embodiment of the present invention does not impose any constraint on the first selection condition.

Step 2022, if it is determined that the first target goods is the non-first goods to be sorted in the order and the containers occupied by the sorted goods in the order are not in a full load state according to the goods information, determining the containers occupied by the sorted goods in the order as target containers;

specifically, another possible situation is that after the goods information of the first target goods is obtained, it is known from the order information in the order information that the first target goods is the non-first goods to be sorted in the order, that is, other goods already in the order are conveyed to the container, and it can be known through the monitoring device that the container occupied by the sorted goods is not in a full load state, then the goods in the same order are sorted and clustered to the same container according to the principle that the goods in the same order are sorted and clustered, at this time, the container occupied by the sorted goods can be directly determined as the target container, and the dispersion of the goods in the same order and the idle waste of the container space can be avoided.

Step 2023, if it is determined that the first target goods is the non-first goods to be sorted in the order according to the goods information, and the containers occupied by the sorted goods in the order are in a full load state, selecting one of the idle containers according to a second selection condition and determining the selected container as the target container.

Specifically, it may be that, after the goods information of the first target goods is obtained, it is known from the order information in the order information that the first target goods is the non-first goods to be sorted in the order, that is, other goods in the order are already conveyed into the container, and it can be known through the monitoring device that the container occupied by the sorted goods is in a full-load state, obviously, the container occupied by the sorted goods cannot be used for containing goods any more, and it is necessary to reselect an empty container as the target container according to the second selection condition. It can be understood that, since the target container determined by the process is an empty container, the second selection condition may be the same as the first selection condition, and both the second selection condition and the first selection condition are based on the principle of high efficiency, and may be based on the condition that the conveying path is shortest, or may be based on the condition that the conveying time is shortest, or may be based on a strategy for balancing the workload of a plurality of feeding devices, or may be based on a combination of the foregoing conditions. Of course, the second selection condition may also be different from the first selection condition, for example, in order to ensure the concentration of the goods in the same order, it needs to be considered that the target container corresponding to the first target goods is as close as possible to the full containers corresponding to other goods in the order, so as to avoid the distribution of the goods in the same order.

Step 203, controlling the first conveying equipment to transfer the first target cargo to the second conveying equipment corresponding to the target container for conveying, and controlling a target transfer trolley in a target transfer trolley group corresponding to the target container to move to a preset material receiving position.

For the specific implementation of step 203, reference may be made to the explanation of step 102, which is not described herein again. For the sorting system in the embodiment of the present invention, each transfer trolley group may be arranged adjacent to and vertically with respect to the rack, and then a plurality of transfer trolleys in each transfer trolley group may move up and down in the vertical direction, and for the target transfer trolley in the target transfer trolley group corresponding to the target container in step 203, which is controlled to move to the preset material receiving position, the processor is specifically configured to perform the following steps:

and controlling the target transfer trolley in the target transfer trolley group corresponding to the target container to move in the vertical direction so as to reach the preset material receiving position.

In particular, in practical applications, a mechanism similar to a bucket elevator can be used as the transfer car group, which is arranged next to the pallet and vertically, i.e. in the height direction of the pallet. Each transfer trolley in the transfer trolley group is connected in series to form a chain structure, each transfer trolley can move up and down in the circulating rotation process, and can reach a preset material receiving position under the control of a motor.

Step 204, when the second conveying equipment conveys the first target cargo to a material shifting position and the target transfer trolley reaches the material receiving position, controlling the second conveying equipment to convey the first target cargo to the target transfer trolley; and the material shifting position is a position on the second conveying equipment corresponding to the target transfer trolley group.

While the first target cargo is on the second conveyor apparatus, step 204 may be performed to transfer the first target cargo from the second conveyor apparatus to a target transfer cart in the charging apparatus. For the specific implementation of step 204, reference may be made to the explanation of step 103, which is not described herein again.

Step 205, calculating a first time when the first target cargo reaches the material shifting position from the current position, and calculating a second time when the target transfer trolley reaches the preset material receiving position.

Specifically, in the embodiment of the present invention, before or after the first conveying device transfers the first target cargo to the second conveying device, a first time when the first target cargo reaches the material shifting position from the current position and a second time when the target transfer cart reaches the preset material receiving position are respectively calculated according to the conveying distance and the conveying speed, and when the first time is equal to the second time, the synchronization between the first target cargo and the target transfer cart can be ensured.

Step 206, under the condition that the first time is not matched with the second time, keeping the first target cargo conveyed on the first conveying equipment or the second conveying equipment, so that the time when the first target cargo reaches the material shifting position is the same as the time when the target transfer trolley reaches the preset material receiving position.

In particular, when the first time does not match the second time, i.e. the first target cargo may arrive earlier or later than the target trolley. If the first target cargo is not transferred to the second conveying device, the first target cargo can be kept conveyed on the first conveying device until the first time is matched with the second time by adjusting the speed of the first conveying device; if the first target cargo has been transferred to the second conveyor apparatus, the first target cargo may be maintained on the second conveyor apparatus by adjusting the speed of the second conveyor apparatus until the first time matches the second time. It will be appreciated that, in addition to the above-described control of the speed of the transport apparatus to influence the speed of movement of the first target cargo, the speed of movement of the target transfer trolley may be adjusted from the perspective of the target transfer trolley to match the first time to the second time. Through the control to different objects, can reduce the time difference, realize the synchronism of first target goods and target switching dolly, help promoting letter sorting efficiency.

For the sorting system in the embodiment of the present invention, the first conveying device and/or the second conveying device may be a circular rotating device, and for step 206, the processor is specifically configured to perform the following steps:

in the case that the first time does not match the second time, keeping the first target cargo circularly conveyed on the first conveying equipment or the second conveying equipment for at least one circle.

Specifically, in practical applications, an endless closed endless conveyor belt may be used as the first conveying device and/or the second conveying device, and when the first time does not match the second time, the first target cargo may be kept to be circularly conveyed on the first conveying device or the second conveying device for at least one turn, so that the movement path of the first target cargo is extended, the corresponding first time may be extended, and a time regulation function may be performed.

And step 207, controlling the target transfer trolley to tip when the target transfer trolley reaches the target layer of the goods shelf corresponding to the target container, so as to convey the first target goods into the target container.

Specifically, when the target transfer trolley reaches the target layer of the goods shelf corresponding to the target container, the driving mechanism can be controlled to tip the target transfer trolley, so that the opening of the target transfer trolley is inclined downwards, and the first target goods can automatically roll down into the target container under the action of self gravity.

Similar to step 207, the first target cargo may also be transferred into the target container by step a or step B described below.

Step A: and when the target transfer trolley reaches the target layer of the goods shelf corresponding to the target container, controlling a pushing mechanism corresponding to the target transfer trolley to push the first target goods into the target container.

Specifically, when the target transfer trolley reaches the target layer of the goods shelf corresponding to the target container, the first target goods in the target transfer trolley can be pushed into the target container by means of the external force of the pushing mechanism.

And B: and when the target transfer trolley reaches the target layer of the goods shelf corresponding to the target container, controlling to open a cover plate, close to the target container, on the target transfer trolley, so that the first target goods slide into the target container through an opening formed after the cover plate is opened.

Specifically, the bottom of the transfer trolley can be set to be a movable cover plate structure, when the target transfer trolley reaches a target layer of a goods shelf corresponding to the target container, the bottom of the target transfer trolley is aligned to the target container, the cover plate is controlled to be opened, and at the moment, the first target goods can automatically fall into the target container under the action of gravity.

And 208, sending out prompt information for replacing an idle container when any container of the feeding equipment is monitored to be in a full load state.

Specifically, in order to ensure the sorting continuity and avoid the suspension of the equipment when the containers are fully loaded, the prompt message for replacing the empty containers can be sent when any container of the feeding equipment is monitored to be in a full-load state. Therefore, full containers are replaced in time, and idle containers are replenished and updated, so that continuous work of the system is realized.

Similar to step 208, the empty container may also be replaced by step C, described below.

And C: and sending out prompt information for replacing the idle containers when all the containers on any layer of the shelf corresponding to the target container are monitored to be in a full-load state.

Specifically, in order to realize quick replacement of empty containers in a batch, when all containers in any layer of the shelf corresponding to the target container are monitored to be in a full state, a prompt message for replacing the empty containers can be sent. Thus, multiple replacement of empty containers is avoided.

Optionally, the prompt information includes: at least one of lighting a prompting lamp, sending a prompting sound and displaying projection.

Specifically, the operator can be informed of the need to replace the empty container in time by at least one of lighting or sound information such as lighting a prompting lamp, sending a prompting sound, displaying a projection and the like.

At step 209, it is determined whether the container is in a full condition via a sensor on the container.

In particular, a mechanical or electro-optical limit switch may be provided on the container, which may confirm that the container is full and needs to be replaced when the contents of the container increase to reach the limit switch.

Similar to step 209, the full state can also be judged by step D or step E described below.

Step D: and determining whether the container is in a full-load state or not according to a preset container size, the cargo size included in the cargo information and the occupied size of the existing cargo in the container.

Specifically, the size of the container can be preset in the system, and the remaining volume of the container can be measured and calculated according to the size of the goods included in the goods information and the size occupied by the goods in the container, so that whether the container is full or not can be known.

Step E: whether the container is in a full state is determined by an image photographed by the photographing apparatus.

Particularly, can also set up intelligent camera on throwing the material equipment, gather the occupation condition of container in real time through the camera, with the help of current image recognition algorithm, when image information satisfies the condition of predetermineeing fully loaded, confirm that the container is in the fully loaded state.

Optionally, a plurality of containers 1321 are arranged on each layer of shelf 132 corresponding to the transfer trolley group 131; the height of each shelf 132 near the end of the transfer car set 131 is lower than the height of the shelf at the end remote from the transfer car set 131.

Specifically, the transfer car set 131 delivers the first target cargo to the container adjacent to it, and the container adjacent to the transfer car set 131 needs to be removed when full. When a full container is removed near the transfer car set 131, an empty container at a high position can automatically slide down to a position near the transfer car set 131, thereby avoiding the intervention of manpower or external tools.

In an embodiment of the present invention, each level of the shelf 132 is provided with a plurality of containers 1321; the height of each layer of shelves 132 close to one end of the transfer trolley group 131 is higher than or equal to the height of the shelves far away from one end of the transfer trolley group 131; a conveyor mechanism is provided on each tier of shelves 132 on which containers 1321 are placed. For this form of construction, the processor is further configured to perform the steps of:

and step 210, controlling the conveying mechanism to sequentially move the idle containers to the position close to the transfer trolley group after the containers close to the transfer trolley group are removed.

Specifically, when the height of the shelf 132 near the end of the transfer car group 131 is higher than or equal to the height of the shelf far from the end of the transfer car group 131, a transfer mechanism is required to be provided on the shelf 132, and the container is placed on the transfer mechanism. After the containers close to the transfer trolley group are taken away, the conveying mechanism is controlled to sequentially move the idle containers to the position close to the transfer trolley group, so that the automatic replacement of the idle containers is realized through a mechanical structure.

Optionally, a plurality of feeding devices 13 are provided along both sides of the conveying path of each second conveying device 12.

Specifically, in order to further improve the sorting efficiency, a plurality of feeding devices 13 may be disposed on both sides of the conveying path of each second conveying device 12, and the sorting efficiency may be doubled compared to the case where the feeding devices 13 are disposed only on one side of the second conveying device 12.

In some embodiments of the present application, the sorting system may further be provided with a diversion mechanism on the feeding device side, and if a piece of goods does not satisfy the sorting condition, the diversion mechanism may be controlled to divert the piece of goods out to avoid the piece of goods entering the first conveying device. For example, the diversion mechanism may divert the goods to a buffer container and/or other sorting system. Several examples are described below taking the second target good as an example.

(1) And if the second target goods belong to the goods type of manual sorting, shunting the second target goods to a first cache container for manual sorting.

Specifically, in the sorting process, some goods cannot meet the sorting condition, and if the second target goods belong to the type of goods for manual sorting, such as fragile goods, the second target goods can be diverted to the first buffer container for manual sorting, and the second target goods are uniformly manually sorted by manpower.

(2) If the order to which the second target goods belong has goods in the non-picking finished state, shunting the second target goods to a second cache container, and after all the goods in the order are in the picking finished state, transferring the goods in the second cache container to the first conveying equipment.

Specifically, if the order to which the second target goods belong has goods in the non-picking completed state, the second target goods may be temporarily diverted to the second cache container, and the entry of the picking information of other goods is continuously waited for, until all the goods in the order are in the picking completed state, the goods in the second cache container are transferred to the first conveying device again, at this time, all the goods in the order corresponding to the second target goods are picked, and the goods may be continuously conveyed by the subsequent device. Therefore, the problem that the overall sorting efficiency is reduced due to other goods in the second target goods waiting order can be avoided.

(3) If the number of the idle containers is smaller than the number of the containers required to be occupied by all the goods in the order to which the second target goods belong, shunting the second target goods to a third cache container, and when the number of the idle containers is larger than or equal to the number of the containers required to be occupied by all the goods in the order to which the second target goods belong, transmitting the goods in the third cache container to the first conveying equipment.

Specifically, when the number of the empty containers is not enough to accommodate all the goods in the order to which the second target goods belong, similarly, the second target goods may be temporarily diverted to the third buffer container, and when the number of the empty containers is greater than or equal to the number of the containers that all the goods in the order to which the second target goods belong need to occupy, the transportation and sorting of the second target goods may be performed again. Thereby, avoid leading to the delay of second target goods because of idle container is not enough, help promoting letter sorting efficiency.

(4) If the second target goods belong to the goods types which are not suitable for being sorted by the sorting system, the second target goods are sent to other sorting systems; the type of the second target goods conforms to the goods type of the other sorting system.

For example, when the switching dolly shifts the goods to the target container among the current sorting system, because the switching dolly has certain difference in height with the bottom of target container, if the goods is fragile article, then the goods probably takes place the breakage this moment, then can send this type of goods to other sorting systems of special classification goods type to ensure that the goods that feeding equipment transmitted in can both obtain effectual reposition of redundant personnel.

(5) And if the second target goods do not belong to the goods sorted by the sorting system, sending the second target goods to another sorting system for sorting the second target goods. For example, when multiple sortation systems are distributed in a warehouse, there may be instances where goods sorted by one sortation system are delivered to another sortation system, by being in the warehouse

In summary, according to the sorting system provided by the embodiment of the invention, the three-dimensional sorting structure of the sorting system avoids the problem of large occupied area of the traditional sorting equipment, and more containers can be provided for sorting and accommodating goods, so that the sorting efficiency can be improved. The processor can determine a proper target container according to the order information of the first target goods, control the first conveying equipment, the second conveying equipment and the target transfer trolley to convey the first target goods to the target container, fully consider the action time delay of the first conveying equipment, the second conveying equipment and the target transfer trolley in the sorting and conveying process of the goods, ensure that the connection time of all the equipment is proper, and effectively improve the sorting efficiency of the goods. Therefore, in the sorting operation process in the warehouse, the sorting and clustering efficiency of the goods in the same order can be improved.

EXAMPLE III

The structure of the sorting system provided by the third embodiment of the present invention is still based on the system in the first embodiment, and based on the system structure, in this embodiment, a logistics enterprise performs sorting and clustering in a distribution center according to flow direction information of goods.

In the first embodiment, the sorting system may further include a feeding device (not shown in the figure), the feeding device is connected to the first conveying device, and the processor is configured to perform the following steps:

step 301, if it is determined that the first target cargo meets the sorting condition according to the cargo information of the first target cargo, controlling the feeding device to transfer the first target cargo to the first conveying device.

For the specific implementation of step 301, reference may be made to the explanation of step 201, which is not described herein again.

Optionally, the sorting conditions of step 301 include:

the first target good does not belong to a specified goods type;

and/or the cargo flow direction information corresponding to the addressee information of the first target cargo is within a preset address range.

For example, the designated cargo type may be over-specification cargo (e.g., cargo that exceeds a predetermined maximum length, width, and height), fragile goods, liquids, valuables, and the like that are not suitable for machine conveyance of sorted cargo.

When the distribution centers sort, after all goods are completely packaged according to orders, the node position of the next-level distribution center is determined according to the flow direction, and the first target goods may be transferred from the next-level distribution center, namely the next-level distribution center is not the final destination of the addressee information, so that the first target goods can be conveyed to the first conveying equipment as long as the flow direction information of the goods corresponding to the addressee information is within the preset address range.

Such as: taking the example that the preset address range includes beijing, a certain cargo a is delivered from the hangzhou distribution center, the destination is shenyang distribution center, and the cargo a needs to be transferred through the beijing distribution center in midway (i.e., the flow direction is the beijing distribution center). A certain goods B is delivered from the Hangzhou distribution center, and the destination is the Beijing distribution center. If directly judge according to final addressee whether in presetting address range, then goods A does not satisfy the letter sorting condition, can't get into first conveying equipment, and goods B satisfies the letter sorting condition, can get into first conveying equipment, then goods A will normally distribute and deliver. Therefore, the judgment needs to be performed uniformly according to the cargo flow direction information corresponding to the addressee information.

In summary, the above sorting conditions can be set out from the first target goods themselves, and the entry into the first conveying device is restricted for the sake of goods safety, and also from the viewpoint of ensuring sorting efficiency and accuracy, the entry of goods in the same flow direction into the first conveying device is ensured.

Step 302, determining a target container for accommodating the first target cargo according to the cargo flow direction information corresponding to the cargo information.

Specifically, in the embodiment of the present invention, the goods to be sorted is the first target goods, and it is understood that, in order to achieve traceability of the first target goods, a goods tag (such as a bar code, a two-dimensional code, an RFID tag, and the like) is usually attached to the first target goods, and the tag is used for identifying goods information such as a goods size, a goods type (large goods, irregular goods, fragile goods, liquid, and the like), a goods order number, an address, and the like. For example, the processor may determine one or more containers as target containers according to the cargo flow direction information corresponding to the recipient address information therein. The cargo flow direction information refers to the geographical position information of the next-level distribution center relative to the current distribution center. Therefore, goods in the same flow direction are sorted and clustered into one or more containers, so that the goods are conveniently and uniformly packed in the follow-up flow direction, and the goods can be conveniently circulated and delivered.

For step 302, the processor may specifically perform the following steps:

step 3021, determining a position of a next logistics site corresponding to the first target cargo as cargo flow direction information according to the recipient address information of the first target cargo, the position of the logistics site where the current sorting system is located, and a preset logistics path.

Specifically, in the logistics transit and distribution process, a logistics path is preset, and the recipient address information of the first target cargo, the position of the logistics site where the current sorting system is located, and the preset logistics path can be combined together to obtain the position of the next logistics site corresponding to the first target cargo, and the position of the next logistics site can be used as the cargo flow direction information. For example, a certain cargo C is currently in the hangzhou site distribution center, and needs to be sent to the shenyang distribution center through the beijing distribution center, and the next logistics site is the beijing distribution center, so that the cargo flow direction is the beijing.

Step 2022, determining the target container according to the location of the next logistics station.

Specifically, after the position of the next logistics site is determined, the container representing the position of the logistics site can be used as a target container, so that goods in the same flow direction can be sorted and clustered in one target container.

For step 302, when the cargo flow direction information is the recipient address information in the cargo information, the processor may further specifically execute the following steps:

the method comprises the following steps: and if the container occupied by the goods corresponding to the receiving address information is determined not to be in a full load state according to the receiving address information of the goods information, determining the container as a target container.

Specifically, when the goods flow direction information is the consignee address information in the goods information, that is, the goods do not need to be transferred, at this time, the container occupied by the goods corresponding to the consignee address information can be directly selected as the target container according to the condition that the container is not in a full load state.

Step two: and if the containers occupied by the goods corresponding to the receiving address information are determined to be in a full-load state according to the receiving address information of the goods information, selecting one of the idle containers according to a third selection condition and determining the selected container as a target container.

Specifically, when the goods flow direction information is the consignee address information in the goods information, that is, the goods do not need to be transferred, at this time, if the container occupied by the goods corresponding to the consignee address information is in a full-load state, it is necessary to reselect an idle container as the target container according to a third selection condition, and it can be understood that, since the target container determined in the process is an idle container, the third selection condition may be the same as the first selection condition, both taking high efficiency as a basic principle, and may be conditioned on the shortest conveying path, also may be conditioned on the shortest conveying time, also may be conditioned on a policy that balances the workload of a plurality of feeding devices, and also may be conditioned on a combination of the foregoing conditions. Of course, the third selection condition may also be different from the first selection condition, for example, in order to ensure the concentration of the goods in the same flow direction, it needs to be considered that the target container corresponding to the first target goods is as close as possible to the full containers corresponding to other goods in the same flow direction, so as to avoid the distribution of the goods in the same flow direction.

Step 303, controlling the first conveying device to transfer the first target cargo to a second conveying device corresponding to the target container for conveying, and controlling a target transfer trolley in a target transfer trolley group corresponding to the target container to move to a preset material receiving position.

For the specific implementation of step 303, reference may be made to the explanation of step 203, which is not described herein again.

Step 304, when the second conveying equipment conveys the first target cargo to a material shifting position and the target transfer trolley reaches the material receiving position, controlling the second conveying equipment to convey the first target cargo to the target transfer trolley; and the material shifting position is a position on the second conveying equipment corresponding to the target transfer trolley group.

For the specific implementation of step 304, reference may be made to the explanation of step 204, which is not described herein again.

Step 305, determining a first time when the first target cargo reaches the material shifting position from the current position, and determining a second time when the target transfer trolley reaches the preset material receiving position.

For the specific implementation of step 305, refer to the explanation of step 205, which is not described herein.

Step 306, under the condition that the first time is not matched with the second time, keeping the first target cargo conveyed on the first conveying equipment or the second conveying equipment, so that the time when the first target cargo reaches the material shifting position is the same as the time when the target transfer trolley reaches the preset material receiving position.

For the specific implementation of step 306, reference may be made to the explanation of step 206, which is not described herein again.

And 307, when the target transfer trolley reaches the target layer of the goods shelf corresponding to the target container, controlling the target transfer trolley to tip so as to convey the first target goods into the target container.

For the specific implementation of step 307, reference may be made to the explanation of step 207, which is not described herein again.

And 308, sending out prompt information for replacing an idle container when any container of the feeding equipment is monitored to be in a full load state.

For the specific implementation of step 308, reference may be made to the explanation of step 208, which is not described herein again.

At step 309, it is determined whether the container is in a full condition by a sensor on the container.

For the specific implementation of step 309, refer to the explanation of step 209, which is not described herein.

and step 310, controlling the conveying mechanism to sequentially move the idle containers to the position close to the transfer trolley group after the containers close to the transfer trolley group are removed.

For the specific implementation of this step, reference may be made to the explanation of the same step in the second embodiment, which is not described herein again.

(2) If the second target goods are of the goods types which can not be sorted by the sorting system and do not accord with the goods types which are sorted manually, the second target goods are sent to other sorting systems; the type of the second target goods conforms to the goods type of the other sorting system.

For the specific implementation of this step, the explanation of the same step in the second embodiment can also be referred to, and details are not repeated here.

In summary, according to the sorting system provided by the embodiment of the invention, the three-dimensional sorting structure of the sorting system avoids the problem of large occupied area of the traditional sorting equipment, and more containers can be provided for sorting and accommodating goods, so that the sorting efficiency can be improved. The processor can determine a proper target container according to the cargo flow direction information of the first target cargo, control the first conveying equipment, the second conveying equipment and the target transfer trolley to convey the first target cargo to the target container, fully consider the action time delay of the first conveying equipment, the second conveying equipment and the target transfer trolley in the cargo sorting and conveying process, ensure that the connection time of all the equipment is proper, and effectively improve the cargo sorting efficiency. Therefore, in the process of sorting operation of the sorting center, the sorting and clustering efficiency of the goods in the same flow direction can be improved.

Example four

The fourth embodiment of the present invention further provides a logistics sorting method, which is applied to the aforementioned sorting system and executed by a server in the sorting system, and the method includes:

step 401, determining a target container for accommodating the first target cargo according to the cargo information of the first target cargo.

Step 402, controlling the first conveying equipment to transfer the first target cargo to the second conveying equipment corresponding to the target container for conveying, and controlling a target transfer trolley in a target transfer trolley group corresponding to the target container to move to a preset material receiving position.

Step 403, when the second conveying device conveys the first target cargo to a material shifting position and the target transfer trolley reaches the preset material receiving position, controlling the second conveying device to convey the first target cargo to the target transfer trolley; and the material shifting position is a position on the second conveying equipment corresponding to the target transfer trolley group.

Step 404, when the target transfer trolley reaches the target shelf layer corresponding to the target container, controlling the target transfer trolley to convey the first target goods to the target container.

The above steps 401 to 404 may specifically refer to steps 101 to 104 in the first embodiment, and are not described herein again.

In summary, according to the sorting method provided by the embodiment of the present invention, a suitable target container can be determined according to the cargo information of the first target cargo, and the first conveying device, the second conveying device and the target transfer trolley are controlled to convey the first target cargo to the target container, so that in the cargo sorting and conveying process, the action time delay of the first conveying device, the second conveying device and the target transfer trolley is fully considered, the proper connection time of each device is ensured, and the cargo sorting efficiency can be effectively improved.

EXAMPLE five

In addition, an apparatus is further provided in an embodiment of the present invention, specifically referring to fig. 9, the apparatus 500 includes a processor 510, a memory 520, and a computer program stored on the memory 520 and capable of running on the processor 510, and when the computer program is executed by the processor 510, the computer program implements the steps and processes of the foregoing embodiments, and can achieve the same technical effects, and details are not described here to avoid repetition.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the computer program implements the steps and processes of the foregoing embodiments, and can achieve the same technical effects, and in order to avoid repetition, details are not repeated here. The computer-readable storage medium may be a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

The embodiments in the present specification are described in a progressive manner, each embodiment focuses on differences from other embodiments, and the same and similar parts among the embodiments are referred to each other.

As is readily imaginable to the person skilled in the art: any combination of the above embodiments is possible, and thus any combination between the above embodiments is an embodiment of the present invention, but the present disclosure is not necessarily detailed herein for reasons of space.

In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. It is understood, however, that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the foregoing description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the invention and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. However, the disclosed method should not be interpreted as reflecting an intention that: that the invention as claimed requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the modules in the device in an embodiment may be adaptively changed and disposed in one or more devices different from the embodiment. The modules or units or components of the embodiments may be combined into one module or unit or component, and furthermore they may be divided into a plurality of sub-modules or sub-units or sub-components. All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and all of the processes or elements of any method or apparatus so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or processes or elements are mutually exclusive. Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise.

Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that while some embodiments described herein include some features included in other embodiments, rather than other features, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention and form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any of the claimed embodiments may be used in any combination.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in a claim. The word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The invention may be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements, and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In the unit claims enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The usage of the words first, second and third, etcetera do not indicate any ordering. These words may be interpreted as names.

Claims

1. A sorting system, comprising a processor, a first conveying device, a plurality of second conveying devices, a plurality of feeding devices; the second conveying devices are respectively butted with the first conveying devices, and the feeding devices are distributed along the conveying paths of the second conveying devices; each feeding device comprises at least one switching trolley group and at least one row of goods shelves, each layer of each row of the goods shelves is provided with at least one container, and each row of the goods shelves corresponds to one switching trolley group; a plurality of switching trolleys in each switching trolley group move along a preset direction, and the preset direction is different from the conveying direction of the second conveying equipment;

the processor is configured to:

determining a target container for accommodating a first target cargo according to cargo information of the first target cargo;

2. The sortation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of transfer carts in each said transfer cart group are vertically movable;

the processor is specifically configured to:

3. The sorting system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a feeding device; the feeding device is butted with the first conveying device;

the processor is further configured to:

and if the first target goods meet the sorting condition according to the goods information of the first target goods, controlling the feeding device to transfer the first target goods to the first conveying device.

4. Sorting system according to any of claims 1 to 3,

the processor is specifically configured to:

after the first target goods enter the first conveying equipment, determining a target container according to the order to which the first target goods belong.

5. Sorting system according to any of claims 1 to 4,

the processor is specifically configured to:

if the first target goods is determined to be the first goods to be sorted in the order according to the goods information, selecting one of the idle containers according to a first selection condition and determining the selected first target goods as a target container;

if the first target goods are determined to be the non-first goods to be sorted in the order according to the goods information, and the containers occupied by the sorted goods in the order are not in a full-load state, determining the containers occupied by the sorted goods in the order as target containers;

and if the first target goods are determined to be the non-first goods to be sorted in the order according to the goods information, and the containers occupied by the sorted goods in the order are in a full-load state, selecting one of the idle containers according to a second selection condition and determining the selected container as the target container.

6. Sorting system according to claim 4 or 5, characterised in that the sorting conditions comprise at least one of the following:

the first target good does not belong to a specified goods type;

the order to which the first target goods belong comprises a plurality of goods;

all goods in the order to which the first target goods belong are in a picking completion state;

in the order of the first target goods, other goods except the first target goods can be picked within a preset time; and the number of the first and second groups,

the number of the idle containers is larger than or equal to the number of the containers required to be occupied by all the goods in the order to which the first target goods belong.

7. Sorting system according to any of claims 1-6,

the processor is further configured to:

if the second target goods belong to the goods type of manual sorting, shunting the second target goods to a first cache container for manual sorting;

if the order to which the second target goods belong has goods in the non-picking finished state, shunting the second target goods to a second cache container, and after all the goods in the order are in the picking finished state, transmitting the goods in the second cache container to the first conveying equipment;

if the number of the idle containers is smaller than the number of the containers required to be occupied by all the goods in the order to which the second target goods belong, shunting the second target goods to a third cache container, and when the number of the idle containers is larger than or equal to the number of the containers required to be occupied by all the goods in the order to which the second target goods belong, transmitting the goods in the third cache container to the first conveying equipment;

if the second target goods belong to the goods types which are not suitable for being sorted by the sorting system, the second target goods are sent to other sorting systems; the type of the second target goods conforms to the goods types of the other sorting systems;

and if the second target goods do not belong to the goods sorted by the sorting system, sending the second target goods to another sorting system for sorting the second target goods.

8. Sorting system according to claim 3,

the processor is specifically configured to:

and after the first target cargo enters the first conveying equipment, determining a target container according to the cargo flow direction information corresponding to the cargo information.

9. Sorting system according to claim 8,

the processor is specifically configured to:

determining the position of the next logistics station corresponding to the first target cargo as cargo flow direction information according to the addressee information of the first target cargo, the position of the logistics station where the current sorting system is located and a preset logistics path;

and determining a target container according to the position of the next logistics station.

10. The sortation system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said cargo flow direction information is recipient address information in said cargo information;

the processor is specifically configured to:

if the container occupied by the goods corresponding to the receiving address information is determined not to be in a full-load state according to the receiving address information of the goods information, determining the container to be a target container;

and if the containers occupied by the goods corresponding to the receiving address information are determined to be in a full-load state according to the receiving address information of the goods information, selecting one of the idle containers according to a third selection condition and determining the selected container as a target container.

11. Sorting system according to any of claims 8-10, characterised in that the sorting conditions comprise:

the first target good does not belong to a specified goods type;

12. Sorting system according to any of claims 1-11,

the processor is further configured to:

calculating first time when the first target goods reach the material shifting position from the current position and second time when the target transfer trolley reaches the preset material receiving position;

and under the condition that the first time is not matched with the second time, the first target goods are conveyed on the first conveying equipment or the second conveying equipment, so that the time when the first target goods reach the material shifting position is the same as the time when the target transfer trolley reaches the preset material receiving position.

13. Sorting system according to claim 12, characterised in that the first and/or second conveyor device is an endless revolving device;

the processor is specifically configured to:

14. Sorting system according to any of claims 1-13,

the processor is further configured to:

when the target transfer trolley reaches a target layer of a goods shelf corresponding to the target container, controlling the target transfer trolley to tip so as to convey the first target goods into the target container;

or the like, or, alternatively,

when the target transfer trolley reaches the target layer of the goods shelf corresponding to the target container, controlling a pushing mechanism corresponding to the target transfer trolley to push the first target goods into the target container;

or the like, or, alternatively,

and when the target transfer trolley reaches the target layer of the goods shelf corresponding to the target container, controlling to open a cover plate, close to the target container, on the target transfer trolley, so that the first target goods slide into the target container through an opening formed after the cover plate is opened.

15. Sorting system according to any of claims 1-14,

the processor is further configured to:

when any container of the feeding equipment is monitored to be in a full-load state, sending out prompt information for replacing an idle container; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and sending out prompt information for replacing the idle containers when all the containers on any layer of the shelf corresponding to the target container are monitored to be in a full-load state.

16. The sortation system as claimed in claim 15, wherein said prompting information includes: at least one of lighting a prompting lamp, sending a prompting sound and displaying projection.

17. Sorting system according to any of claims 5, 10, 15,

the processor is further configured to:

determining, by a sensor on the container, whether the container is in a fully loaded condition;

or the like, or, alternatively,

determining whether the container is in a full-load state or not according to a preset container size, the cargo size included in the cargo information and the size occupied by the existing cargo in the container;

or the like, or, alternatively,

whether the container is in a full state is determined by an image photographed by the photographing apparatus.

18. A sorting system according to any one of claims 1 to 17 wherein a plurality of containers are provided on each level of racks in correspondence with the set of transfer trolleys; the height of one end, close to the transfer trolley set, of each layer of goods shelf is lower than that of one end, far away from the transfer trolley set, of each layer of goods shelf.

19. Sorting system according to any of claims 1-18, characterised in that each level of the rack is provided with a plurality of containers; the height of one end, close to the transfer trolley set, of each layer of goods shelf is higher than or equal to the height of one end, far away from the transfer trolley set, of each layer of goods shelf; each layer of shelf is provided with a conveying mechanism, and the containers are placed on the conveying mechanisms;

the processor is further configured to:

after the containers adjacent to the transfer car group are removed, the transfer mechanism is controlled to sequentially move the empty containers to a position adjacent to the transfer car group.

20. Sorting system according to any of claims 1-19, characterised in that a plurality of dosing devices are arranged along both sides of the conveying path of each second conveying device.

21. A sorting method is applied to a sorting system and is characterized in that,

the sorting system comprises a first conveying device, a plurality of second conveying devices and a plurality of feeding devices; the second conveying devices are respectively butted with the first conveying devices, and the feeding devices are distributed along the conveying paths of the second conveying devices; each feeding device comprises at least one switching trolley group and at least one row of goods shelves, each layer of each row of the goods shelves is provided with at least one container, and each row of the goods shelves corresponds to one switching trolley group; a plurality of switching trolleys in each switching trolley group move along a preset direction, and the preset direction is different from the conveying direction of the second conveying equipment;

the method comprises the following steps:

22. A computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the sorting method according to claim 21.

23. An apparatus comprising a processor, a memory, and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, the computer program when executed by the processor implementing the steps of the sorting method of claim 21.