CN111620032A

CN111620032A - Goods checking method and system

Info

Publication number: CN111620032A
Application number: CN202010473499.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘凯
Original assignee: Beijing Geekplus Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Geekplus Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-05-29
Filing date: 2020-05-29
Publication date: 2020-09-04
Also published as: WO2021238243A1; CN219278476U

Abstract

The present application provides a cargo inventory method and system, wherein the cargo inventory is performed at least in part by an autonomous mobile robot that includes at least a pick-and-place container mechanism and a reading device, the method comprising: the autonomous mobile robot receives an instruction issued by the server; the instruction carries position information of the inventory container to be checked; the autonomous mobile robot runs to the position of the inventory container to be checked according to the instruction, and the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support is placed in the reading range of the reading device by using the container taking and placing mechanism; the autonomous mobile robot reads the identification code of the goods in the inventory container to be checked by utilizing the reading equipment, and obtains the goods information of the goods in the inventory container to be checked; the cargo information is used for inventory. The goods can be checked without manual participation, so that manpower and material resources are saved, and the goods checking efficiency can be effectively improved.

Description

Goods checking method and system

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and a system for checking a cargo.

Background

With the continuous development of robots, the robots are gradually applied to the warehouse logistics industry to replace manual work to carry out operation on a work site, for example, the robots can replace manual work to complete the carrying and picking of goods and travel to a destination through a planned path, so that corresponding operation is completed. However, in the cargo checking scene of warehouse logistics, the checking of the cargo can be realized only by a robot and a manual cooperation mode, which not only needs to consume a large amount of manpower and material resources, but also has low accuracy in checking the cargo, so an effective scheme is urgently needed to solve the problem.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, the present application provides a cargo checking method to solve technical defects in the prior art. The embodiment of the application simultaneously provides a goods system of checing.

According to a first aspect of embodiments of the present application, there is provided a cargo inventory method performed at least in part by an autonomous mobile robot comprising at least a pick-and-place container mechanism and a reading device, the method comprising:

the autonomous mobile robot receives an instruction issued by the server; the instruction carries position information of the inventory container to be checked;

the autonomous mobile robot runs to the position of the inventory container to be checked according to the instruction, and the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support is placed in the reading range of the reading device by using the container taking and placing mechanism;

the autonomous mobile robot reads the identification code of the goods in the inventory container to be checked by utilizing the reading equipment, and obtains the goods information of the goods in the inventory container to be checked; the cargo information is used for inventory.

Optionally, the reading device is located on the pick-and-place container mechanism;

the autonomous mobile robot uses the picking and placing container mechanism to place the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support into the reading range of the reading device, and the autonomous mobile robot comprises: the autonomous mobile robot takes the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support into the picking and placing container mechanism by using the picking and placing container mechanism, or takes the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support by using the picking and placing container mechanism.

Optionally, the autonomous mobile robot further comprises a cache rack comprising one or more cache bits to hold inventory receptacles, the reading device being located in at least one of the one or more cache bits;

the autonomous mobile robot uses the picking and placing container mechanism to place the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support into the reading range of the reading device, and the autonomous mobile robot comprises: the autonomous mobile robot takes out the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support by using the taking and placing container mechanism and places the inventory container to be checked in a cache position of the cache support.

Optionally, the method further includes:

the autonomous mobile robot feeds the read cargo information back to the server;

and the server checks the goods in the inventory container to be checked based on the inventory information and the goods information read by the autonomous mobile robot.

Optionally, the method further includes:

the autonomous mobile robot receives inventory information issued by the server;

and the autonomous mobile robot checks the goods in the inventory container to be checked based on the inventory information and the read goods information.

Optionally, the reading device reads the identification code of the goods by using approach communication.

Optionally, the reading device is an RFID reader, and the identification code of the goods is an RFID tag.

Optionally, before issuing the instruction, the server stores the corresponding relationship between the inventory container and the position of the inventory container, and the inventory information of the inventory container;

the server generates an inventory task and a driving path according to the request when receiving the request aiming at the inventory container to be inventoried; and generating the instruction according to the checking task, the driving path and the position information of the inventory container to be checked.

Optionally, the position information includes a cargo space number of the inventory container to be inventoried, and the autonomous mobile robot travels to the position of the inventory container to be inventoried according to an instruction, including:

and the autonomous mobile robot determines the position of the inventory container to be checked according to the corresponding relation between the stored goods space number and the position of the inventory container, and drives to the position of the inventory container to be checked.

Optionally, the method further includes:

and the autonomous mobile robot utilizes the container taking and placing mechanism to put the inventory container to be checked, which is checked, back to the inventory support.

According to a second aspect of embodiments of the present application, there is provided a cargo inventory system, comprising:

the system comprises a server and an autonomous mobile robot, wherein the autonomous mobile robot at least comprises a container taking and placing mechanism and reading equipment;

the server is configured to obtain a request submitted by aiming at the inventory container to be checked; generating an instruction according to the request and the position information of the inventory container to be checked, and sending the instruction to the autonomous mobile robot;

the autonomous mobile robot is configured to receive the instruction issued by the server; driving to the position of the inventory container to be checked according to the instruction, and putting the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support into the reading range of the reading device by using the container taking and placing mechanism; reading the identification code of the goods in the inventory container to be checked by utilizing the reading equipment, and obtaining the goods information of the goods in the inventory container to be checked; the cargo information is used for inventory.

the autonomous mobile robot is further configured to: and taking the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support into the picking and placing container mechanism by using the picking and placing container mechanism, or taking the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support by using the picking and placing container mechanism.

the autonomous mobile robot is further configured to: and taking out the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support by using the container taking and placing mechanism, and placing the inventory container to be checked in a cache position of the cache support.

Optionally, the autonomous mobile robot is further configured to: feeding back the read goods information to the server;

the server is further configured to: and checking the goods in the inventory container to be checked based on inventory information and the goods information read by the autonomous mobile robot.

Optionally, the server is further configured to: issuing the inventory information of the inventory container to be checked to the autonomous mobile robot;

the autonomous mobile robot is further configured to: receiving inventory information issued by the server; and checking the goods in the inventory container to be checked based on the inventory information and the read goods information.

Optionally, the server is further configured to store a corresponding relationship between the inventory containers and the positions of the inventory containers, and inventory information of the inventory containers;

Optionally, the location information includes a cargo space number of the inventory receptacle to be inventoried, the autonomous mobile robot is further configured to: and determining the position of the inventory container to be checked according to the corresponding relation between the stored goods space number and the position of the inventory container, and driving to the position of the inventory container to be checked.

Optionally, the autonomous mobile robot is further configured to: and the to-be-checked inventory container which is checked is put back to the inventory support by the container taking and placing mechanism.

According to the goods checking method, the picking and placing container mechanism and the reading device are arranged on the autonomous mobile robot, after the autonomous mobile robot receives the instruction of the server for the method for checking the inventory container, the vehicle can drive to the position of the inventory container to be checked, the picking and placing container mechanism is used for putting the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support into the reading range of the reading device, the identification code of goods in the inventory container to be checked can be read through the reading device, the goods information of the goods in the inventory container to be checked can be obtained, the goods can be checked without manual participation, manpower and material resources are saved, and the checking efficiency of the goods can be effectively improved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a flowchart of a cargo checking method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a first cargo handling robot provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a second cargo handling robot provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a cargo checking system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a goods inventory system applied to a goods inventory scene in a bin according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

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

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

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

First, the noun terms to which one or more embodiments of the present invention relate are explained.

RFID: radio Frequency Identification (Radio Frequency Identification) is one of automatic Identification technologies, and non-contact bidirectional data communication is performed in a Radio Frequency mode, and a recording medium (an electronic tag or a Radio Frequency card) is read and written in the Radio Frequency mode, so that the purposes of Identification and data exchange are achieved.

RFID label: the method is a non-contact automatic identification technology, a target object is identified through a radio frequency signal and relevant data are obtained, manual intervention is not needed in identification work, a single very specific object can be identified as a wireless version of a bar code, a plurality of objects can be identified and read at the same time, and the stored information amount is large; by using radio frequency, data can be read through external materials.

In the present application, a cargo checking method is provided, and the present application also relates to a cargo checking system, which is described in detail in the following embodiments one by one.

The following describes a cargo inventory method provided by the present embodiment, where the cargo inventory is at least partially performed by an autonomous mobile robot, and the autonomous mobile robot at least includes a pick-and-place container mechanism and a reading device; fig. 1 shows a flowchart of a cargo inventory method according to an embodiment of the present application, which specifically includes the following steps:

step S102, the autonomous mobile robot receives an instruction issued by a server; the instruction carries the position information of the inventory container to be inventoried.

In practical application, in the process of checking the goods, in order to facilitate the checking operation of a checking worker, the robot can carry the goods box to an operation station, then the checking worker at the operation station checks the goods quantity and the goods type of the goods box, the checking result is fed back to the server system through terminal equipment configured by the checking worker, and then the goods box is sent back to the goods shelf from the operation station by the robot. However, the goods are manually checked, so that the problems of low checking accuracy and low checking efficiency exist, the safety of goods in the goods box cannot be guaranteed by conveying the goods box back and forth through the robot, the situation that the goods are damaged in the conveying process can occur, time and labor are consumed, too much robot resources are occupied, and the checking efficiency of the goods is greatly influenced.

The goods checking method comprises the steps that a taking and placing container mechanism and a reading device are configured on an autonomous mobile robot, the autonomous mobile robot can drive to the position of a to-be-checked inventory container after receiving an instruction of a method under the to-be-checked inventory container by a server, the to-be-checked inventory container on a stock support is placed in the reading range of the reading device through the taking and placing container mechanism, then the identification code of goods in the to-be-checked inventory container can be read through the reading device, goods information of the goods in the to-be-checked inventory container is obtained, the goods can be checked without manual participation, manpower and material resources are saved, and the checking efficiency of the goods can be effectively improved.

In specific implementation, the Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) is a robot that can be applied to a warehouse logistics scene, and can carry goods or sort goods, and the Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) can build a map or pre-load a facility drawing navigation on site by carrying advanced software. Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR) can use data from cameras, built-in sensors such as lidar, laser scanners, and sophisticated software to detect the surrounding environment and select the most efficient path to the target. It can be operated completely autonomously and if a forklift, pallet, personnel or other obstacle is in front it can all use the best alternative route to achieve safe detour. In this way, it is ensured that the material conveying wave is kept in progress, thereby optimizing productivity.

Based on this, the autonomous mobile robot related to this embodiment is further configured with a robot that picks and places a container mechanism and a reading device, and can pick and place an inventory container by the pick and place container mechanism, and read an identification code of a cargo in the inventory container by the reading device, that is, the autonomous mobile robot may be a bin robot, the pick and place container mechanism may be a pick and place bin mechanism (fork) configured on the bin robot, the reading device may be an RFID reader, and the identification code of the cargo may be an RFID tag; namely, the bin robot can take and place the bin through the fork and read the RFID tags of the commodities in the bin through the RFID reader to realize the checking operation.

Furthermore, one or a small number of autonomous mobile robots are selected to install the RFID reader, so that the RFID reader can read the RFID tags of the goods in the inventory container without moving the inventory container to an operation station, and the goods in the inventory container can be checked.

In a specific implementation, in the method for checking the goods, the operation of checking the goods in the inventory container specifically means that a reading device matched with the autonomous mobile robot is used to read the identification code of the goods in the inventory container to be checked, so as to obtain the goods information of the goods in the inventory container to be checked, and then the goods information is compared with the standard goods information corresponding to the inventory container to be checked, so as to complete the checking of the goods in the inventory container to be checked.

The inventory container to be checked specifically refers to an inventory container needing to be checked, the cargo information may refer to quantity information or type information of the cargo in the inventory container to be checked, the types of the cargo and the quantity of each type of the cargo, and unique codes of the cargo, and both the information and the codes are used for checking the cargo in the inventory container to be checked; the standard goods information specifically refers to standard quantity information or standard type information of goods in the inventory container to be checked. For example, an RFID reader configured by the autonomous mobile robot reads RFID tags of goods in a material taking bin, it is determined that the bin contains 50 mobile phones in number according to the type of goods, and the bin lacks 50 mobile phones in number according to the standard goods information of the bin, and the process is an inventory operation on the bin.

In addition, in the process of checking the goods in the inventory container to be checked, the self-contained mobile robot can execute the checking operation only after sending an instruction through the server because the self-contained mobile robot is used for finishing the checking operation, the server specifically refers to one end for controlling a large number of self-contained mobile robots to carry, sort and check the goods, the instruction sent by the server specifically refers to a goods checking instruction sent to the self-contained mobile robot, wherein the instruction carries the position information of the inventory container to be checked, and the self-contained mobile robot can move to the position of the inventory container to be checked according to the position information so as to carry out subsequent goods checking.

Further, before the server issues an instruction to the autonomous mobile robot, in order to avoid a route conflict between the autonomous mobile robot and another autonomous mobile robot (a robot that performs transportation or sorting) when performing cargo inventory, a driving route of the autonomous mobile robot needs to be planned, in this embodiment, a specific implementation manner is as follows:

before the server issues the instruction, storing the corresponding relation between the inventory container and the position of the inventory container and the inventory information of the inventory container; and the server generates an inventory task and a driving path according to the request when receiving the request aiming at the inventory container to be inventoried; and generating the instruction according to the checking task, the driving path and the position information of the inventory container to be checked.

Specifically, in order to accurately check the goods in the inventory container to be checked, a corresponding relationship between the inventory container and the position of the inventory container needs to be stored in the server, where the corresponding relationship specifically refers to a corresponding relationship between the unique identifier of the inventory container and the position where the inventory container is placed in the warehouse, and inventory information of the inventory container needs to be stored, where the inventory information specifically refers to the number and type of the goods stored in the inventory container, the quality of the inventory container, and the like.

Based on this, under the condition that the server receives the request for the inventory container to be inventoried, it indicates that an enterprise to which the warehouse belongs needs to inventory goods in the inventory container to be inventoried, an inventory task for the inventory container to be inventoried is generated according to the request, a driving path of the autonomous mobile robot is generated, then the instruction is generated according to the inventory task, the driving path and the position information of the inventory container to be inventoried, and the instruction is issued to the autonomous mobile robot, so that the autonomous mobile robot is driven to inventory goods in the inventory container to be inventoried.

In practical application, the request received by the server specifically refers to a cargo inventory request issued by a worker to the inventory receptacle to be inventoried, and the request carries inventory event information for inventorying the inventory receptacle to be inventoried, so that the server can generate the inventory task and the driving path according to the request, and the accurate inventory instruction is issued to the autonomous mobile robot.

For example, n bins, namely bin 1, bin 2 and bin 3 … bin n, are stored on shelves in the warehouse, and the server stores the position information of each bin and the inventory information of each bin { commodity type, commodity quantity and commodity weight }; under the condition that a supervisor of a warehouse submits a commodity inventory request aiming at a bin 1 through a server, an inventory task aiming at the bin 1 is generated according to the request, a traveling path of a bin robot S carrying an RFID reader for commodity inventory is called, and then the server generates a commodity inventory command according to the inventory task aiming at the bin 1, the traveling path of the bin robot S and position information (x1, y1, z1) of the bin 1 and issues the commodity inventory command to the bin robot S so as to drive the bin robot S to inventory commodities in the bin 1.

In summary, before the autonomous mobile robot performs inventory of goods, an inventory task and a running path are generated based on a request submitted by the inventory container to be inventoried, so that the instruction is generated based on the running path, the inventory task and the position information of the inventory container to be inventoried, the running path and the inventory operation of the autonomous mobile robot can be planned, the inventory efficiency of the autonomous mobile robot is further improved, the problem of random movement and collision of the autonomous mobile robot is avoided, and the server issues the instruction, so that the autonomous mobile robot can be commanded more conveniently.

And step S104, the autonomous mobile robot drives to the position of the inventory container to be checked according to the instruction, and places the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support into the reading range of the reading device by using the container taking and placing mechanism.

Specifically, the container taking and placing mechanism is a mechanism which is arranged on the autonomous mobile robot and can take and place the inventory container, and can be a material taking and placing box mechanism or a box taking fork; the bin taking and placing mechanism 202 on the container handling robot shown in fig. 2 (a) can realize the bin taking and placing actions by inserting from the bottom of the bin; or as shown in fig. 3 (a), the bin taking and placing mechanism 302 on the container carrying robot may implement the taking and placing actions of the bin by the bin taking and placing mechanism 302; correspondingly, the inventory support is specifically a shelf for storing inventory containers to be inventoried, and the reading range is specifically a scanning range which can be covered by the reading device; if goods carrying identification codes exist in the range, the reading equipment can read the goods.

In practical applications, when the autonomous mobile robot travels to the position of the inventory receptacle to be inventoried according to the instruction, the autonomous mobile robot may move according to the position of the inventory receptacle to be inventoried included in the position information, or the position information includes the number of the stock location of the inventory receptacle to be inventoried, and the position of the inventory receptacle to be inventoried is determined by converting the number of the stock location of the inventory receptacle to be inventoried, and then the autonomous mobile robot travels to the position of the inventory receptacle to be inventoried as follows:

the autonomous mobile robot determines the goods position number of the inventory container to be checked according to the instruction carrying the position information;

Specifically, in the process that the autonomous mobile robot moves to the position of the inventory receptacle to be inventoried, the autonomous mobile robot may determine the cargo space number of the inventory receptacle to be inventoried according to an instruction carrying position information, so that the autonomous mobile robot may determine the position of the inventory receptacle to be inventoried according to the cargo space number to drive to the position of the inventory receptacle to be inventoried to perform inventory operation of the goods; the autonomous mobile robot stores the corresponding relation between the goods position number and the position of the inventory container to be checked, and when the autonomous mobile robot receives an instruction, the position of the inventory container to be checked corresponding to the goods position number can be determined according to the stored corresponding relation, so that the autonomous mobile robot can drive to the position of the inventory container to be checked to check the goods.

Based on this, the corresponding relationship between the position of the inventory container to be inventoried and the stock space number stored by the autonomous mobile robot may exist in the form of a map, that is, the autonomous mobile robot may determine the position of the inventory container to be inventoried on the map according to the stock space number, and then convert the physical position of the inventory container to be inventoried based on the position determined on the map to realize the inventory of the goods.

According to the use example, the bin robot S receives a commodity inventory instruction aiming at the bin 1, the instruction carries the position information of the bin 1, the cargo space number of the bin 1 is determined to be ID _1 through the position information, at the moment, the bin robot determines the position of the bin 1 corresponding to the cargo space number ID _1 according to the corresponding relation between the pre-stored cargo space number and the bin position, then the physical position of the bin 1 is determined through a warehouse map, and the bin robot drives to the physical position of the bin 1 to realize the inventory of commodities in the bin 1.

Through prestoring the corresponding relation between the goods position number and the position in the autonomous mobile robot, the autonomous mobile robot can independently complete the positioning of the inventory container to be checked when the server sends an instruction, the goods checking efficiency can be further improved, and the calculation resource amount of the server can be reduced.

Based on the above, on the basis of receiving the instruction carrying the position information of the inventory receptacle to be checked, the autonomous mobile robot will travel to the position of the inventory receptacle to be checked according to the instruction, and then move the inventory receptacle to be checked on the inventory support to the reading range of the reading device through the container taking and placing mechanism, so that the subsequent goods checking operation can be performed through the reading device without moving the inventory receptacle to be checked to the operation station, and the goods in the receptacle can be effectively ensured without moving the inventory receptacle to be checked too much.

Further, in order to more conveniently check the goods in the inventory container to be checked by the autonomous mobile robot, the reading device may be disposed on the pick-and-place container mechanism, so that the autonomous mobile robot can make the inventory container to be checked enter the reading range of the reading device as long as the inventory container to be checked is placed on the pick-and-place container mechanism, and then the subsequent goods checking operation can be performed, in this embodiment, the autonomous mobile robot uses the pick-and-place container mechanism to place the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support into the reading range of the reading device, including:

the autonomous mobile robot takes the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support into the picking and placing container mechanism by using the picking and placing container mechanism, or takes the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support by using the picking and placing container mechanism.

Specifically, the autonomous mobile robot takes the inventory container to be inventoried onto the taking and placing container mechanism by using the taking and placing container mechanism, specifically, the autonomous mobile robot takes the inventory container to be inventoried out of the inventory support by using the taking and placing container mechanism, so that the inventory container to be inventoried is parked on the taking and placing container mechanism, and at this time, the inventory container to be inventoried enters a reading range of the reading device, and a subsequent inventory operation can be performed.

Or the autonomous mobile robot only takes the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support through the taking and placing mechanism and does not move the inventory container to be checked, namely, the position of the reading device is changed by adjusting the taking and placing mechanism, so that the reading range of the reading device moves along with the movement until the inventory container to be checked is contained in the reading range, and subsequent checking operation is performed.

Referring to fig. 2 (a), when the RFID reader 204 is disposed behind the pick-and-place bin mechanism 202 of the container handling robot, the bin to be checked is taken from the inventory holder onto the pick-and-place bin mechanism 202, so that the bin to be checked enters the reading range of the RFID reader 204 to check the goods in the bin.

Referring to fig. 3 (a), when the RFID reader 304 is disposed at the front end of the pick-and-place bin mechanism 302 of the container handling robot, the RFID reader 304 on the pick-and-place bin mechanism 302 moves along the lifting rail 306 without taking the bin to be checked out of the inventory holder, so that the RFID reader 304 moves along with the bin to be checked out until the bin to be checked out moves to the front of the bin to be checked out, and the bin to be checked out enters the reading range of the RFID reader 304, and then the goods in the bin can be checked.

The inventory checking operation is completed by reducing the moving times of the inventory container to be checked, the inventory checking efficiency can be effectively improved, and the safety of goods in the inventory container to be checked can be ensured.

Still further, the autonomous mobile robot may be further configured with a cache mount including one or more cache bits to hold inventory receptacles, based on which the reading device may be deployed in at least one of the one or more cache bits; therefore, when goods are checked, the inventory container to be checked can be moved to the cache position for checking, and in this embodiment, the specific implementation manner is as follows:

the autonomous mobile robot takes out the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support by using the taking and placing container mechanism and places the inventory container to be checked in a cache position of the cache support.

Referring to fig. 3 (b), the container handling robot includes a container buffer rack 308, a buffer site 3082, a buffer site 3084 and a buffer site 3086 are disposed on the container buffer rack 308, and an RFID reader 3042 is located on the buffer site 3084, so that a bin to be inventoried is placed on any one of the three buffer sites, and a reading range of the RFID reader 3042 is accessed, thereby enabling an inventory operation of goods in the bin.

In practical application, when the inventory receptacle to be inventoried is moved to the buffer position of the buffer support, the autonomous mobile robot is required to take out the inventory receptacle to be inventoried on the inventory support by using the picking and placing mechanism, and then the inventory receptacle to be inventoried is moved to the buffer position of the buffer support by using the picking and placing mechanism, so that the inventory receptacle to be inventoried enters the reading range of the reading device, and the inventory of goods in the inventory receptacle to be inventoried is achieved.

In the above example, when the bin robot S is the one shown in fig. 3 (b), after the bin robot S moves to the location of the bin 1 (x1, y1, z1), the bin 1 is moved to the buffer position 3082 in the bin buffer rack 308 through the lifting track 3062 by the bin picking and placing mechanism 3022 of the robot shown in fig. 3 (b), so that the bin 1 enters the reading range of the RFID reader 3042, and the subsequent inventory operation can be performed.

In conclusion, through for autonomous mobile robot sets up buffer support and buffer position, can realize when checking the operation to the great stock container of waiting to check of weight, will wait to check the stock container and remove to buffer position through getting and put container mechanism and carry out the operation of checking, avoid placing for a long time and lead to the mechanism to appear damaging on getting and putting container mechanism.

In this embodiment, the preferred mounting position of the reading device may be below the buffer board between the pick-and-place container structures and/or above the buffer board between the pick-and-place container structures, that is, as shown in fig. 2 (b), the RFID reader 2042 is mounted below and/or above the buffer board 206 between the pick-and-place bin mechanisms 2022, so that the RFID reader may face downward or upward during radio frequency reading, the reading of the RFID tag is more convenient, interference can be avoided, and the inventory accuracy is further improved. The cache board 206 may be made of a non-metal material or have a hollow structure in the middle, so as to further promote the probability of the RFID tag being read.

Furthermore, the reading device may also be mounted at other locations of the autonomous mobile robot, such as at a lifting mechanism of the autonomous mobile robot, or at a chassis mechanism of the autonomous mobile robot, as long as it is ensured that the autonomous mobile robot can place the inventory receptacle to be inventoried into a reading range of the reading device.

Step S106, the autonomous mobile robot reads the identification code of the goods in the inventory container to be checked by utilizing the reading equipment to obtain the goods information of the goods in the inventory container to be checked; the cargo information is used for inventory.

Specifically, the identification code is a label of goods in the inventory container to be checked, and the label can be an RFID label, so that the reading device can read the identification code of the goods by using the approach communication, and the checking operation of the goods is realized.

Based on this, on the basis that the to-be-inventoryed inventory container is moved to the reading range of the reading device by the container taking and placing mechanism of the autonomous mobile robot, further, the autonomous mobile robot reads the identification code of the goods in the to-be-inventoryed inventory container by using the reading device to obtain the goods information of the goods in the to-be-inventoryed inventory container, so that the goods in the to-be-inventoryed inventory container are inventoryed by the goods information.

In practical application, the inventory of the goods in the inventory container to be inventoried based on the goods information specifically includes: and comparing the read goods information with standard goods information corresponding to the inventory container to be checked, so that the states of the goods in the inventory container to be checked can be determined according to the comparison result, and the goods can be supplemented or adjusted according to the checking result subsequently.

Further, on the basis that the autonomous mobile robot obtains the cargo information of the cargo in the inventory container to be checked by using the reading device, on one hand, in order to improve the checking accuracy of the cargo, the autonomous mobile robot may perform the checking operation by using the server, in this embodiment, the implementation manner of performing the checking operation by using the server is as follows:

Specifically, after the autonomous mobile robot reads the cargo information of the cargo through the reading device, the cargo information may be fed back to the server, and the server may complete the inventory of the cargo in the inventory container to be inventoried based on the inventory information of the inventory container to be inventoried and the cargo information.

Along the above example, when the bin robot S reads the RFID tag of the bin 1 by the RFID reader 3042, commodity information { commodity number: 50, commodity type: computer, commodity weight: 100kg, then the bin robot S feeds back the commodity information of the bin 1 to the server, and the server, based on the stock information of the bin 1 { commodity number: 100, commodity type: computer, commodity weight: 200kg, and commodity information { commodity number: 50, commodity type: computer, commodity weight: 100kg, finishing the inventory of the commodities in the bin 1, and determining that the bin 1 lacks 50 computers so as to realize the subsequent supplement of the commodities in the bin 1.

After the goods information of the goods in the inventory container to be checked is obtained, the goods information is fed back to the server to carry out the checking operation of the goods, the accuracy of the goods checking can be effectively improved, the autonomous mobile robot can operate to the next inventory container position to continue checking after the goods information is fed back, the checking efficiency can be effectively improved, and robot resources are fully utilized.

On the other hand, in order to improve the inventory efficiency of the goods, the autonomous mobile robot may also perform the inventory operation of the goods alone, in this embodiment, the implementation manner of performing the inventory operation by the autonomous mobile robot is as follows:

Specifically, after the autonomous mobile robot obtains the cargo information, the server may actively issue the inventory information, or the autonomous mobile robot may make a request to the server, and the server issues the inventory information according to the request, and then the autonomous mobile robot may complete the inventory of the cargo in the inventory container to be inventoried based on the inventory information and the cargo information.

Along the above example, when the bin robot S reads the RFID tag of the bin 1 by the RFID reader 3042, commodity information { commodity number: 50, commodity type: computer, commodity weight: 100kg, and then the bin robot S receives the stock information of the bin 1 delivered by the server { number of items: 100, commodity type: computer, commodity weight: 200kg, the bin robot S can complete the inventory of the commodities in the bin 1 according to the read commodity information and the inventory information issued by the server, and determine that the bin 1 lacks 50 computers, so as to realize the subsequent supplement of the commodities in the bin 1.

After the goods information of the goods in the inventory container to be checked is obtained, the inventory information sent by the server is received, so that the autonomous mobile robot can independently complete the checking of the goods, the checking efficiency can be effectively improved, and the automatic checking effect of the autonomous mobile robot is realized.

In addition, after the inventory operation of the goods in the inventory receptacle to be inventoried is completed, in order to avoid affecting the sorting or carrying of the goods by other autonomous mobile robots, the inventory receptacle to be inventoried needs to be put back on the inventory holder, in this embodiment, a specific implementation manner is as follows:

Along with the above example, after the bin robot S finishes checking the goods in the bin 1, the bin 1 is put back to the position (x1, y1, z1) by the bin taking and placing mechanism, so that sorting and goods handling of other autonomous mobile robots are not affected, and the subsequent goods replenishing robot can accurately find the bin 1 to replenish the goods.

According to the goods checking method provided by the embodiment, the picking and placing container mechanism and the reading device are configured on the autonomous mobile robot, so that the autonomous mobile robot can drive to the position of the inventory container to be checked after receiving an instruction of a method for the server to take the inventory container to be checked, the picking and placing container mechanism is used for placing the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support into the reading range of the reading device, the identification code of goods in the inventory container to be checked can be read through the reading device, the goods information of the goods in the inventory container to be checked can be obtained, the goods can be checked without manual participation, manpower and material resources are saved, and the checking efficiency of the goods can be effectively improved.

Corresponding to the above method embodiment, the present application further provides an embodiment of a cargo checking system, and fig. 4 shows a schematic structural diagram of the cargo checking system provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 4, the cargo inventory system 400 includes:

a server 402 and an autonomous mobile robot 404, the autonomous mobile robot 404 comprising at least a pick-and-place container mechanism 4042 and a reading device 4044;

the server 402 configured to obtain a request submitted for an inventory container to be inventoried; generating an instruction according to the request and the position information of the inventory container to be checked, and sending the instruction to the autonomous mobile robot 404;

the autonomous mobile robot 404 configured to receive the instruction issued by the server 402; the inventory container to be checked is driven to the position of the inventory container to be checked according to the instruction, and the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support is placed into the reading range of the reading device 4044 by the container taking and placing mechanism 4042; reading the identification code of the goods in the inventory container to be counted by using the reading device 4044, and obtaining goods information aiming at the goods in the inventory container to be counted; the cargo information is used for inventory.

In an alternative embodiment, the reading device 4044 is located on the pick-and-place receptacle mechanism 4042;

the autonomous mobile robot 404 is further configured to: the picking and placing container mechanism 4042 is used to pick the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support into the picking and placing container mechanism 4042, or the picking and placing container mechanism 4042 is used to pick the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support.

In an alternative embodiment, the autonomous mobile robot 404 further comprises a cache rack 4046, the cache rack 4046 comprising one or more cache slots for holding inventory receptacles, the reading device being located in at least one of the one or more cache slots;

the autonomous mobile robot 404 is further configured to: the inventory receptacles to be inventoried on the inventory holder are removed by the pick-and-place receptacle mechanism 4042 and placed in a buffer location of the buffer holder 4046.

In an optional embodiment, the autonomous mobile robot 404 is further configured to: feeding back the read cargo information to the server 402;

the server 402 is further configured to: and checking the goods in the inventory container to be checked based on the inventory information and the goods information read by the autonomous mobile robot 404.

In an optional embodiment, the server 402 is further configured to: issuing inventory information of the inventory container to be inventoried to the autonomous mobile robot 404;

the autonomous mobile robot 404 is further configured to: receiving inventory information issued by the server 402; and checking the goods in the inventory container to be checked based on the inventory information and the read goods information.

In an alternative embodiment, the reading device 4044 reads the identification code of the item using approach communication.

In an alternative embodiment, the reading device 4044 is an RFID reader and the identification code of the item is an RFID tag.

In an alternative embodiment, the server 402 is further configured to store the corresponding relationship between the inventory containers and the positions of the inventory containers, and the inventory information of the inventory containers;

the server 402 generates an inventory task and a driving path according to a request when receiving the request aiming at the inventory container to be inventoried; and generating the instruction according to the checking task, the driving path and the position information of the inventory container to be checked.

In an optional embodiment, the autonomous mobile robot 404 is further configured to: determining the goods position number of the inventory container to be checked according to the instruction carrying the position information; and determining the position of the inventory container to be checked according to the corresponding relation between the stored goods space number and the position of the inventory container, and driving to the position of the inventory container to be checked.

In an optional embodiment, the autonomous mobile robot 404 is further configured to: the inventory holder is returned to the inventory holder by the pick-and-place container mechanism 4042.

According to the goods checking system provided by the embodiment, the picking and placing container mechanism and the reading device are configured on the autonomous mobile robot, so that the autonomous mobile robot can drive to the position of the inventory container to be checked after receiving an instruction of a method for placing the inventory container to be checked by the server, the picking and placing container mechanism is used for placing the inventory container to be checked on the inventory support into the reading range of the reading device, the identification code of goods in the inventory container to be checked can be read through the reading device, the goods information of the goods in the inventory container to be checked can be obtained, the goods can be checked without manual participation, manpower and material resources are saved, and the checking efficiency of the goods can be effectively improved.

The above is a schematic solution of the cargo inventory system of the embodiment. It should be noted that the technical solution of the cargo checking system and the technical solution of the cargo checking method belong to the same concept, and details of the technical solution of the cargo checking system, which are not described in detail, can be referred to the description of the technical solution of the cargo checking method.

The cargo checking system is further described below with reference to fig. 5 by taking the application of the cargo checking method provided by the present application to checking of commodities in a bin as an example. Fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a goods inventory system applied to a goods inventory scene in a bin according to an embodiment of the present application, which specifically includes the following contents:

step S502, the supervisor sends an inventory request aiming at the bin to be inventory to the server.

In a warehouse logistics scene, in order to improve the inventory efficiency of commodities in a material box, the inventory operation can be completed without moving the material box to an operation station by installing an RFID reader for a material box robot and installing RFID labels on the commodities.

Therefore, in the process of checking the commodities, a supervisor of the shelf needs to issue a checking request, and then the server performs subsequent checking control.

And step S504, the server receives the checking request and generates a checking instruction according to the checking request and the position information of the bin to be checked.

And step S506, the server selects the bin robot provided with the RFID reader to issue an inventory instruction.

And step S508, the bin robot receives the checking instruction and drives to the position of the bin to be checked according to the checking instruction.

Specifically, under the condition that the bin robot receives the checking instruction, the checking instruction is analyzed to obtain the position information of the bin to be checked, the checking task of the bin to be checked is obtained, and then the bin to be checked is moved to the position of the bin to be checked according to the running path carried in the checking instruction.

And step S510, the bin robot puts the bin to be checked on the shelf into the reading range of the RFID reader by using the bin taking and placing mechanism.

Specifically, after the bin robot moves to the position of the bin to be checked, the bin robot takes out the bin to be checked on the shelf by using the bin taking and placing mechanism, and moves the bin to be checked to the reading range of the RFID reader by using the bin taking and placing mechanism, so as to perform subsequent checking operation.

And S512, reading the RFID label of the commodity in the bin to be checked by the bin robot by using the RFID reader to obtain commodity information of the commodity.

Specifically, under the condition that the RFID tag exists in the reading range, the RFID reader reads the RFID tag in an approach communication mode, so that the commodity information of the commodity in the bin to be checked is obtained.

In step S514, the server sends the stock information of the bin to be checked to the bin robot.

And step S516, the bin box robot receives the inventory information and counts the commodities based on the inventory information and the commodity information.

Specifically, after the bin robot obtains commodity information of commodities in the bin to be checked, the server enables the bin robot to independently complete commodity checking operation in a mode of actively sending inventory information of the bin to be checked.

And step S518, the material box robot uses the material box taking and placing mechanism to place the material box to be checked back on the shelf.

And step S520, the bin box robot returns the counting result to the server.

In step S522, the server receives the checking result and displays the checking result to the supervisor.

Specifically, after the bin robot finishes the inventory operation of commodities in the to-be-inventory bin, in order to avoid the appearance of sorting and carrying of other robots, the to-be-inventory bin can be put back to the goods shelf, and an inventory result is returned to the server, so that the commodity details of the to-be-inventory bin on the goods shelf of the supervision personnel are informed, and the supervision personnel can conveniently conduct supervision processing on the commodities.

In conclusion, the RFID reader is arranged on the material box robot, the purpose that inventory of commodities in the material box can be completed without moving the material box to an operation station is achieved, inventory information is issued actively through the server, the purpose that inventory of the commodities is completed independently through the material box robot is achieved, inventory efficiency of the commodities can be effectively improved, manpower and material resources are saved, and inventory accuracy of the commodities can be effectively improved.

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

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

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

Claims

1. A cargo inventory method performed at least in part by an autonomous mobile robot including at least a pick-and-place container mechanism and a reading device, the method comprising:

2. The cargo inventory method of claim 1, wherein the reading device is located on the pick-and-place container mechanism;

3. The cargo inventory method of claim 1, the autonomous mobile robot further comprising a cache rack comprising one or more cache slots to accommodate inventory receptacles, the reading device located in at least one of the one or more cache slots;

4. The cargo inventory method of claim 1, further comprising:

5. The cargo inventory method of claim 1, further comprising:

6. A cargo inventory system, comprising:

7. The cargo inventory system of claim 6, wherein said reading device is located on said pick-and-place container mechanism;

8. The cargo inventory system of claim 6, the autonomous mobile robot further comprising a cache rack comprising one or more cache slots to accommodate inventory receptacles, the reading device located in at least one of the one or more cache slots;

9. The cargo inventory system of claim 6, the autonomous mobile robot further configured to: feeding back the read goods information to the server;

10. The cargo inventory system of claim 6, the server further configured to: issuing the inventory information of the inventory container to be checked to the autonomous mobile robot;