CN112967002A

CN112967002A - Goods taking task allocation method and goods sorting system thereof

Info

Publication number: CN112967002A
Application number: CN202110321573.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 艾鑫; 喻润方; 周红霞
Original assignee: Shenzhen Hairou Innovation Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hai Robotics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-06-29
Filing date: 2019-06-29
Publication date: 2021-06-15
Also published as: CN112978190A; CN112978189A; CN112978189B; CN110239868B; CN110239868A; CN112978190B

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to a goods taking task distribution method and a goods sorting system thereof. The goods taking task allocation method comprises the following steps: determining the priority of the goods taking task according to the target goods position of the goods taking task; allocating at least one pick task to the robot according to the current position of the robot and/or the priority of the pick task; calculating the total proportion of the finished goods taking task indexes to the total goods taking task indexes; and when the total proportion is greater than a preset first completion threshold value, distributing the goods taking task with the highest priority to the robot. The method can carry out overall planning and optimized planning on the plurality of robots and the plurality of goods taking tasks, improves the optimization degree of distributing the goods taking tasks, and is favorable for improving the goods sorting efficiency corresponding to the sorting orders.

Description

Goods taking task allocation method and goods sorting system thereof

[ technical field ] A method for producing a semiconductor device

The invention relates to the technical field of storage management, in particular to a goods taking task distribution method and a goods sorting system.

[ background of the invention ]

With the increasing enhancement and development of social business trade, the importance and concern of logistics and warehousing management is also increasing. How to provide fast and efficient logistics and warehouse management services is a current hot issue.

Depending on the development of electronic information technology, for example, industrial robots and other automation industries, when warehouse management is performed on a plurality of existing goods warehouses, the mode that robots or other automation equipment are matched with each other is adopted, so that efficient goods or warehouse management is achieved.

However, existing automated warehouse management systems typically perform picking and order packing operations in a manner that individual orders are bound to specific robots. The robot can only complete the goods taking task of one order at a time, the optimization degree is not high, and the goods picking efficiency still has a very large improvement space.

[ summary of the invention ]

In order to solve the above technical problems, embodiments of the present invention provide a goods picking task allocation method with a high optimization degree and a sorting system thereof.

In order to solve the above technical problems, embodiments of the present invention provide the following technical solutions: a method for distributing goods taking task. The goods taking task distribution method comprises the following steps:

determining the priority of the goods taking task according to the target goods position of the goods taking task;

allocating at least one pick task to the robot according to the current position of the robot and/or the priority of the pick task;

calculating the total proportion of the finished goods taking task indexes to the total goods taking task indexes;

and when the total proportion is greater than a preset first completion threshold value, distributing the goods taking task with the highest priority to the robot.

Optionally, when the total proportion is smaller than a preset first completion threshold, the pick-up task includes a pick-up task in which no robot exists in a target roadway where the plurality of target cargo positions are located. Optionally, the priority of the pick task comprises a first priority and a second priority;

the determining the priority of the goods taking task according to the target goods position of the goods taking task specifically comprises the following steps:

when no robot exists in a target roadway where a target cargo position of the pick-up task is located and an adjacent roadway of the target roadway, determining that the pick-up task is of a first priority;

when the robot does not exist in the target roadway where the target goods position of the goods taking task is located, and when the robot exists in the adjacent roadway of the target roadway, the goods taking task is determined to be in the second priority.

Optionally, the method further comprises: and when the total proportion is smaller than a preset first completion threshold value, distributing the goods taking tasks with a first priority and a second priority to the robot.

Optionally, the first priority is higher than the second priority.

Optionally, when the total proportion is greater than a preset first completion threshold, the pick task includes a pick task in which the robot exists in a target roadway where the plurality of target cargo positions are located.

Optionally, the priority of the goods picking task of the robot in the target roadway where the target goods position is located is higher than the priority of the goods picking task of the robot in the target roadway where the target goods position is located. Optionally, the pick task further comprises: a third priority and a fourth priority;

when the robot exists in a target roadway where the target goods position of the goods taking task is located, and when the robot does not exist in an adjacent roadway of the target roadway, determining that the goods taking task is of a third priority;

and when the robot exists in the target roadway where the target goods position of the goods taking task is located, the robot exists in the adjacent roadway of the target roadway, and the goods taking task is determined to be of the fourth priority.

Optionally, the third priority is higher than the fourth priority.

Optionally, when the total proportion is greater than a preset first completion threshold, the step of allocating the picking task with the highest priority to the robot specifically includes:

when the total proportion of the robots in the second stage is larger than a preset first completion threshold value and smaller than a preset second completion threshold value, allowing more robots in the third stage to enter the same roadway than in the second stage; the third stage is a stage in which the total ratio is greater than a preset second completion threshold.

Optionally, when the total proportion of the finished goods taking task indexes to the total goods taking task indexes does not reach a preset second completion threshold, allowing two or less robots to enter the same roadway.

Alternatively,

and when the total proportion of the finished goods taking task indexes to the total goods taking task indexes reaches a preset second completion threshold value, allowing three or less robots to enter the same roadway.

Optionally, the pick task index includes: the number of the lanes corresponding to the goods taking tasks and the number of the goods taking tasks.

In order to solve the above technical problems, embodiments of the present invention further provide the following technical solutions: a non-transitory computer readable storage medium.

The non-transitory computer readable storage medium stores computer executable program instructions that, when invoked by a processor, cause the processor to perform the pick task assignment method as described above.

In order to solve the above technical problems, embodiments of the present invention further provide the following technical solutions: a goods sorting system. This goods letter sorting system includes: the system comprises a processing terminal, a goods picking operation platform and a robot;

the goods picking operation platform is used for picking one or more goods from the target goods; the robot is used for carrying the target goods between a warehouse and the picking operation platform; the processing terminal is respectively in communication connection with the picking operation platform and the robot, and is used for executing the picking task allocation method, and controlling the robot to transport the target goods to the corresponding picking operation platform so as to pick the goods corresponding to the order.

Compared with the prior art, the goods picking task allocation method provided by the embodiment of the invention combines the completion condition of the goods picking tasks, adaptively adjusts the allocation strategy of the remaining goods picking tasks, improves the optimization degree of the allocation of the goods picking tasks, and is beneficial to improving the goods picking efficiency corresponding to the sorting order.

[ description of the drawings ]

One or more embodiments are illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, which correspond to the figures in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and which are not to scale unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application environment of an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a block diagram of a processing terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for allocating a pick task according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for assigning priority to pick task according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for assigning priority to pick tasks according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a congestion resolution mechanism provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a congestion resolution mechanism according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[ detailed description ] embodiments

In order to facilitate an understanding of the invention, the invention is described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific examples. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "secured to" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may be present. As used in this specification, the terms "upper," "lower," "inner," "outer," "bottom," and the like are used in the orientation or positional relationship indicated in the drawings for convenience in describing the invention and simplicity in description, and do not indicate or imply that the referenced device or element must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and are not to be considered limiting of the invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," "third," and the like are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Furthermore, the technical features mentioned in the different embodiments of the invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

The goods sorting refers to a process of taking out goods corresponding to an order from a warehouse or other suitable type of goods storage places, packaging the goods, forming a final order package, and taking out the order package. The efficiency of item sorting may be determined by the number of packages processed to complete in a unit of time. The greater the number of packages of orders processed and completed per unit time, the more efficient the sorting of the goods.

The final goods sorting efficiency may be affected by several aspects, such as the manner in which the order is placed and the method of assigning pick-up tasks to the robots. Optimization of the steps involved in the goods sorting process can have a beneficial effect on the improvement of the goods sorting efficiency. For convenience of description, in the description process of the present invention, the target goods corresponding to the picking task is exemplified by the container, and no limitation is imposed on other picking targets.

In an automated item sorting process, identical items are typically stored in the same container. Each container is placed at a specific position in the warehouse according to a specific storage rule, and goods stored in the container are marked through a characteristic (such as a two-dimensional code or a bar code and the like) outside the container.

Fig. 1 is an application environment provided by an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1, the application environment includes an article sorting system consisting of a processing terminal 10, a picking station 20, and a robot 30, and a warehouse 40 storing a plurality of articles using the article sorting system.

The processing terminal 10 may be any type of electronic computing platform or device that acts as a control core for an overall item sorting system. The system can be provided with corresponding storage space or computing power according to the needs of actual conditions to provide one or more application services or functions, such as receiving an order to be delivered, issuing the order or controlling the robot to execute a pick-and-place task.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an electronic computing platform for implementing all or part of the functionality of the processing terminal 10. As shown in fig. 2, the electronic computing platform 100 may include: a processor 110, a memory 120, and a communication module 130.

The processor 110, the memory 120 and the communication module 130 establish a communication connection therebetween by means of a bus.

The processor 110 may be of any type, having one or more processing cores. The system can execute single-thread or multi-thread operation and is used for analyzing instructions to execute operations of acquiring data, executing logic operation functions, issuing operation processing results and the like.

The memory 120 serves as a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, such as at least one magnetic disk storage device, flash memory device, distributed storage device remotely located from the processor 110, or other non-volatile solid-state storage device.

Memory 120 may have a program storage area for storing non-volatile computer-executable program instructions (which may also be referred to as a "non-volatile software program" in other embodiments) for invocation by processor 110 to cause processor 110 to perform one or more method steps, such as performing one or more steps of a pick task assignment method provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The memory 120 may further have a data storage area for storing the operation processing result issued and output by the processor 110.

The communication module 130 is a functional module for establishing a communication connection with a device such as a robot and/or a picking station and providing a physical channel.

The pick station 20 is an automated device for removing items from the container. Specifically, one or more different types of actuating mechanisms and functional modules (e.g., a conveyor belt associated with a robot) may be provided according to actual goods sorting principles or warehouse design requirements.

The number of picking stations 20 may be determined by the actual factors of the warehouse floor space, construction costs, and picking efficiency that the goods sorting system needs to achieve. For example, 3 or more picking stations 20 may be provided.

The robot 30 is an automated device, such as an AGV cart, having a traveling mechanism that moves between the picking station 20 and the warehouse to transport containers for pick and place operations. The running gear may employ any suitable type of power system.

In some embodiments, the robot 30 may be electrically driven. As shown in fig. 1, a charging area 50 may be provided for charging the robot 30, from which the robot 30 operates and which can be returned to the charging area for charging in the event of a power shortage.

The robot 30 has one or more functional criteria including, but not limited to, cargo capacity (i.e., the maximum number of containers that can be loaded at a time), range, guidance, container pick-and-place speed, and operating speed.

Similarly, the number of robots 30 may be determined by actual design criteria such as warehouse floor space, number of picking stations, and target picking efficiency. The processing terminal 10 can perform optimization and planning according to the position of the robot 30 and information such as functional indexes (e.g., current cargo capacity and remaining endurance mileage) to control the robot 30.

The warehouse 40 is an area for storing containers. For ease of management, the warehouse 40 may include a plurality of shelves, each of which may have a plurality of identical or different containers placed thereon according to a particular placement rule.

As shown in fig. 1, the shelf compartments are divided into lanes for access by the robot 30. After entering the roadway, the robot 30 removes or replaces a particular container (e.g., container 1, container 2, or container 3, etc.). The robot can get in and out of the tunnel from two ends of the tunnel. The openings at both ends of the tunnel are referred to as "tunnel junctions", and may be used as outlets of the robot 30 or inlets of the robot 30.

In some embodiments, the directions between some of the lanes are the same, with the lane crossings in between facing each other so that the robot 30 can pass directly through, for example, lane 1 and lane 2 as shown in fig. 1. Such two lanes are referred to herein as "adjacent lanes". That is, when the robot 30 travels from the lane 1 to the adjacent lane 2, or travels from the lane 2 to the adjacent lane 1, it can directly enter without turning.

The cargo stored in the bins in the warehouse 40 is managed in units of stock keeping units (SKU stock keeping units). The stock quantity unit is a basic unit for stock in and out metering or controlled keeping, and may be in units of pieces, trays, boxes or the like (depending on a specific article). The same cargo may also belong to different SKUs due to differences in production date, size, and color, etc.

With continued reference to fig. 1, during the process of sorting the goods, the processing terminal 10 needs to issue the order to each picking station in a suitable manner, and determine the target picking station corresponding to each stock unit in the order. On the other hand, the processing terminal 10 also needs to assign each robot 30 an appropriate pick task to move between the warehouse and the pick station to carry the corresponding container.

In the application scenario shown in fig. 1, the method for allocating a pickup task according to the embodiment of the present invention can be used to achieve the technical effects of reducing the overhead running of the robot and improving the pickup efficiency. Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a method for allocating a pickup task according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 3, the method for allocating a pickup task includes:

310. and determining the priority of the goods taking task according to the target goods position of the goods taking task.

The target cargo may be a container or cargo corresponding to SKU (stock keeping unit), etc.; the pickup task is a data packet including at least the target item corresponding to the stock quantity unit and the position information of the target item. Which may specifically employ any suitable data type or data format.

Taking the target goods as the container as an example, the priority of the picking task is closely related to the position of the container and the relative positions of other robots, and is used for measuring the urgency of the picking task to be executed. For example, it may indicate that a pick task needs to be completed with a congestion risk, waiting time, etc. The higher the priority of the pickup task, the lower the risk of congestion and the shorter the execution time (for example, a new pickup task having the same lane or an adjacent lane is preferentially allocated depending on the lane position where the robot 30 is located).

320. And allocating at least one goods taking task to the robot according to the position of the robot and/or the priority of the goods taking task.

The robot 30 can move between the warehouse 10 and the picking station 20 under the direction of the picking task, take the container corresponding to the picking task out of the shelf of the warehouse, and transport the container to the corresponding picking station 20 to pick the target goods corresponding to the stock unit. After the picking of the target goods is completed, the robot 30 again transports the container to the corresponding container position of the warehouse.

In the embodiment of the invention, the one-to-one binding relationship between a single robot and a specific goods taking task is broken through the overall planning and the optimized planning of the multiple robots and the multiple goods taking tasks. Therefore, the goods sorting system has the potential of processing a plurality of different sorting orders simultaneously, improves the optimization degree of the distribution goods taking task, is favorable for improving the goods sorting efficiency corresponding to the sorting orders, and has good application prospect.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the position of the robot may be in two different states during the complete pick task assignment. In some embodiments, the robot may not be in the area where containers are handled and moved (e.g., a robot with an initial stage in the charging zone).

At this point, the robot is not in a position that significantly affects the distance it takes to perform the pick task. In this way, the pick tasks with the highest priority can be assigned directly to the robots when assigning the pick tasks without reference to the current position of the robot.

In this specification, a position where the robot is not located in a cargo conveyance and movement area such as a tunnel and a pickup station may be referred to as a "non-work area". That is, when the current position of the robot does not belong to an area that is not involved in carrying out the container carrying work, such as a roadway, a communication area between roadways, and a carrying moving area between a warehouse and a pick-up table, it is determined that the position of the robot is in a non-work area.

In other embodiments, the robot may also be picking in a roadway, returning containers, or still in the work area of the picking station when it has completed one or more picking tasks. It will be appreciated that such robot location, unlike the non-work area, is a contributing factor that cannot be ignored in the assignment of pick-up tasks.

Thus, when assigning a pick task, the current position of the robot needs to be determined first. Then, according to the current position of the robot and/or the target goods position of the goods taking task, in the goods taking tasks with the highest priority, the robot is allocated with a proper goods taking task so that the moving distance of the robot is minimum. In this specification, the area of the entire pick operation system and warehouse other than the non-work area may be referred to as the "work area". I.e. the area the robot may walk through during handling of the containers.

In particular, any suitable allocation strategy may be used to achieve the effect of minimizing the movement distance of the robot. For example, when allocating a pickup task, a pickup task in which the target cargo position belongs to the same lane as the current position of the robot may be preferentially allocated to the robot so that the robot does not need to move to a lane far from the current position to pick up the target cargo.

During the actual processing of the processing terminal 10, the processing terminal 10 may assign an initial pick task to the robot 30 in the charging region based on the priority of the pick task.

After the robot 30 has completed a pick and place a container back into the warehouse, the robot 30 will be released so that it can continue to receive a new pick and place. The processing terminal 10 will now continue to assign a new pick task to the robot 30 based on the current location of the robot 30 and the priority of the pick task.

In some embodiments, the pick task is determined to be of the first priority when no robot is present in the target roadway in which the target cargo location of the pick task is located and an adjacent roadway bordering a roadway opening of the target roadway. For example, referring to fig. 1, a lane 1 is a target lane in which no robot is present, and a lane 2 is an adjacent lane adjacent to a lane entrance of the target lane 1 in which no robot is present, and the pickup task in this situation is the first priority.

The first priority is the highest priority in the goods taking tasks, which indicates that the goods taking tasks with the first priority are the highest price ratio relative to the whole goods taking tasks, and the goods taking tasks can be completed as soon as possible by distributing the priorities to the goods taking tasks. Correspondingly, when the goods taking tasks with the first priority exist, the goods taking tasks with the first priority can be allocated to the robot preferentially.

In particular, the number of pick tasks at the first priority is generally not limited to one (particularly when the picking operation is initially performed). In order to further improve the picking efficiency of the robot, when the picking tasks have a plurality of first priority levels, the picking task with the largest number of target goods in the target roadway of the picking task can be preferentially selected to be allocated to the robot, so that the moving distance of the robot is reduced as much as possible.

In addition to the first priority, there are many pick tasks that are otherwise in progress during the actual picking operation.

In some embodiments, when the robot is not present in the target lane where the target cargo position of the pick task is located, and the robot is present in the adjacent lane of the target lane, the pick task is determined to be of the second priority. For example, referring to fig. 1, when the lane 1 is a target lane and the robot is not present, and the lane 2 is an adjacent lane adjoining the lane entrance of the target lane 1, the picking task is of the second priority.

The second priority is different from the first priority and is ordered as another priority after the first priority. Correspondingly, when the first priority exists, the goods taking task with the first priority is preferentially distributed. And when the first priority does not exist, allocating the picking task with the second priority to the robot.

Along with the continuous operation of picking, the target goods position of the goods picking task is concentrated more and more. At this point, the pick task is likely to be neither of the first priority nor the second priority. In other embodiments, when the robot exists in the target lane where the target cargo position of the pickup task is located, and the robot does not exist in the adjacent lane of the target lane, it is determined that the pickup task is the third priority. For example, referring to fig. 1, when a lane 1 is a target lane and a robot is present in the lane 2, and a robot is not present in an adjacent lane adjacent to a lane opening of the target lane 1, the picking task is the third priority.

The third priority is the priority of further dividing the pick task. In an order following the first priority and the second priority. Correspondingly, only when the goods taking tasks with the first priority and the second priority do not exist, the goods taking tasks with the third priority can be further distributed to the robot.

In other embodiments, the remaining pick jobs may be further classified as a fourth priority. In other words, when the robot exists in the target lane where the target goods position of the goods taking task is located, the robot exists in the adjacent lane of the target lane, and the goods taking task is determined to be of the fourth priority. For example, as shown in fig. 1, when a robot exists in a lane 1 as a target lane and a robot also exists in a lane 2 as an adjacent lane adjacent to a lane entrance of the target lane 1, the picking task has a fourth priority.

The fourth priority is that the picking task has the lowest priority and is the last picking task assigned to the robot. Correspondingly, on the basis of the existing first priority, second priority and third priority, when the goods taking tasks of the three priorities are all distributed, the goods taking task belonging to the fourth priority is distributed to the robot.

In summary, depending on the target cargo position of the picking task, several different priorities can be formed as follows: a first priority, a second priority, a third priority, and a fourth priority.

And the first priority is that no robot exists in a target roadway where the target cargo position is located and an adjacent roadway of the target roadway. The second priority is that when the robot does not exist in the target roadway where the target cargo position is located, the robot exists in the adjacent roadway of the target roadway. The third priority is that the robot exists in the target roadway where the target goods are located, and meanwhile, the robot does not exist in the adjacent roadway of the target roadway. And the fourth priority is that the robot exists in the target roadway where the target cargo position is located, and the robot exists in the adjacent roadway of the target roadway.

The first priority is higher than the second priority, the second priority is higher than the third priority, and the third priority is higher than the fourth priority according to the priority order.

In the actual distribution process of the picking task, along with the continuous operation of picking, the scene or actual situation faced by the picking task also has some significant changes. For example, during the initial stages of a picking operation, the target goods locations for the picking task may be evenly distributed throughout most of the aisles of the warehouse 40. When the picking operation is carried out to the tail sound or the later stage, the target goods corresponding to the remaining picking tasks may be concentrated in a certain number of specific roadways.

In order to adapt to the change of the scenes, the goods picking task allocation strategy can be reasonably adjusted in the process of picking operation so as to obtain better optimization planning effect. Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating a method for allocating a pick task according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 4, the method includes the following strategies:

410. and calculating the total proportion of the finished goods taking task indexes to the total goods taking task indexes.

For example, the index of the completed pickup task may be the number of lanes corresponding to the completed pickup task, the number of the completed pickup task, or other forms.

Specifically, the ratio of the number of the lanes corresponding to the completed picking task to the total number of the lanes corresponding to the total picking task may be the number of the lanes where the containers corresponding to the remaining picking tasks are located, which indicates the completion degree of the picking operation.

420. And judging whether the total proportion reaches a preset first completion threshold value. If not, go to step 430; if yes, go to step 440;

the completion threshold is an empirical value. It can be set by the technician, for example, 20% or 30%, etc., and can be adjusted or processed by the technician according to the actual situation to obtain a better staging effect.

It should be noted that other suitable criteria may be used to determine or classify the stage or completeness at which the picking operation is performed.

430. The robot is assigned a pick task of a first priority and/or a second priority.

At an initial stage when the first completion threshold is not reached. The pick-up tasks are basically scattered in different roadways. The processing terminal 10 may assign the pick tasks to the robot 30 using the first priority and the second priority such that the robot 30 picks and returns to the pick station only in the target lane and the adjacent lane without continuing to move to other lanes, facilitating quick completion of the pick tasks

440. And allocating the picking task with the highest priority to the robot.

After the first completion threshold is reached, the processing terminal 10 may adjust the allocation policy accordingly, and sequentially allocate the pick tasks to the robot according to the priority order of the pick tasks (e.g., allocate the pick tasks with the third or fourth priority to the robot).

In other embodiments, before the picking task with the highest priority is allocated to the robot, whether a preset second completion threshold is reached or not can be further judged; if the second completion threshold is further reached, indicating that the picking is further completed than the completion status when the first completion threshold is reached, and a near-end status has been reached, then three or less robots may be further allowed to enter the same lane when the robot is assigned a pick task of third priority and/or fourth priority; if the second completion threshold is not reached, two or less robots may be allowed to enter the same lane.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a method for allocating a pick task according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 5, compared to the method shown in fig. 4, the method may include the steps of:

510. and acquiring the total proportion of the finished goods taking task indexes in the total goods taking task indexes.

As disclosed above, the overall ratio may be specifically expressed or defined in any suitable manner or data, as long as it is indicative of the extent to which the picking operation is performed.

520. And judging whether a preset first completion threshold value is reached. If not, go to step 530; if yes, go to step 540.

530. The robot is assigned a pick task of a first priority and/or a second priority.

For example, when the loading capacity of the containers of the robot is 5, the robot may first move to the target roadway to take out the containers corresponding to the pick-up task. After taking 5 containers, go directly to the target picking station.

And if the target roadway cannot be fully filled with 5 containers, moving to the adjacent roadway of the target roadway to take out the containers. Whether or not 5 containers can be removed, the robot exits the adjoining lane and proceeds to the target picking station.

As noted above, there may be many pick jobs that are of the first priority level at the stage when the picking operation is just beginning to be performed. Therefore, in the preferred embodiment, it is further preferable to select the pick task with the largest number of containers in the same lane among the pick tasks of the first priority. This reduces the length of the path that the robot 30 needs to travel when performing the picking task, thereby increasing the picking efficiency as much as possible.

540. And judging whether the total proportion of the finished goods taking task indexes to the total goods taking task indexes reaches a preset second completion threshold value or not. If not, go to step 550; if yes, go to step 560.

The second completion threshold is also an empirical value, similar to the first completion threshold described above. The second completion threshold is greater than the first completion threshold, thereby dividing the overall process of the picking operation into three distinct phases.

550. And when the robot is allocated with the goods taking task with the highest priority, allowing two or less robots to enter the same roadway.

It can be understood that the more the number of robots entering the same roadway, the more likely the special situation such as robot congestion occurs. Thus, in this embodiment, the entire picking operation is divided into three distinct phases in proportion to the completion.

In the second stage, the picking task is accelerated by considering that the number of picking tasks becomes concentrated to allow two or less robots to enter the same lane.

560. And when the robot is allocated with the goods taking task with the highest priority, allowing three or less robots to enter the same roadway.

In a third phase, which is greater than the second completion threshold, the target cargo locations for pick tasks may become more concentrated. Further, more robots enter the same tunnel to complete the complete picking operation as soon as possible. For example, the result corresponding to reaching the first completion threshold is that only 6 lanes remain in the warehouse and the picking task is not executed; the result corresponding to the second completion threshold is that only 3 lanes are left in the warehouse and the goods taking task which is not executed is available; the processing terminal 10 may specifically employ any suitable strategy for controlling the number of robots entering the same lane to optimize the picking process as much as possible and improve efficiency. For example, when only 6 lanes remain in the warehouse 40 for pick up tasks that have not yet been performed, the processing terminal 10 may allow two robots to travel to the same lane at the same time. When only 3 lanes remain in the warehouse 40 for picking tasks, the processing terminal 10 can be further expanded to allow three robots to simultaneously go to the same lane.

Further, the width of the roadway is usually designed to allow only one robot to pass through (in order to improve the warehouse area utilization rate as much as possible). Therefore, when a plurality of robots enter the same roadway at the same time, the problem of robot congestion is easily caused, and the picking efficiency is affected (namely, the two robots are blocked mutually). In order to avoid the problem of congestion, one or more of the following optimization strategies can be further adopted to distribute the picking tasks so as to improve the efficiency as much as possible.

Based on the characteristic that the same tunnel has two opposite outlets, when two or more robots enter the same target tunnel, goods taking tasks with corresponding target goods positions can be distributed according to the direction of the robots entering the target tunnel, so that the problem of congestion among the robots is avoided.

Taking the case shown in fig. 6 as an example, when the robot 1 and the robot 2 need to enter the same tunnel, the robot 1 may be assigned with the container positions a1, a2, A3 and a4, the pick task near the exit a on the tunnel side, the robot 2 may be assigned with the container positions B1, B2, B3 and B4, and the pick task near the exit B on the tunnel side.

In this way, the robot 1 and the robot 2 can enter and exit from the exit a and the exit B, respectively, while performing the picking task, even in the same lane, and thus congestion is not caused.

The goods taking tasks between the two robots can not be executed simultaneously under the limitation of one or more conditions, and when congestion can not be avoided no matter what path planning is adopted, a goods taking task exchange mechanism can be established to avoid the problem of congestion, and the goods taking tasks between the two robots are exchanged, so that the goods taking tasks can be executed simultaneously.

With continued reference to fig. 6, when the tasks of robot 1 and robot 2 are to take container B3 and container A3, respectively, the two tasks cannot be performed simultaneously, and a congestion situation may occur. Thus, the processing terminal 10 can control the pick-up tasks of the robot 1 and the robot 2 to be interchanged, thereby avoiding the occurrence of congestion.

Of course, since the robot needs to transport the loaded containers to the pick station to complete the pick task. Therefore, when exchanging the picking tasks, it is necessary to ensure that the picking operation platforms corresponding to the two picking tasks are the same.

It should be noted that, based on the principle that needs to be satisfied when exchanging the picking task (the picking operation platforms need to be kept consistent) disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art can easily adjust, change or replace the above technical solutions according to the actual goods sorting method, which is easily conceivable based on the prior art, and falls within the protection scope of the present invention.

In other embodiments, the robot may not be able to complete all containers involved in the pick task at once, limited by the maximum load capacity of the robot. Therefore, when the number of containers corresponding to the picking task is larger than the remaining cargo capacity of the robot, the processing terminal 10 allocates the first n containers (n is the remaining cargo capacity of the robot) closest to the roadway opening of the target roadway to the robot 30, so that the moving path of the robot is optimized, and the container acquisition sequence in the picking task is adjusted to reduce the moving distance of the robot.

Taking the scenario shown in fig. 7 as an example, when the number of containers corresponding to the pick-up task is 5, but the remaining cargo capacity of the robot 30 is only 3, the processing terminal 10 may allocate three containers C1, B1, and C2 near the road junction to the robot 30. After the three containers are taken out, the robot 30 directly withdraws from the gate and moves to the picking station.

Through the mode, the robot only needs to enter and exit from a road junction on one side of the target roadway without walking the whole target roadway, the moving distance of the robot can be well reduced, and the optimization of the moving path is realized.

In summary, the method for allocating picking tasks according to the embodiments of the present invention can perform picking operations of multiple stock units and multiple orders at the same time, implement path planning and planning for multiple robots, facilitate reducing the total moving distance of the robots as much as possible, have higher working efficiency, and can improve the effect of warehouse and logistics management.

Those skilled in the art can choose to implement the processing terminal according to the functional steps or service applications (e.g. one or more comparing circuits) that are required to be executed by the processing terminal disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention by using corresponding software, hardware or a combination of software and hardware. The manner of selecting and designing hardware circuits according to the functional steps to be implemented or the service application is well known to those skilled in the art, is common general knowledge in the field, and will not be described herein.

Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that the various steps of the exemplary item sortation methods described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both, the various exemplary components and steps having been described above generally in terms of their functionality for the purpose of clearly illustrating the interchangeability of hardware and software. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation.

Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention. The computer software may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, and when executed, may include the processes of the embodiments of the methods described above. The storage medium may be a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a read-only memory or a random access memory.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above examples are only intended to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, but not to limit it; within the idea of the invention, also technical features in the above embodiments or in different embodiments may be combined, steps may be implemented in any order, and there are many other variations of the different aspects of the invention as described above, which are not provided in detail for the sake of brevity; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some technical features may be equivalently replaced; and the modifications or the substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions depart from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for distributing a pick task, comprising:

2. The allocation method according to claim 1, wherein the priority of the pick task comprises a first priority and a second priority;

3. The method of allocating as defined in claim 2, the method further comprising:

and when the total proportion is smaller than a preset first completion threshold value, distributing the goods taking tasks with a first priority and a second priority to the robot.

4. The method of allocating as defined in claim 2, wherein the pick task further comprises: a third priority and a fourth priority;

5. The allocation method according to claim 4, wherein said first priority is higher than said second priority, said second priority is higher than said third priority, and said third priority is higher than said fourth priority.

6. The allocation method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the step of allocating the highest priority pick task to the robot when the total proportion is greater than a preset first completion threshold specifically comprises:

and when the total proportion of the finished goods taking task indexes to the total goods taking task indexes does not reach a preset second completion threshold value, allowing two or less robots to enter the same roadway.

7. The allocation method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the step of allocating the highest priority pick task to the robot when the total proportion is greater than a preset first completion threshold specifically comprises:

8. The allocation method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the pick task index comprises: the number of the lanes corresponding to the goods taking tasks and the number of the goods taking tasks.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable program instructions that, when invoked by a processor, cause the processor to perform the pick task assignment method of any one of claims 1-8.

10. A goods sorting system is characterized by comprising a processing terminal, a goods picking operation platform and a robot;

the goods picking operation platform is used for picking one or more goods from the target goods; the robot is used for carrying the target goods between a warehouse and the picking operation platform;

the processing terminal is respectively in communication connection with the picking operation platform and the robot and is used for executing the picking task allocation method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, and controlling the robot to convey the target goods to the corresponding picking operation platform so that the goods corresponding to the order are picked.