CN113256136A

CN113256136A - Task allocation method, device, equipment and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN113256136A
Application number: CN202110616755.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 高玉蓉
Original assignee: Shenzhen Hairou Innovation Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hai Robotics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-06-02
Filing date: 2021-06-02
Publication date: 2021-08-13

Abstract

The application provides a task allocation method, a task allocation device and a task allocation storage medium. The method is used for distributing tasks of a robot which can move along the side wall and the top of a goods shelf and take goods from the goods shelf, wherein the robot comprises a robot body and a goods taking device arranged on the side of the robot body; the goods taking device comprises a turnover mechanism and two goods carrying positions arranged on two opposite sides of the turnover mechanism, the goods taking device overturns the two goods carrying positions in a vertical plane through the turnover mechanism so as to take out goods of at least two tasks, and the method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps of obtaining a plurality of tasks to be distributed and a plurality of currently available robots, wherein each task in the plurality of tasks corresponds to attribute information, and each robot in the plurality of robots corresponds to attribute information; and performing task allocation according to the attribute information of each robot in the plurality of robots and the attribute information of each task in the plurality of tasks to obtain a target robot corresponding to each task in the plurality of tasks, wherein each target robot can execute at least two tasks.

Description

Task allocation method, device, equipment and storage medium

Technical Field

The present application relates to warehousing technologies, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, a device, and a storage medium for task allocation.

Background

Warehousing is an important link in logistics. In warehousing, tasks are generated according to orders and distributed to the robots so as to control each robot to take and put goods, and then the order is packed and delivered out of the warehouse.

Currently, each robot can carry goods corresponding to one task. In the task assignment process, one task is assigned to each robot. After receiving the task, each robot moves to the goods taking position corresponding to the task to take out the goods, and then moves to the goods placing position corresponding to the task to place the goods.

In the task allocation process, the number of cargos which can be carried by each robot at a time is small, so that the number of tasks which can be allocated to each robot at a time is small, and the task allocation efficiency is low.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a task allocation method, a device, equipment and a storage medium, which are used for solving the problem of low task allocation efficiency.

In a first aspect, the application provides a task allocation method, which is applied to a robot, wherein the robot can move along the side wall and the top of a goods shelf and take and place goods in the goods shelf at the top of the goods shelf, and the robot comprises a robot body and a goods taking device arranged on the side of the robot body; get goods device and include tilting mechanism and set up two goods carrying positions in the relative both sides of tilting mechanism, get goods device and overturn two goods carrying positions in vertical plane through tilting mechanism to get goods that at least two tasks correspond, this task allocation method includes: the method comprises the steps of obtaining a plurality of tasks to be distributed and a plurality of currently available robots, wherein each task in the tasks corresponds to attribute information, and each robot in the robots corresponds to the attribute information; according to the attribute information of each robot in the plurality of robots, task allocation is carried out on the attribute information of each task in the plurality of tasks, and a task allocation result is obtained, wherein the task allocation result comprises: and a target robot corresponding to each of the plurality of tasks, each target robot being capable of performing at least two tasks.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a task allocation device for allocating tasks to a robot, where the robot can move along the side wall and the top of a shelf and pick and place goods in the shelf at the top of the shelf, and the robot includes a robot body and a goods pick-up device arranged at the side of the robot body; get goods device and include tilting mechanism and set up two goods carrying positions in the relative both sides of tilting mechanism, get goods device and can overturn two goods carrying positions in vertical plane through tilting mechanism to get goods that two at least tasks correspond, this task distributor includes: the system comprises an acquisition module, a processing module and a processing module, wherein the acquisition module is used for acquiring a plurality of tasks to be distributed and a plurality of currently available robots, each task in the plurality of tasks corresponds to attribute information, and each robot in the plurality of robots corresponds to attribute information; the distribution module is used for distributing tasks according to the attribute information of each robot in the plurality of robots and the attribute information of each task in the plurality of tasks to obtain task distribution results, and the task distribution results comprise: and a target robot corresponding to each of the plurality of tasks, each target robot being capable of performing at least two tasks.

In a third aspect, the present application provides an electronic device, comprising: a memory, a processor; a memory; a memory for storing the processor-executable instructions; wherein the processor is configured to perform the method of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for implementing the method according to the first aspect when executed by a processor.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the method of the first aspect.

The application provides a task allocation method, a task allocation device and a storage medium, wherein the goods taking device of a robot is improved to be of a structure comprising a turnover mechanism and two goods carrying positions arranged on two opposite sides of the turnover mechanism, so that the goods taking device can turn over the two goods carrying positions in a vertical plane through the turnover mechanism, and goods corresponding to at least two tasks can be taken. And then in the task allocation process, performing task allocation according to the attribute information of each robot in a plurality of currently available robots and the attribute information of each task in a plurality of tasks to obtain a task allocation result, wherein the task allocation result comprises: and a target robot corresponding to each of the plurality of tasks, each target robot being capable of performing at least two tasks. Because each robot can execute at least two tasks at a time, the number of tasks distributed in unit time can be increased, and the effect of improving the task distribution efficiency is achieved. In addition, the task processing efficiency can be improved under the conditions that the number of orders is large and the number of robots is limited, and the order timeliness is further guaranteed. In addition, taking the example that each target robot can execute 2 tasks at a time, compared with the example that each robot can execute 1 task at a time, the task allocation method of the embodiment of the application can allocate the tasks to fewer robots under the condition of the same total number of tasks, and reduce the robot cost.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present application and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the application.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an application scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a robot provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a first flowchart of a task allocation method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a first schematic diagram illustrating task allocation according to the distance nearest principle according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a second schematic diagram of task allocation according to the distance nearest principle according to the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a second flowchart of a task allocation method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating two nodes executing assigned tasks according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 is a schematic view of a pick scenario of a pick robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a pick-up robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of the pickup robot according to the embodiment of the present application after taking out the material box;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a fetching box process of a goods fetching robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural view illustrating a first arrangement manner of the clamping components of the pick-up robot according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural view illustrating a second arrangement manner of the clamping components of the pick-up robot according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a task allocation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Description of reference numerals:

1-a goods-taking robot; 100-material box; 200-a shelf; 10-a robot body; 101-mounting a bracket; 20-a flip assembly; 201-a fixed structure; 202-a turning table; 203-a rotating shaft; 21-a clamping assembly; 211-telescopic arm; 2111-stationary section; 2112-moving section; 212-a clamp; 30-moving wheels.

With the above figures, there are shown specific embodiments of the present application, which will be described in more detail below. These drawings and written description are not intended to limit the scope of the inventive concepts in any manner, but rather to illustrate the inventive concepts to those skilled in the art by reference to specific embodiments.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, like numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise indicated. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with certain aspects of the present application, as detailed in the appended claims.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an application scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 1, the application scenario includes: a control device 1 and a robot 2. The number of the robots 2 may be one or more. The control device 1 may be a terminal device, a server, or the like. The robot 2 can move along the side walls or the top of the pallet to take out goods from the pallet and move with the goods. The control device 1 is in communication connection with the robot 2.

In warehousing, the control device 1 may obtain an order issued by a user, allocate a task to the robot 2 according to the order, instruct the robot 2 to take out goods in the order from a shelf, and transport the taken out goods to a goods placement location, such as a workstation, to complete packing and delivery of the goods in the order.

In the related art, each robot 2 is capable of taking out one piece of goods from a rack at a time and moving with the one piece of goods. Therefore, when the control device performs task allocation, only one task can be allocated to each robot, so that the number of tasks allocated in a unit time is small, and the task allocation efficiency is low. In addition, when the number of orders is large and the number of robots is limited, the task processing efficiency cannot be low, and the order timeliness cannot be guaranteed.

In view of the above technical problems, the inventors of the present application propose the following technical idea: the robots are structurally modified so that each robot can remove multiple items from the racks at a time and move with the multiple items. And performing task allocation based on the improved robots, so that each robot can allocate a plurality of tasks. And the task processing efficiency can be improved and the order timeliness can be guaranteed under the conditions that the number of orders is large and the number of robots is limited.

The task allocation method provided by the present application is described in detail in specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following specific embodiments may be combined with each other, and details of the same or similar concepts or processes may not be repeated in some embodiments.

Before the task allocation method provided by the application is implemented, the application needs to improve the robots so as to meet the requirement of being capable of allocating a plurality of tasks to each robot, and the specific improvement is as follows:

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a robot according to an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 2, the robot 2 includes a robot body 21 and a pickup device 22 provided on a side of the robot body 21; the goods taking device 22 comprises a turnover mechanism 221 and two goods carrying positions 222 arranged on two opposite sides of the turnover mechanism 221. The goods taking device 22 can turn over the two goods carrying positions 222 in a vertical plane through the turning mechanism 221 so as to achieve the purpose of taking goods corresponding to at least two tasks. Use robot 2 to get goods that two tasks correspond as an example, robot 2 is when getting goods, with one of them year goods position 222 orientation get the goods check mouth to take out the goods, the year goods position that will get the goods again passes through tilting mechanism 221 upset 180, makes another year goods position 222 orientation get the goods check mouth, and takes out another goods, thereby the completion is got the goods that two tasks correspond.

The task allocation method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below based on the scenario shown in fig. 1 and the robot shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 3 is a first flowchart of a task allocation method provided in an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 3, the task allocation method of the present embodiment includes the following steps:

s301, acquiring a plurality of tasks to be distributed and a plurality of robots which are available currently.

The execution subject of the method of the present embodiment may be the control apparatus as shown in fig. 1.

The tasks to be distributed are generated according to orders issued by users. Specifically, a task may be generated based on a good in an order. It should be understood that the task generation rules herein are exemplary and not limiting of the present application.

In warehouse storage, a certain number of robots are usually configured to meet the goods taking and placing efficiency. In these robots, there may be a part of the robots performing tasks and another part of the robots being in an idle state, i.e. not performing tasks. In each task allocation process, the control device acquires the robot in an idle state as a currently available robot, so that task allocation is performed based on the currently available robot.

The task management system comprises a plurality of tasks, wherein each task in the plurality of tasks corresponds to attribute information, and the attribute information of each task comprises at least one of a goods taking position, a goods placing position, a task deadline, a length of goods corresponding to the task, a height of goods corresponding to the task, a weight of goods corresponding to the task, and a volume of goods corresponding to the task. The task deadline can be the time for completing the goods put corresponding to the task. For example, a task deadline of 12:00, the robot needs to complete the put before 12: 00.

Wherein, each robot in the plurality of robots corresponds to attribute information, and the attribute information of each robot may include a current position of the robot.

S302, distributing tasks according to the attribute information of each robot in the multiple robots and the attribute information of each task in the multiple tasks to obtain task distribution results, wherein the task distribution results comprise: and a target robot corresponding to each of the plurality of tasks, each target robot being capable of performing at least two tasks.

Specifically, when allocating tasks, the tasks are allocated according to an allocation rule that allocates at least two tasks to the same robot, and the at least two tasks allocated to the same robot may be determined according to attribute information of each task and attribute information of each robot in the plurality of tasks.

After the task assignment is completed, not all robots may be assigned to the task, where the robot assigned to the task is the target robot. The target robots move from the current position to the goods taking position corresponding to each task in the at least two tasks according to the at least two distributed tasks, take goods from the goods taking position corresponding to each task, and move the goods to the goods placing position with the goods, so that the at least two distributed tasks are completed. After the target robot has completed at least two assigned tasks, the target robot will be released and can be reused as a currently available robot.

This embodiment improves the structure for including tilting mechanism and two cargo carrying positions of setting in the relative both sides of tilting mechanism through getting the goods device with the robot to make and get the goods device and overturn in vertical plane two cargo carrying positions through tilting mechanism, get the goods with the goods that corresponds to two at least tasks. And then in the task allocation process, performing task allocation according to the attribute information of each robot in a plurality of currently available robots and the attribute information of each task in a plurality of tasks to obtain a task allocation result, wherein the task allocation result comprises: and a target robot corresponding to each of the plurality of tasks, each target robot being capable of performing at least two tasks. Because each robot can execute at least two tasks at a time, the number of tasks distributed in unit time can be increased, and the effect of improving the task distribution efficiency is achieved. In addition, the task processing efficiency can be improved under the conditions that the number of orders is large and the number of robots is limited, and the order timeliness is further guaranteed. In addition, taking the example that each target robot can execute 2 tasks at a time, compared with the example that each robot can execute 1 task at a time, the task allocation method of the embodiment of the application can allocate the tasks to fewer robots under the condition of the same total number of tasks, and reduce the robot cost.

On the basis of the above embodiment, when task allocation is performed, for each task to be allocated, according to the pickup position of the task and the current position of each robot, the robot with the pickup position closest to the current position can be used as a target robot for executing the task.

The task allocation is performed according to the nearest principle in the embodiment. Specifically, a plurality of tasks to be distributed are traversed, for each task in the plurality of tasks, the distance between the pickup position of the task and the current position of each robot is determined, and the robot corresponding to the minimum distance is used as the target robot for executing the task.

In some embodiments, for each task of the plurality of tasks, determining a distance between a pickup location of the task and a current location of each robot, resulting in a plurality of distances; if the minimum distance in the plurality of distances is one, the current task is distributed to the robot corresponding to the minimum distance; and if the minimum distance in the plurality of distances is more than one, the current task is distributed to the robot corresponding to any one of the minimum distances.

For example, assuming that assignment is currently being made for task 1, the currently available robots include robot 1, robot 2, and robot 3. Then the following calculation needs to be made:

and calculating the distance between the goods taking position of the task 1 and the current position of the robot 1 to obtain the distance 1.

And calculating the distance between the goods taking position of the task 1 and the current position of the robot 2 to obtain the distance 2.

And calculating the distance between the goods taking position of the task 1 and the current position of the robot 3 to obtain the distance 3.

Then, determining the minimum distance among the distance 1, the distance 2 and the distance 3, and distributing the task 1 to the robot corresponding to the minimum distance; if the minimum distance among the distance 1, the distance 2 and the distance 3 is one, the task 1 is allocated to the robot corresponding to the minimum distance; if there are a plurality of minimum distances among the distance 1, the distance 2, and the distance 3, the task 1 is assigned to the robot corresponding to any one of the plurality of minimum distances.

Fig. 4 is a first schematic diagram illustrating task allocation according to the distance-closest principle according to an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 4, the distance 1, the distance 2 and the distance 3 are sorted from small to large to obtain a sorting result of the task 1; if the sequencing result is distance 1, distance 2 and distance 3 in sequence from small to large, and the distance 1 is not equal to the distance 2, allocating the task 1 to the robot corresponding to the distance 1; if the sequencing result is distance 1, distance 2 and distance 3, and the distance 1 is equal to the distance 2, the task 1 is distributed to the robot 1 or the robot 2; and if the sequencing result is distance 1, distance 2 and distance 3, and the distance 1, the distance 2 and the distance 3 are all equal, allocating the task 1 to the robot 1, the robot 2 or the robot 3.

After that, the above-described method of assigning robots to task 1 is repeated, and robots are assigned to other tasks among the plurality of tasks.

Specifically, the robot is assigned to another task among the plurality of tasks, and the method includes:

a1, for each of the other tasks, determining the distance between the pick location for that task and the current location of the robot of all robots to which no task is assigned.

a2, using the robot with the task not allocated corresponding to the minimum distance as the target robot of the current task.

Fig. 5 is a second schematic diagram of task allocation according to the distance nearest principle according to the embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 5, if the robot 1 is assigned to the task 1, the distances between the task 2 and the current positions of the robot 2 and the robot 3 are calculated and obtained, and the distance 4 and the distance 5 are obtained when the task 2 is assigned.

Then, the robot corresponding to the minimum distance between the distance 4 and the distance 5 is set as the target robot of the task 2.

After task allocation according to the method of the above embodiment, currently available robots can be classified into the following two types: a robot assigned to one task and a robot not assigned to the task, wherein the robot assigned to one task is a target robot.

In addition, a plurality of tasks to be allocated may or may not be allocated. If a plurality of tasks to be distributed are not distributed, aiming at the target robot distributed with one task, another task which can be executed by the target robot can be determined according to the goods taking position and the task deadline of the task distributed by the target robot. The method specifically comprises the following steps:

and traversing all unassigned tasks according to the goods taking position and the task deadline of the task assigned by the target robot (hereinafter, referred to as the assigned task), and taking the task meeting the first preset condition as another task executable by the target robot.

Specifically, the first preset condition includes a first sub-condition, a second sub-condition and a third sub-condition.

Wherein the first sub-condition is specifically: the distance between the goods taking position of the task and the goods taking position of the task assigned by the target robot is larger than or equal to the driving distance of the target robot in the overturning time of the two goods carrying positions.

With continued reference to fig. 2, the pick device of the robot can be flipped over to pick at least two tasks. In order to save the goods taking time and improve the goods taking efficiency, the robot can turn over the two goods carrying positions in the moving process after the first goods are taken out, so that the two goods carrying positions can be turned over before the second goods reach the goods taking position. Therefore, in assigning another task to the target robot to which the task has been assigned, the first sub-condition can be used as a screening condition for the other task.

The second sub-condition is specifically: the first time is less than or equal to the time difference between the task deadline of the task allocated by the target robot and the current time, and the first time is the time required for the target robot to pick the goods corresponding to the allocated task and the goods corresponding to the task in sequence from the current position and complete the goods putting corresponding to the allocated task.

The first time is described below by a specific example, for convenience of understanding, the assigned task is referred to as a first task, and the currently traversed task is referred to as a second task, since the first task is a task assigned according to the nearest principle. Therefore, based on the shortest path principle, the target robot usually performs the first task first, i.e. travels from the current position to the pickup position corresponding to the first task for picking up the goods.

Wherein, assuming that the first time is T1, the first time T1 can be calculated by the following formula:

T1＝t1+t2+t3+t4+t5+t6； (1)

in equation (1), t1 is the time required for the target robot to travel from the current position to the pickup position of the first task. Specifically, t1 may be obtained by dividing the average traveling speed of the target robot by the path length between the current position and the pickup position of the first task.

t2 is the time required for the target robot to pick up the goods from the pickup position of the first task, and specifically, may be the time from the start of pickup by the pickup device to the end of pickup.

t3 is the time required for the target robot to travel from the pickup position of the first task to the pickup position of the second task, wherein the calculation method of t3 can refer to the calculation method of t1, and is not described herein.

t4 is the time required for the target robot to pick up the goods from the pickup position of the second task, and specifically, may be the time from the start of pickup by the pickup device to the end of pickup.

t5 is the time required for the target robot to travel from the pick-up position of the second task to the put-in position of the first task, wherein the calculation method of t5 can refer to the calculation method of t1, and is not described herein.

t6 is the time required for the target robot to put goods at the put location for the first task.

The third sub-condition is specifically: the time difference between the task deadline of the task and the current time is greater than or equal to second time, and the second time is the time required for the target robot to start from the current position, sequentially pick up the distributed task and the goods corresponding to the task, and sequentially put the goods corresponding to the distributed task and the task to complete.

The second time is described below by a specific example, for convenience of understanding, the assigned task is referred to as a first task, and the currently traversed task is referred to as a second task, and since the first task is assigned according to the nearest principle, the target robot usually performs the first task first, i.e., travels from the current position to the pickup position corresponding to the first task to pick up the goods.

Wherein, assuming that the second time is T2, the second time T2 can be calculated by the following formula:

T2＝t1+t2+t3+t4+t5+t6+t7+t8； (2)

in the formula (2), t1 to t6 can be referred to the description of the formula (1), and are not described herein again.

t7 is the time required for the target robot to travel from the put location for the first task to the put location for the second task.

t8 is the time required for the target robot to put goods and complete the put at the pick location for the second task.

In this embodiment, the second sub-condition may be understood that when the target robot to which the task is assigned allocates another task, the other task needs to make the target robot sequentially pick up goods corresponding to the assigned task and the other task, and the task deadline of the assigned task is not affected, that is, the goods put in goods corresponding to the assigned task is not delayed.

The third sub-condition can be understood that when the target robot assigned with the task is assigned with another task, the other task needs to enable the target robot to sequentially pick up goods corresponding to the assigned task and the other task, and the task deadline of the other task is not affected, that is, the goods corresponding to the other task are not delayed in goods delivery.

The first preset condition can be understood that when the target robot to which the task is allocated with another task, the other task needs to enable the target robot to sequentially pick up goods corresponding to the allocated task and the other task and sequentially put the goods corresponding to the allocated task and the other task, and the task deadline of the allocated task and the other task is not affected.

When task allocation is performed on the target robot to which one task is allocated, the above-described embodiment allocates the tasks based on a condition that the target robot sequentially takes goods for two tasks and sequentially puts goods for two tasks. In practice, when the robot performs two tasks, it may also sequentially take and put goods for one of the two tasks and take and put goods for the other of the two tasks. Thus, the present application proposes the following embodiments:

and traversing all unassigned tasks according to the goods taking positions and the task deadline of the assigned tasks of the target robot, and taking the task meeting a second preset condition as another task executable by the target robot.

Wherein the second preset condition comprises a first sub-condition and a fourth sub-condition:

the first sub-condition is the same as the first sub-condition of the above embodiment, and specific reference may be made to the description of the above embodiment.

The fourth sub-condition is: and the time difference between the task deadline of the task and the current time is greater than or equal to a third time, and the third time is the time required by the target robot to pick and put the goods corresponding to the assigned task from the current position and to pick and put the goods corresponding to the task.

The third time is described below by a specific example, for convenience of understanding, the assigned task is referred to as a first task, and the currently traversed task is referred to as a second task, since the first task is a task assigned according to the nearest principle. Based on the shortest path principle, the target robot usually performs the first task first, i.e. travels from the current position to the pickup position corresponding to the first task to pick up the goods.

Wherein, assuming that the third time is T3, the third time T3 can be calculated by the following formula:

T3＝t1+t2+t9+t10+t11+t12+t13+t14； (3)

in the formula (3), the meanings of t1 and t2 can be referred to the description of the formula (1), and are not repeated here.

t9 is the time required for the target robot to travel from the pick position of the first task to the put position of the first task.

t10 is the time required for the target robot to put and complete the put at the put location for the first task.

t11 is the time required for the target robot to travel from the put position for the first task to the pick position for the second task.

t12 is the time required for the target robot to pick at the pick location for the second task.

t13 is the time required for the target robot to travel from the pick-up position to the put-in position of the second task, wherein the calculation method of t13 can refer to the calculation method of t1, which is not described herein.

t14 is the time required for the target robot to put goods and complete the put at the put location for the second task.

On the basis of the above embodiment, in order to prevent the target robot from generating an imbalance due to unstable center of gravity when performing two tasks, the weight and/or volume of the cargo corresponding to the two tasks performed by each target robot can be restrained. Specifically, for each target robot, the sum of the weights of the assigned tasks and the goods corresponding to the tasks is less than or equal to a preset weight; and/or, for each target robot, the sum of the volumes of the assigned tasks and the goods corresponding to the tasks is less than or equal to a preset volume. Wherein, predetermine weight and predetermine the volume and can set for according to the target in order to guarantee that the target robot steadily traveles.

The above embodiment describes two tasks of assigning different pickup positions to the target robot. In some alternative embodiments, at least two tasks with the same pick location may also be assigned to the same target robot.

In some alternative embodiments, the same number of picking positions that each target robot can perform may be determined based on whether the target robot is configured with a docking robot.

Specifically, if the target robot is provided with the docking robot, the number of tasks that can be performed by each target robot at the same pickup position at a time is greater than two. Under this kind of condition, the target robot only need from the current position remove to get goods position department of getting of its assigned task get goods can, the target robot takes out the goods and will carry the goods position upset 180 at present for carry the goods position orientation robot body directly over of carrying the goods at present, get goods and put goods from the carry goods position that the current of target robot carried the goods in order to make things convenient for the butt joint robot.

If the target robot is not configured with the docking robot, the number of tasks which can be executed by each target robot at the same picking position at each time is two. In this case, the target robot needs to move from the current position to the two task-allocated goods-taking positions to take goods of one of the tasks, then turn over the current goods-carrying position toward the position far away from the goods-taking opening, make the other empty goods position toward the goods-taking opening and take goods of the other task, and then put goods of the two tasks in turn.

When two tasks with the same picking positions are distributed to the same robot, all tasks which are not distributed can be traversed according to the picking positions and the task deadline of the tasks distributed by the target robot, and the task meeting a third preset condition is used as another task which can be executed by the target robot.

Wherein the third preset condition comprises a fifth sub-condition and/or a sixth sub-condition:

wherein the fifth sub-condition is: the pick-up location of the task is the same as the pick-up location of the assigned task of the target robot.

The sixth sub-condition is: and the time difference between the task deadline of the task and the current time is greater than or equal to fourth time, and the fourth time is the time required for the target robot to sequentially pick up the distributed task and the goods corresponding to the task from the current position and sequentially put the distributed task and the goods corresponding to the task.

The fifth time is described below by a specific example, and for convenience of understanding, the assigned task is referred to as a first task, and the currently traversed task is referred to as a second task.

Wherein, assuming that the fourth time is T4, the fourth time T4 can be calculated by the following formula:

T4＝t1+t2+t15+t16+t17+t18+t19+t20； (5)

in the formula (5), the meanings of t1 and t2 can be referred to the introduction of the formula (1), and are not described again here.

t15 is the turn over time of the two cargo spaces of the target robot.

t16 is the time required for the target robot to pick up the goods from the pickup position of the second task, and specifically, may be the time from the start of pickup by the pickup device to the end of pickup.

t17 is the time required for the target robot to travel from the pick-up position of the second task to the put-in position of the first task, wherein the calculation method of t17 can refer to the calculation method of t1, and is not described herein.

t18 is the time required for the target robot to put goods at the put location for the first task.

t19 is the time required for the target robot to travel from the stocking position of the first task to the stocking position of the first task, wherein the calculation method of t19 can refer to the calculation method of t1, and is not described herein.

t20 is the time required for the target robot to put goods at the put location for the second task.

Or, the third preset condition includes a fifth sub-condition and a sixth sub-condition:

The sixth sub-condition is: and the time difference between the task deadline of the task and the current time is greater than or equal to fourth time, and the fourth time is the time required for the target robot to sequentially pick the distributed task and the goods corresponding to the task from the current position and complete the goods putting of the task.

In this embodiment, the top of goods shelves is provided with the track, and the target robot can be followed the track and travel to overturn two cargo spaces at the in-process of traveling. In some scenarios, the target robot picks the goods corresponding to one task and then drives to the picking position of the goods corresponding to another task. The target robot is at the in-process that the position of getting goods that corresponds to another task went, in order to save time, can overturn the goods position that has accomplished to get goods, and at the upset in-process, the goods that the goods position that has accomplished to get goods bore has the length on the horizontal direction that increases to some extent, collides with other target robot on every side. To solve this technical problem, the following embodiments may also be proposed in the present application:

on the basis of the foregoing embodiment, fig. 6 is a second flowchart of a task allocation method provided in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 6, the method further includes:

s601, acquiring the length and/or height of the goods corresponding to each task in the multiple tasks.

S602, aiming at the target robot distributed with at least two tasks, planning a path for the target robot according to the length and/or height of goods corresponding to each task in the at least two tasks and a preset path planning strategy.

The preset path planning strategy is used for indicating that two cargo carrying positions of the target robot do not collide with other target robots in the overturning process.

Specifically, for each of the at least two tasks, if the length or height of the goods corresponding to the task is greater than the maximum length of the goods-taking grid, the area covered by the length or width of the goods corresponding to the task is not within the path planning range of the other target robot. It can be understood that, when planning the path of the target robot, the present embodiment makes other target robots bypass the preset path, and the preset path is a path corresponding to the goods picking position where the target robot picks the goods corresponding to one task and travels to the goods corresponding to another task.

On the basis of the above embodiments, in order to reduce the probability of collision with the surrounding target robot, the following embodiments can be proposed:

in some optional embodiments, for each target robot, acquiring the length of the goods corresponding to each of the at least two tasks allocated by the target robot; and if the lengths of the goods corresponding to at least two tasks are different, determining that the goods taking sequence of the task corresponding to the goods with the smaller length is forward.

In other optional embodiments, for each target robot, acquiring a width of the cargo corresponding to each of the at least two tasks assigned by the target robot; and if the widths of the goods corresponding to at least two tasks are different, determining that the goods taking sequence of the task corresponding to the goods with smaller width is forward.

In further alternative embodiments, for each target robot, the length and width of the goods corresponding to each of the at least two tasks assigned by the target robot are obtained; and if the lengths and the widths of the cargos corresponding to the at least two tasks are different, determining that the picking sequence of the tasks corresponding to the cargos with the smaller lengths and the smaller widths is in front.

In this embodiment, two cargo spaces of the target robot can take cargos of different lengths and/or heights. To this kind of condition, length and/or height according to the goods that the target robot got, confirm the order of getting of goods of getting, the order of getting of the task that the goods that will be less in length and/or less width correspond sets up to lean on forward, make the target robot take goods to less in length and/or less width with priority, thereby shorten the carry cargo position of target robot and get the length of the shared horizontal direction when a goods overturns after, reduce the probability that takes place the collision with the target robot on every side.

Above-mentioned embodiment has introduced target robot and can get goods and put goods that two tasks correspond in proper order, and if the position of putting goods of two tasks is different, then target robot need put goods that every task corresponds in turn, in order to save the time of putting goods, this application can also provide following two kinds of at least embodiments:

in an alternative embodiment, for each target robot, if the length of the planned path between the put-off positions corresponding to the two tasks (hereinafter referred to as the two assigned tasks) assigned by the target robot is greater than or equal to the travel distance of the target robot within the overturning time of the two loading positions, control information for controlling the target robot to overturn the two loading positions on the planned path between the put-off positions corresponding to the two assigned tasks is generated.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of two execution nodes of assigned tasks according to an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 7, one target robot corresponds to two assigned tasks, which are referred to as an assigned task 1 and an assigned task 2, and the target robot includes, in order from front to back, execution nodes for the assigned task 1 and the assigned task 2: node 1, node 2, node 3, and node 4; the node 1 is used for picking the goods corresponding to the distributed task 1, the node 2 is used for picking the goods corresponding to the distributed task 2, the node 3 is used for putting the goods corresponding to the distributed task 1, and the node 4 is used for putting the goods corresponding to the distributed task 2. In this embodiment, the length of the planned path between the node 3 and the node 4 should be greater than or equal to the travel distance of the target robot within the turnover time of the two cargo carrying positions, so that when two assigned tasks are put in turn, the two cargos are turned over by 90 degrees to be placed on the same horizontal plane. Like this once only can put two goods, and need not put a goods earlier and then will carry cargo position upset and put another goods when putting goods, promote and put goods efficiency.

In another optional embodiment, for each target robot, if the length of a planned path between a pickup position corresponding to a task of picking up goods later in two tasks allocated to the target robot and a delivery position corresponding to a task of delivering goods earlier in the two tasks allocated to the target robot is greater than or equal to the travel distance of the target robot within the turnover time of the two loading positions, control information for the target robot is generated, wherein the control information is used for controlling the target robot to turn over the two loading positions after completing picking up the two tasks allocated to the target robot.

With continued reference to fig. 7, in the present embodiment, the length of the planned path between node 2 and node 3 should be greater than or equal to the travel distance of the target robot during the turn-over time of the two cargo carrying positions, so that when two assigned tasks are put in turn, the two cargo are placed on the same horizontal plane by turning over 90 °. Like this once only can put two goods, and need not put a goods earlier and then will carry cargo position upset and put another goods when putting goods, promote and put goods efficiency.

The specific structure of the robot described above will be described in detail below, and it should be understood that the specific structure of the robot described below is not intended to limit the specific structure of the robot of the present application.

With the development of automation technology, stereoscopic warehouses are continuously developed in an unmanned direction, and the higher the space utilization rate of the warehouse and the transportation efficiency of goods are required to be transported, so that the conventional stereoscopic warehouse generally adopts a robot to pick, place and transport the goods.

In the prior art, a stereoscopic warehouse usually comprises a multi-layer shelf, the shelf has a plurality of storage positions, each storage position can be used for placing a plurality of bins or goods, the corresponding storage position of the shelf has a goods taking opening, and a goods taking robot can move to the goods taking opening along the side wall or the top of the shelf and take out the goods from the corresponding storage position. Specifically, get the goods mouth and can set up at goods shelves top, follow every and get the goods mouth down, workbin or goods can be followed the direction of height of goods shelves and piled up and place, and goods shelves top can be provided with the sky rail, and it can remove along the sky rail to get the goods robot, however, current get the goods robot single and can only take out and transport a workbin or goods, single delivery task is in order only to deliver a workbin or goods, and logistics efficiency is lower.

The embodiment of the application provides a get goods robot and warehouse system, gets the logistics efficiency that goods robot can improve and transport material case or goods.

It should be noted that, the pickup robot in the embodiment of the present application may be applied to different fields of warehouse-out pickup of stock products in manufacturing factories, warehouse-out pickup of stock products in retail industries, express warehouse-out pickup of e-commerce logistics, and the like, and related products or goods may be industrial parts, electronic accessories or products, medicines, clothing accessories, foods, books, and the like.

Fig. 8 is a schematic view of a scene that the picking robot provided by the embodiment of the present application picks a product, as shown in fig. 8, the picking robot 1 may move along a side wall and a top of a shelf 200, the top of the shelf 200 has a picking port, the picking robot 1 may pick and place the material tank 100 at the top of the shelf 200, and when picking a product, at least a part of the structure of the picking robot 1 may move downward from the top of the shelf 200 and extend into the shelf 200 to grab the material tank 100.

Wherein, the goods robot 1 of getting that this embodiment provided includes robot body 10 and gets goods device, gets goods device and sets up in robot body 10's side, and when getting goods robot 1 and get goods task, robot body 10 can remove to the side of goods shelves 200 top get goods mouth, makes the goods device of getting just right with getting goods mouth to get goods device can follow goods shelves 200 and get out workbin 100.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a pick-up robot according to an embodiment of the present application. Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of the pickup robot according to the embodiment of the present application after taking out the material tank. Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a fetching box process of the goods taking robot according to the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 9, 10 and 11, the goods taking device includes a clamping assembly 21 and a turning assembly 20, the clamping assembly 21 includes at least one retractable clamping mechanism, the clamping mechanism is disposed opposite to the turning assembly 20, and the clamping mechanism is retractable relative to the shelf 200 to take and place the material box 100 in the shelf 200, the turning assembly 20 has two fixing positions for placing the material box 100, the two fixing positions are disposed on two opposite sides of the turning assembly 20, and the turning assembly 20 can turn the two fixing positions in a vertical plane to make the two fixing positions face the goods taking opening of the shelf 200.

It should be noted that, when the goods taking robot 1 performs the goods taking operation, the holding component 21 may be utilized to sequentially take out the plurality of material boxes 100 from the shelf 200, when taking out one material box 100, the material box 100 may be fixedly placed on the fixing position facing the goods taking opening at present, the other empty fixing position is located on one side of the overturning component 20 departing from the goods taking opening, after that, the overturning component 20 may overturn to overturn the fixing position on which the material box 100 is fixed to the side departing from the goods taking opening, and correspondingly overturn the empty fixing position to the goods taking opening, at this time, the holding component 21 may take out another material box 100 again, and fix the material box 100 on the empty fixing position, so that the plurality of material boxes 100 may be respectively fixed on different fixing positions of the overturning component 20, so that the goods taking robot 1 may carry and transport the plurality of material boxes 100 in one goods taking task, the logistics efficiency is improved.

It can be seen that the picking operation of the picking robot 1 is mainly performed by the flipping module 20 and the holding module 21, and specific structures of the flipping module and the holding module will be described in detail below.

As an optional embodiment, the flipping unit 20 may include a flipping table 202, the flipping table 202 is connected to the robot body 10 through a rotating shaft 203, two opposite side surfaces of the flipping table 202 are respectively provided with a fixing structure 201, and the two fixing structures 201 may respectively form two fixing positions, so that the material box 100 taken out by the clamping unit 21 may be fixed through the fixing structures 201.

Since the material box 100 is placed downward on the fixed position when the clamping assembly 21 takes out the material box 100, and the material box 100 may slip off from the fixed position under the action of gravity during the rotation of the overturning platform 202, the fixing structure 201 needs to ensure the complete fixation of the material box 100 and the overturning platform 202, which will be exemplified by different fixing structures 201.

As an optional implementation manner of the fixing structures 201, each fixing structure 201 may include two fixing members, the two fixing members are respectively located at the edge of the same side of the overturning platform 202, and the two fixing members can open and close relatively to fix the material tank 100, so as to ensure the stability of the material tank 100 during the overturning process of the overturning assembly 20.

Taking the fixing member on one side of the flipping table 202 as an example, when the two fixing members are opened, that is, the two fixing members move in the direction away from each other, at this time, the distance between the two fixing members is greater than the width of the material tank 100, so that the material tank 100 can enter between the two fixing members when the clamping assembly 21 takes out the material tank 100.

Alternatively, the fixing member may be disposed on the flipping table 202 through a sliding rail and may move along a length direction of the sliding rail to open and close, and the fixing member may be directly or indirectly driven by a motor or an air cylinder. For example, when a motor is used as a power source, a linear motor can be used for directly driving the fixing piece to move, or a rotary motor can be used for indirectly driving the fixing piece to move through a linear module or a screw nut; when the air cylinder is used as a power source, the output end of the cylinder rod of the air cylinder can be connected with the fixing piece so as to drive the fixing piece to move. The embodiment does not limit the specific driving manner of the fixing member.

In addition, the structure of the fixing piece itself may be a stopper structure or a snap structure, and the specific shape of the fixing piece may be matched with the local contour shape of the outer wall of the material tank 100, wherein the outer wall of the material tank 100 may be provided with corresponding clamping grooves to be matched with the fixing piece, so as to ensure the reliability and stability of the fixing piece fixing object material tank 100.

As an alternative to the fixing structures 201, each fixing structure 201 may include at least one suction cup facing the surface of the material tank 100, so that the material tank 100 can be fixed by suction of the suction cups when the clamping assembly 21 takes the material tank 100 to the fixing position.

Wherein, the sucking disc can be one, also can be a plurality of, the volume and the weight decision of the material case 100 that the quantity of specific sucking disc can be got according to actual need and put, when adopting a sucking disc, the sucking disc can set up the central point at roll-over table 202, and when adopting a plurality of sucking discs, a plurality of sucking discs can arrange around the central array of roll-over table 202, or a plurality of sucking discs can set up each corner position at roll-over table 202 to correspond with each corner of material case 100, in order to guarantee the reliability fixed to material case 100.

It should be noted that the role of the flipping table 202 is mainly to mount the fixing structure 201 for fixing the material box 100, and to provide an auxiliary supporting role for fixing the material box 100, and meanwhile, the flipping table 202 may be a plate-shaped structure or a frame-type structure by rotating to drive the fixing position to switch the up-down position, so as to form a space structure matching the material box 100, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

As an alternative embodiment, the goods taking device may be located in front of the advancing direction of the robot body 10, and the axis of the rotating shaft 203 of the flipping table 202 may extend along the advancing direction of the robot body 10, so as to avoid interference with the robot body 10 when the flipping unit 20 rotates.

Alternatively, the pickup device may be provided on the side of the direction in which the robot body 10 advances, and the axis of the rotating shaft 203 of the reversing table 202 may be perpendicular to the direction in which the robot body 10 advances. The position of the pickup device can be selected according to the relative position relationship between the track and the pickup port on the shelf 200 and the extending direction of the track, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment.

Optionally, the flipping unit 20 may further include a first driving unit, the first driving unit is installed on the robot body 10, and an output end of the first driving unit is fixedly connected to the rotating shaft 203, so that the flipping table 202 is driven to rotate by the driving unit.

For example, the first driving unit may be a motor, an output shaft of the motor may be fixedly connected to the rotating shaft 203 of the flipping table 202 through a coupling, and a support bearing may be disposed at an end of the rotating shaft 203 to prevent the output shaft of the motor from being radially stressed, so as to improve a service life of the motor. In addition, the rotating shaft 203 may be designed as a single piece with the flipping table 202, or the end of the flipping table 202 facing the robot body 10 may be provided with a mounting hole, into which the rotating shaft 203 is inserted and fixed with the flipping table 202 by means of a key connection.

The clamping mechanism has a movable or telescopic structure so as to extend into the shelf 200 to clamp the material tank 100, and the structure of the clamping mechanism will be described below.

As an alternative embodiment, the clamping mechanism may include a telescopic arm 211 and a clamping member 212, and the clamping member 212 may be mounted at the end of the telescopic arm 211, that is, the clamping member 212 faces the goods taking port when taking goods, so that the material box 100 can be clamped when the clamping member 212 extends into the shelf 200.

Wherein, among the fixture two parts be mobilizable structure, flexible arm 211 can stretch out and draw back along the direction of height of goods shelves 200 to can drive holder 212 from getting the goods mouth of goods shelves 200 and down moving, get into inside goods shelves 200, and holder 212 can carry out the action of centre gripping or snatching, with fixture workbin 100, with material case 100 takes out goods shelves 200 when flexible arm 211 retracts.

Alternatively, the clamp 212 may be any one of a hook, a clamp robot. When the clamping member 212 is a hook, a clamping structure matched with the hook needs to be arranged on the top or the side wall of the material box 100, and the hook can be matched with the clamping structure when being driven by the telescopic arm 211 to move to a position corresponding to the material box 100, so that the telescopic arm 211 can lift the material box 100 to move synchronously; when the clamping member 212 is a clamping manipulator, the clamping manipulator may be abutted against the sidewall of the material tank 100 to lift the material tank 100 by friction, or may be extended to the lower side of the rib of the sidewall of the material tank 100, and when the telescopic arm 211 retracts, the clamping manipulator is abutted against the rib, thereby lifting the material tank 100.

In addition, the clamping mechanism may further include a second driving unit, the telescopic arm 211 may include a fixed section 2111 and a moving section 2112, an output end of the second driving unit is connected to the moving section 2112, and the clamping member 212 is mounted at an end of the moving section 2112, so that the clamping member 212 is driven to move into and out of the shelf 200 by the movement of the moving end.

For example, the second driving unit may be a motor, and the motor may be installed on the fixed section 2111 and drive the moving section 2112 to move along the length direction of the screw in the form of a screw nut, thereby achieving extension and retraction.

Alternatively, there may be a plurality of moving sections 2112, and accordingly, the telescopic arm 211 has a multi-stage telescopic structure, so that when the material tank 100 is located at a deep position of the shelf 200, the telescopic arm 211 may have a sufficient length to extend into the interior of the shelf 200 to take out the material tank 100. The number of the moving sections 2112 and the maximum extension length of the telescopic arm 211 can be designed according to the depth of the storage space of the shelf 200, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment.

It should be noted that the telescopic arms 211 and the clamping members 212 may be arranged in pairs, that is, the two telescopic arms 211 may extend from two sides of the goods taking opening of the shelf 200, and the clamping members 212 may fix and take out the material box 100 from two sides of the material box 100, thereby ensuring stability of the material box 100 taking-out process.

Because the different fixed positions of the turnover assembly 20 face the goods taking opening, the clamping assembly 21 needs to perform one-time goods taking operation, so the clamping assembly 21 can also have different specific arrangement modes relative to the turnover assembly 20, and the following description will be given by two specific examples.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a first clamping assembly arrangement mode of the pickup robot provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 12, as a first optional implementation, one clamping mechanism may be provided, and a mounting bracket 101 is provided at a side of the robot body 10, and the clamping mechanism may be fixedly connected to the mounting bracket 101, so that the clamping mechanism and the robot body 10 are relatively fixed when the turnover assembly 20 rotates, and the material boxes 100 at different fixing positions may use one clamping mechanism to pick up the material.

The clamping mechanism may have a certain distance from the turnover assembly 20 to prevent the turnover assembly 20 from interfering with the material box 100 during the rotation process.

When getting goods operation, at first fixture stretches into goods shelves 200 inside and takes out material case 100, when fixture carried material case 100 withdrawal, fixed knot on the fixed position of getting goods mouth one side constructs 201 with material case 100 towards on the upset platform 202, and afterwards, fixture loosens material case 100, and material case 100 is fixed by fixed knot structure 201 to the one side that deviates from getting the goods mouth is turned over to the drive of upset subassembly 20 down, and fixture is repeated again and is carried out the operation of getting goods of material case 100 on another fixed position.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural view of a second arrangement manner of the clamping assemblies of the pick-up robot according to the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 13, as a second optional embodiment, two clamping mechanisms may be provided, each of the two clamping mechanisms may be fixedly connected to the turnover assembly 20, and the two clamping mechanisms are respectively disposed opposite to the two fixing positions, that is, each fixing position is equipped with one clamping structure for performing the goods picking operation, so that the clamping mechanisms may rotate synchronously with the turnover assembly 20, and the material box 100 on each fixing position may have a corresponding clamping mechanism for picking the goods.

When the corresponding fixed position rotates to the position facing the goods taking opening during the goods taking operation, the corresponding clamping mechanism extends into the goods shelf 200 to take out the goods box 100, and then the clamping mechanism can fix the goods box 100 with the fixed structure 201 on the fixed position without loosening the goods box 100 and synchronously rotate under the driving of the overturning platform 202; or in this arrangement, the fixing position may only provide an accommodating space for placing the material box 100, the fixing structure 201 is not provided, and the material box 100 is fixed on the overturning platform 202 by the clamping mechanism.

In order to further improve the goods taking efficiency of the goods taking robot 1 and the space utilization rate of the robot body 10, the robot body 10 may be provided with a containing cavity, and the goods taking device may extend and retract relative to the robot body 10 to contain the material box 100 in the containing cavity, so as to improve the space utilization rate of the goods taking robot 1.

The goods taking device can be connected with the robot body 10 through the sliding rail, an opening can be formed in the outer wall of one side, where the goods taking device is arranged, of the robot body 10, and the goods taking device can be folded into the accommodating cavity of the robot body 10 from the opening along the length direction of the sliding rail.

In addition, since the pickup device picks up the goods at the side of the robot body 10, the center of gravity of the pickup robot 1 is shifted in the direction of the pickup device due to the weight of the material box 100 during the pickup process.

As an alternative embodiment, a weight member may be disposed inside the robot body 10, and the weight member may be movable in a horizontal direction with respect to the robot body 10 to adjust a position of a center of gravity of the goods taking robot 1, so as to ensure structural stability of the goods taking robot 1 after the goods are taken during a goods taking process.

The goods taking robot 1 can further comprise a controller and a third driving unit, the output end of the third driving unit can be connected with the weight piece, the controller is electrically connected with the third driving unit to control the weight piece to move when the clamping mechanism takes out goods, so that the position of the center of gravity of the whole goods taking robot 1 is adjusted, and the goods taking robot is prevented from generating side turning due to center of gravity shift.

As an alternative embodiment, the bottom of the robot body 10 may be provided with moving wheels 30, the top of the shelf 200 is provided with a sky rail, and the moving wheels 30 are matched with the sky rail so that the robot body 10 moves along the extending direction of the sky rail.

It should be noted that the picking robot 1 moves on the sky rail to facilitate picking and placing the material box 100 on the top of the shelf 200, and the picking robot 1 may also move on the side wall or the ground of the shelf 200 to complete the distribution task of the material box 100 after picking.

The application provides a goods taking robot and a storage system, wherein the goods taking robot can move along the side wall and the top of a goods shelf and can take and place material boxes in the goods shelf at the top of the goods shelf, the goods taking robot comprises a robot body and a goods taking device, the goods taking device is arranged on the side of the robot body, the goods taking device comprises a clamping component and a turning component, the clamping component comprises at least one telescopic clamping mechanism, the clamping mechanism and the turning component are oppositely arranged, the clamping mechanism can be telescopic relative to the goods shelf, the turning component is provided with two fixing positions for placing the material boxes, the two fixing positions are respectively arranged on the two opposite sides of the turning component, the turning component can enable the two fixing positions to turn in a vertical plane so as to enable the two fixing positions to respectively face a goods taking port of the goods shelf, and therefore the goods taking robot can bear and convey a plurality of material boxes in one goods taking task, the logistics efficiency is improved.

It should be noted that the turning mechanism in this embodiment may be the turning mechanism in fig. 2.

The present embodiment may further provide a warehousing system, specifically referring to fig. 8, the warehousing system includes a shelf 200 and the picking robot 1 in the first embodiment, the shelf 200 is placed with the material boxes 100 stacked along the height direction thereof, and the picking robot 1 can pick and place the material boxes 100 from the top of the shelf 200.

Wherein, goods shelves 200 can be a plurality of and arrange and form the storage area, goods shelves 200 can have a plurality of storehouse positions of arranging in proper order, every storehouse position has certain depth along goods shelves 200 direction of height, thereby a plurality of material case 100 can be placed to every storehouse position, goods shelves 200 top has the mouth of getting goods, it removes at the sky rail at goods shelves 200 top to get goods robot 1, and get goods mouth from corresponding and take out material case 100, get goods robot 1 get the goods device can get and put and transport a plurality of material cases 100 simultaneously, higher logistics efficiency has, its concrete structure and implementation mode are unanimous with in the embodiment one, no longer describe herein.

On the basis of the above task allocation method embodiment, fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a task allocation device provided in the embodiment of the present application. The task assigning device is used for assigning tasks to the robot, wherein the structure of the robot can refer to the robot introduced above, and the task assigning device comprises: an acquisition module 141 and a distribution module 142;

an obtaining module 141, configured to obtain multiple tasks to be allocated and multiple currently available robots, where each task in the multiple tasks corresponds to attribute information, and each robot in the multiple robots corresponds to attribute information;

the allocating module 142 is configured to perform task allocation according to the attribute information of each of the plurality of robots and the attribute information of each of the plurality of tasks to obtain a task allocation result, where the task allocation result includes: and a target robot corresponding to each of the plurality of tasks, each target robot being capable of performing at least two tasks.

In some optional embodiments, the attribute information of each robot includes a current location, and the attribute information of each task includes a pickup location; the allocation module 142 is specifically configured to: and for each task to be distributed, according to the goods taking position of the task and the current position of each robot, taking the robot with the nearest goods taking position and current position as a target robot for executing the task.

In some optional embodiments, the attribute information of each task further includes a task deadline, and the assignment module 142 is further configured to: and for the target robot assigned with one task, determining another task which can be executed by the target robot according to the goods taking position and the task deadline of the task assigned by the target robot.

In some optional embodiments, the allocating module 142 is specifically configured to: traversing all unassigned tasks according to the goods picking positions and the task deadline of the assigned tasks of the target robot, and taking the task meeting a first preset condition as another task executable by the target robot;

wherein the first preset condition comprises:

the distance between the goods taking position of the task and the goods taking position of the task allocated by the target robot is greater than or equal to the driving distance of the target robot in the overturning time of the two goods carrying positions;

and the number of the first and second groups,

the first time is less than or equal to the time difference between the task deadline of the task allocated by the target robot and the current time, and the first time is the time required for the target robot to pick up the goods corresponding to the task and put the goods corresponding to the task in turn from the current position;

and the number of the first and second groups,

and the time difference between the task deadline of the task and the current time is greater than or equal to second time, and the second time is the time required for the target robot to pick the distributed task and the goods corresponding to the task in sequence from the current position and then put the goods corresponding to the distributed task and the goods corresponding to the task in sequence.

In some optional embodiments, the allocating module 142 is specifically configured to:

traversing all unassigned tasks according to the goods picking positions and the task deadline of the assigned tasks of the target robot, and taking the task meeting a second preset condition as another task executable by the target robot;

wherein the second preset condition comprises:

and the number of the first and second groups,

and the time difference between the task deadline of the task and the current time is greater than or equal to third time, and the third time is the time required by the target robot to pick and put the goods corresponding to the assigned task from the current position and pick and put the goods corresponding to the task.

In some optional embodiments, for each target robot, a sum of the weight of the assigned task and the cargo corresponding to the task is less than or equal to a preset weight;

and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

for each target robot, the sum of the volumes of the assigned tasks and the goods corresponding to the tasks is less than or equal to a preset volume.

traversing all unassigned tasks according to the goods picking positions and the task deadline of the assigned tasks of the target robot, and taking the task meeting a third preset condition as another task executable by the target robot;

wherein the third preset condition comprises:

the pick-up position of the task is the same as the pick-up position of the assigned task of the target robot;

and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

the time difference between the task deadline of the task and the current time is greater than or equal to fourth time, the fourth time is that the target robot starts from the current position to sequentially pick up the distributed task and the goods corresponding to the task and sequentially pick up the distributed task and sequentially pick up the goods corresponding to the task, or the fourth time is that the target robot starts from the current position to sequentially pick up the distributed task and the goods corresponding to the task and sequentially pick up the goods and the time required for the task.

In some optional embodiments, the attribute information of each task further includes a length and/or a height of the cargo corresponding to each task. The task allocation device further comprises a path planning module 143;

an obtaining module 141, configured to obtain a length and/or a height of a cargo corresponding to each task of the multiple tasks;

a path planning module 143, configured to plan a path for a target robot to which at least two tasks are allocated according to a length and/or a height of a cargo corresponding to each of the at least two tasks and a preset path planning strategy;

wherein the preset path planning strategy is used for indicating that two cargo carrying positions of the target robot do not collide with other target robots in the overturning process.

In some optional embodiments, the path planning module 143 is specifically configured to:

and aiming at each task in the at least two tasks, if the length or height of the goods corresponding to the task is greater than the maximum length of the goods taking grid, the area covered by the length or width of the goods corresponding to the task is not in the path planning range of other target robots.

In some optional embodiments, the attribute information of each task further includes a length and/or a height of the cargo corresponding to each task, and the obtaining module 141 is further configured to obtain, for each target robot, a length and/or a width of the cargo corresponding to each task of the at least two tasks assigned by the target robot;

the allocating module 142 is further configured to determine that the picking sequence of the task corresponding to the goods with smaller length and/or smaller width is earlier when the lengths and/or widths of the goods corresponding to the at least two tasks are different.

In some optional embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: a generation module 144;

the generating module 144 is specifically configured to:

for each target robot, if the length of a planned path between the put positions corresponding to the two tasks allocated to the target robot is greater than or equal to the driving distance of the target robot in the overturning time of the two loading positions, generating control information for the target robot, wherein the control information is used for controlling the target robot to overturn the two loading positions on the planned path between the put positions corresponding to the two tasks allocated to the target robot;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

for each target robot, if the length of a planned path between a picking position corresponding to a task of picking goods later in two tasks allocated to the target robot and a putting position corresponding to a task of putting goods earlier in the two tasks allocated to the target robot is greater than or equal to the driving distance of the target robot in the overturning time of the two loading positions, generating control information for the target robot, wherein the control information is used for controlling the target robot to overturn the two loading positions after finishing picking the goods for the two tasks allocated to the target robot.

The task allocation device provided in the embodiment of the present application can be used to implement the technical solution of the task allocation method in the above embodiments, and the implementation principle and technical effect are similar, which are not described herein again.

It should be noted that the division of the modules of the above apparatus is only a logical division, and the actual implementation may be wholly or partially integrated into one physical entity, or may be physically separated. And these modules can be realized in the form of software called by processing element; or may be implemented entirely in hardware; and part of the modules can be realized in the form of calling software by the processing element, and part of the modules can be realized in the form of hardware. For example, the allocating module 142 may be a separate processing element, or may be integrated into a chip of the apparatus, or may be stored in a memory of the apparatus in the form of program codes, and a processing element of the apparatus calls and executes the functions of the allocating module 142. Other modules are implemented similarly. In addition, all or part of the modules can be integrated together or can be independently realized. The processing element here may be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In implementation, each step of the above method or each module above may be implemented by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in a processor element or an instruction in the form of software.

Fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 15, the electronic device may include: a processor 151, a memory 152, and a transceiver 153.

Processor 151 executes computer-executable instructions stored in memory, causing processor 151 to perform aspects of the embodiments described above. The processor 151 may be a general-purpose processor including a central processing unit CPU, a Network Processor (NP), and the like; but also a digital signal processor DSP, an application specific integrated circuit ASIC, a field programmable gate array FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components.

A memory 152 is coupled to and in communication with the processor 151 via a system bus, the memory 152 storing computer program instructions.

The transceiver 153 may be used to retrieve tasks to be assigned.

The system bus may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, or the like. The system bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus. The transceiver is used to enable communication between the database access device and other computers (e.g., clients, read-write libraries, and read-only libraries). The memory may include Random Access Memory (RAM) and may also include non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory).

The electronic device provided in the embodiment of the present application may be used to implement the technical solution of the task allocation method in the above embodiment, and the implementation principle and the technical effect are similar, which are not described herein again.

The embodiment of the application also provides a chip for running the instructions, and the chip is used for executing the technical scheme of the task allocation method in the embodiment.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where a computer instruction is stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer instruction runs on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the technical solution of the task allocation method in the foregoing embodiment.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, where the computer program product includes a computer program, which is stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and at least one processor can read the computer program from the computer-readable storage medium, and when the at least one processor executes the computer program, the at least one processor can implement the technical solution of the task allocation method in the foregoing embodiment.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used for illustrating the technical solutions of the present application, and not for limiting the same; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should 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 or all of the 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 application.

Claims

1. A task allocation method is characterized in that the task allocation method is used for allocating tasks to a robot, the robot can move along the side wall and the top of a goods shelf and take goods out of the goods shelf, and the robot comprises a robot body and a goods taking device arranged on the side of the robot body;

the goods taking device comprises a turnover mechanism and two goods carrying positions arranged on two opposite sides of the turnover mechanism, the goods taking device overturns the two goods carrying positions in a vertical plane through the turnover mechanism so as to take goods corresponding to at least two tasks, and the method comprises the following steps:

the method comprises the steps of obtaining a plurality of tasks to be distributed and a plurality of currently available robots, wherein each task in the tasks corresponds to attribute information, and each robot in the robots corresponds to the attribute information;

according to the attribute information of each robot in the plurality of robots, task allocation is carried out on the attribute information of each task in the plurality of tasks to obtain task allocation results, and the task allocation results comprise: a target robot corresponding to each of the plurality of tasks, each target robot being capable of performing at least two tasks.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute information of each robot includes a current location, and the attribute information of each task includes a pickup location;

correspondingly, the task allocation is performed according to the attribute information of each robot in the plurality of robots and the attribute information of each task in the plurality of tasks to obtain a task allocation result, and the task allocation result includes:

and for each task to be distributed, according to the goods taking position of the task and the current position of each robot, taking the robot with the nearest goods taking position and current position as a target robot for executing the task.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the attribute information of each task further includes a task deadline, the method further comprising:

and for the target robot assigned with one task, determining another task which can be executed by the target robot according to the goods taking position and the task deadline of the task assigned by the target robot.

4. A method according to claim 3 wherein said determining another task performable by the target robot based on the pick location and task deadline time of the task assigned by the target robot comprises:

traversing all unassigned tasks according to the goods picking positions and the task deadline of the assigned tasks of the target robot, and taking the task meeting a first preset condition as another task executable by the target robot;

wherein the first preset condition comprises:

and the number of the first and second groups,

5. A method according to claim 3 wherein said determining another task performable by the target robot based on the pick location and task deadline time of the task assigned by the target robot comprises:

wherein the second preset condition comprises:

and the number of the first and second groups,

6. The method of claim 3, wherein for each target robot, the sum of the weight of the assigned task and the cargo to which the task corresponds is less than or equal to a preset weight;

and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

7. The method according to claim 3, wherein the determining, for a target robot to which a task has been assigned, another task that the target robot can perform based on the pick-up position and the task deadline of the task to which the target robot has been assigned comprises:

wherein the third preset condition comprises:

and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the attribute information of each task further includes a length and/or a height of the cargo corresponding to each task, and the method further comprises:

acquiring the length and/or height of goods corresponding to each task in the plurality of tasks;

aiming at a target robot which is distributed with at least two tasks, planning a path for the target robot according to the length and/or height of goods corresponding to each task in the at least two tasks and a preset path planning strategy;

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the attribute information of each task further includes a length and/or a height of the cargo corresponding to each task, and the method further comprises:

aiming at each target robot, acquiring the length and/or width of goods corresponding to each task in at least two tasks allocated by the target robot;

and if the lengths and/or the widths of the cargos corresponding to the at least two tasks are different, determining that the picking sequence of the task corresponding to the cargos with smaller lengths and/or smaller widths is ahead.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, further comprising:

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

12. The task allocation device is used for allocating tasks to a robot, the robot can move along the side wall and the top of a goods shelf and can take and place goods in the goods shelf at the top of the goods shelf, and the robot comprises a robot body and a goods taking device arranged on the side of the robot body;

get goods device and include tilting mechanism and set up two goods carrying positions of the relative both sides of tilting mechanism, get goods device through tilting mechanism can be to two goods carrying positions overturn in vertical plane to get goods that at least two tasks correspond, task distributor includes:

the system comprises an acquisition module, a processing module and a processing module, wherein the acquisition module is used for acquiring a plurality of tasks to be distributed and a plurality of currently available robots, each task in the plurality of tasks corresponds to attribute information, and each robot in the plurality of robots corresponds to attribute information;

the distribution module is used for distributing tasks according to the attribute information of each robot in the plurality of robots and the attribute information of each task in the plurality of tasks to obtain task distribution results, and the task distribution results comprise: a target robot corresponding to each of the plurality of tasks, each target robot being capable of performing at least two tasks.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the attribute information for each robot includes a current location, and the attribute information for each task includes a pickup location, the assignment module is specifically configured to:

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the attribute information of each task further includes a task deadline;

the distribution module is also used for determining another task which can be executed by the target robot according to the goods taking position and the task deadline time of the task distributed by the target robot aiming at the target robot distributed with one task.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the allocation module is specifically configured to:

wherein the first preset condition comprises:

the distance between the goods picking position of the task and the goods picking position of the task allocated by the target robot is greater than or equal to the driving distance of the target robot in the overturning time of the overturning mechanism;

and the number of the first and second groups,

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the assignment module is specifically configured to:

wherein the second preset condition comprises:

and the number of the first and second groups,

and the time difference between the task deadline of the task and the current time is greater than or equal to fourth time, and the fourth time is the time required by the target robot to pick and put the goods corresponding to the assigned task from the current position and pick and put the goods corresponding to the task.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein for each target robot, a sum of the weight of the assigned task and the cargo corresponding to the task is less than or equal to a preset weight;

and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

18. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the allocation module is specifically configured to:

wherein the third preset condition comprises:

and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

the time difference between the task deadline of the task and the current time is greater than or equal to the fifth time, the fifth time is that the target robot starts from the current position to sequentially pick up the distributed task and the goods corresponding to the task and sequentially pick up the distributed task and sequentially pick up the goods corresponding to the task, or the fifth time is that the target robot starts from the current position to sequentially pick up the distributed task and the goods corresponding to the task and sequentially pick up the goods and the time required for completing the goods.

19. The apparatus according to any one of claims 12-18, wherein the task assigning means further comprises: a path planning module;

the acquisition module is further used for acquiring the length and/or height of the goods corresponding to each task in the plurality of tasks;

the path planning module is used for planning a path for a target robot to which at least two tasks are allocated according to the length and/or height of goods corresponding to each task in the at least two tasks and a preset path planning strategy;

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the path planning module is further configured to, for each of the at least two tasks, if the length or height of the cargo corresponding to the task is greater than the maximum length of the pick grid, determine that the area covered by the length or width of the cargo corresponding to the task is not within the path planning range of the other target robots.

21. The apparatus according to any one of claims 12-18, wherein the attribute information of each task further comprises a length and/or a height of the cargo corresponding to each task;

the acquisition module is further used for acquiring the length and/or the width of the goods corresponding to each task in at least two tasks allocated by each target robot;

the distribution module is further used for determining that the goods taking sequence of the task corresponding to the goods with smaller length and/or smaller width is forward under the condition that the lengths and/or widths of the goods corresponding to the at least two tasks are different.

22. The apparatus according to any one of claims 12-18, wherein the task assigning means further comprises:

the generation module is used for generating control information for each target robot if the length of a planned path between the goods placing positions corresponding to the two tasks allocated to the target robot is greater than or equal to the driving distance of the target robot within the overturning time of the overturning mechanism, wherein the control information is used for controlling the target robot to overturn the two goods loading positions on the planned path between the goods placing positions corresponding to the two tasks allocated to the target robot;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and the control information is used for generating control information for each target robot if the length of a planned path between a goods taking position corresponding to a task of taking goods later in the two tasks allocated to the target robot and a goods placing position corresponding to a task of placing goods earlier in the two tasks allocated to the target robot is greater than or equal to the driving distance of the target robot in the overturning time of the overturning mechanism, and the control information is used for controlling the target robot to overturn the two goods carrying positions after the two tasks allocated to the target robot complete the goods taking.

23. An electronic device, comprising: a memory, a processor;

a memory; a memory for storing the processor-executable instructions;

wherein the processor is configured to implement the method of any one of claims 1-11.

24. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored therein, which when executed by a processor, are configured to implement the method of any one of claims 1-11.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that it comprises a computer program which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the method of any one of claims 1-11.