CN113351495A

CN113351495A - System, method and apparatus for processing orders

Info

Publication number: CN113351495A
Application number: CN202110609622.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘旭; 宋国库; 王显旺
Original assignee: Beijing Jingdong Qianshi Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Jingdong Qianshi Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-06-01
Filing date: 2021-06-01
Publication date: 2021-09-07
Anticipated expiration: 2041-06-01
Also published as: CN113351495B

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose systems, methods, and apparatuses for processing orders. The system comprises a sorting device, a sorting device and a control terminal, wherein the sorting device comprises a first conveying unit and a sorting unit, and the sorting device comprises a second conveying unit, a first identification unit, a sorting unit and a first storage unit; a first conveying unit configured to convey an article corresponding to the set of orders to be processed; a first identification unit configured to identify an order to which the article conveyed by the second conveying unit belongs, and to transmit the identification result to the control terminal; a control terminal configured to control the sorting unit to sort the items conveyed by the first conveying unit to the second conveying unit; and controlling the sorting unit to store the articles conveyed by the second conveying unit to the storage positions of the orders of the articles in the first storage unit according to the identification result. This embodiment enables automatic picking and sorting of orders.

Description

System, method and apparatus for processing orders

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of computer technology, and in particular, to a system, method, and apparatus for processing an order.

Background

With the rapid development of electronic commerce, the difficulty and requirement of order processing for many electronic commerce platforms are increasing. In order processing, order picking is one of the important work links. How to achieve efficient and accurate order picking is one of the issues that is continuously being investigated.

Currently, the manner in which order picking is accomplished mainly includes person-to-person picking and goods-to-person picking. In the person-to-goods picking, goods are generally sorted and stored according to a specified rule, and then manually picked according to an order to a storage position of the goods. Goods to people selects and utilizes various hardware equipment to accomplish the storage and the removal of goods, combines the assistance of technologies such as information system, electronic tags simultaneously for goods can be carried to artifical position automatically, so that the manual work can stand to decide the place and carry out goods and select. After the goods sorting is manually completed, the sorted goods are further sorted by hand, so that the goods belonging to the same order are sorted and packed.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present disclosure propose systems, methods, and apparatuses for processing orders.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a system for processing an order, including a sorting device, and a control terminal, where the sorting device includes a first conveying unit and a sorting unit, and the sorting device includes a second conveying unit, a first identification unit, a sorting unit, and a first storage unit; a first conveying unit configured to convey an article corresponding to the set of orders to be processed; a first identification unit configured to identify an order to which the article conveyed by the second conveying unit belongs, and to transmit the identification result to the control terminal; a control terminal configured to control the sorting unit to sort the items conveyed by the first conveying unit to the second conveying unit; and controlling the sorting unit to store the articles conveyed by the second conveying unit to the storage positions of the orders of the articles in the first storage unit according to the identification result.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for processing an order, the method including: controlling the picking unit to pick the articles which are conveyed by the first conveying unit and correspond to the order sets to be processed to the second conveying unit; receiving an identification result of an order to which the article conveyed by the second conveying unit belongs by the first identification unit; and controlling the sorting unit to store the articles conveyed by the second conveying unit to the storage positions of the orders of the articles in the first storage unit according to the identification result.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an apparatus for processing an order, the apparatus including: a control unit configured to control the picking unit to pick the items corresponding to the order sets to be processed, which are conveyed by the first conveying unit, to the second conveying unit; a receiving unit configured to receive an identification result of the first identification unit for an order to which the article conveyed by the second conveying unit belongs; and the control unit is further configured to control the sorting unit to store the articles conveyed by the second conveying unit to the storage positions, corresponding to the orders of the articles, in the first storage unit according to the identification result.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a control terminal, including: one or more processors; storage means for storing one or more programs; when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors are caused to implement the method as described in any implementation of the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable medium on which a computer program is stored, which computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the method as described in any of the implementations of the first aspect.

According to the system, the method and the device for processing the orders, the picking device is used for conveying the articles corresponding to the order set to be processed, and the conveyed articles are directly picked to the sorting device, so that the sorting device sorts and stores the picked articles, and therefore automatic picking and automatic sorting of the articles corresponding to the orders are achieved without manual participation. Meanwhile, the integration of automatic picking and automatic sorting is realized, so that other additional links such as conveying and the like are not needed in the two processes of order picking and order sorting, the order processing efficiency is improved, and the maintenance cost can be reduced.

Drawings

Other features, objects and advantages of the disclosure will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments thereof, made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a system architecture diagram of one embodiment of a system for processing orders according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a system architecture diagram of yet another embodiment of a system for processing orders according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a system for processing orders according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a picking apparatus in a system for processing orders according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a sorting apparatus in a system for processing orders according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a partial block diagram of one embodiment of a secondary storage unit in a system for processing orders according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram for one embodiment of a method for processing an order according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of an apparatus for processing an order according to the present disclosure;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a control terminal suitable for use in implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure is described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the relevant invention and not restrictive of the invention. It should be noted that, for convenience of description, only the portions related to the related invention are shown in the drawings.

It should be noted that, in the present disclosure, the embodiments and features of the embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict. The present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings in conjunction with embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system architecture diagram of one embodiment of a system for processing orders of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 1, the system for processing orders includes a picking apparatus 101, a sorting apparatus 102, and a control terminal 103.

Wherein the picking apparatus 101 may be configured to complete picking of items corresponding to the set of orders to be processed. Sorting apparatus 102 may be used to complete the sorting of items corresponding to each order in a set of orders to be processed. The control terminal 103 may be used to control the picking apparatus 101 to perform picking operations and to control the sorting apparatus 102 to perform sorting operations.

An order may refer to a receipt of an item ordered by a user at various platforms (e.g., e-commerce platforms, etc.) or stores, etc. The items ordered by the user may be various types of items. For example, items include, but are not limited to, living goods, office goods, and the like. The item corresponding to the order may refer to the item indicated by the content of the order.

A pending order may refer to an order that has not yet begun picking the item to which the order corresponds. The set of pending orders may consist of any number of pending orders. The control terminal 103 may obtain the pending order set from a connected database, storage device or service end (e.g., a backend server of an e-commerce platform, etc.) in advance.

The picking device 101 may pick the items corresponding to all the pending orders included in the pending order set. Sorting device 102 may sort out, from the items sorted by sorting device 101, items corresponding to each of the to-be-processed orders in the to-be-processed order set.

The picking apparatus 101 may include a first conveying unit 1011 and a picking unit 1012. Wherein the first transportation unit 1011 may be used for transporting the articles corresponding to the order sets to be processed. During the process that the items corresponding to the order set to be processed are conveyed by the first conveying unit 1011, the control terminal 103 may control the picking unit 1012 to pick the items corresponding to the order set to be processed.

The first conveyance unit 1011 may be various apparatuses having an article conveyance function. For example, the first conveying unit 1011 may include various conveyors, conveyor belts, and the like.

The picking unit 1012 may be various devices having an item picking function. For example, picking units 1012 may include various pickers, picker trucks, and the like. As an example, the picking unit may be a robotic arm having an end effector, at which point the robotic arm may pick and place items with the end effector to complete picking of the items.

The sorting apparatus 102 may include a second conveying unit 1021, a first recognition unit 1022, a sorting unit 1023, and a first storage unit 1024. The control terminal 103 may control the picking unit 1012 to pick an item on the first transporting unit 1011 to the second transporting unit 1021, so that the second transporting unit 1021 may be used to transport the item that has been picked by the picking apparatus 101. During the course of the picked items being conveyed by the second conveying unit 1021, the first identifying unit 1022 may identify each item that is picked completely to obtain an order to which each item belongs as an identification result, and may then transmit the identification result to the control terminal 103.

After receiving the identification result, the control terminal 103 may control the sorting unit 1023 to store each picked article to a storage location of the order corresponding to the first storage unit 1024, where the order belongs to the article, according to the identification result. The first storage unit 1024 may be used to store items corresponding to the set of pending orders, and each pending order may have a corresponding storage location. Generally, different pending orders may correspond to different storage locations, respectively.

Specifically, the control terminal may store in advance a correspondence between the order and a storage location of the order in the first storage unit. At this time, after receiving the identification result, the control terminal may query the storage location corresponding to the order to which the article belongs, and send the queried storage location to the sorting unit as a query result, so that the sorting unit stores the article to the corresponding storage location according to the received query result.

The second conveying unit 1021 may be various apparatuses having an article conveying function. For example, the second conveying unit 1021 may include various conveyors, conveyor belts, and the like. The first conveyance unit 1011 and the second conveyance unit 1021 may be the same apparatus or different apparatuses.

The first identification unit 1022 may be various devices having a function of identifying an order to which an item belongs. Specifically, different identification methods can be adopted to identify the order to which the article belongs according to the actual application requirements.

For example, the article may have a label thereon, and the label includes indication information for indicating an order to which the article belongs. The indication may be text, an image, a barcode, etc. At this time, the first recognition unit may correspond to various text or image or barcode recognition devices, etc.

Taking a specific example as an illustration, the first recognition unit may include a camera module (such as a camera or the like) for photographing and a processing module for image processing. At this time, the first identification unit may first capture an image of a tag corresponding to the article by using the camera module, and then the processing module identifies the order to which the article belongs according to the captured image.

The sorting unit 1023 may be various kinds of equipment having an article sorting function. For example, the sorting unit 1023 may include various sorting machines, sorting carts, sorting robots, and the like. First storage unit 1024 may be a variety of devices with item storage capabilities. For example, the first storage unit 1024 may include various shelves, containers, and the like.

As an example, the sorting unit may be a robot having an article taking and placing function. At this time, the robot may carry the article on the second conveying unit to the first storage unit and place the article at a storage location corresponding to the order to which the article belongs.

The control terminal 103 may be various kinds of software or hardware having an information processing function. When the control terminal 103 is hardware, it may be, for example, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop portable computer, a desktop computer, a server, or the like. When the control terminal 103 is software, it may be installed in hardware such as the above-listed smart phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, desktop computer, server, etc., and may be specifically implemented as a plurality of software or software modules (for example, a plurality of software or software modules for providing distributed services), or may be implemented as a single software or software module. And is not particularly limited herein.

It should be noted that the number of the picking devices, the sorting devices and the control terminals included in the system for processing orders can be flexibly set according to implementation requirements. The number of first conveying units and picking units comprised by the picking device can also be flexibly set according to implementation needs. The number of the second conveying units, the first identification units, the sorting units and the first storage units which are included in the sorting device can also be flexibly set according to the implementation requirement.

In the order processing process, a first conveying unit of the sorting device is used for conveying articles corresponding to the order set to be processed, meanwhile, the control terminal controls the sorting unit of the sorting device to sort the articles on the first conveying unit to a second conveying unit of the sorting device, then a first identification unit of the sorting device identifies the articles conveyed by the second conveying unit and sends the identification result to the control terminal, and the control terminal controls the sorting unit of the sorting device to store the articles conveyed by the second conveying unit to the corresponding position in a first storage unit of the sorting device according to the received identification result.

In the whole order processing process, the picking operation is not required to be finished manually, the sorting operation is not required to be finished manually, the manpower consumption is reduced, the automatic picking, sorting and storing of order objects are realized, and the order processing efficiency is improved. In addition, the sorting device and the sorting device are simple in structure, and the goods directly enter the goods sorting after being sorted, so that a goods conveying link between the goods sorting and the goods sorting is omitted, the connection among various devices in the order processing process is reduced, the cost of the order processing system is reduced, and the order processing system is convenient to deploy and manage.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a system architecture diagram of yet another embodiment of the system for processing orders of the present disclosure is shown. As shown in fig. 2, the system for processing orders may comprise, in addition to the picking means 101, the sorting means 102 and the control terminal 103, at least one of the following: a second storage unit 104, a transfer robot 105, and a packing device 106.

The second storage unit 104 may be used to store items corresponding to the pending order set. At this time, picking device 101 may pick items retrieved from second storage unit 104. Optionally, the second storage unit may be configured to store various items, so that the items corresponding to various orders may be obtained from the second storage unit. For example, the second storage unit may be a warehouse of an e-commerce platform or the like. Specifically, the second storage unit 104 may be various devices having an item storage function. For example, the second storage unit may include various shelves, containers, and the like.

The transfer robot 105 may be used to pick and place and/or transfer items during order processing. The transfer robot 105 may be a device having various structures and an article transfer function.

Alternatively, the control terminal 103 may control the transfer robot 105 to transfer 1011 the article corresponding to the order set to be processed from the second storage unit 104 onto the first conveying unit of the picking apparatus 101 according to the order set to be processed.

Specifically, the control terminal 103 may store in advance the items stored in the second storage unit 101 and the storage locations corresponding to the items. At this time, the control terminal 103 may inquire the storage positions of the respective articles corresponding to the order set to be processed in the second storage unit 101, and transmit the inquired storage positions to the transfer robot 105, so that the transfer robot may take out the articles corresponding to the order set to be processed at the corresponding storage positions in the second storage unit 104.

The packaging device 106 may be configured to package items corresponding to each order in the set of orders to be processed. The packing device 106 may be various apparatuses having an article packing function. For example, the packing device may include various kinds of packing machines and the like.

Specifically, for each to-be-processed order in the to-be-processed order set, the packing device 106 may take out an article corresponding to the to-be-processed order from a storage location of the to-be-processed order in the first storage unit 1024 and pack the article.

It should be noted that the number of the second storage units, the transfer robots, and the packing devices included in the system for processing orders can be flexibly set according to implementation needs. The movement of the transfer robot may be controlled in different ways.

For example, the control terminal may transmit the travel route to the transfer robot to control the transfer robot to correctly transfer the article along the travel route. For another example, a navigation mark (e.g., a two-dimensional code recorded with position information) may be provided on the ground, and at this time, the transfer robot may correctly transfer the article by scanning and recognizing the navigation mark on the ground.

With continued reference to FIG. 3, a block diagram of one embodiment of the system for processing orders of the present disclosure is shown. As shown in fig. 3, the system for processing an order includes a picking apparatus 101, a sorting apparatus 102, a control terminal 103, a second storage unit 104, a transfer robot 105, and a packing apparatus 106.

The order processing procedure may include: the control terminal 103 controls the transfer robot 105 to transfer the articles corresponding to the to-be-processed order set stored in the second storage unit 104 to the sorting device 101 to complete sorting, then the sorting device 102 sorts and stores the sorted articles, and then the packing device 106 packs the sorted and stored articles according to the orders, so that the automatic docking and processing of each link of warehouse-out, sorting and packing of the articles corresponding to the to-be-processed orders are realized, a fully-automatic order processing system is realized, and each link is directly linked, unnecessary docking or suspension among different links is omitted, and the order processing efficiency is further improved.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a block diagram of one embodiment of a picking device in the system for processing orders of the present disclosure is shown. As shown in fig. 4, the picking apparatus 101 includes a first conveying unit 1011 and a picking unit 1012.

Optionally, the picking apparatus 101 may further comprise a second identification unit 1013. The second recognition unit 1013 is configured to recognize the position of the article conveyed by the first conveyance unit 1011 as a recognition result, and send the recognition result to the control terminal 103. After the control terminal receives the identification result, the picking unit 1012 may be controlled to pick the item at the corresponding position to the second conveying unit 1021 according to the identification result, so as to achieve accurate picking of the item on the first conveying unit 1011.

The second recognition unit 1013 may be various devices having a position recognition function of an article. For example, the second recognition unit may comprise various positioning devices, image or text recognition devices, and the like.

Alternatively, the first conveying unit 1011 may be used to convey articles corresponding to the to-be-processed order sets placed in article boxes. The article box may be any of various devices that can be used to place articles therein.

At this time, the second identification unit 1013 may be configured to identify the positions of the items in the item box as the identification result, and the control terminal 103 may control the picking unit 1012 to accurately pick the items from the item box and place the picked items on the second conveying unit 1021.

Optionally, at least one picking position 10111 may be preset on the first conveyor unit 1011. Wherein a picking position may refer to a position on the first conveyor unit 1011 at which an item is picked by a picking unit 1012. At this time, the picking unit 1012 may pick the item to the second conveying unit 1021 at the preset picking position 10111.

The picking position can be flexibly set according to the actual application scene. For example, the picking apparatus may be at a central position when the first conveying unit 1011 is stationary. As another example, picking locations may be set based on the location of the picking units 1012 to facilitate the picking units picking items.

Alternatively, both ends of the traveling direction of the first conveying unit 1011 may be provided with at least one preset buffer position 10112, respectively. The buffer location 10112 may refer to a location where the item is temporarily stored.

At this time, the transfer robot 105 may transfer the article box, in which the article corresponding to the order set to be processed is placed, from the second storage unit 104 to the buffer position 10112 at one end of the first conveying unit 1011, which is generally the beginning of the traveling direction of the first conveying unit. Then, as the first conveying unit 1011 operates, the item box at the buffer position is conveyed to the preset picking position 10111, and then the picking unit 1012 may pick the item in the item box to the second conveying unit 1021. Thereafter, with the operation of the first conveying unit 1011, the article box at the preset picking position 10111 is conveyed to the buffer position 10112 at the other end, and then the transfer robot 105 may transfer the article box back to the article box recovery location (such as the second storage unit, etc.).

Through presetting picking positions, caching positions and the like, the picking device can finish picking of the articles more accurately and orderly.

Optionally, the picking apparatus 101 may also include a docking track 1014 for the transfer robot 105 to facilitate walking, docking, etc. of the transfer robot. According to the type of the transfer robot, the type of the corresponding parking track can be flexibly set to be adapted to the corresponding transfer robot.

In some cases, as shown in fig. 4, the parking track 1014 may be disposed on one side of the first conveyor unit 1011 and the picking unit 1012 may be correspondingly disposed on the other side of the first conveyor unit 1012. The second recognition unit 1013 may be disposed on the same side as the sorting unit 1012 as the first conveying unit 1012. Therefore, the crossing of the parking tracks of the picking device 101 and the transfer robot 105 can be avoided, the correct operation of the picking device 101 and the transfer robot 105 is facilitated, and the maintenance is also facilitated.

Taking the specific structure of the picking apparatus 101 shown in fig. 4 as an example, the order picking process may include: the transfer robot 105 may stop at the stop track 1014, and first transfer the article box on which the article corresponding to the order set to be processed is placed to the buffer position 10112 at one end of the first transfer unit 1011, and when the article box is transferred from the buffer position 10112 to the preset picking position 10111, the second recognition unit 1013 recognizes the position of the article in the article box and transmits the position to the control terminal 103, and the control terminal 103 controls the end effector 10121 of the robot arm 1012 to pick up the article from the corresponding position in the article box and place the picked-up article on the second transfer unit 1021.

After the transfer robot 105 transfers the article box to the preset buffer position 10112 at one end, it may continue to travel along the stop track 1014 to the buffer position 10112 at the other end of the first conveying unit 1011 to transfer the transferred article box back to the article box recovery location. Therefore, the articles corresponding to the order set to be processed are automatically picked conveniently and accurately.

It should be noted that fig. 4 is only an exemplary schematic structural diagram of the picking apparatus, the specific structure of the picking apparatus may be flexibly set according to actual application requirements or application scenarios, and the number of the second identification units included in the picking apparatus may also be flexibly set according to requirements.

Referring now to fig. 5, a block diagram of one embodiment of a sorting device in the system for processing orders of the present disclosure is shown. As shown in fig. 5, the sorting apparatus 102 includes a second conveying unit 1021, a first recognition unit 1022, a sorting unit 1023, and a first storage unit 1024.

Taking the specific structure of the picking apparatus 101 shown in fig. 5 as an example, the order sorting process may include: the first conveying unit 1021 conveys the picked item, and when the item is conveyed to be within the identification range of the first identification unit 1022, the first identification unit 1022 can identify the order to which the item belongs, and send the identification result to the control terminal 103. Then, the first conveying unit 1021 continues to convey the article until the article falls onto the sorting unit 1023, and the sorting unit 1023 places the article thereon at a corresponding position in the first storage unit 1024 according to the storage position corresponding to the order to which the article thereon belongs, which is sent by the control terminal. Therefore, the convenient and accurate automatic sorting of the articles corresponding to each order in the order set to be processed is realized.

It should be noted that fig. 5 is only an exemplary structural schematic diagram of the sorting apparatus, and the specific structure of the sorting apparatus can be flexibly set according to the actual application requirements or application scenarios.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a partial block diagram of one embodiment of a second storage unit in the system for processing orders of the present disclosure is shown. As shown in fig. 6, the second storage unit 104 may include a running track of the transfer robot 105.

The operation track may include a first track 1041 connecting the second storage unit 104 and the ground so that the robot smoothly reciprocates between the second storage unit 104 and the ground.

The travel track may further include a second track 1042 for taking and placing the items stored in the second storage unit 104, so that the transfer robot 105 conveniently takes and places the items stored in the second storage unit 104 by walking on the second track.

The types of the first rail 1041 and the second rail 1042 may be set adaptively according to the type of the transfer robot 105 and the specific structure of the second storage unit 104.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 6, the second storage unit may store the articles in respective pockets divided in the horizontal and vertical directions at the same time. At this time, the second rail 1042 may include a horizontal rail 10421 corresponding to the horizontal direction and a vertical rail 10422 corresponding to the vertical direction, so that the transfer robot 105 may travel along the horizontal rail in the horizontal direction and may also travel along the vertical rail 10422 in the vertical direction, so that the transfer robot 105 may conveniently reach the storage cell of each article to pick and place the article.

In some cases, the storage compartments of the articles in the second storage unit 104 are usually at a certain height from the ground, so that the horizontal rail 10421 is also at a certain height from the ground, and in this case, the first rail 1041 may be a slant rail connecting the horizontal rail 10421 and the ground, so that the transfer robot 105 can smoothly shuttle between the horizontal rail 10421 and the ground.

It should be noted that fig. 6 is only an exemplary structural schematic diagram of the operation track of the transfer robot, and the specific structure of the operation track may be flexibly set according to actual application requirements or application scenarios.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a flowchart of one embodiment of a method of the present disclosure for processing an order is shown. The method for processing the order can be applied to a control terminal (such as the control terminal 103 shown in fig. 1), and specifically includes the following steps:

step 701, controlling the picking unit to pick the article conveyed by the first conveying unit and corresponding to the order set to be processed to the second conveying unit.

In this embodiment, the control terminal may control the picking unit (e.g., the picking unit 1012 shown in fig. 1) to pick the item conveyed by the first conveying unit (e.g., the first conveying unit 1011 shown in fig. 1) to the second conveying unit (e.g., the second conveying unit 1021 shown in fig. 1).

A pending order may refer to an order that has not yet begun picking the item to which the order corresponds. The set of pending orders may consist of any number of pending orders. The control terminal may obtain the pending order set from a connected database, storage device or service end (e.g., a back-end server of an e-commerce platform, etc.) in advance.

The first conveying unit may be adapted to convey articles corresponding to the set of orders to be processed. The first conveyance unit may be various apparatuses having an article conveyance function. For example, the first conveying unit may include various conveyors, conveyor belts, and the like.

In the process that the articles corresponding to the order sets to be processed are conveyed by the first conveying unit, the control terminal can control the picking unit to pick the articles corresponding to the order sets to be processed. The picking unit 1012 may be various devices having an item picking function. For example, picking units 1012 may include various pickers, picker trucks, and the like. As an example, the picking unit may be a robotic arm having an end effector, at which point the robotic arm may pick and place items with the end effector to complete picking of the items.

Step 702, receiving an identification result of an order to which the article conveyed by the second conveying unit belongs by the first identification unit.

In this embodiment, the first identification unit (such as the first identification unit 1022 shown in fig. 1) may identify the item conveyed by the second conveying unit to obtain an order to which the item belongs as an identification result, and transmit the identification result to the control terminal.

The first identification unit may be various kinds of equipment having a function of identifying an order to which the item belongs. Specifically, different identification methods can be adopted to identify the order to which the article belongs according to the actual application requirements.

And 703, controlling the sorting unit to store the articles conveyed by the second conveying unit to the storage positions of the orders of the articles in the first storage unit according to the identification result.

In this embodiment, the control terminal may control the sorting unit (e.g., the sorting unit 1023 shown in fig. 1) to store the article conveyed by the second conveying unit to the storage position of the first storage unit (e.g., the first storage unit 1024 shown in fig. 1) corresponding to the order to which the article belongs according to the received identification result.

The sorting unit may be various apparatuses having an article sorting function. For example, the sorting units may include various sorting machines, sorting carts, sorting robots, and the like. The first storage unit may be for storing items corresponding to a set of pending orders, and each pending order may have a corresponding storage location. Generally, different pending orders may correspond to different storage locations, respectively. The first storage unit may be various devices having an article storage function. For example, the first storage unit may include various shelves, containers, and the like.

In some optional implementations of this embodiment, the control terminal may further control a transfer robot (e.g., transfer robot 105 shown in fig. 2, etc.) to transfer the article corresponding to the set of orders to be processed from the second storage unit (e.g., second storage unit 104 shown in fig. 2, etc.) to the first conveying unit.

The content that is not specifically described in this embodiment may refer to the related description in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 2, and is not repeated herein.

According to the method provided by the above embodiment of the disclosure, the control terminal controls the sorting unit to sort the articles on the first conveying unit to the second conveying unit of the sorting device, then the first identification unit of the sorting device identifies the articles conveyed by the second conveying unit, and sends the identification result to the control terminal, and the control terminal controls the sorting unit of the sorting device to store the articles conveyed by the second conveying unit to the corresponding position in the first storage unit of the sorting device according to the received identification result, so that the automatic sorting, sorting and storage of order articles are realized, the order processing efficiency is improved, and the whole process does not require human consumption.

With further reference to fig. 8, as an implementation of the method shown in fig. 7 described above, the present disclosure provides an embodiment of an apparatus for processing an order, which corresponds to the method embodiment shown in fig. 7, and which may be applied in various control terminals in particular.

As shown in fig. 8, the apparatus for processing an order provided by the present embodiment includes a control unit 801 and a receiving unit 802. Wherein the control unit 801 is configured to control the picking unit to pick the items corresponding to the to-be-processed order sets conveyed by the first conveying unit to the second conveying unit; the receiving unit 802 is configured to receive an identification result of an order to which the first identification unit belongs for the article conveyed by the second conveying unit; the control unit 801 is further configured to control the sorting unit to store the article conveyed by the second conveying unit to the storage position of the order corresponding to the article in the first storage unit according to the identification result.

In the present embodiment, in the apparatus for processing an order 800: the detailed processing of the control unit 801 and the receiving unit 802 and the technical effects thereof can refer to the related descriptions of step 701, step 702, and step 703 in the corresponding embodiment of fig. 7, which are not repeated herein.

In some optional implementations of this embodiment, the control unit 801 is further configured to control the transfer robot to transfer the article corresponding to the set of orders to be processed from the second storage unit to the first conveying unit.

According to the device for processing orders, the control unit controls the picking unit to pick the articles conveyed by the first conveying unit and corresponding to the order sets to be processed to the second conveying unit; the receiving unit receives the identification result of the order to which the article conveyed by the second conveying unit belongs by the first identification unit; the control unit controls the sorting unit to store the articles conveyed by the second conveying unit to the storage positions of the orders of the articles in the first storage unit according to the identification result, so that the articles in the orders are automatically sorted, sorted and stored, the order processing efficiency is improved, and the whole process does not need manpower consumption

Referring now to FIG. 9, a schematic diagram of a control terminal (e.g., control terminal 103 of FIG. 1) 900 suitable for use in implementing embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Fig. 9 illustrates only one example, and should not bring any limitations to the function and scope of use of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 9, the control terminal 900 may include a processing device (e.g., a central processing unit, a graphics processor, etc.) 901 that may perform various appropriate actions and processes in accordance with a program stored in a Read Only Memory (ROM)902 or a program loaded from a storage device 908 into a Random Access Memory (RAM) 903. In the RAM903, various programs and data necessary for controlling the operation of the terminal 900 are also stored. The processing apparatus 901, the ROM 902, and the RAM903 are connected to each other through a bus 904. An input/output (I/O) interface 905 is also connected to bus 904.

Generally, the following devices may be connected to the I/O interface 905: input devices 906 including, for example, a touch screen, touch pad, keyboard, mouse, camera, microphone, accelerometer, gyroscope, etc.; an output device 907 including, for example, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a speaker, a vibrator, and the like; storage 908 including, for example, magnetic tape, hard disk, etc.; and a communication device 909. The communication means 909 may allow the control terminal 900 to perform wireless or wired communication with other devices to exchange data. While fig. 9 illustrates a control terminal 900 having various means, it is to be understood that not all illustrated means are required to be implemented or provided. More or fewer devices may alternatively be implemented or provided. Each block shown in fig. 9 may represent one device or may represent multiple devices as desired.

In particular, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processes described above with reference to the flowcharts may be implemented as computer software programs. For example, embodiments of the present disclosure include a computer program product comprising a computer program embodied on a computer readable medium, the computer program comprising program code for performing the method illustrated in the flow chart. In such an embodiment, the computer program may be downloaded and installed from a network through the communication device 909, or installed from the storage device 908, or installed from the ROM 902. The computer program, when executed by the processing apparatus 901, performs the above-described functions defined in the methods of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

It should be noted that the computer readable medium described in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium or any combination of the two. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium may include, but are not limited to: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In embodiments of the disclosure, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. In embodiments of the present disclosure, however, a computer readable signal medium may comprise a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated data signal may take many forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may also be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to: electrical wires, optical cables, RF (radio frequency), etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

The computer readable medium may be included in the control terminal; or may exist separately without being assembled into the control terminal. The computer readable medium carries one or more programs which, when executed by the control terminal, cause the control terminal to: controlling the picking unit to pick the articles which are conveyed by the first conveying unit and correspond to the order sets to be processed to the second conveying unit; receiving an identification result of an order to which the article conveyed by the second conveying unit belongs by the first identification unit; and controlling the sorting unit to store the articles conveyed by the second conveying unit to the storage positions of the orders of the articles in the first storage unit according to the identification result.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for embodiments of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C + +, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the case of a remote computer, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet service provider).

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems which perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The units described in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by software or hardware. The described units may also be provided in a processor, and may be described as: a processor includes a control unit and a receiving unit. Where the names of the units do not in some cases constitute a limitation of the units themselves, for example, the receiving unit may also be described as a "unit that receives the identification result of the order to which the first identification unit belongs for the item conveyed by the second conveying unit".

The foregoing description is only exemplary of the preferred embodiments of the disclosure and is illustrative of the principles of the technology employed. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the scope of the invention in the embodiments of the present disclosure is not limited to the specific combination of the above-mentioned features, but also encompasses other embodiments in which any combination of the above-mentioned features or their equivalents is made without departing from the inventive concept as defined above. For example, the above features and (but not limited to) technical features with similar functions disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure are mutually replaced to form the technical solution.

Claims

1. A system for processing an order, comprising a sorting apparatus, a sorting apparatus and a control terminal, the sorting apparatus comprising a first conveying unit and a sorting unit, the sorting apparatus comprising a second conveying unit, a first identification unit, a sorting unit and a first storage unit;

the first conveying unit is configured to convey articles corresponding to the order sets to be processed;

the first identification unit is configured to identify an order to which the article conveyed by the second conveying unit belongs and send an identification result to the control terminal;

the control terminal is configured to control the picking unit to pick the items conveyed by the first conveying unit to the second conveying unit; and controlling the sorting unit to store the articles conveyed by the second conveying unit to the storage positions of the orders of the articles in the first storage unit according to the identification result.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a second storage unit and a transfer robot;

the second storage unit is configured to store articles corresponding to the to-be-processed order set;

the control terminal is configured to control the carrying robot to carry the articles corresponding to the order set to be processed from the second storage unit to the first conveying unit according to the order set to be processed.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a packaging device;

the packing device is configured to pack the articles of the order in the to-be-processed order set corresponding to the storage position in the first storage unit.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the first conveying unit is further configured to convey an item corresponding to the set of orders to be processed placed in an item bin; and

the picking apparatus further comprises a second identification unit;

the second identification unit is configured to identify the position of the article in the article box and send the identification result to the control terminal;

the control terminal is configured to sort the items to the second conveying unit according to the positions of the items in the item boxes.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the picking unit is a robotic arm comprising an end effector.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the picking unit is configured to pick items at a preset picking position on the first conveying unit to the second conveying unit.

7. The system according to claim 4, wherein preset buffer positions are respectively provided at both ends of the first conveying unit in the running direction; and

the transfer robot is configured to transfer the article box, in which the article corresponding to the to-be-processed order set is placed, from the second storage unit to a buffer position at one end of the first conveying unit, and to transfer the article box from a buffer position at the other end of the first conveying unit back to the second storage unit.

8. The system of claim 4, wherein the picking apparatus further comprises a parking track of the transfer robot, the parking track and the picking units are respectively located on both sides of the direction of travel of the first conveying unit, and the picking units and the second identifying units are located on the same side of the first conveying unit.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein the second storage unit comprises a travel track of the transfer robot, the travel track comprising a first track connecting the second storage unit and a floor, a second track for accessing the items stored by the second storage unit.

10. A method for processing orders is applied to a control terminal and comprises the following steps:

controlling the picking unit to pick the articles conveyed by the first conveying unit to the second conveying unit;

receiving an identification result of an order to which the article conveyed by the second conveying unit belongs by the first identification unit;

and controlling the sorting unit to store the articles conveyed by the second conveying unit to the storage positions of the orders of the articles in the first storage unit according to the identification result.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

and controlling the transfer robot to transfer the article corresponding to the order set to be processed from the second storage unit to the first conveying unit.

12. An apparatus for processing an order applied to a control terminal, comprising:

a control unit configured to control the picking unit to pick the items corresponding to the order sets to be processed, which are conveyed by the first conveying unit, to the second conveying unit;

a receiving unit configured to receive an identification result of an order to which the article conveyed by the second conveying unit belongs by the first identification unit;

and the control unit is further configured to control the sorting unit to store the articles conveyed by the second conveying unit to the storage positions of the orders of the articles in the first storage unit according to the identification result.

13. A control terminal, comprising:

one or more processors;

a storage device having one or more programs stored thereon;

when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to implement the method of claim 10 or 11.

14. A computer-readable medium, on which a computer program is stored which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the method of claim 10 or 11.