CN115432340A

CN115432340A - Three-dimensional sorting station, sorting method and sorting ex-warehouse method

Info

Publication number: CN115432340A
Application number: CN202110614532.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 不公告发明人
Original assignee: Jiangsu Huazhang Logistics Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Jiangsu Huazhang Logistics Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2021-06-02
Filing date: 2021-06-02
Publication date: 2022-12-06
Also published as: WO2022252333A1

Abstract

The invention provides a three-dimensional sorting station which comprises a multilayer goods shelf, a rail sorting device, a lifter and a control device. The bearing platform can vertically lift and move. The transport sortation cart has a first position and a second position. The conveying and sorting trolley comprises a first layer of trolley and a second layer of trolley. In the first position, the first layer of trolleys and the bearing platform can be used for conveying articles, and the second layer of trolleys and the bearing platform can be used for conveying containers. In the second position, the goods can be transferred between the first layer of trolleys and the goods grid, and the containers can be transferred between the second layer of trolleys and the goods grid. The sorting method provided by the invention fully utilizes the space in the vertical direction and can realize sorting processing of the product orders with super large wave number in the minimum plane space. According to the sorting and ex-warehouse method, the elevator and the conveying sorting vehicle which is optimally designed are skillfully matched, so that the storing and taking efficiency, the sorting efficiency and the ex-warehouse efficiency can be improved to the greatest extent.

Description

Three-dimensional sorting station, sorting method and sorting ex-warehouse method

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of sorting (sorting) in logistics storage, in particular to a three-dimensional sorting station, a sorting method and a sorting ex-warehouse method.

Background

In recent years, with the rapid development and the upgrading and transformation of consumption of internet technology and electronic commerce, especially the blowout development of business forms represented by e-commerce, the rapid development of the internet technology and the electronic commerce brings about a quick chance for the sorting operation of the automatic logistics storage industry and an unprecedented challenge for the sorting operation of the logistics storage industry. There are three main types of conventional sorting machines: balance wheel sorters (1500-5000 pieces/hour efficiency), slider sorters (6000 pieces/hour-10000 pieces/hour), and cross-belt sorters (15000 pieces/hour-20000 pieces/hour); the seed sorting machine has large occupied area and low space utilization rate; meanwhile, when massive orders are processed, either more manpower is invested or equipment investment is large, and the comprehensive cost performance is general.

At present, some improved sorting machines are also available in the prior art, for example, chinese patent application with patent application number CN202010879675.3, the disclosed data processing system based on stereoscopic storage performs automatic seeding by a rail robot, and the handling of order boxes after automatic seeding is not recorded and considered (in the prior art, manual handling or robot handling is often adopted, and because the extending length of manual and robot arms is limited, the number of layers of a general shelf is also limited, and the effect of fully utilizing a stereoscopic space is not achieved); and the track robot moves along the horizontal direction and the vertical direction to convey goods, the conveying efficiency is low, especially when the number of orders (orders) processed in a centralized way at one time is increased, the orders with large frequency can only be processed in batches, the picking efficiency is low, if the picking amount of one batch is further improved, the arrangement range of the order box (target putting position) can only be transversely extended, the occupied area in the horizontal direction is increased, and the system investment cost is also increased.

In addition, the technical scheme of carrying out the sorted finished order boxes by using the stacking crane is also provided in the prior art, but the empty transfer boxes and the output order boxes are input by using the stacking crane, so that the occupied area in the horizontal direction is large, the cost is high, the conveying efficiency of the stacking crane is lower, and the comprehensive cost performance is general.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to solving the above-mentioned problems, and provides a sorting station capable of efficiently performing storage, sorting, and delivery of articles in a limited space, and capable of realizing a sorting process of product orders of an extremely large number of times within a minimum area.

In order to achieve the purpose, the technical scheme adopted by the invention is as follows:

a stereoscopic sorting station comprising a multi-level shelf, a rail sorting device, a hoist, an input-output for inputting or/and outputting articles, and a control device, wherein:

each layer of the multi-layer goods shelf is provided with a plurality of goods grids for placing goods, and the goods are goods and/or containers;

the rail sorting device comprises a conveying sorting vehicle and a rail,

the elevator is provided with a bearing platform for bearing articles;

the bearing platform can vertically move up and down to transmit articles between the input/output port and the conveying and sorting vehicle;

the conveying sorting vehicle is movably arranged on the track and is provided with at least one first position and at least one second position; the conveying and sorting vehicle comprises a first layer of trolley and a second layer of trolley; the first layer of trolleys and the second layer of trolleys are respectively arranged on respective tracks and independently move on the respective tracks, and/or the first layer of trolleys and the second layer of trolleys are integrally arranged and synchronously move on the tracks; at the first position, the first layer of trolleys and the bearing platform can carry out article transmission, and the second layer of trolleys and the bearing platform can carry out container transmission; in the second position, the first layer of trolleys and the cargo grid can transfer articles, and the second layer of trolleys and the cargo grid can transfer containers.

The control means is arranged to control the hoist, the transport sorter car in response to the sorting order to sort or store articles to or remove articles from the grid.

In a further embodiment, the first layer of trolleys comprise a conveying mechanism, the conveying mechanism comprises a first driving device and a belt, and the belt is driven by the first driving device to convey the articles;

the second layer of trolley comprises a second driving device and a telescopic turning fork, and the telescopic turning fork is driven by the second driving device to store and take the container.

In a further embodiment, the conveying and sorting trolley is detachable, and the first layer of trolley and the second layer of trolley can be detached to independently operate or assembled to integrally operate.

In a further embodiment, the conveying and sorting vehicle is provided with a plurality of conveying and sorting vehicles;

in a further embodiment, the hoisting machine is also provided with a layer changing hoisting device for conveying the sorting vehicle for changing the layer.

In a further embodiment, the carrying platform is configured to allow carrying of a plurality of items simultaneously.

In a further embodiment, the rail is horizontally arranged along the longitudinal direction of the multi-layer shelf and is provided with a first end and a second end;

the number of the hoists is at least two;

when the number of the lifting machines is two, the two lifting machines are respectively arranged at the first end and the second end, and the lifting machine arranged at the first end is used for conveying the articles to be picked and/or stored; a lift is provided at the second end for transport of the containers.

In a further embodiment, the stereoscopic sorting station further comprises an article identification and acquisition device electrically connected with the control device, and the article identification and acquisition device is arranged at the input/output port.

According to the improvement of the invention, a sorting method is also provided, which is based on the three-dimensional sorting station, and empty containers are placed at the target grids, and the method comprises the following steps:

conveying the articles from the input and output ports to a bearing platform of the elevator;

the bearing platform is lifted and moved to the height of a sorting target layer; the conveying sorting vehicle moves to a first position along the rail;

transferring the articles from the load-bearing platform to a transport sortation cart;

and the conveying and sorting vehicle moves to a second position along the rail, and the conveying and sorting vehicle conveys and sorts the articles into the empty containers of the target goods grids.

According to the improvement of the invention, a sorting and warehouse-out method is also provided, which is based on the three-dimensional sorting station, and empty containers are placed at the target grids, and the method comprises the following steps:

the conveying and sorting vehicle moves to a second position along the rail and conveys and sorts the articles into empty containers of the target cargo space;

repeating the steps until the current sorting order of the target goods grid is completed or the target goods grid is full;

the conveying sorting vehicle moves to a second position along the rail and takes out the containers of the target cargo space;

the conveying sorting vehicle moves to a first position along the rail;

transferring the container from the transport sortation cart to a load-bearing platform;

the bearing platform is lifted and moved to the height of the input/output port;

and (5) conveying the articles from the bearing platform to an input/output port to finish delivery.

Compared with the prior art, the three-dimensional sorting station, the sorting method and the sorting ex-warehouse method have the obvious beneficial effects that,

1) The three-dimensional sorting station changes the plane layout of the traditional sorting machine, is based on three-dimensional storage, and is optimally designed by a conveying sorting vehicle (the conveying sorting vehicle is of a double-layer structure and comprises a first layer of trolleys used for conveying articles (such as containers and single goods) and a second layer of trolleys used for conveying containers (such as empty turnover boxes and order boxes); the first layer of trolleys and the second layer of trolleys can be used independently after being disassembled, and can also be assembled into a whole for use, so that the access function of traditional articles (such as containers, single goods and the like) can be realized; the automatic sorting machine can also realize automatic sorting operation, input operation of empty containers and ex-warehouse operation of sorted order boxes, the space in the vertical direction is fully utilized (the total layer height can be flexibly expanded), and the problems of high cost, low efficiency, large occupied space and the like of the traditional sorting machine are solved.

2) The three-dimensional sorting station can flexibly configure the conveying sorting vehicles according to requirements, and if the conveying sorting vehicles are assembled into an integral body for use, the number of trolleys can be effectively reduced so as to reduce the cost; if the first-layer trolley and the second-layer trolley which are used independently are adopted, the storing and taking operation and the sorting operation are carried out separately, and the efficiency can be further improved; the first layer of trolleys and the second layer of trolleys which are used independently can be adopted, and the conveying sorting trolley which is assembled into a whole can be adopted, and the configuration can flexibly adjust the sorting efficiency according to the change of the order quantity. In addition, no matter the conveying sorting vehicle adopts any structure, only one channel is occupied in the plane direction, so that the space in the plane direction is further saved, compared with the technical scheme that a stacker crane is adopted to input empty containers and output order boxes in the background technology, the utilization rate of the space is effectively improved, the input efficiency of the empty containers and the output efficiency of the order boxes are also higher, and the operations of storing, picking and delivering out of the warehouse can be realized in the minimum area.

3) According to the three-dimensional sorting station, articles are conveyed by the elevator and are in butt joint with the conveying sorting vehicle, the elevator can simultaneously bear and convey a plurality of articles or containers, the elevator can horizontally move while conveying the articles (such as the containers and single goods), and the conveying sorting vehicle does not need to be lifted and moved and also does not need to wait for the articles (such as the containers and single goods), so that the sorting efficiency is greatly improved through the matching operation of the elevator and the conveying sorting vehicle; the picking operation of the product orders with super large wave number can be realized in the minimum plane space.

In summary, the three-dimensional sorting station, the sorting method and the sorting and ex-warehouse method have multiple functions, can realize the operation processes from the storage, picking and ex-warehouse of the articles in the minimum plane space with high efficiency, fully utilize the space in the vertical direction and realize the sorting processing of the product orders with super large frequency in the minimum plane space; through the ingenious cooperation between the transport letter sorting car of lifting machine and optimal design, can improve access efficiency, letter sorting efficiency and the efficiency of leaving warehouse by furthest.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures may be represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. Embodiments of various aspects of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a schematic overall structure diagram of a three-dimensional sorting station (a first layer of trolleys and a second layer of trolleys run independently) in a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the stereoscopic sorting station (first tier and second tier carriages operating independently) of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic overall structure diagram of a stereoscopic sorting station (the first-layer trolley and the second-layer trolley are integrated) according to another preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a side view of a three-dimensional sorting station (with the first tier of carts integrated with the second tier of carts) according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a three-dimensional sorting station (with the first layer of carts integrated with the second layer of carts) according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a schematic top view of a stereoscopic sorting station according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural view of a conveying and sorting vehicle (the first-layer trolley and the second-layer trolley are integrated) according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

In order to better understand the technical contents of the present invention, specific embodiments are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The invention provides a three-dimensional sorting station, which changes the layout of the traditional flat sorting station and firstly provides a technical scheme of a double-layer conveying sorting vehicle so that the sorting station has multiple functions; through the ingenious cooperation between the transport letter sorting car of lifting machine and optimal design, can be in the minimum plane space, furthest improve access efficiency, letter sorting efficiency and the efficiency of leaving warehouse.

The following describes in detail the three-dimensional sorting station of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is suitable for sorting processing of product orders with small floor area and ultra-large number of passes.

As shown in fig. 1 to 7, the sorting station comprises a multi-level rack 1, a rail sorting device 2, a hoist 3 and a control device (not shown in the drawings).

A multi-deck shelf 1 having a multi-deck shelf panel 14; each shelf has a plurality of shelves 141 for holding items 5 (e.g., goods and/or containers), and the shelves 141 may be configured as virtual shelves. When the sorting station is used for sorting, the cargo compartment 141 is used for placing containers (containers such as turnover boxes, cartons and the like, the tops of the turnover boxes and cartons are open; for containing sorted goods); when the sorting station is used for storage, the grid 141 is used for placing items 5 (such as single or multiple pieces of goods of any shape and size, order packages, containers, etc.). The sorting stand is also provided with an input and output opening 11 for inputting and/or outputting the articles 5. The input and output ports 11 are generally arranged in the lower area of the stereoscopic sorting station, and the number of the input and output ports can be one or more according to actual requirements. The inner side of the input/output port 11 is connected with a lifter 3, and the outer side of the input/output port 11 is connected with an external conveying device 4. The articles 5 (such as goods of any shape and size, order packages, containers, etc.) are manually or robotically placed on the external transport device 4, and the articles 5 are input from the input/output port 11 into the sorting station. Here, the article 5 described later is a product, an order package, a container, or the like of any shape and size; the containers described later include containers such as a transfer box and a carton, and include empty containers and containers for loading goods; and will not be described in detail below.

The multi-level shelf 1 is provided in a modular arrangement, and the number of the multi-level shelf 1 is usually a plurality, and a space is formed between two adjacent multi-level shelves 1 to form a channel 12.

The rail sorting device 2 includes a conveying sorting vehicle 22 and a rail 21. The rail 21 is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the plane of the passage 12, and the conveying and sorting vehicle 22 runs along the rail 21. The lift 3 has a carrying platform 31 carrying the article 5. The support platform 31 can be vertically movable, and the support platform 31 has a conveying device, such as a roller conveyor, for transporting the articles 5 between the input/output opening 11 and the transport sorter carriages 22. Of course, the elevator 3 can also be used for changing the layer of the articles 5, and the elevator can be matched with the conveying sorting vehicle 22 to change the layer of the articles 5 from one layer of the shelf to another layer of the shelf; for example, an integrated elevator with the Chinese patent application number of CN202021561394.5 is adopted. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1 and 3, a temporary storage table 6 is further disposed between the elevator and the conveying sorting cart, and the temporary storage table 6 is used for temporarily storing the articles, so that the conveying efficiency of the conveying sorting cart can be further improved (even if the number of conveying sorting carts is large, the conveying sorting cart does not need to wait, and can directly access the articles on the temporary storage table).

The transport sorter 22 is movably arranged on the rail 21 and has at least one first position 22a and at least one second position 22b. The conveying and sorting cart 22 includes a first layer cart 22-1 and a second layer cart 22-2. The first layer of trolleys 22-1 and the second layer of trolleys 22-2 are respectively arranged on respective tracks and independently move on the respective tracks, and/or the first layer of trolleys 22-1 and the second layer of trolleys 22-2 are integrally arranged and synchronously move on the tracks 21, so that when the first layer of trolleys 22-1 and the second layer of trolleys 22-2 respectively and independently operate, 2 tracks corresponding to each layer are provided; when the first layer of trolleys 22-1 and the second layer of trolleys 22-2 are integrally arranged, 1 rail is corresponding to each layer. In the first position 22a, the transfer of articles 5 can take place between the first tier cart 22-1 and the load-bearing platform 31, and the transfer of containers can take place between the second tier cart 22-2 and the load-bearing platform 31. In the second position 22b, the first tier cart 22-1 may be transported with the cargo space 141 for articles 5, and the second tier cart 22-2 may be transported with the cargo space 141 for containers.

In this embodiment, the first layer cart 22-1 includes a transport mechanism including a first drive device and a belt 22-11, the belt 22-11 is driven by the first drive device to transport the article 5, and the belt 22-11 is capable of transporting the article in both forward and reverse directions. When the first layer of trolleys 22-1 is used for picking, the belt 22-11 is higher than the top opening of the container of the cargo grid 141 so that the belt 22-11 can transfer the articles 5 placed on the belt and fall into the container placed in the cargo grid 141; of course, those skilled in the art can select other transmission mechanisms with other configurations or forms according to actual requirements, and the transmission mechanisms are not limited to belt transmission, such as roller transmission. In some preferred embodiments, the shelf compartment 141 is further provided with a belt conveyor for conveying the articles 5 placed thereon to the first layer of carts 22-1 or receiving the articles transported from the first layer of carts 22-1, typically for access of the articles; thus, the cargo grid 141 is provided with belt conveyor lines only in some embodiments where access to the first tier of carts is required. The following working principle of the first layer of trolleys for storage is described: when the first tier cart 22-1 is used for storage, the height of the belts 22-11 of the first tier cart 22-1 is level with the height of the belt conveyor lines of the grid 141 so that articles 5 may be transferred from the first tier cart 22-1 to the grid 141 or so that articles 5 may be transferred from the grid 141 to the first tier cart 22-1. The second layer of trolley 22-2 comprises a second driving device and a telescopic turning fork 22-21, and the telescopic turning fork 22-21 is driven by the second driving device to store and take containers; the telescopic turning fork 22-21 can be bidirectionally telescopic. When the telescopic turning fork 22-21 of the second layer trolley 22-2 is in a horizontal position, the height of the telescopic turning fork 22-21 is arranged in the middle area of the container of the cargo grid 141; the telescopic turnover fork 22-21 extends towards the cargo compartment 141 to place the container on the cargo compartment 141 to complete the storage work or the telescopic turnover fork 22-21 retracts to take the container out of the cargo compartment 141; of course, those skilled in the art can select other storage and taking mechanisms with other configurations or forms according to actual requirements, and the storage and taking mechanisms are not limited to the storage and taking of the telescopic turning forks 22-21, such as a sucker type storage and taking mechanism. In most embodiments, the container is mainly accessed by the telescopic turnover fork of the second layer of trolley, and the goods is mainly accessed and sorted by the first layer of trolley. If the first layer of trolleys need to be accessed, the first layer of trolleys and the second layer of trolleys are generally operated separately and independently. If the first layer of trolley and the second layer of trolley are designed integrally, the first layer of trolley is mainly used for sorting goods and the second layer of trolley is mainly used for storing and taking containers under general conditions.

In this embodiment, there are a plurality of conveying and sorting carts 22, and the elevator 3 further has a layer-changing lifting device for changing the layer of the conveying and sorting carts 22, such as an integrated elevator with chinese patent application No. CN 202021561394.5. The plurality of conveying sorting vehicles 22 are reasonably arranged on each layer of shelves according to order demands (sorting order demands or storing and taking order demands). When the order demand changes or is adjusted, the multiple conveying sorting vehicles 22 can change the layer and dispatch through the layer changing lifting device to adapt to the change of the order demand, so that the resources of the conveying sorting vehicles 22 are fully utilized, and the storage, fetching and sorting efficiency of the whole sorting station is higher.

And the control device is used for issuing instructions to the hoisting machine 3 and the conveying sorting vehicle 22 according to the orders so as to control the hoisting machine 3 and the conveying sorting vehicle 22 to sort or store the articles 5 into the goods grid 141 or take the articles 5 out of the goods grid 141.

It should be understood that the aforementioned control means, elevator 3, telescopic forks 22-21, belts 22-11, belt conveyor lines are all well known to those skilled in the art, and any suitable structure, either now known or later developed, may be used in accordance with the present disclosure.

In some preferred embodiments, the transporting and sorting cart 22 is detachable, and the first layer cart 22-1 and the second layer cart 22-2 can be detached to operate independently or assembled to operate integrally. When the first layer of trolleys 22-1 and the second layer of trolleys 22-2 are assembled into a whole, the first layer of trolleys 22-1 are arranged above the second layer of trolleys 22-2, and the height clearance between the first layer of trolleys 22-1 and the second layer of trolleys 22-2 can allow at least one container to be placed. In this embodiment, the first tier cart 22-1 and the second tier cart 22-2 are detachably connected by a connector (e.g., a bolt). Therefore, the conveying sorting vehicle 22 can be reasonably arranged by those skilled in the art according to the order requirement, and if the conveying sorting vehicle 22 is integrally assembled, the number of the trolleys can be effectively reduced to reduce the cost; if the first-layer trolley 22-1 (which can be used for storing and taking the articles 5 and sorting the articles 5) and the second-layer trolley 22-2 (which is used for storing and taking the containers) which are used independently are adopted, the storing and taking operation and the sorting operation are carried out separately, so that the efficiency can be further improved; it is also possible to use both the first floor cart 22-1 and the second floor cart 22-2 used individually and the transporting and sorting cart 22 assembled as one unit, and this arrangement allows flexible adjustment of the sorting efficiency in accordance with the change in the order amount. In addition, no matter the conveying and sorting vehicle 22 adopts any structure, only one channel 12 (as shown in fig. 6) is occupied in the plane direction, so that the space in the plane direction is further saved, compared with the technical scheme of adopting a stacker crane to input empty containers and output order boxes, the utilization rate of the space is effectively improved, the input efficiency of the empty containers and the output efficiency of the order boxes are also higher, and the operations of storing, picking and delivering the order boxes can be realized in the minimum area.

In some preferred embodiments, the carrying platform 31 is configured to allow a plurality of articles 5 to be carried at the same time, and to perform a buffering function, such as an integrated elevator with chinese patent application No. CN 202021561394.5; so, need not to set up in addition and temporarily deposit platform 6, the cost is reduced, 3 when carrying article 5 of lifting machine simultaneously, carry sorting car 22 and can carry out horizontal migration, carry sorting car 22 and need not to go up and down to remove and also need not to wait for article 5, like this, lifting machine 3 makes sorting efficiency improve by a wide margin with the cooperation operation of carrying sorting car 22, can realize the operation of selecting of the product order of super large ripple in the minimum plane space.

In some embodiments, the track 21, which is disposed horizontally along the longitudinal direction of the multi-tier rack 1 (as shown in fig. 6), has a first end and a second end. The number of the hoists 3 is at least two; when the number of the hoists 3 is two, the two hoists 3 are respectively arranged at the first end and the second end, and the hoist 3 arranged at the first end is used for conveying the articles 5 to be picked and/or stored, namely for inputting and outputting the articles 5 (the articles 5 mainly refer to the articles 5 except the container, such as goods per se); the elevator 3 arranged at the second end is used for transport of containers (empty containers or containers filled with goods), i.e. for input and output of containers. So for letter sorting, storage operation go on in order more, and two lifting machine 3 can satisfy the operation of selecting of the product order of super large-wave number, further improve the operating efficiency. Of course, the number of the hoists is not particularly limited, and one hoist may perform sorting and storing operations.

Preferably, the stereoscopic sorting station further comprises an article identification and acquisition device (not shown in the drawings) electrically connected with the control device. The article identification and acquisition device is arranged at the input/output port 11 and is used for acquiring information (such as scanning a two-dimensional code and identifying a unique identifier of the article 5) of the input or output article 5, checking and preventing errors.

In order to make the technical solution protected by the embodiment of the present invention clearer, a preferred embodiment is now described as follows:

the sorting station, as shown in fig. 5 in conjunction with fig. 6, comprises four hoists 3 (3 a, 3b, 3c, 3 d), two modular multi-level racks 1 (1 a, 1 b), and a plurality of transport sorting carts 22. The plurality of conveying and sorting vehicles 22 comprise a first layer of trolleys 22-1 and a second layer of trolleys 22-2 which are separately and independently operated, and a first layer of trolleys 22-1 and a second layer of trolleys 22-2 which are assembled into a whole. The first layer of trolley 22-1 is a belt conveying trolley, and the second layer of trolley 22-2 is a telescopic fork turning trolley. Two modular multi-level racks 1 (1 a, 1 b) are arranged in parallel and form a channel 12 therebetween, and one layer of rail 21 or two layers of rails 21 are correspondingly arranged on each layer of rack. Wherein one layer of track 21 corresponds to the integrated trolley. The two layers of tracks 21 correspond to a first layer of trolleys 22-1 and a second layer of trolleys 22-2 which are separately and independently operated, the first layer of trolleys 22-1 are arranged on the upper layer of tracks, and the second layer of trolleys 22-2 are arranged on the lower layer of tracks. In this embodiment, in order to ensure the full utilization of the track 21 and the conveying and sorting cart 22, the conveying and sorting cart 22 corresponding to the same layer of rack is the same cart (either the cart on the first layer and the cart on the second layer which are separately operated or an integrated cart). Four hoists 3 (3 a, 3b, 3c, 3 d) are arranged at the first and second end of the track 21, respectively, defining the first hoist 3 (3 a, 3 b) arranged at the first end and the second hoist 3 (3 c, 3 d) arranged at the second end. Two input and output ports 11 (11 a, 11 b) are arranged below the multi-layer shelf 1, and the input and output ports 11a correspond to the hoists 3 (3 a, 3 b); the input/output port 11b corresponds to the hoist 3 (3 c, 3 d). The input/output port 11 is provided with an article identification and collection device. The outside conveying device 4 is arranged outside the input and output port 11, in this embodiment, the outside conveying device 4 corresponding to the input and output port 11a is a belt conveyor, and the outside conveying device 4 corresponding to the input and output port 11b is a roller conveyor. The external conveying device 4 can be respectively butted with the bearing platforms 31 of four elevators 3 (3 a, 3b, 3c and 3 d), and a plurality of articles 5 can be placed on the bearing platforms 31 at the same time. In the embodiment, a temporary storage table 6 is arranged between the hoisting machine 3 and the conveying and sorting vehicle 22, and the temporary storage table 6 is provided with a conveyor; the target compartment 141 is provided with article transfer means so that the first tier carts can also access articles.

The sorting station is mainly used for sorting and ex-warehouse operations, and of course, can also be used for traditional storing and taking operations, and based on the sorting station, the operation method flow of the sorting station is briefly described below.

Sorting operation: the article 5 (generally, single goods 52) is placed on the external conveying device 4 manually or by a robot, the article identification and acquisition device acquires article information and feeds the article information back to the control device, and the control device receives the sorting order and the article information and issues an instruction to the first lifting machine 3 (3 a, 3 b), the temporary storage table and the corresponding conveying and sorting vehicle 22. The instructions include a sort target level, a target grid 141, sort item information (e.g., type of item), and a quantity of sorted items. An empty container 51 is placed at the target grid 141. The carrying platform 31 of the first hoist 3 (3 a, 3 b) moves up and down according to the instruction until the carrying platform 31 is in butt joint with the external conveying device 4, the article 5 (generally, the article to be sorted, which is a single piece of goods 52 or a plurality of pieces of goods 52) passes through the input/output port 11 from the external conveying device 4 and is conveyed to the carrying platform 31 inside the sorting station, the carrying platform 31 rises to the height of the corresponding sorting target layer to convey the article 5 (the single piece of goods 52 or the plurality of pieces of goods 52) to the temporary storage table 6 of the sorting target layer, and the conveying sorting vehicle 22 moves to the first position 22a (here, the first position corresponding to the first hoist 3 (3 a, 3 b)) along the track 21 according to the instruction; the belt 22-11 of the first layer of trolleys 22-1 is butted with the temporary storage table 6, and the articles 5 (single piece of goods 52 or a plurality of pieces of goods 52) are transferred from the temporary storage table 6 to the belt 22-11 of the first layer of trolleys 22-1 (whether the first layer of trolleys 22-1 which run independently or the integrated trolleys) for conveying the sorting trolley 22; the first-layer trolley 22-1 (or the integrated trolley) moves to the second position 22b (the position corresponding to the target cargo grid 141) along the rail 21, and the first-layer trolley 22-1 transfers and sorts the aforementioned articles 5 (single piece of cargo 52 or multiple pieces of cargo 52) into the empty containers 51 of the target cargo grid 141; each transport sorter 22 performs the above-described steps until the sorting job for the order is completed or the container 51 of the target bay 141 is filled.

And (3) performing the warehouse-out operation of the containers after the sorting task is completed: when the container 51 of the target grid 141 is full or the sorting operation of the order is completed, the control device issues a warehouse command to the second elevator 3 (3 c, 3 d) and the corresponding conveying sorting cart 22, the second-layer cart 22-2 (or the integrated cart) moves to the second position 22b (the position corresponding to the target grid 141) along the rail 21, the telescopic turnover fork 22-21 of the second-layer cart 22-2 extends towards the grid 141 to take out the container 51 from the grid 141, the telescopic turnover fork 22-21 contracts to temporarily place the article 5 on the second-layer cart 22-2, the second-layer cart 22-2 (or the integrated cart) moves to the first position 22a (here, the first position corresponding to the second elevator 3 (3 c, 3 d)) along the rail 21, the telescopic turnover fork 22-21 extends towards the temporary storage table 6 to place the container 51 on the temporary storage table 6; the carrying platform 31 of the second elevator 3 (3 c, 3 d) moves up and down according to the instruction to be in butt joint with the temporary storage table 6, and the container is transferred from the temporary storage table 6 to the carrying platform 31. The bearing platform 31 of the second hoister 3 (3 c, 3 d) descends to the input/output port 11 and is in butt joint with the external conveying device 4, and the container 51 passes through the input/output port 11 and is conveyed to the external conveying device 4 to finish the warehouse-out task.

And (3) empty container replenishing operation: in order to reverse the container delivery process, the empty container 51 is transferred from the external conveying device 4 to the second elevators 3 (3 c, 3 d), and then transferred from the elevators 3 (3 c, 3 d) to the temporary storage table 6 of the replenishment destination layer; then the trolley is transferred to a second layer of trolley 22-2 (or an integrated trolley) by the temporary storage table 6, and the second layer of trolley 22-2 moves to a second position 22b; the telescopic fork 22-21 of the second layer trolley 22-2 supplies the empty container 51 to the cargo compartment 141, which will not be described in detail.

And (4) storage operation: when the stored articles 5 are articles with regular shapes such as containers, the storage operation process and the empty container replenishment operation process are carried out, the external conveying device 4 inputs the containers 51, the article identification and acquisition device acquires the information of the containers 51 and feeds the information back to the control device, and the control device receives the storage orders and the information of the containers and sends instructions to the second lifting machines 3 (3 c and 3 d), the temporary storage table and the corresponding conveying sorting vehicles 22. The container 51 is transferred to the second lifting machines 3 (3 c, 3 d) by the external conveying device 4, and then transferred to the temporary storage table 6 by the second lifting machines 3 (3 c, 3 d), then the second layer trolley 22-2 (or the integrated trolley) takes out the container 51 from the temporary storage table, the second layer trolley 22-2 moves to the second position 22b, the container 51 is stored and placed in the cargo compartment 141 by the telescopic turning fork 22-21 of the second layer trolley 22-2, and the description is omitted. When the stored articles 5 are irregular articles (single article 52 or multiple articles 52) such as goods, the storage operation is similar to a sorting operation, the bearing platform 31 of the first hoist 3 (3 a, 3 b) moves up and down according to a command to be butted with the external conveying device 4, the goods 52 are conveyed from the external conveying device 4 to the bearing platform 31 of the first hoist inside the sorting station through the input/output port 11, the bearing platform 31 rises to the height of the corresponding sorting target layer and conveys the goods 52 to the temporary storage table 6, and the conveying sorting vehicle 22 moves to a first position 22a along the rail 21 according to the command; the belt 22-11 of the first layer of trolleys 22-1 is butted with the temporary storage table 6, and the goods 52 are transferred from the temporary storage table 6 to the belt 22-11 of the first layer of trolleys 22-1 (whether the first layer of trolleys 22-1 which run independently or integrated trolleys) of the conveying sorting trolley 22; the first layer trolley 22-1 (or the integrated trolley) moves to the second position 22b (the position corresponding to the target cargo grid 141) along the rail 21, the belt 22-11 of the first layer trolley 22-1 is directly butted with the target cargo grid 141 (namely the article conveying device of the target cargo grid 141), the goods 52 are conveyed to the target cargo grid 141, and storage is completed; certainly, the first-layer cart 22-1 may also implement storage operation of regular-shaped articles such as containers, and the technical solution is not particularly limited thereto, and those skilled in the art may adjust and schedule the articles according to actual order requirements.

Taking out: when the taken-out article 5 is an article with a regular shape such as a container, the container 51 is taken out from the cargo compartment 141 by the telescopic fork 22-21 of the second layer trolley 22-2, the second layer trolley 22-2 is transferred to the temporary storage table 5, then transferred to the second lifting machines 3 (3 c, 3 d) by the temporary storage table 5, and then transferred to the external conveying device 4 by the second lifting machines 3 (3 c, 3 d) in the same way as the container delivery operation, which is not described again. When the taken-out article 5 is an irregular article such as a cargo, the taking-out operation is the reverse flow of the storage operation of the first-layer trolley 22-1, the belt 22-11 of the first-layer trolley 22-1 is directly butted with the target cargo grid 141 (namely, the article transfer device of the target cargo grid 141), and the cargo 52 is transferred from the target cargo grid 141 to the belt 22-11 of the first-layer trolley 22-1; the goods 52 are then transferred to the temporary storage table 6 by the second-layer trolley 22-2, the temporary storage table 6 transfers the goods 52 to the first hoisting machines 3 (3 a, 3 b), and then the first hoisting machines 3 (3 a, 3 b) transfer the goods 52 to the external conveying device 4, which is not described herein again, although the first-layer trolley 22-1 may also implement the operation of taking out the regular-shaped goods such as containers, the technical scheme is not specifically limited to this, and those skilled in the art can adjust and schedule the goods according to the actual order requirements.

It should be understood that the functional uses of the first hoisting machine 3 (3 a, 3 b) and the second hoisting machine 3 (3 c, 3 d) are only for illustration, and are not limited thereto, and can be flexibly adjusted and scheduled according to the actual order requirement. In practical application, the multi-layer shelf 1 can be divided into storage areas and sorting areas, for example, a part layer is used for access, and a part layer is used for sorting; for another example, the partially modular multi-level shelf 1 is used for access, and the partially modular multi-level shelf 1 is used for picking; the storage area can also be distinguished according to the storage of regular-shaped articles and irregular-shaped articles; so, convenient integrated letter sorting delivery wagon in the whole letter sorting station of rational arrangement and two-layer letter sorting delivery wagon of independent operation respectively also can make things convenient for the height of rational arrangement track and track simultaneously. In a word, the technical personnel in the field can flexibly adjust according to actual requirements, so that the sorting station has wider application scenes, good flexibility and wide adaptability.

According to a development of the invention, a sorting method is also proposed, which is based on the aforementioned three-dimensional sorting station, with empty containers 51 placed at the target grid 141. The method comprises the following steps: the articles 5 are transported from the input-output opening 11 to the loading platform 31 of the lift 3. The bearing platform 31 is lifted and moved to the height of the sorting target layer; the conveying and sorting vehicle 22 moves along the rail 21 to the first position 22a. The articles 5 are transferred from the load-bearing platform 31 to the transport sorter carriages 22. The transport sorting cart 22 moves along the rail 21 to the second position 22b (the position corresponding to the target cargo space 141), and the transport sorting cart 22 transports and sorts the aforementioned articles 5 into the empty containers 51 of the target cargo space 141. The more detailed sorting method is similar to the sorting operation flow of the three-dimensional sorting station, and is not described herein again.

According to the improvement of the present invention, a sorting out method is also proposed, which is based on the aforementioned three-dimensional sorting station, and empty containers are placed at the target grid 141. The method comprises the following steps: the articles 5 are transported from the input-output opening 11 to the loading platform 31 of the lift 3. The carrying platform 31 is lifted to the height of the sorting target layer. The conveying and sorting cart 22 moves along the rail 21 to the first position 22a. The articles 5 are transferred from the load-bearing platform 31 to the transport sorter carriages 22. The conveying and sorting vehicle 22 moves to a second position 22b (a position corresponding to the target cell 141) along the rail 21, and conveys and sorts the aforementioned articles 5 into empty containers in the target cell 141. Repeating the above steps until the current sort order of the target lattice 141 is completed or the target lattice 141 is full; and finishing sorting. The conveying and sorting vehicle 22 moves along the rail 21 to a position corresponding to the target cargo space 141, and takes out the containers of the target cargo space 141. The conveying and sorting cart 22 moves along the rail 21 to the first position 22a. The container is transferred from the delivery and sorting cart 22 to the load-bearing platform 31. The carrying platform 31 is moved up and down to the height of the input/output port 11. The article 5 is transported from the loading platform 31 to the input-output opening 11. The more detailed sorting and ex-warehouse method is similar to the sorting operation and ex-warehouse process of the three-dimensional sorting station, and is not repeated herein.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it is not intended to be limited thereto. Those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the appended claims. Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it is not intended to be limited thereto. Those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A stereoscopic sorting station, characterized in that the sorting station comprises multi-level racks, rail sorting devices, hoists, control devices and input and output openings for inputting and/or outputting articles, wherein:

the rail sorting device comprises a conveying sorting vehicle and a rail,

the elevator is provided with a bearing platform for bearing articles;

the conveying sorting vehicle is movably arranged on the track and is provided with at least one first position and at least one second position; the conveying and sorting trolley comprises a first layer of trolley and a second layer of trolley; the first layer of trolleys and the second layer of trolleys are respectively arranged on respective tracks and independently move on the respective tracks, and/or the first layer of trolleys and the second layer of trolleys are integrally arranged and synchronously move on the tracks; at the first position, the first layer of trolleys and the bearing platform can carry out article transmission, and the second layer of trolleys and the bearing platform can carry out container transmission; in the second position, the first layer of trolleys and the cargo grid can carry out article transmission, and the second layer of trolleys and the cargo grid can carry out container transmission;

the control device is arranged to control the elevator, the conveying and sorting vehicle in response to the order to sort or store the articles into or remove the articles from the goods compartment.

2. The stereoscopic sorting station of claim 1,

the first layer of trolleys comprise a conveying mechanism, the conveying mechanism comprises a first driving device and a belt, and the belt is driven by the first driving device to convey articles;

3. The stereoscopic sorting station according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the conveying and sorting vehicle is detachable, and the first layer of the vehicle and the second layer of the vehicle can be detached to operate independently and can also be assembled to operate integrally.

4. The stereoscopic sorting station of claim 1 or 2,

the conveying and sorting vehicles are multiple.

5. The stereoscopic sorting station of claim 1 or 2,

the lifting machine is also provided with a layer changing lifting device used for conveying the sorting vehicle to change the layers.

6. The stereoscopic sorting station of claim 1 or 2,

the carrier platform is configured to allow multiple items to be carried simultaneously.

7. The stereoscopic sorting station of claim 1 or 2,

the rail is horizontally arranged along the lengthwise direction of the multi-layer goods shelf and is provided with a first end and a second end;

the number of the hoists is at least two;

when the number of the lifting machines is two, the two lifting machines are respectively arranged at the first end and the second end.

8. The stereoscopic sorting station according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an article identification and acquisition device electrically connected to the control device, the article identification and acquisition device being disposed at the input/output port.

9. A sorting method based on a stereoscopic sorting station according to any of the preceding claims 1-8,

an empty container is placed at the target grid, and the method is characterized by comprising the following steps:

10. A sorting out method based on the stereoscopic sorting station according to any one of the preceding claims 1-8, with empty containers placed at the target grid, characterized in that it comprises:

the conveying and sorting vehicle moves to a second position along the rail and conveys and sorts the articles to empty containers of a target goods grid;

the conveying sorting vehicle moves to a first position along the rail;