CN115432341A - Storage scheduling system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

The application provides a storage scheduling system and a storage scheduling method, wherein the system comprises a control server, an access device, a carrying device, a plurality of high-level shelves and a plurality of picking shelves, wherein the picking shelves are positioned at the bottom layers of the high-level shelves; the control server is configured to determine that the target inventory container determined according to the order task is located on a target high-level shelf, determine target access equipment for accessing the target inventory container and target carrying equipment for carrying the target picking shelf, send an access instruction to the target access equipment and send a carrying instruction to the target carrying equipment; a target access device configured to retrieve a target inventory receptacle from a target high-level rack and to place the target inventory receptacle on a target picking rack in response to the access instruction; the target handling apparatus configured to handle a target picking rack on which the target inventory receptacle is placed in response to the handling instruction.

Description

Storage scheduling system and method

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of warehousing technologies, and in particular, to a warehousing scheduling system and method.

Background

With the rapid development of e-commerce, e-commerce plays an increasingly important role in consumer life, the number of orders of users increases in geometric multiples every year, and at the same time, e-commerce is becoming mature, users also put higher demands on the service quality of e-commerce, and the processing capacity of warehouse management is also subjected to severe tests.

In the rapid development of electronic commerce, a warehouse needs to store massive commodity types and commodity inventory, that is, the warehouse needs to be capable of rapidly completing order picking, and the storage capacity of the warehouse commodity inventory also needs to be improved, so that the storage efficiency of the whole warehouse is improved. In order to improve the storage efficiency of the warehouse, a storage area is usually divided for storing a large amount of commodity inventory during warehouse planning, and a picking area is also divided for picking commodities based on a 'goods-to-people' mode, but for the warehouse with a fixed area, the storage efficiency of the storage area and the picking efficiency of the picking area cannot be considered at the same time, the picking area is relatively compressed once the storage area is enlarged, although the commodity storage efficiency of the storage area is improved, the picking efficiency is influenced by the reduction of the picking area, otherwise, the storage area is correspondingly compressed once the picking area is enlarged, the picking efficiency of the picking area is also influenced by the reduction of the storage area, namely, the picking and storage efficiencies of the warehouse cannot be balanced in the prior art.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, the present application provides a warehouse management system and method to solve the technical defects in the prior art.

According to a first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, there is provided a storage scheduling system, the system includes a control server, an access device, a handling device, and an inventory area, where the inventory area includes multiple high shelves and multiple picking shelves, each of the high shelves and the picking shelves includes at least one partition, the at least one partition divides each of the high shelves and the picking shelves into at least two layers, the picking shelves are located at bottom layers of the high shelves, and inventory containers containing inventory goods are placed on other layers of the high shelves except the bottom layers;

the control server is configured to determine, according to an order task, a target high-level shelf where a target inventory container containing order goods is currently located and a target picking shelf where the target inventory container is to be placed, the target picking shelf having a storage location for placing the target inventory container, determine a target access device for accessing the target inventory container and a target handling device for handling the target picking shelf, send an access instruction to the target access device, and send a handling instruction to the target handling device;

the target access device configured to move to the target elevation shelf, retrieve the target inventory receptacle from the target elevation shelf, and place the target inventory receptacle in a storage location of the target picking shelf in response to the access instruction;

the target handling apparatus configured to, in response to the handling instruction, handle a target picking rack with the target inventory receptacle placed therein to a destination.

Optionally, the control server is further configured to preferentially determine whether the target inventory container is currently located on a target picking shelf according to the order task, if so, determine a target handling device for handling the target picking shelf, and send a handling instruction to the target handling device;

the target handling apparatus configured to, in response to the handling instruction, handle a target picking rack with the target inventory receptacle placed therein to a destination.

Optionally, the control server is further configured to determine an inventory receptacle to be adjusted on any one of the plurality of high shelves or on any one of the plurality of picking shelves, a current location of the inventory receptacle to be adjusted, and an adjusted location, and also determine an access device for adjusting the location, and send an access instruction to the access device;

the access device is configured to take out the inventory container with the position to be adjusted from the current position and place the inventory container on the adjusted position in response to the access instruction, wherein the adjusted position comprises any one of storage positions on an upper shelf and storage positions on a picking shelf.

Optionally, the current position of the inventory container is a storage position on a high-level shelf, and the adjusted position is a storage position on a picking shelf; or the current position of the inventory container is the storage position on the picking shelf, and the adjusted position is the storage position on the high-level shelf.

Optionally, the control server is further configured to adjust a position of the inventory receptacle according to a heat value of the inventory receptacle.

Optionally, the target handling apparatus is further configured to handle the target picking rack from the destination back to an original location of the target picking rack or to a floor location of other high-level racks of the inventory area.

Optionally, the target conveying equipment is further configured to convey the target picking shelf back to the bottom position of other high-level shelves of the inventory area according to the heat value of the target picking shelf, wherein the distance between the bottom position of the other high-level shelves and the workstation is positively correlated with the heat value of the target picking shelf.

Optionally, each layer of the partition of the high-level shelf is provided with a storage position for storing at least one inventory container in the depth direction.

Optionally, the bottom level of the high-level rack places at least one picking rack in the depth direction.

Optionally, a caching mechanism is arranged on the access device, and the caching mechanism is used for caching at least one inventory container.

Optionally, the picking rack comprises at least one upright, and at least one layer is arranged in the vertical direction of the upright, and each layer is provided with a storage position for storing the stock container.

Optionally, the picking rack includes at least two posts disposed on the same side of the at least one ply, and the connection points of the at least two posts to the at least one ply are offset from the ends of the ply by a predetermined distance.

Optionally, the access device comprises a single-extension, double-extension or multi-extension container robot.

Optionally, the handling apparatus comprises a rack handling robot.

Optionally, the access device operates in the inventory area.

Optionally, the inventory region is divided into a plurality of inventory sub-regions;

each access device only operates in one or more specified inventory subareas in the inventory area and performs tasks.

According to a second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, there is provided a storage scheduling system, the system includes a control server, an access device, a handling device, and an inventory area, where the inventory area includes a plurality of high shelves and a plurality of picking shelves, each of the high shelves and the picking shelves includes at least one layer of partition, the at least one layer of partition divides each of the high shelves and the picking shelves into at least two layers, the picking shelves are located at the bottom of the high shelves, and inventory containers containing inventory goods are placed on the high shelves except for the bottom;

the control server is configured to determine, according to an order task, a target high-level shelf where a target inventory receptacle containing order goods is currently located and a target picking shelf where the target inventory receptacle is to be placed at a first time point, determine a target access device for accessing the target inventory receptacle, and send an access instruction to the target access device;

the target access device configured to move to the target elevation shelf in response to the access instruction, retrieve the target inventory container from the target elevation shelf, and place the target inventory container in a storage location of the target picking shelf;

the control server is further configured to determine a target conveying device for conveying the target picking shelf at a second time point, and send a conveying instruction to the target conveying device, wherein the second time point is later than the first time point;

the target handling apparatus is configured to handle the target picking rack with the target inventory receptacle placed thereon to a destination in response to the handling instruction.

According to a third aspect of the embodiments of the present application, there is provided a storage scheduling system, the system includes a control server, an access device, a handling device, an inventory area and a workstation, wherein the inventory area includes a plurality of high shelves and a plurality of picking shelves, each of the high shelves and the picking shelves includes at least one layer of partition, the at least one layer of partition divides each of the high shelves and the picking shelves into at least two layers, the picking shelves are located at the bottom of the high shelves, inventory containers containing inventory goods are placed on the high shelves except for the bottom, and at least part of storage bits in any one of the picking shelves are in an idle state;

the control server is configured to determine, according to an order task, a target high-level shelf on which a target inventory container containing order goods is currently located and a target picking shelf on which the target inventory container is to be placed, determine a target access device for accessing the target inventory container and a target carrying device for carrying the target picking shelf, send an access instruction to the target access device, and send a carrying instruction to the target carrying device;

the target access device configured to move to the target elevation shelf in response to the access instruction, retrieve the target inventory container from the target elevation shelf, and place the target inventory container in a storage location of the target picking shelf in an idle state;

the target handling apparatus configured to, in response to the handling instruction, handle a target picking rack on which the target inventory receptacle is placed to the workstation.

Optionally, some of the storage locations in any one of the picking racks have pre-stored inventory receptacles with a heat value above a predetermined threshold.

According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present application, there is provided a method for scheduling a warehouse, the method including:

the control server determines a target high-level shelf where a target inventory container containing order goods is currently located and a target picking shelf where the target inventory container is to be placed according to an order task, the target picking shelf is provided with a storage position for placing the target inventory container, a target access device for accessing the target inventory container and a target carrying device for carrying the target picking shelf are determined at the same time, an access instruction is sent to the target access device, and a carrying instruction is sent to the target carrying device, wherein the target picking device operates in an inventory area, the inventory area comprises a plurality of high-level shelves and a plurality of picking shelves, the high-level shelves and the picking shelves respectively comprise at least one layer of partition boards, the at least one partition board divides the high-level shelves and the picking shelves into at least two layers, the picking shelves are located at the bottom layer of the high-level shelves, and inventory containers containing inventory goods are placed on the high-level shelves except the bottom layer;

the target access device moving to the target high-level shelf in response to the access instruction, retrieving the target inventory receptacle from the target high-level shelf, and placing the target inventory receptacle in a storage location of the target picking shelf;

the target handling apparatus, in response to the handling instruction, handles the target picking rack with the target inventory container placed thereon to a destination.

The embodiment provides a storage scheduling system, which comprises a control server, an access device, a carrying device and an inventory area, wherein the inventory area comprises a plurality of inventory brackets, at least one of the inventory brackets comprises a high-level shelf and a picking shelf, the high-level shelf comprises at least one layer of partition, the partition divides the high-level shelf into at least two layers, the picking shelf is positioned at the bottom layer of the high-level shelf, and other layers of the high-level shelf except the bottom layer are provided with transportable inventory containers; the control server is configured to determine that a target inventory container determined according to an order task is located on a target high-level shelf, a target picking shelf corresponding to the target high-level shelf is provided with storage positions for placing the target inventory container, determine a target access device for accessing the target inventory container and a target carrying device for carrying the target picking shelf, send an access instruction to the target access device, and send a carrying instruction to the target carrying device; the target access device configured to move to the target elevation shelf, retrieve the target inventory receptacle from the target elevation shelf, and place the target inventory receptacle in the target picking shelf in response to the access instruction; the target handling apparatus configured to handle a target picking rack on which the target inventory receptacle is placed in response to the handling instruction.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic system structure diagram of a warehouse management system according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a front view of an inventory holder provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a side view of an inventory holder provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a warehousing management method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Reference numerals

110-control server, 111-processor, 112-memory, 113-order pool, 114-console, 120-inventory area, 130-inventory holder, 1301-high shelf, 1302-picking shelf, 13021-column, 13022-tier, 140-access device, 150-handling device, 160-workstation.

Detailed Description

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

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

It should be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein in one or more embodiments to describe various information, these information should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one type of information from another. For example, a first aspect may be termed a second aspect, and, similarly, a second aspect may be termed a first aspect, without departing from the scope of one or more embodiments of the present application. The word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at" \8230; "or" when 8230; \8230; "or" in response to a determination ", depending on the context.

In the present application, a warehouse management system and method are provided, which are described in detail in the following examples one by one.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic system structure of a warehouse management system according to an embodiment of the present application, the system includes one or more control servers 110, and an inventory area 120, the inventory area includes a plurality of inventory racks 130, a channel is formed between the plurality of inventory racks, one or more access devices 140 and one or more handling devices 150 operate in the channel, and a plurality of workstations 160 are disposed outside the inventory area.

The control server 110 is connected with the access device 140 and/or the handling device 150 in a wireless communication manner, a worker operates the control server 110 through the operation console 114, the control server 110 is a software system with data storage and information processing capabilities running on the server, and can be connected with the access device 140, the handling device 150, the software system of the workstation 160 and the like in a wireless manner, the control server 110 can include one or more servers, and can be a centralized control architecture or a distributed computing architecture, the control server 110 has a processor 111 and a memory 112, an order pool 113 can be provided in the memory 112, and order information is stored in the order pool 113.

The inventory area 120 may be a dense storage area or a non-dense storage area, a plurality of inventory holders 130 are disposed in the inventory area 120, each inventory shelf 130 includes an elevated shelf 1301 and a picking shelf 1302, each of the elevated shelf 1301 and the picking shelf 1302 includes at least one partition, the at least one partition divides the elevated shelf 1301 and the picking shelf 1302 into at least two layers, the picking shelf 1302 is located at the bottom of the elevated shelf 1301, and inventory containers containing inventory goods are placed on the other layers of the elevated shelf 1301 except the bottom layer. The inventory receptacles may be containers.

Preferably, the inventory area 120 may be further divided into a plurality of inventory sub-areas, such as inventory sub-areas 120-1, 120-2, 120-3, and the like, and the access device 140 operates only in one or more inventory sub-areas specified in the inventory area, so that tasks do not need to be performed in all inventory areas, and the work efficiency of the access device is improved.

Referring to fig. 2, fig. 2 illustrates a front view of the inventory holder 130 provided in an embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 2, the inventory holder 130 includes an elevated rack 1301 and a picking rack 1302, the access device 140 is used for accessing inventory containers in the elevated rack 1301 and the picking rack 1302, and the handling device 1302 is used for handling the picking rack 1302.

Referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 shows a side view of the inventory holder 130 provided in this embodiment of the application, as shown in fig. 3, the picking shelf 1302 is located at the bottom of the high-level shelf 1301, inventory receptacles containing inventory goods are placed on the other layers of the high-level shelf 1301 except the bottom, each layer of partition of the high-level shelf is provided with at least one storage location for storing inventory receptacles in the depth direction, that is, when the inventory area 120 is not densely stored, each layer of partition of the high-level shelf may be provided with one storage location for storing inventory receptacles in the depth direction, and when the inventory area 120 is densely stored, each layer of partition of the high-level shelf may be provided with two or more storage locations in the depth direction, so as to improve the storage efficiency.

Correspondingly, a picking shelf 1302 is arranged at the bottom of the high-level shelf 1301, and at least one picking shelf 1302 can be placed on the bottom of the high-level shelf 1301 along the depth direction, namely when a storage position of an inventory container is arranged on each layer of partition of the high-level shelf along the depth direction, one picking shelf 1302 is also arranged on the bottom of the high-level shelf 1301 along the depth direction; when two or more storage locations for inventory receptacles are provided in the depth direction in each shelf deck of the high-order shelf, two or more picking shelves 1302 are also provided in the depth direction in the bottom deck of the high-order shelf 1301.

The picking rack 1302 comprises at least one upright 13021, at least one layer 13022 is arranged in the vertical direction of the upright 13021, and a storage position for storing stock containers is arranged on each layer 13022. Further, the picking shelf 1302 comprises at least two posts 13021, the at least two posts 13021 are arranged on the same side of the at least one layer 13022, and the connection points of the at least two posts 13021 and the at least one layer 13022 are offset from the ends of the layer 13022 by a predetermined distance, as shown in fig. 3, the connection points of the posts 13021 and the layer 13022 are on the same side of the layer 13022, and the connection points are offset from the ends of the layer 13022 by a predetermined distance.

An access way is formed among the plurality of inventory holders 130 in the inventory area 120, an access device 140 and/or a handling device 150 run in the access way, the access device 140 is used for storing and obtaining inventory containers on the high-level shelves 1301, the handling device 150 is used for handling the picking shelves 1302, specifically, the handling device 150 comprises a shelf handling robot, the access device 140 comprises a single-extension, double-extension or multi-extension container robot, the fork of the single-extension container robot can only extend out once, the goods on one row of shelves can be taken, the fork of the double-extension container robot can extend out in two sections, the first section can take the first row of goods when extending out, the second section can take the second row of goods when extending out, and the fork of the multi-extension container robot can extend out in multiple sections. The specific form of the access device 140 is related to the storage location of the high shelf 1301, if each layer of partition of the high shelf 1301 is provided with a storage location of one inventory container in the depth direction, the access device 140 is a single-extension container robot, if each layer of partition of the high shelf 1301 is provided with storage locations of two inventory containers in the depth direction, the access device 140 is a double-extension container robot, and if each layer of partition of the high shelf 1301 is provided with storage locations of a plurality of inventory containers in the depth direction, the access device 140 is a multi-extension container robot.

The workstation 160 is a goods picking area where items required for order tasks are picked at the workstation 160 from inventory receptacles on the picking shelves 1302 by manual or automated equipment, including automated robotic arms, after the picking shelves 1302 are transported to the workstation 160.

In yet another embodiment provided herein, the control server 110 is configured to determine, according to an order task, a target elevated shelf 1301 on which a target inventory receptacle containing an order item is currently located and a target picking shelf 1302 on which the target inventory receptacle is to be placed, where the target picking shelf 1302 has a storage location for placing the target inventory receptacle, and simultaneously determine a target access device 140 for accessing the target inventory receptacle and a target handling device 150 for handling the target picking shelf, and send an access instruction to the target access device 140 and a handling instruction to the target handling device 150;

the target access device 140, configured to move to the target elevation shelf 1301, remove the target inventory receptacle from the target elevation shelf 1301, and place the target inventory receptacle in a storage location of the target picking shelf 1302, in response to the access instruction;

the target handling apparatus 150 is configured to, in response to the handling instruction, handle the target picking rack 1302 with the target inventory receptacle placed thereon to a destination.

In the first embodiment provided by the present application, the control server 110 determines that the target inventory container hit by the order task is currently located on the target high-level shelf 1301, and determines that the target inventory container is to be placed in the storage location of the target picking shelf 1302, where it should be noted that the target picking shelf 1302 may be located below the target high-level shelf 1301, or below other high-level shelves. The storage locations on the target picking shelves 1302 for storing inventory containers may be all empty or partially empty, and in this case, the target inventory containers may be directly placed on the target picking shelves, and based on this, the control server 110 further determines the target access devices 140 for accessing the target inventory containers and the target conveying devices 150 for conveying the target picking shelves 1302, and transmits access commands to the target access devices 140 and conveying commands to the target conveying devices 150.

After receiving the access command sent by the control server 110, the target access device 140 moves to the target high-level shelf 1301, takes out the target inventory receptacle from the target high-level shelf 1301, and places the target inventory receptacle in an empty storage location of the target picking shelf 1302.

After receiving the transportation instruction sent by the control server 110, the target transportation device 150 moves to the target picking shelf 1302, and when the target storage device 140 places the target inventory receptacle on the target picking shelf 1302, the target picking shelf 1302 is transported to the workstation 160 to execute the corresponding order task.

Accordingly, after the order task is completed at the workstation 160, the target picking rack is also transported back to the inventory area by the target transporting apparatus 150 or other transporting apparatus, and in practical applications, the target picking rack 1302 may be transported back to the original position of the target picking rack from the workstation 160 or may be transported to the bottom position of other high-level racks in the inventory area. When the target picking shelf is transported to the floor position of another high-level shelf in the inventory area, it may be determined at random, and preferably, the floor position of the target picking shelf transported to the other high-level shelf is determined based on the heat value of the target picking shelf, and the distance between the floor position of the other high-level shelf and the work station is positively correlated with the heat value of the target picking shelf, for example, the distance from the work station is closer as the heat value of the target picking shelf is higher, and the distance from the work station is farther as the heat value of the picking shelf is lower.

It should be noted that, in the present application, the hot value of the picking shelf is specifically determined by the hot value of the inventory receptacle in the picking shelf, the hot value of the picking shelf is higher when the hot value of the inventory receptacle is higher, the hot value of the inventory receptacle is the shipment amount or shipment frequency of the goods in the inventory receptacle, the hot value of the inventory receptacle is high when the shipment amount of the goods in the inventory receptacle is large or shipment frequency is high, and if a plurality of SKU goods are placed in the inventory receptacle, the hot value of the inventory receptacle is determined according to the weighted sum of the shipment amounts or shipment frequency of the plurality of SKU goods.

After the target picking shelves are transported back to the inventory area, the target inventory receptacles may also be removed from the target picking shelves by the target access device 140 or other access devices 140 and placed into the target high-level shelf 1301 or other high-level shelves.

In practice, the targeting of a target inventory receptacle by control server 110 according to an order task may be determined based on the heat value of the inventory receptacle, by first setting a base receptacle score for each inventory receptacle, the base receptacle score being determined based on the location of the inventory receptacle on the picking shelf or the overhead shelf, the distance from the workstation, and the lower the location on the overhead shelf, the closer the distance from the workstation, the higher the base receptacle score. When the order task hits an inventory container, a weighted score is given according to the container base score of the inventory container and the contents of the category, the quantity, the sales prediction and the like of the goods in the inventory container, so as to obtain an inventory container score corresponding to each inventory container, and the control server 110 preferentially hits an inventory container with a higher inventory container score according to the order task.

The access equipment and/or the carrying equipment preferentially processes the inventory containers with higher scores, so that the access equipment and/or the carrying equipment can be ensured to adjust fewer inventory containers, the carrying times are reduced, the picking efficiency is improved, and the total cost in a scene is reduced.

In practical applications, the control server is further configured to preferentially determine whether the target inventory container is currently located on a target picking shelf according to the order task, and if so, determine a target handling device for handling the target picking shelf, and send a handling instruction to the target handling device;

the target handling apparatus is configured to handle the target picking rack with the target inventory receptacle placed thereon to a destination in response to the handling instruction.

Specifically, after obtaining the order task, the control server 110 preferentially determines whether the target inventory container is currently located on the target picking shelf 1302 according to the order task, and if the target inventory container is located on the target picking shelf 1302 right now, directly determines the target handling equipment 150 for handling the target picking shelf 1302, and sends a handling instruction to the target handling equipment 150.

After receiving the transportation instruction sent by the control server 110, the target transportation device 150 moves to the target picking shelf 1302, transports the target picking shelf 1302 to the workstation 160, and executes a corresponding order task.

In practical applications, it often happens that the position of the inventory receptacle is adjusted, that is, the control server is further configured to determine the inventory receptacle to be adjusted on any one of the plurality of high shelves or on any one of the plurality of picking shelves, the current position of the inventory receptacle to be adjusted, and the adjusted position, and at the same time determine the access device for adjusting the position, and send an access instruction to the access device;

the access device is further configured to take out the inventory container with the position to be adjusted from the current position and place the inventory container on the adjusted position in response to the access instruction, wherein the adjusted position comprises any one of storage positions on an upper shelf and storage positions on a picking shelf. That is, the picking device can be moved from a first high-level rack to a second high-level rack, or from a high-level rack to a picking rack, or from a picking rack to a high-level rack, or from a first picking rack to a second picking rack.

In practical applications, the inventory receptacles may also be moved from the high shelf to the picking shelf or from the picking shelf to the high shelf according to the actual order task, and the inventory receptacles whose positions need to be adjusted are referred to as inventory receptacles whose positions need to be adjusted at this time, the control server 110 determines the current positions and the adjusted positions of the inventory receptacles whose positions need to be adjusted, and sends an access instruction to the access device 140 for adjusting the positions, and the access device 140 takes the inventory receptacles whose positions need to be adjusted from the current positions and places the inventory receptacles whose positions need to be adjusted at the adjusted positions in response to the access instruction. The adjusted position of the stock container can be used for storing the position on the high-position shelf and also can be used for storing the position on the picking shelf.

Specifically, when the current position of the inventory container is the storage position on the high-order shelf, the adjusted position is the storage position on the picking shelf, that is, the access device 140 takes out the inventory container to be adjusted on the high-order shelf and places the inventory container on the storage position on the picking shelf; when the current position of the inventory receptacle is the storage location on the picking shelf, the adjusted position is the storage location on the high shelf, i.e., the access device 140 takes out the inventory receptacle to be adjusted on the picking shelf and places the inventory receptacle on the storage location on the high shelf.

In practice, the control server is further configured to adjust the location of the inventory receptacles based on the heat value of the inventory receptacles, the higher the heat value of the inventory receptacles, the easier the locations on the picking shelves or the high shelves are to be picked, the lower the location of the inventory receptacle with the higher heat value in the high shelf in the same high shelf, the closer the high shelf where the inventory receptacle with the higher heat value is located in a different high shelf is to the workstation. When the inventory container moves from the first picking shelf to the second picking shelf, the picking shelf with the higher heat value is closer to the workstation; the higher the heat value, the lower the position of inventory receptacles in the same picking rack as they move from the same picking rack.

Example one

In a specific application scenario provided in the first embodiment of the present application, a storage scheduling system is provided, where the system includes a control server, an access device, a handling device, and an inventory area, where the inventory area includes a plurality of high shelves and a plurality of picking shelves, each of the high shelves and the picking shelves includes at least one partition, the at least one partition divides each of the high shelves and the picking shelves into at least two layers, the picking shelves are located at the bottom of the high shelves, and inventory containers containing inventory goods are placed on the high shelves except the bottom;

the control server is configured to determine, according to an order task, a target high-level shelf where a target inventory container containing order goods is currently located and a target picking shelf where the target inventory container is to be placed at a first time point, determine a target access device for accessing the target inventory container, and send an access instruction to the target access device;

the target access device configured to move to the target elevation shelf in response to the access instruction, retrieve the target inventory container from the target elevation shelf, and place the target inventory container in a storage location of the target picking shelf;

the control server is further configured to determine a target conveying device for conveying the target picking shelf at a second time point, and send a conveying instruction to the target conveying device, wherein the second time point is later than the first time point;

the target handling apparatus is configured to handle the target picking rack with the target inventory receptacle placed thereon to a destination in response to the handling instruction.

In the first embodiment, taking the example of processing an order of a certain store, normally, the order of the store arrives at the warehouse in advance, for example, the order arrives at the warehouse on the previous day, which is the first time point, the control server 110 determines the target high-level shelf 1301 where the target inventory container hit by the order is currently located and the target picking shelf 1302 where the target inventory container is to be placed according to the order task, and determines the target access device 140 for accessing the target inventory container, and sends the access instruction to the target access device 140.

Upon receiving the access instruction, the target access device 140 moves to the target high-level shelf 1301, takes out the target inventory receptacle from the target high-level shelf 1301, and places the target inventory receptacle in the storage location of the target picking shelf 1302. At this point, the pick task for the store order is complete.

By the time of starting the picking of the goods on the next day, the control server 110 determines the target conveyance device 150 for conveying the target picking rack on the next day (second time point), and sends a conveyance instruction to the target conveyance device 150.

The target conveyance device 150, upon receiving the conveyance instruction, picks the target picking rack on which the target inventory container is placed to the destination for order picking.

According to the warehouse scheduling system provided by the embodiment, commodities needed by stores can be taken out from the high-level shelves in advance according to order tasks of the stores in the previous day and placed on the picking shelves, and when goods of the orders of the stores are picked in the next day, the picking shelves can be directly conveyed to the workstation for picking, so that the picking work efficiency is improved.

The storage scheduling system that this application embodiment provided deposits stock container in high-order goods shelves, place in selecting goods shelves and select stock container, will carry stock container to selecting goods shelves through access equipment according to the order task, will select goods shelves transport to the workstation by haulage equipment again, the storage efficiency of having guaranteed the inventory area and the efficiency of selecting the task, simultaneously, access equipment and haulage equipment's route do not basically interfere with each other, can not lead to the fact because of the robot interaction and block up, further improve and select efficiency. Meanwhile, the storage and taking equipment runs in the inventory area, and only the carrying equipment carries and selects the goods shelf, so that the cost in the whole storage scheduling system is saved.

Example two

The second embodiment provided by the application provides a warehousing and dispatching system, which comprises a control server, an access device, a handling device, a warehousing area and a workstation, wherein the warehousing area comprises a plurality of high-level shelves and a plurality of picking shelves, each of the high-level shelves and the picking shelves comprises at least one layer of partition, the at least one layer of partition divides the high-level shelves and the picking shelves into at least two layers, the picking shelves are located on the bottom layers of the high-level shelves, inventory containers containing inventory goods are placed on the other layers of the high-level shelves except the bottom layers, and at least part of storage bits in any one of the picking shelves are in an idle state;

the control server is configured to determine, according to an order task, a target high-level shelf on which a target inventory container containing order goods is currently located and a target picking shelf on which the target inventory container is to be placed, determine a target access device for accessing the target inventory container and a target carrying device for carrying the target picking shelf, send an access instruction to the target access device, and send a carrying instruction to the target carrying device;

the target access device configured to move to the target elevation shelf in response to the access instruction, retrieve the target inventory container from the target elevation shelf, and place the target inventory container in a storage location of the target picking shelf in an idle state;

the target handling apparatus configured to, in response to the handling instruction, handle a target picking rack on which the target inventory receptacle is placed to the workstation.

In the warehousing scheduling system provided in the second embodiment of the present application, during the warehousing scheduling, the storage locations of the picking shelves are all in an idle state, and when the control server 110 determines, according to the order task, the target high-level shelf 1301 at which the target inventory receptacle containing the order goods is currently located and the target picking shelf 1302 on which the target inventory receptacle is to be placed. The target access device 140 for accessing the target inventory receptacle and the target conveying device 150 for conveying the target picking rack 1302 are determined at the same time, and an access instruction is sent to the target access device 140 and a conveying instruction is sent to the target conveying device 150.

Upon receiving the access instruction, the target access device 140 moves to the target high-order shelf 1301, takes out the target inventory receptacle from the target high-order shelf 1301, and places the target inventory receptacle in the storage location of the target picking shelf in an idle state.

The target conveying apparatus 150, upon receiving the conveying instruction, conveys the target picking rack 1302 on which the target inventory container is placed to the work station.

Preferably, some storage locations in any one of the picking racks have stored in advance an inventory receptacle having a heat value above a predetermined threshold. The storage containers with the heat value higher than the preset threshold value are placed in part of the storage positions of the picking shelf in advance, so that the time for moving the storage containers from the high-position shelf to the picking shelf by the access equipment is reduced, and the picking efficiency is improved.

EXAMPLE III

The control server 110 is configured to determine that a target inventory container is located on a target high-level shelf 1301 according to an order task, and a target picking shelf 1302 corresponding to the target high-level shelf 1301 does not have a storage position for placing the target inventory container, and simultaneously determine a replacement inventory container on the target picking shelf 1302, a target access device 140 for accessing the target inventory container and the replacement inventory container, and a target handling device 150 for handling the target picking shelf, and send an access instruction to the target access device 140 and a handling instruction to the target handling device 150;

the target access device 140 configured to retrieve the replacement inventory receptacle from the target picking shelf 1302 and place the replacement inventory receptacle in the target picking shelf 1301, retrieve the target inventory receptacle from the target picking shelf 1301 and place the target inventory receptacle at the target picking shelf 1302 in response to the access instruction;

the target handling apparatus 150 is configured to handle a target picking rack 1302 having the target inventory receptacle placed therein in response to the handling instruction.

In the third embodiment provided by the present application, the control server 110 determines that the target inventory receptacle is located on the target high-level shelf 1301 according to the order task, and the target picking shelf 1302 corresponding to the target high-level shelf 1301 does not have a storage location for placing the target inventory receptacle, and at this time, replaces the target inventory receptacle with one inventory receptacle on the target picking shelf, and based on this, determines a replacement inventory receptacle for replacement in the target picking shelf 1302, and determines the target access device 140 and the target conveyance device 150, and sends an access instruction to the target access device 140 and a conveyance instruction to the target conveyance device 150.

The target access device 140 moves to the target high-level shelf in response to the access instruction, and replaces the target inventory container and the replacement inventory container, specifically, the replacement inventory container may be taken out from the target picking shelf 1302 and placed in an idle storage location of the target high-level shelf 1301, and then the target inventory container is taken out from the target high-level shelf 1301 and placed on the target picking shelf 1302; replacement inventory receptacles and/or target inventory receptacles may also be removed and placed on the target access device's caching mechanism, placed on the target picking shelf 1302, and placed on the target high-level shelf 1301.

After receiving the transport instruction sent by the control server 110, the target transport device 150 moves to the bottom of the target picking shelf 1302, and when the target access device 140 places the target inventory receptacle on the target picking shelf 1302, the target picking shelf 1302 is transported to the workstation 160 to execute the corresponding order task.

Upon completion of the order task at the workstation 160, the target picking rack is also transported by the target transport apparatus 150 or other transport apparatus back to the inventory area, and in practice, may be transported back to the floor of the target high-level rack, or to the floor of other high-level racks. In particular, the distance of the target picking rack from the workstation may also be determined based on the heat value of the inventory receptacles on the target picking rack. For example, the higher the heat value of a picking rack, the closer the distance to the workstation; conversely, the lower the heat value of the picking rack, the further away from the workstation.

The warehousing dispatching system provided by the embodiment of the application comprises a control server, access equipment, carrying equipment and an inventory area, wherein the inventory area comprises a plurality of inventory supports, at least one inventory support in the inventory supports comprises a high-level shelf and a picking shelf, the high-level shelf comprises at least one layer of partition, the partition divides the high-level shelf into at least two layers, the picking shelf is positioned at the bottom layer of the high-level shelf, and other layers of the high-level shelf except the bottom layer are provided with transportable inventory containers; the control server is further configured to determine that a target inventory container is located on a target high-level shelf according to an order task, and a target picking shelf corresponding to the target high-level shelf has no storage bit for placing the target inventory container, and determine an inventory replacement container, a target access device for accessing the target inventory container and the inventory replacement container, and a target handling device for handling the target picking shelf on the target picking shelf, and send an access instruction to the target access device and a handling instruction to the target handling device; the target access device configured to retrieve the replacement inventory receptacle from the target picking shelf and place the replacement inventory receptacle in the target picking shelf in response to the access instruction, retrieve the target inventory receptacle from the target picking shelf and place the target inventory receptacle in the target picking shelf; the target handling apparatus configured to handle a target picking rack on which the target inventory receptacle is placed in response to the handling instruction. The warehouse dispatching system that this application embodiment provided deposits stock container in high-order goods shelves, select to select the stock container in selecting the goods shelves, will carry the stock container to selecting the goods shelves through access equipment according to the order task, will select goods shelves transport to the workstation by haulage equipment again, the storage efficiency of having guaranteed the region of stock and the efficiency of selecting the task, and simultaneously, access equipment and haulage equipment's route do not basically interfere with each other, can not lead to the fact because of the robot interaction and block up, further improve and select efficiency. Meanwhile, the storing and taking equipment runs in the inventory area, and only the carrying equipment carries and selects the goods shelf, so that the cost in the whole storage scheduling system is saved.

Example four

A fourth embodiment of the present application provides a method for warehouse scheduling, and referring to fig. 4, fig. 4 shows a schematic flow chart of the method for warehouse scheduling provided in the embodiment of the present application, where the method includes steps 402 to 406:

step 402: the control server determines a target high-level shelf where a target inventory container containing order goods is currently located and a target picking shelf where the target inventory container is to be placed according to an order task, the target picking shelf is provided with a storage position for placing the target inventory container, determines a target access device for accessing the target inventory container and a target carrying device for carrying the target picking shelf, sends an access instruction to the target access device, and sends a carrying instruction to the target carrying device.

The target goods taking equipment runs in an inventory area, the inventory area comprises a plurality of high-level shelves and a plurality of picking shelves, the high-level shelves and the picking shelves respectively comprise at least one layer of partition, the at least one partition divides the high-level shelves and the picking shelves into at least two layers, the picking shelves are located on the bottom layer of the high-level shelves, and inventory containers containing inventory goods are placed on other layers of the high-level shelves except the bottom layer.

Step 404: the target access device moves to the target high-level shelf in response to the access instruction, takes the target inventory receptacle out of the target high-level shelf, and places the target inventory receptacle in a storage location of the target picking shelf.

Step 406: the target handling apparatus, in response to the handling instruction, handles the target picking rack with the target inventory container placed thereon to a destination.

The warehousing scheduling method provided by the embodiment of the application comprises the steps that a control server determines that a target inventory container is located on a target high-level shelf according to an order task, a target picking shelf corresponding to the target high-level shelf is provided with a storage position for placing the target inventory container, a target access device for accessing the target inventory container and a target carrying device for carrying the target picking shelf are determined at the same time, an access instruction is sent to the target access device, and a carrying instruction is sent to the target carrying device, wherein the target picking device operates in an inventory area, the inventory area comprises a plurality of inventory supports, at least one inventory support in the inventory supports comprises a high-level shelf and a picking shelf, the high-level shelf comprises at least one layer of partition, the partition divides the high-level shelf into at least two layers, the picking shelf is located at the bottom layer of the high-level shelf, and other layers except the bottom layer of the high-level shelf are provided with transportable inventory containers; the target access device moving to the target high-level shelf in response to the access instruction, retrieving the target inventory receptacle from the target high-level shelf, and placing the target inventory receptacle in the target picking shelf; the target handling apparatus, in response to the handling instruction, handles the target picking rack on which the target inventory receptacle is placed. According to the storage scheduling method, the inventory containers are stored in the high-order goods shelves, the sorting inventory containers are placed in the sorting goods shelves, the inventory containers are conveyed to the sorting goods shelves through the storage and taking equipment according to the order tasks, the sorting goods shelves are conveyed to the workstation through the conveying equipment, the storage efficiency of the inventory area and the sorting efficiency of the sorting tasks are guaranteed, meanwhile, the paths of the storage and taking equipment and the conveying equipment are basically not interfered with each other, congestion caused by robot interaction is avoided, and the sorting efficiency is further improved. Meanwhile, the storage and taking equipment runs in the inventory area, and only the carrying equipment carries and selects the goods shelf, so that the cost in the whole storage scheduling system is saved.

The foregoing description has been directed to specific embodiments of this application. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In some cases, the actions or steps recited in the claims can be performed in a different order than in the embodiments and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In some embodiments, multitasking and parallel processing may also be possible or may be advantageous.

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

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

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

Claims (10)

1. A storage scheduling system is characterized by comprising a control server, an access device, a carrying device and an inventory area, wherein the inventory area comprises a plurality of high-level shelves and a plurality of picking shelves, each of the high-level shelves and the picking shelves comprises at least one layer of partition, the at least one layer of partition divides each of the high-level shelves and the picking shelves into at least two layers, the picking shelves are positioned at the bottom layers of the high-level shelves, and inventory containers containing inventory goods are placed on the high-level shelves except the bottom layers;

the control server is configured to determine, according to an order task, a target high-level shelf on which a target inventory container containing order goods is currently located and a target picking shelf on which the target inventory container is to be placed, the target picking shelf having a storage location for placing the target inventory container, determine a target access device for accessing the target inventory container and a target handling device for handling the target picking shelf, send an access instruction to the target access device, and send a handling instruction to the target handling device;

the target access device configured to move to the target elevation shelf in response to the access instruction, retrieve the target inventory container from the target elevation shelf, and place the target inventory container in a storage location of the target picking shelf;

the target handling apparatus configured to, in response to the handling instruction, handle a target picking rack with the target inventory receptacle placed therein to a destination.

2. The warehouse scheduling system of claim 1, wherein the control server is further configured to preferentially determine from the order tasks whether the target inventory container is currently located on a target picking rack, and if so, determine a target handling apparatus for handling the target picking rack and send a handling instruction to the target handling apparatus;

the target handling apparatus is configured to handle the target picking rack with the target inventory receptacle placed thereon to a destination in response to the handling instruction.

3. The warehouse scheduling system of claim 1, wherein the control server is further configured to determine a to-be-adjusted inventory receptacle on any one of the plurality of high shelves or on any one of the plurality of picking shelves, a current location of the to-be-adjusted inventory receptacle, and an adjusted location, and to determine an access device for adjusting the location and send an access instruction to the access device;

the access device is configured to take out the inventory container with the position to be adjusted from the current position and place the inventory container with the position to be adjusted on the adjusted position in response to the access instruction, wherein the adjusted position comprises any one of storage positions on an upper shelf and storage positions on a picking shelf.

4. The warehouse scheduling system of claim 3, wherein the current location of the inventory receptacles is a storage location on a high-level shelf, and the adjusted location is a storage location on a picking shelf; or the current position of the stock container is a storage position on the picking shelf, and the adjusted position is a storage position on the high-level shelf.

5. The warehouse scheduling system of claim 3 or 4, wherein the control server is further configured to adjust the location of the inventory receptacles based on a heat value of the inventory receptacles.

6. The warehouse scheduling system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the target handling apparatus is further configured to carry the target picking rack from the destination back to an original location of the target picking rack or to an underlying location of another high-level rack of the inventory area.

7. A storage scheduling system is characterized by comprising a control server, an access device, a carrying device and an inventory area, wherein the inventory area comprises a plurality of high-level shelves and a plurality of picking shelves, each of the high-level shelves and the picking shelves comprises at least one layer of partition, the at least one layer of partition divides each of the high-level shelves and the picking shelves into at least two layers, the picking shelves are positioned at the bottom layers of the high-level shelves, and inventory containers containing inventory goods are placed on the high-level shelves except the bottom layers;

the control server is configured to determine, according to an order task, a target high-level shelf where a target inventory receptacle containing order goods is currently located and a target picking shelf where the target inventory receptacle is to be placed at a first time point, determine a target access device for accessing the target inventory receptacle, and send an access instruction to the target access device;

the target access device configured to move to the target elevation shelf in response to the access instruction, retrieve the target inventory container from the target elevation shelf, and place the target inventory container in a storage location of the target picking shelf;

the control server is further configured to determine a target conveying device for conveying the target picking shelf at a second time point, and send a conveying instruction to the target conveying device, wherein the second time point is later than the first time point;

the target handling apparatus configured to, in response to the handling instruction, handle a target picking rack with the target inventory receptacle placed therein to a destination.

8. A storage scheduling system is characterized by comprising a control server, an access device, a carrying device, an inventory area and a workstation, wherein the inventory area comprises a plurality of high-level shelves and a plurality of picking shelves, each of the high-level shelves and the picking shelves comprises at least one layer of partition, the at least one layer of partition divides the high-level shelves and the picking shelves into at least two layers, the picking shelves are positioned at the bottom layers of the high-level shelves, inventory containers containing inventory goods are placed on the other layers of the high-level shelves except the bottom layers, and at least part of storage positions in any one picking shelf are in an idle state;

the control server is configured to determine, according to an order task, a target high-level shelf where a target inventory container containing order goods is currently located and a target picking shelf where the target inventory container is to be placed, determine a target access device for accessing the target inventory container and a target carrying device for carrying the target picking shelf, send an access instruction to the target access device, and send a carrying instruction to the target carrying device;

the target access device configured to move to the target elevation shelf in response to the access instruction, retrieve the target inventory container from the target elevation shelf, and place the target inventory container in a storage location of the target picking shelf in an idle state;

the target handling apparatus configured to, in response to the handling instruction, handle a target picking rack with the target inventory receptacle placed therein to the workstation.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein a portion of the storage locations in any one of the picking racks has pre-stored inventory receptacles having a heat value above a predetermined threshold.

10. A method for warehousing scheduling, the method comprising:

the control server determines a target high-level shelf where a target inventory container containing order goods is currently located and a target picking shelf where the target inventory container is to be placed according to an order task, the target picking shelf is provided with a storage position for placing the target inventory container, a target access device for accessing the target inventory container and a target carrying device for carrying the target picking shelf are determined, an access instruction is sent to the target access device, and a carrying instruction is sent to the target carrying device, wherein the target picking device operates in an inventory area, the inventory area comprises a plurality of high-level shelves and a plurality of picking shelves, the high-level shelves and the picking shelves respectively comprise at least one layer of partition, the at least one partition divides the high-level shelves and the picking shelves into at least two layers, the picking shelves are located at the bottom layer of the high-level shelves, and inventory containers containing inventory goods are placed on the high-level shelves except the bottom layer;

the target access device moving to the target high-level shelf in response to the access instruction, retrieving the target inventory receptacle from the target high-level shelf, and placing the target inventory receptacle in a storage location of the target picking shelf;

the target handling apparatus, in response to the handling instruction, handles the target picking rack with the target inventory container placed thereon to a destination.

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