CN117563951A

CN117563951A - Goods sorting method, sorting machine and sorting system

Info

Publication number: CN117563951A
Application number: CN202311464757.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 梁东
Original assignee: Beijing Jizhijia Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Jizhijia Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2023-11-06
Filing date: 2023-11-06
Publication date: 2024-02-20

Abstract

The application relates to the field of warehouse logistics and discloses a cargo sorting method, a sorting machine and a sorting system; the sorting method comprises the following steps: acquiring a first sorting task, and determining a first cache device corresponding to the first sorting task from a plurality of cache devices; controlling the first buffer device to move to a delivery position, and receiving first cargoes corresponding to a first sorting task delivered by a sorting object at the delivery position; after the first buffer device receives the first goods, controlling the first buffer device to move from the delivery position to the first position, and controlling the second buffer device to move to the delivery position, so that the second buffer device receives the second goods corresponding to the second sorting task delivered by the sorting object at the delivery position; the delivery mechanism is controlled to be in butt joint with the first buffer device so as to receive the first goods delivered by the first buffer device and deliver the first goods to the turnover container corresponding to the first sorting task. By applying the cargo sorting method provided by the embodiment of the application, the cargo sorting efficiency can be improved.

Description

Goods sorting method, sorting machine and sorting system

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of warehouse logistics, in particular to a cargo sorting method, a sorting machine and a sorting system.

Background

In the warehouse system, the three-dimensional sorting machine and the sorting robot can finish sorting cargoes through mutual cooperation. Typically, the sorting robot (or sorters) may deliver the goods on the delivery side of the sorter to a delivery mechanism of the sorter, which delivers the goods to a turnover bin located on both sides of the sorter to complete sorting of the goods.

In general, sorting robots have a problem of waiting each other when cooperating with a sorting machine. For example, the sorting robot needs to wait for the delivery mechanism to reset and be ready to deliver the goods next time, so that the time for delivering the goods by the sorting robot is increased, and the goods sorting efficiency is reduced.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the problems, embodiments of the present application provide a cargo sorting method, a sorting machine, and a sorting system. Specifically, the embodiment of the application discloses the following technical scheme:

a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a method for sorting goods, the method being applied to a sorting system; the sorting system comprises a caching mechanism and a delivery mechanism; the caching mechanism comprises a plurality of caching devices, and each caching device in the plurality of caching devices is used for caching goods delivered by the sorting objects. The cargo sorting method comprises the following steps: and acquiring a first sorting task, and determining a first buffer device corresponding to the first sorting task from the plurality of buffer devices. And controlling the first buffer device to move to the delivery position, and receiving the first goods corresponding to the first sorting task delivered by the sorting object at the delivery position. After the first buffer device receives the first goods, controlling the first buffer device to move from the delivery position to the first position, and controlling the second buffer device to move to the delivery position, so that the second buffer device receives the second goods corresponding to the second sorting task delivered by the sorting object at the delivery position; the second buffer device is a buffer device corresponding to the second sorting task, and the second buffer device is different from the first buffer device. The delivery mechanism is controlled to be in butt joint with the first buffer device so as to receive the first goods delivered by the first buffer device and deliver the first goods to the turnover container corresponding to the first sorting task.

In some embodiments, controlling the delivery mechanism to interface with the first caching device to receive the first cargo delivered by the first caching device includes: according to the current position of the first caching device, controlling the delivery mechanism to move to a target stop position corresponding to the current position, and receiving the first goods delivered by the first caching device at the target stop position; wherein the current location comprises a first location.

In some embodiments, determining a first buffer device corresponding to a first sorting task in a plurality of buffer devices includes: acquiring state information of each cache device; the status information is used for indicating whether goods are placed or not placed on the caching device. And determining a first cache device corresponding to the first sorting task in the plurality of cache devices according to the state information of each cache device.

In some embodiments, determining, in the plurality of cache devices, a first cache device corresponding to the first sorting task according to the status information of each cache device includes: according to the state information of each cache device, if the cache devices are determined to have one cache device without goods, determining the cache device without goods as a first cache device; if the plurality of buffer devices are determined to have at least two buffer devices without goods, determining a first buffer device in the at least two buffer devices without goods.

In some embodiments, determining a first cache device among at least two cache devices not having cargo placed therein includes: randomly determining one buffer device without goods as a first buffer device in at least two buffer devices without goods; or determining the first buffer device in the at least two buffer devices without goods according to the priority information of the at least two buffer devices without goods.

In some embodiments, at an initial time, a spacing between any two adjacent ones of the plurality of cache devices is the initial spacing. In the moving process of the first buffer device, the interval between any two adjacent buffer devices is kept unchanged; or, in the moving process of the first buffer device, the distance between at least two adjacent buffer devices changes.

In some embodiments, controlling the first caching device to move to the delivery location includes: determining the size of the first cargo according to the first sorting task; if a third buffer device positioned above the first buffer device adjacently exists in the plurality of buffer devices, and the size of the first goods is larger than the initial interval between the third buffer device and the first buffer device, the third buffer device is controlled to move to a second position, so that the first interval between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is larger than the size of the first goods. Controlling the first buffer device and the third buffer device to move simultaneously so as to move the first buffer device to a delivery position; wherein, in the process that first buffer gear and third buffer gear removed, the first interval between third buffer gear and the first buffer gear keeps unchanged.

In some embodiments, controlling the first caching device to move to the delivery location includes: determining the size of the first cargo according to the first sorting task; if a third buffer device positioned above the first buffer device adjacently exists in the plurality of buffer devices, and the size of the first goods is larger than the initial interval between the third buffer device and the first buffer device, the first buffer device is controlled to move to the delivery position, and the third buffer device is controlled to move to a third position, so that the second interval between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is larger than the size of the first goods; and in the process of moving the first buffer device and the third buffer device, the interval between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is changed from the initial interval to the second interval.

In some embodiments, according to the current position of the first buffer device, controlling the delivery mechanism to move to a target stop position corresponding to the current position includes: determining a target parking position corresponding to the current position according to the current position and a preset corresponding relation; the preset corresponding relation comprises a plurality of positions and preset stopping positions corresponding to the positions. Controlling the delivery mechanism to move to the target parking position.

In some embodiments, determining the target dock corresponding to the current position according to the current position and the preset correspondence includes: under the condition that the plurality of positions comprise the current position, determining a preset parking position corresponding to the current position as a target parking position according to a preset corresponding relation; and under the condition that the plurality of positions do not comprise the current position, calculating a target parking position corresponding to the current position according to the current position.

In some embodiments, the plurality of cache means comprises three cache means and the preset dock comprises five docks.

In some embodiments, the method of sorting goods further comprises: when the first buffer device moves to the delivery position, a ready instruction is sent to the sorting system, so that the sorting system sends a delivery instruction to a sorting object based on the ready instruction; the delivery instruction is used for indicating the sorting object to deliver the first goods to the first caching device.

A second aspect of embodiments of the present application provides a sorter comprising a caching mechanism and a delivery mechanism; the caching mechanism comprises a plurality of caching devices, wherein each caching device in the plurality of caching devices is configured to cache goods delivered by the sorting objects; the plurality of cache devices comprise a first cache device and a second cache device, wherein the first cache device is a cache device corresponding to a first sorting task, and the second cache device is a cache device corresponding to a second sorting task. The first caching device is configured to move to a delivery position, and receives first cargoes corresponding to a first sorting task delivered by a sorting object at the delivery position; and after receiving the first cargo, moves to the first position. And the second caching device is configured to move to the delivery position after the first caching device receives the first goods so as to receive the second goods corresponding to the second sorting task delivered by the sorting object at the delivery position. And the delivery mechanism is configured to be in butt joint with the first buffer device so as to receive the first goods delivered by the first buffer device and deliver the first goods to the turnover container corresponding to the first sorting task.

A third aspect of the present application provides a sorting system including a sorter, a sorting robot, and a control device. The sorting machine comprises a caching mechanism and a delivery mechanism; the caching mechanism comprises a plurality of caching devices; each of the plurality of caching devices is configured to cache goods delivered by the sorting robot. The control device is configured to send the first sorting task and the second sorting task to the sorting machine. The sorting machine is configured to acquire a first sorting task and a second sorting task, determine a first buffer device for the first sorting task in the plurality of buffer devices according to the first sorting task and the second sorting task, and determine a second buffer device for the second sorting task; controlling the first buffer device to move to a delivery position so as to receive first cargoes corresponding to a first sorting task delivered by the sorting robot at the delivery position; and sending a ready instruction to the control device when the first buffer device moves to the delivery position. And the control device is configured to send a delivery instruction to the sorting robot according to the ready instruction. The sorting robot is configured to: and acquiring a delivery instruction, and delivering the first goods to a first cache device in the plurality of cache devices according to the delivery instruction. The sorter is configured to: after the first buffer device receives the first goods, controlling the first buffer device to move from the delivery position to the first position; controlling the second buffer device to move to the delivery position so that the second buffer device receives second cargoes corresponding to a second sorting task delivered by the sorting robot at the delivery position; the delivery mechanism is controlled to be in butt joint with the first buffer device so as to receive the first goods delivered by the first buffer device and deliver the first goods to the turnover container corresponding to the first sorting task.

A fourth aspect of the present application provides an electronic device, including: a processor and a memory for storing computer-executable instructions; the processor is configured to read the instruction from the memory and execute the instruction to implement the cargo sorting method according to the first aspect.

A fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer program instructions that, when read by a computer, perform the method of sorting goods according to the first aspect.

A sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a computer program product comprising a computer program stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, the computer program comprising program instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of sorting goods according to the first aspect described above.

According to the cargo sorting method, the sorting machine and the sorting system, the buffer storage mechanism is added in the sorting machine, the buffer storage mechanism comprises a plurality of buffer storage devices, and each buffer storage device can receive and buffer cargoes delivered by a sorting object and deliver the cargoes to the delivery mechanism. Moving the first buffer device to a delivery position to receive the first goods delivered by the sorting object, and after receiving the first goods, moving the first buffer device to the current position to deliver the first goods to a delivery mechanism; the second buffer device can be moved to the delivery position while the first buffer device leaves the delivery position, so that the second buffer device can continuously receive the next delivery of the sorting object at the delivery position. Therefore, the goods sorting method provided by the embodiment of the application can ensure that the delivery position of the sorting machine can continuously exist the buffer device for receiving delivery of the sorting objects, so that the problem that the sorting robot can deliver after reaching the delivery position and waiting for resetting of the delivery mechanism can be avoided, the waiting time of the sorting robot is shortened, and the goods sorting efficiency is improved.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings that are needed in the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and that other drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a collaboration scenario between a sorting machine and a sorting robot provided in some embodiments of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic view of a sorting machine according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of another sorter provided in some embodiments of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic view of yet another sorter provided in some embodiments of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic view of yet another sorter provided in some embodiments of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a sorting system provided in some embodiments of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a method for sorting goods according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of another method of sorting goods provided in some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of yet another method of sorting goods provided in some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of yet another method of sorting goods provided in some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of yet another method of sorting goods provided in some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 12A is a schematic illustration of yet another method of sorting cargos provided in some embodiments of the present application;

fig. 12B is a schematic diagram of a cargo sorting scenario provided in some embodiments of the present application;

fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device provided in some embodiments of the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to better understand the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application and make the above objects, features and advantages of the embodiments of the present application more obvious, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application is described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a collaboration scenario between a sorting machine and a sorting robot provided in some embodiments of the present application. As shown in fig. 1, when the sorting machine 10 performs a sorting operation of the goods in cooperation with the sorting robot 20, the sorting robot 20 may carry the goods 21 to be delivered to a delivery position on one side of the sorting machine 10 and deliver the goods 21 to a delivery mechanism 11 of the sorting machine 10; the received goods 21 are then delivered by the delivery means 11 to the transfer containers on both sides of the sorting machine, whereby sorting of the goods 21 is completed.

In some examples, the sorting robot 20 may receive the goods 21 from the workstation and carry the goods 21 to the delivery location of the sorter 10 for delivery. For example, sorting robot 20 may be a flap robot, a liftable tray robot, or other type of robot. The embodiment of the present application is not limited to the specific form of the sorting robot 20.

In some examples, the sorter 10 may also be manually sorted by a sorter. I.e. the sorting personnel directly delivers the goods to the delivery means 11 and the delivery means 11 delivers the received goods to the corresponding transfer container. The embodiments of the present application are not limited in this regard. The following embodiments are schematically illustrated with the sorting robot 20 performing delivery of goods as an example.

In some examples, sorter 10 may also be referred to as a stereoscopic sorter. The two sides of the sorting machine 10 may be respectively provided with a shelf or a sowing wall, or one side of the sorting machine 10 may be provided with a shelf or a sowing wall, and a plurality of turnover containers are arranged on the shelf or the sowing wall, and the type of the carrier for carrying the turnover containers is not limited in the embodiments of the present application, and the following embodiments are exemplified by the placement of the turnover containers on the shelf.

For example, a plurality of totes (which may also be referred to as totes) may be placed on the racks, each tote being for receiving goods delivered by the delivery mechanism 11 of the sorter 10. For example, rows may be provided on the shelves in a horizontal direction and/or columns may be provided in a vertical direction; alternatively, a single row and/or column of the turnover containers may be provided on the shelf, and the specific placement form of the turnover containers on the shelf in the embodiments of the present application is not limited.

In some examples, the epicyclic container may be in the form of a bin, carton, basket or the like. For example, a sort job may correspond to a delivery item corresponding to a tote.

In some examples, when the sorting robot 20 reaches the delivery location of the sorting machine 10, and the delivery mechanism 11 also reaches the delivery location, the sorting robot 20 may deliver the goods 21 placed thereon to be delivered onto the delivery mechanism 11; the delivery mechanism 11 moves from the delivery position to the position of the corresponding transfer container of the goods 21, delivering the goods 21 into the transfer container. After completing the delivery of the one-time good, the delivery mechanism 11 needs to return to the delivery position again and continue to receive the next delivery of the sorting robot 20 (e.g., another sorting robot).

In some examples, when the number of sorting robots 20 to be delivered is large, for example, when a plurality of sorting robots 20 are in line near the delivery location to wait for delivery, after the first sorting robot completes delivery, and the second sorting robot reaches the delivery location, if the delivery mechanism 11 has not completed the first delivery, i.e., the delivery mechanism 11 has not returned to the delivery location (also referred to as reset), the second sorting robot needs to wait for the delivery mechanism 11 at the delivery location until the delivery mechanism 11 returns to the delivery location before delivery of the goods can be performed. The sorting robot 20 waits for the delivery mechanism 11 to reset to deliver, so that the time for sorting cargoes is increased, and the efficiency of sorting cargoes is reduced.

In order to solve the above problems, embodiments of the present application provide a cargo sorting method, a sorting machine, and a sorting system, where a buffer mechanism is newly added in the sorting machine, where the buffer mechanism includes a plurality of buffer devices, each buffer device is used to buffer a cargo delivered by a sorting object, and deliver the cargo to a delivery mechanism, and then deliver the cargo to a turnover container by the delivery mechanism. That is, by setting the buffer mechanism, the sorting robot can deliver the cargoes to each buffer device when reaching the delivery position without waiting for the reset of the delivery mechanism, thus reducing the waiting time of the sorting robot and improving the efficiency of cargoes sorting.

In some embodiments, embodiments of the present application provide a sorting system including a sorting robot and a sorting machine; the sorting machine comprises a caching mechanism and a delivery mechanism.

In other embodiments, the sorting system may also include a sorting robot, a sorter, and a buffer mechanism; wherein the sorter comprises a delivery mechanism.

That is, the buffer mechanism may be provided inside the sorter or may be provided outside the sorter. For example, when the buffer mechanism is disposed inside the sorting machine, the buffer mechanism may be disposed between the position where the sorting robot delivers the goods space and the position of the delivery mechanism; when the buffer mechanism is provided outside the sorting machine, the buffer mechanism may be provided in a position adjacent to the sorting machine. The specific setting position of the buffer mechanism is not limited in the embodiment of the application.

In some examples, the caching mechanism is configured to receive the goods delivered by the sorting robot and deliver the goods to the delivery mechanism and then to the corresponding tote by the delivery mechanism.

It should be noted that, when the buffer mechanism is disposed outside the sorting machine and the buffer mechanism is disposed inside the sorting machine, the processes of realizing the delivery of the goods space by cooperation among the sorting robot, the buffer mechanism and the delivery mechanism are similar, and therefore, the following embodiments are schematically illustrated by taking the buffer mechanism disposed inside the sorting machine as an example.

The sorting machine provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of a sorting machine according to some embodiments of the present application. As shown in fig. 2, the sorting machine 10 comprises a delivery mechanism 11, at least one guiding mechanism 12, a buffer mechanism 13 and a control mechanism (not shown in fig. 2).

In some embodiments, the buffer mechanism 13 may include a plurality of buffer devices 131, where each buffer device in the plurality of buffer devices 131 is configured to buffer goods delivered by the sorting object.

In some embodiments, the sort objects may include a sort robot 20 and a sort personnel.

In some examples, the sorting object may also be a conveyor line, i.e. a conveyor line through which goods are conveyed to the delivery mechanism 11.

It should be noted that, in the related art, no matter the sorting object is the sorting robot 20, the sorting personnel or the conveying line, the sorting object needs to be delivered next time under the condition that the delivery mechanism is reset, so that the efficiency of sorting cargoes is reduced. The following embodiment is schematically illustrated taking a sorting object as an example of the sorting robot 20.

In some embodiments, the buffer mechanism 13 further includes a lifting device 132. The plurality of buffer devices 131 are respectively disposed to the lifting device 132, and each buffer device can move up and down through the lifting device 132. For example, as shown in fig. 2, the plurality of buffering means 131 may be moved in the Y direction.

In some embodiments, the caching mechanism 13 further includes an operation device 133. The operation device 133 is coupled to each buffer device, and the operation device 133 is used for driving each buffer device 131 to move up and down along the lifting device 132 and/or driving each buffer device 131 to deliver the goods thereon to the delivery mechanism 11.

In some examples, the operation device 133 for driving each buffer device 131 to move up and down along the lifting device 132 and the operation device 133 for driving each buffer device 131 to deliver the goods thereon to the delivery mechanism 11 may be the same operation device or different operation devices.

In some examples, the number of running gear 133 in the caching mechanism 13 may be the same as the number of caching gear 131. For example, each buffer device 131 is provided with an operation device 133, and each operation device 133 can control the corresponding buffer device 131 to move up and down along the lifting device 132, or deliver the goods placed thereon to the delivery mechanism 11.

In some embodiments, the buffer 131 may include a flap device or a conveyor line.

For example, when the buffer 131 is a flap device (hereinafter also referred to as a flap), the flap may be turned over by the user to transfer the goods placed thereon to the delivery mechanism 11; when the buffer 131 is a conveyor line, the conveyor line can be moved in the direction of the delivery mechanism to transfer the goods placed thereon to the delivery mechanism 11. The specific structure of the buffer device 131 is not limited in this embodiment, and the following embodiments will schematically illustrate the buffer device as a flap.

In some examples, the buffer mechanism 13 is used to enable transfer of goods between the sorting robot 20 and the delivery mechanism 11. For example, the sorting robot 20 may deliver the goods to the caching device 131, and then the caching device 131 delivers the goods to the delivery mechanism 11.

Illustratively, the sorting robot 20 may be a liftable robot. For example, when goods are placed on the sorting robot 20, the sorting robot 20 may deliver the goods to the caching device 131 by making an adjustment of the height in the vertical direction. By the liftable function of the sorting robot 20, the delivery position can be flexibly adjusted, thereby making the delivery process more flexible.

Illustratively, the location where the sorting robot 20 interfaces with the sorting machine 10 (i.e., the caching device 131) may be referred to as a delivery location. That is, the sorting robot 20 may deliver the goods to the caching device 131 at the delivery location.

In some examples, the location and number of delivery locations may be set as desired. For example, one delivery site may be set, or a plurality of delivery sites may be set. The height of the delivery location may be determined based on the height of the sorting robot 20 (i.e., sorting object). The comparison of the examples is not limited.

Illustratively, the location where the caching device 131 interfaces with the delivery mechanism 11 may be referred to as a dock. That is, the buffer device 131 is moved to the current position by the lifting device 132, and the delivery mechanism 11 is also moved to the stop position corresponding to the current position of the buffer device 121 to deliver the goods to the delivery mechanism 11.

In some embodiments, the sorting machine 10 further comprises at least one guiding mechanism 12, the delivery mechanism 11 being arranged to the guiding mechanism 12, the delivery mechanism 11 being movable laterally and/or vertically by the guiding mechanism 12 to a resting position and/or to a position of the turnover container 31 corresponding to the goods.

For example, as shown in fig. 2, the delivery mechanism 11 may be moved in the X-direction, the Y-direction, or the X-direction by the guide mechanism 12 to move to a parking position, or to a position of a turnover container corresponding to the goods.

In some embodiments, the plurality of caching devices 131 may include a first caching device configured to move to a delivery location where a first good corresponding to a first sort job delivered by a sort object is received; and after receiving the first cargo, moving to a first position; the second caching device is configured to move to the delivery position after the first caching device receives the first goods, so as to receive the second goods corresponding to the second sorting task delivered by the sorting object at the delivery position.

In some examples, after one buffer device (e.g., a first buffer device) receives a first item, the first buffer device may be moved (e.g., to a first location) from the delivery location and another free buffer device (e.g., a second buffer device) may be moved further to the delivery location to receive a second item at the delivery location for delivery by a next sorting robot. Therefore, waiting time of the sorting robot at the delivery position can be reduced, and sorting efficiency of cargoes is improved.

It should be noted that, the following embodiments may be schematically illustrated by taking an example in which a plurality of buffer devices includes 3 buffer devices (as shown in fig. 2). It should be noted that the plurality of buffering devices 131 may further include a greater number of buffering devices, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of another sorter provided in some embodiments of the present application. For example, the plurality of cache devices 131 includes cache device a, cache device B, and cache device C. The first buffer device is a buffer device B, and the second buffer device is a buffer device A.

As shown in fig. 3 (a), the buffer device B is located at the delivery location, and after the buffer device B receives the goods delivered by the sorting robot 20, the position of each buffer device may be adjusted, the buffer device B is moved out of the delivery location, and the buffer device a is moved to the delivery location. As shown in fig. 3 (B), the buffer a, the buffer B, and the buffer C may be moved downward to reach the delivery position, and the buffer B may be brought to the position 2, and the buffer C may be moved from the original position 2 to the position 1.

In some examples, the spacing between any two adjacent caching devices 131 in the plurality of caching devices 131 may be set as desired. For example, the interval between the buffer a and the buffer B may be the same as or different from the interval between the buffer B and the buffer C.

In some embodiments, at an initial time, a distance between any two adjacent cache devices 131 in the plurality of cache devices 131 is an initial distance; during the movement of the first buffer device, the interval between any two adjacent buffer devices 131 is kept unchanged; alternatively, the distance between at least two adjacent buffer devices 131 changes during the movement of the first buffer device.

Illustratively, each buffer device 131 may be moved up or down simultaneously by the lifting device 132. When each buffer device 131 moves up or down simultaneously, the interval between any two adjacent buffer devices 131 in the plurality of buffer devices is unchanged.

Referring to fig. 3 (a) and 3 (B), while the buffer device B is moved from the position 3 (i.e., the position corresponding to the delivery position) to the position 2 (i.e., the first position) by the lifting device 132, the buffer device a and the buffer device C are also moved by the lifting device 132, respectively, and when the buffer device B reaches the position 2, the buffer device a is moved from the position 4 to the position 3, and the buffer device C is moved from the position 2 to the position 1. In addition, in the process of moving the buffer device A, the buffer device B and the buffer device simultaneously, the intervals between the buffer device A and the buffer device B and between the buffer device B and the buffer device C are kept unchanged.

Illustratively, each buffer device 131 may also be independently movable by the lifting device 132. For example, when each of the buffer units 131 moves independently, the interval between adjacent two buffer units 131 may be changed during the movement.

In some examples, if the size of the goods to be delivered placed on the sorting robot 20 is large and is larger than the distance between two adjacent buffer devices, the distance between two adjacent buffer devices may be adjusted by moving one buffer device independently.

The adjustment process of the interval between the adjacent two buffer devices is described below with reference to fig. 4 and 5.

Fig. 4 is a schematic view of yet another sorter provided in some embodiments of the present application.

When the sorting robot 20 needs to deliver the goods to the buffer B as shown in (a) of fig. 4, if the size of the goods (e.g., the height of the goods) is greater than the distance between the buffer B and the buffer a, the buffer a may be moved independently first, and moved upward to move from the position 3 to the position 4 as shown in (B) of fig. 4; when the buffer a reaches the position 4, the interval between the buffer a and the buffer B increases and is larger than the size of the cargo. In this case, as shown in fig. 4 (C), each buffer device may be moved simultaneously to move buffer device B from position 2 to position 3 (i.e., the position corresponding to the delivery position), and at the same time, buffer device a and buffer device C are also moved to positions 2 and 5, respectively. In the process of simultaneous movement, the distance between two adjacent buffer devices is kept unchanged. Therefore, when the buffer device B reaches the delivery position, the distance between the buffer device B and the buffer device a is enough to place the goods delivered by the sorting robot 20, and the sorting robot 20 can deliver the goods to the buffer device B.

That is, when the size of the goods to be delivered placed on the sorting robot 20 is larger than the distance between two adjacent buffer devices, the distance between two adjacent buffer devices can be increased by moving the memory devices independently, and then moving the buffer devices simultaneously, so that the buffer devices corresponding to the goods reach the delivery location.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view of yet another sorter provided in some embodiments of the present application.

When the sorting robot 20 needs to deliver the goods to the buffer device B as shown in fig. 5 (a), if the size of the goods (e.g., the height of the goods) is larger than the distance between the buffer device B and the buffer device a, as shown in fig. 5 (B), each buffer device is moved simultaneously to move the buffer device B from the position 2 to the position 3 (i.e., the position corresponding to the delivery position), and simultaneously, the buffer device a and the buffer device C are also moved to the positions 4 and 2, respectively. In this process, the space between the buffer device B and the buffer device a is unchanged and thus still smaller than the size of the cargo, so that the buffer device a can be moved from the position 4 to the position 5 by continuing to move the buffer device a alone as shown in (c) of fig. 5; when the buffer a reaches the position 5, the distance between the buffer a and the buffer B is larger than the size of the cargo. Accordingly, the sorting robot 20 can deliver the goods to the caching device B.

That is, when the size of the goods to be delivered placed on the sorting robot 20 is larger than the distance between two adjacent buffer devices, the buffer devices may be moved simultaneously so that the buffer device corresponding to the goods reaches the delivery location, and then the buffer devices adjacent to the buffer devices are moved separately so that the distance between the two adjacent buffer devices is larger than the size of the goods.

In some examples, the speed at which buffer a and buffer B move via elevator 132 may be the same or different during adjustment of the spacing between buffer a and buffer B. The embodiments of the present application are not limited in this regard.

For example, when the moving speeds of the buffer a and the buffer B are the same, i.e., the implementation shown in fig. 5 described above; when the moving speeds of the buffer device a and the buffer device B are different, for example, the moving speed of the buffer device a is greater than the moving speed of the buffer device B, the buffer devices may be moved simultaneously, and when the buffer device B reaches the position 3 (i.e., the position corresponding to the delivery bit), the buffer device a reaches the position 5. That is, the buffer B can arrive at the corresponding position at the same time as the buffer a.

It should be noted that, the buffer devices may also be moved by other manners, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In order to further improve the cargo sorting efficiency, when the buffer device B receives the cargo to be delivered by the sorting robot, the buffer device B may be moved from the delivery position to the first position, and while the buffer device B is moved to the first position, another empty buffer device (such as the buffer device a or the buffer device C) is moved to the delivery position, so as to continue to receive the cargo delivered by the sorting robot 20. That is, the buffer a may receive the next to-be-delivered cargo simultaneously with the buffer B delivering the current to-be-delivered cargo.

In some examples, in the case where the buffer device a arrives at the delivery location, and the buffer device B arrives at the first location, if the delivery mechanism 11 has delivered the goods corresponding to the last sorting job to the transfer container, the delivery mechanism 11 may continue to move to the docking location corresponding to the first location to receive delivery of the buffer device B.

In other examples, if the delivery speed of the delivery mechanism 11 is slow, for example, when the buffer device a arrives at the delivery location and has received the goods delivered by the sorting robot 20, if the delivery mechanism 11 has not arrived at the stop location corresponding to the first location where the buffer device B is located, in this case, if the next sorting robot arrives at the delivery location, another free buffer device, such as the buffer device C, needs to be moved to the delivery location to continue receiving the goods delivered by the sorting robot. Therefore, the position of the buffer device B may change during the process of moving the buffer device C to the delivery position, i.e. from the first position to the current position. Thus, the delivery mechanism 11 can move to the dock corresponding to the current position to receive delivery from the buffer device B.

In some examples, when the goods to be delivered are placed on at least two of the plurality of cache devices 131, the delivery mechanism 11 may move to a stop position corresponding to the current position of each cache device in order that each cache device 131 receives the goods to be delivered to receive delivery of each cache device. For example, when the goods to be delivered are placed on both the buffer device B and the buffer device a, the buffer device B receives the goods delivered by the sorting object, so that the delivery mechanism 11 can move to the stop position corresponding to the current position of the buffer device B to receive the goods on the buffer device B, deliver the goods to the corresponding turnover container, and then move to the stop position corresponding to the current position of the buffer device a to receive the goods on the buffer device a.

The embodiment of the application provides a sorting machine, through increasing buffer gear, this buffer gear includes a plurality of buffer gear, and each buffer gear can receive and buffer the goods that sort object delivered to deliver the mechanism with the goods. Moving the first buffer device to a delivery position to receive the first goods delivered by the sorting object, and after receiving the first goods, moving the first buffer device to the current position to deliver the first goods to a delivery mechanism; the second buffer device can be moved to the delivery position while the first buffer device leaves the delivery position, so that the second buffer device can continuously receive the next delivery of the sorting object at the delivery position. Therefore, the goods sorting method provided by the embodiment of the application can ensure that the delivery position of the sorting machine can continuously exist the buffer device for receiving delivery of the sorting objects, so that the problem that the sorting robot can deliver after reaching the delivery position and waiting for resetting of the delivery mechanism can be avoided, the waiting time of the sorting robot is shortened, and the goods sorting efficiency is improved.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a sorting system according to some embodiments of the present application. As shown in fig. 6, the sorting system 1 comprises a sorting machine 10, a sorting robot 20 and a control device 30.

It should be noted that, the sorter 10 is the sorter 10 in the above embodiment, and in order to avoid repetition, the description is omitted here. The sorting machine 10 and the sorting robot 20 are subjected to information interaction through the control device 30. For example, the control device 30 may be a server device, such as a single server device or a server cluster.

In some examples, the control device 30 may send sorting tasks to the sorter 10 and the sorting robot 20, which may instruct the sorting robot 20 to move the goods corresponding to the sorting tasks to the delivery locations of the sorter 10 and instruct the sorter 10 to deliver the goods to the corresponding turnaround containers.

In some examples, the control device 30 may send ready information to the sorting robot 20 indicating that the sorting robot 20 is delivering the good to the delivery location for the buffer device in the sorting machine 10.

The cargo sorting method according to the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the method for sorting cargoes may be implemented by the sorting machine 10 in the above embodiment, and for example, the method may be implemented by a control mechanism in the sorting machine 10.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a method for sorting cargoes according to some embodiments of the present application. As shown in fig. 7, the method includes steps 710 through 740 as follows.

Step 710, acquiring a first sorting task, and determining a first buffer device corresponding to the first sorting task in the plurality of buffer devices.

In some examples, the sorting tasks may be generated by a sorting system (such as sorting system 1 in the above embodiments) and sent to a sorting machine. The sorting task is used for instructing the sorting machine to deliver cargoes corresponding to the sorting task to corresponding turnover containers. For example, the sorting task may include goods to be delivered, an epicyclic container corresponding to the goods to be delivered, a sorting robot corresponding to the goods to be delivered, and the like.

For example, the sorting system may send a plurality of sorting tasks to the sorting machine at the same time, and the sorting machine may sequentially execute the sorting tasks according to the order in which the goods to be delivered corresponding to the sorting tasks arrive at the delivery location of the sorting machine, or the order in which the goods to be delivered are delivered. Wherein the plurality of sorting tasks may include a first sorting task for instructing the sorter to deliver the first good to a corresponding tote.

In some examples, a sort job may correspond to a delivery item, which requires a caching device to cache. Therefore, after the sorting machine obtains the first sorting task, a corresponding buffer device, that is, a first buffer device, may be allocated to the first sorting task to receive the first cargo. Wherein the first buffer device is one of a plurality of buffer devices.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of another method for sorting goods according to some embodiments of the present application. As shown in fig. 8, the above step 710 includes steps 810 to 820 as follows. The process of determining the first caching device will be described below with reference to fig. 8. It should be noted that the following embodiments are exemplified by the case where the plurality of buffer apparatuses includes three buffer apparatuses, such as buffer apparatus a, buffer apparatus B, and buffer apparatus C.

Step 810, obtaining state information of each cache device.

The status information of the buffer device is used to indicate whether goods are placed or not placed on the buffer device.

For example, when a cargo has been placed on the buffer device, the status information of the buffer device is that the cargo is placed, i.e. the buffer device is in a non-idle state. When no goods are placed on the buffer device, the state information of the buffer device is that no goods are placed, namely the buffer device is in an idle state.

For example, the weight of each buffer device may be detected by the detecting device to determine the status information of each buffer device. Wherein the detection means may be a sensor, such as a weight sensor or the like.

In some examples, the sorter may include a plurality of detection devices. For example, the number of the detecting devices may be the same as the number of the buffer devices, and one detecting device may be provided on each buffer device for detecting the weight information of each buffer device.

In some examples, the detection device may measure weight information for each cache device and send each weight information to the control mechanism; the control means determines the status information of each buffer means based on the weight information of each buffer means.

For example, when an increase in the weight of the buffer device a is detected and is greater than the initial weight of the buffer device a (i.e., the weight when no cargo is placed on each buffer device), it may be determined that the cargo is placed on the buffer device a, that is, the buffer device a is changed from the idle state to the non-idle state; when the weight of the buffer device a is detected to be the initial weight (or within the initial weight range), it is determined that no goods are placed on the buffer device a, or the buffer device a has unloaded goods, that is, the state information of the buffer device a is in an idle state.

For example, status information of each cache device may be recorded and stored.

In some examples, status information for each buffer may be recorded and stored in the sorting system. For example, when no goods are placed on the buffer device a, the sorting machine (e.g., a control mechanism of the sorting machine) may send the state information of the buffer device a to the sorting system, and the sorting system records the state information of the buffer device a as no goods are placed; after the goods are delivered by the sorted objects on the buffer device A, the sorting machine can send the current state information of the buffer device A to the sorting system, and the sorting system updates the state information of the buffer device A to be the state information of the goods. The sorting system dynamically updates the state information of each buffer memory device, so that the accuracy and the instantaneity of the state information of each buffer memory device can be ensured.

Step 820, determining a first buffer device corresponding to the first sorting task from the plurality of buffer devices according to the status information of each buffer device.

For example, only the buffer devices in the idle state may receive the goods delivered by the sorting object, and thus, the first buffer device may be determined among the buffer devices in which the state information is the buffer device in which the goods are not placed, that is, among the buffer devices in the idle state.

In some examples, the first cache device may be determined based on the number of cache devices for which the status information is idle.

In some embodiments, step 720 may include: and according to the state information of each cache device, if the cache devices are determined to have one cache device without goods, determining the cache device without goods as a first cache device.

In some examples, if the status information of one and only one of the plurality of cache devices is that no cargo is placed, i.e., only one cache device is in an idle state, the cache device is determined to be the first cache device.

In some embodiments, step 720 may further comprise: and determining a first buffer device in the at least two buffer devices without goods according to the state information of each buffer device if the plurality of buffer devices are determined to have the at least two buffer devices without goods.

In some examples, if the status information of at least two buffer apparatuses in the plurality of buffer apparatuses is that no cargo is placed, that is, some or all buffer apparatuses in the plurality of buffer apparatuses are in an idle state, it is necessary to further determine the first buffer apparatus in the at least two idle buffer apparatuses.

In some embodiments, among at least two cache devices not having goods placed thereon, one cache device not having goods placed thereon is randomly determined as the first cache device; or determining the first buffer device in the at least two buffer devices without goods according to the priority information of the at least two buffer devices without goods.

In some examples, randomly determining one cache device without a good placed as the first cache device includes: any one of the at least two buffer devices in the idle state is determined as a first buffer device. For example, among the three cache devices, cache device a, cache device B, and cache device C, when both cache device a and cache device B are in an idle state, the cache device a may be determined as the first cache device, or the cache device B may be determined as the first cache device.

Illustratively, each of the plurality of cache devices has priority information, the priority information of each cache device being different. The first buffer device may be determined according to priority information of each buffer device in an idle state.

In some examples, the priority information of the caching device may indicate an order in which the caching device arrived at the delivery location to receive delivery of the sort object. When the priority of the caching device is high, the caching device may be preferentially scheduled to the delivery bit. Therefore, the highest priority cache device among the at least two cache devices in the idle state may be determined as the first cache device.

For example, the priority information of the buffer a, the buffer B, and the buffer C are respectively: the priority of the buffer B is higher than that of the buffer a, and the priority of the buffer a is higher than that of the buffer C. That is, the order in which cache device A, cache device B, and cache device C are dispatched to the delivery bit is: buffer B, buffer a, and buffer C. Accordingly, in the case where the cache device a, the cache device B, and the cache device C are all in the idle state, the cache device B may be determined as the first cache device; in the case where the cache device a and the cache device C are in the idle state, the cache device a may be determined as the first cache device.

The priority information of each buffer device is considered only when the buffer device is in an idle state.

Step 720, controlling the first buffer device to move to the delivery position, and receiving the first goods corresponding to the first sorting task delivered by the sorting object at the delivery position.

For example, after the first caching device is determined, the first caching device may be controlled to move to the delivery location. For example, the control mechanism may control the first buffer device to move to the delivery location via the lifting device. After the first buffer device reaches the delivery location, the first goods delivered by the sorting object can be received at the delivery location.

In some embodiments, a ready instruction is sent to the sorting system upon movement of the first caching device to the delivery location, such that the sorting system sends a delivery instruction to the sorting object based on the ready instruction, the delivery instruction for instructing the sorting object to deliver the first good to the first caching device.

For example, when the sort object is a sort robot, the control mechanism may send a ready instruction to the sort system, which sends a delivery instruction to the sort robot according to the ready instruction, and the sort robot delivers the first good to the first caching device according to the delivery instruction. When the sorting object is a sorting person, the sorting person can carry out the first goods delivery to the first buffer device according to whether the first buffer device is ready or not.

That is, the sorting object (e.g., a sorting robot) needs to determine that the first buffer device reaches the delivery location before delivering the first cargo.

In some examples, the location of the other cache devices may also change during the movement of the first cache device to the delivery location. That is, the other buffer device moves with the movement of the first buffer device.

In some embodiments, at an initial time, a distance between any two adjacent cache devices in the plurality of cache devices is an initial distance; in the moving process of the first buffer device, the interval between any two adjacent buffer devices is kept unchanged; or, in the moving process of the first buffer device, the distance between at least two adjacent buffer devices changes.

In some examples, the initial time may be a time prior to the sorter performing a sort task. At the initial time, the interval between the positions of any two adjacent cache devices in the plurality of cache devices is the initial interval. The initial spacing between two adjacent buffer devices may be the same or different. For example, the initial pitch between cache device a and cache device B may be the same as or different from the initial pitch between cache device B and cache device C.

In some examples, the spacing between two adjacent cache devices may remain unchanged during movement of the first cache device; if the distance between two adjacent buffer devices is kept unchanged, each buffer device can move upwards or downwards simultaneously through the lifting device.

In other examples, the initial distance between two adjacent buffer devices may also be changed during the movement of the first buffer device, that is, the distance between each buffer device is not fixed, and the distance between two adjacent buffer devices may be adjusted according to the requirement. For example, it may be determined according to the size of the goods to be delivered.

For example, in the process of moving the first buffer device to the delivery location, the adjustment of the interval between two adjacent buffer devices can be achieved in two ways: one way is to first adjust the interval between two adjacent buffer devices, and then move each buffer device at the same time to make the first buffer device reach the delivery position; another way is to adjust the distance between two adjacent buffer devices during the movement of the first buffer device to the delivery position.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of yet another method of sorting goods according to some embodiments of the present application. As shown in fig. 9, the above step 720 includes steps 910 to 930 as follows. The two different adjustment modes are described in detail below with reference to fig. 9.

Step 910, determining a size of the first shipment based on the first sorting job.

In some examples, after the first sorting task is acquired, the control mechanism may determine a size of the first cargo according to the first cargo corresponding to the first sorting task. For example, the dimensions of the cargo include information such as the length, width, and height of the cargo.

For example, the first sorting task may include size information of the first good. After the sorter acquires the first sorting task, the size information of the first good may be obtained. And then, the first buffer device can be moved to the delivery position according to the size information of the first goods.

In some examples, when the first cache device is moved to the delivery location, it may be first determined whether a third cache device is present above adjacent to the first cache device.

For example, referring to fig. 4 (a), if the first buffer device is the buffer device B, the buffer device a exists above the buffer device B, and if the buffer device a is the third buffer device.

In step 921, if there is a third buffer device located above the first buffer device and the size of the first cargo is larger than the initial distance between the third buffer device and the first buffer device, the third buffer device is controlled to move to the second position, so that the first distance between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is larger than the size of the first cargo.

In some examples, if it is determined that the third buffer device exists and the size of the first cargo, for example, the height of the first cargo is greater than the distance between the third buffer device and the first buffer device, the third buffer device located above the first buffer device may be moved to the second position first, so as to ensure that the distance between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is changed to the first distance, and the first distance is greater than the size of the first cargo.

For example, referring to (B) of fig. 4, when the size of the first cargo is greater than the interval between the buffer devices B and a, the buffer device a is moved upward to increase the interval between the buffer devices B and a, and when the buffer device a is moved from the position 3 to the position 4 (i.e., the second position), the first interval between the buffer devices B and a is greater than or equal to the size of the first cargo.

In step 922, the first buffer device and the third buffer device are controlled to move simultaneously to move the first buffer device to the delivery position.

The first distance between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is illustratively kept unchanged during the movement of the first buffer device and the third buffer device.

In some examples, after the first distance between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is greater than the size of the first cargo, the first buffer device and the third buffer device may be moved simultaneously and the first buffer device may be moved to the delivery location. In the moving process, the first interval between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is kept unchanged, so that the first buffer device can be ensured to receive the first goods delivered by the sorting objects when reaching the delivery position.

For example, in the process that the first buffer device and the third buffer device move simultaneously, other buffer devices also move along with the first buffer device, and the interval between the buffer devices can be kept unchanged. Referring to fig. 4 (C), the buffer a, the buffer B, and the buffer C are moved at the same time so that the buffer B reaches the delivery position, and when the buffer B reaches the delivery position, the buffer a reaches the position 5, and the buffer C reaches the position 2.

It should be noted that, the implementation process of steps 921 to 922 may refer to the description of the embodiment corresponding to fig. 4, and the description is omitted here for avoiding repetition.

In step 930, if there is a third buffer device located above the first buffer device and the size of the first cargo is larger than the initial distance between the third buffer device and the first buffer device, the first buffer device is controlled to move to the delivery position, and the third buffer device is controlled to move to the third position, so that the second distance between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is larger than the size of the first cargo.

Illustratively, the spacing between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is changed from the initial spacing to the second spacing during movement of the first buffer device and the third buffer device.

In some examples, if it is determined that the third buffer device is present and the size of the first cargo, such as the height of the first cargo is greater than the distance between the third buffer device and the first buffer device, the first buffer device and the third buffer device may be moved simultaneously to move the first buffer device to the delivery location and the third buffer device to the third location; at this time, the space between the first buffer device and the third buffer device is a second space, and the second space is larger than the size of the first cargo, for example, the second space may be equal to the first space.

For example, if the first buffer device and the third buffer device move at the same moving speed, when the first buffer device reaches the delivery position, the third buffer device needs to be moved to the third position separately; if the moving speed of the third buffer device is greater than the moving speed of the first buffer device, the third buffer device can also reach the third position when the first buffer device reaches the delivery position. The embodiments of the present application are not limited in this regard.

It should be noted that, the implementation process of step 930 may refer to the description of the embodiment corresponding to fig. 5, and in order to avoid repetition, the description is omitted here.

In some examples, when the third buffer device is not present above the adjacent first buffer device, that is, the first buffer device is the uppermost buffer device, the adjustment of the above-mentioned interval is not needed.

Step 730, after the first buffer device receives the first cargo, controlling the first buffer device to move from the delivery position to the first position, and controlling the second buffer device to move to the delivery position, so that the second buffer device receives, at the delivery position, the second cargo corresponding to the second sorting task delivered by the sorting object.

The second buffer device is a buffer device corresponding to the second sorting task, and the second buffer device is different from the first buffer device.

In some examples, the second sort task may be sent to the sorter simultaneously with the first sort task cargo by the sorting system, or may be sent to the sorter after the first sort task. The second sorting task is for instructing the sorter to deliver the second good to the corresponding transfer container, and the sorting robot delivering the second good may be different from the sorting robot delivering the first good.

It should be noted that, when the first buffer device receives the first cargo, if the sorter does not receive other sorting tasks, the first buffer device may also deliver the first cargo to the delivery mechanism at the delivery location; the delivery mechanism is moved to a stop position corresponding to the position of the delivery position so as to receive the first goods delivered by the first caching device.

In some examples, the first buffer may be configured to store the first item in the first buffer after the delivery location is reached. When the control mechanism determines that the state information of the first buffer device is updated to be that goods are placed, the control mechanism can control the first buffer device to move to the first position and control the second buffer device to move to the delivery position and continuously receive the second goods, so that sorting efficiency is improved.

The second buffer device is a buffer device with highest priority, and the status information is that no goods are placed, except the first buffer device. The second buffer device may or may not be adjacent to the first buffer device.

For example, in the cache device a, the cache device B, and the cache device C, if the first cache device is the cache device B, after the cache device B is delivered the first cargo, the cache device a with higher priority may be moved to the delivery position.

Step 740, controlling the delivery mechanism to dock with the first buffer device, so as to receive the first goods delivered by the first buffer device, and delivering the first goods to the turnover container corresponding to the first sorting task.

In some examples, the delivery mechanism interfacing with the first caching device may include: the first caching device moves to the position of the delivery mechanism and delivers the first goods to the delivery mechanism; or the delivery mechanism moves to the current position of the first caching device so as to receive the first goods delivered by the first caching device.

For example, after the first buffer device reaches the first position, the first buffer device may continue to move to a position corresponding to the current position of the delivery mechanism according to the current position of the delivery mechanism, so as to deliver the first cargo placed thereon to the delivery mechanism; or after the first buffer device reaches the first position, the delivery mechanism can also move to a position corresponding to the current position of the first buffer device according to the current position of the first buffer device, and receive the goods delivered by the first buffer device.

In some embodiments, controlling the delivery mechanism to interface with the first caching device to receive the first cargo delivered by the first caching device includes: and controlling the delivery mechanism to move to a target stop position corresponding to the current position according to the current position of the first buffer device so as to receive the first goods delivered by the first buffer device at the target stop position.

Wherein the current location comprises a first location.

In some examples, when the first buffer device reaches the first position and the second buffer device receives the second goods delivered by the sorting object, if the delivery mechanism has completed the last delivery of the goods and moves to the stop position corresponding to the first position, the first buffer device delivers the first goods to the delivery mechanism at the first position. In this case, the current position is the first position.

In some examples, when the first buffer device reaches the first position and after the second buffer device receives the second goods delivered by the sorting object, if the delivering mechanism is not reset, that is, does not reach the stop position corresponding to the first position, and if the sorting machine receives the third sorting task, the fourth buffer device may be moved to the delivering position, and in the process that the fourth buffer device is moved to the delivering position, the position of the first buffer device is changed from the first position to the current position, and in this case, the control mechanism needs to control the delivering mechanism to move to the target stop position corresponding to the current position to receive the first goods.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of yet another method for sorting goods according to some embodiments of the present application. As shown in fig. 10, the above step 740 may include steps 1010 to 1020 as follows.

And step 1010, determining a target parking position corresponding to the current position according to the current position and the preset corresponding relation.

The preset corresponding relation comprises a plurality of positions and preset parking positions corresponding to the positions. The plurality of positions are a plurality of positions of the buffer device on the lifting device, each position can correspond to one stop position, the stop positions can be arranged on the guide mechanism, and the delivery mechanism moves to the corresponding stop positions through the guide mechanism.

For example, when each buffer device moves at the same time and the interval between any two adjacent buffer devices remains unchanged, the position of each buffer device on the lifting device is fixed, and thus the corresponding parking position is also fixed.

For example, the relationship between the plurality of positions and the plurality of dock may be stored in a preset correspondence, and the control mechanism may determine the dock corresponding to each position through the preset correspondence. For example, the preset object correspondence may be stored in the sorting system, and the control mechanism queries the preset correspondence through the sorting system.

In some embodiments, step 1010 above includes: and under the condition that the plurality of positions comprise the current position, determining the preset parking position corresponding to the current position as a target parking position according to the preset corresponding relation.

In some examples, if the preset corresponding relationship includes the current position of the caching device, the target stop position corresponding to the current position may be searched in the preset corresponding relationship, so that the delivery mechanism is moved to the target stop position to receive delivery of the caching device.

In some embodiments, a plurality of dock bits may be preset according to the number of cache devices. For example, when the number of cache devices is 3, the number of corresponding parking bits is 5.

Fig. 11 is a schematic view of yet another sorter provided in some embodiments of the present application. As shown in fig. 11, 3 buffer devices, i.e., buffer device a, buffer device B, and buffer device C, are provided in the sorter 10; the 3 cache devices correspond to 5 rest bits, namely rest bit 1, rest bit 2, rest bit 3, rest bit 4 and rest bit 5. When the positions of the 3 cache devices are different, the corresponding stop positions are different. For example, the current position of the buffer a corresponds to the stop bit 3, the current position of the buffer B corresponds to the stop bit 4, and the current position of the buffer C corresponds to the stop bit 5.

In some embodiments, step 1010 above further comprises: and under the condition that the plurality of positions do not comprise the current position, calculating a target parking position corresponding to the current position according to the current position.

In some examples, if the preset correspondence does not include the current position of the caching device, the position of the corresponding target stop position may be calculated according to the current position, so as to move the delivery mechanism to the target stop position to receive the delivery of the caching device.

For example, when each buffer device moves independently and/or the interval between each buffer device is not fixed, the current position of each buffer device may not be in a preset correspondence, in which case, the position of the corresponding parking bit may be calculated according to the current position.

Step 1020, controlling the delivery mechanism to move to the target parking position so as to receive the first goods delivered by the first caching device at the target parking position and deliver the first goods to the turnover container corresponding to the first sorting task.

After the target dock is determined, the control mechanism may control the delivery mechanism to move to the target dock. For example, the delivery mechanism is controlled to run to the target parking position after the last delivery is performed, the first goods delivered by the first caching device are received at the target parking position, and then the first goods are delivered to the turnover container of the object, so that the first sorting task is completed.

Fig. 12A is a schematic diagram of yet another sorting method provided in some embodiments of the present application. As shown in fig. 12A, the method includes steps 1201 to 1213 as follows. It should be noted that the interaction between the sorting object and the sorting machine is accomplished by the sorting system.

Fig. 12B is a schematic diagram of a cargo sorting scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application. A specific embodiment provided herein is described below in connection with fig. 12A and 12B. The following embodiments are still described by taking a plurality of buffer apparatuses including buffer apparatus a, buffer apparatus B, and buffer apparatus C as examples, and the priority information is that buffer apparatus B is larger than buffer apparatus a, and buffer apparatus a is larger than buffer apparatus C.

At step 1201, the sort object waits for a cache ready instruction at the delivery location.

Step 1202, the sorter controls the buffer to run to the delivery location.

At step 1203, the sorter determines whether the buffer is ready.

If so, a ready instruction is sent to the sort object, and step 1204 is continued, and if not, step 1202 is performed.

It should be noted that, the process from step 1201 to step 1203 may also be referred to as an initialization stage, in which the sorter controls the buffer to move up and down, and adjusts the buffer B (i.e., the middle buffer) to the delivery location, as shown in (a) in fig. 12B, so that the buffer B reaches the delivery location.

In some examples, during the initialization phase, the sorters may also control the delivery mechanism to operate to an initial dock. For example, the initial dock may be preset.

Step 1204, sorting the object delivery goods.

For example, when the sorting robot arrives at the delivery position of the sorting machine, if a ready instruction sent by the sorting machine through the sorting system is received, the goods to be delivered can be delivered to the buffer device B at the delivery position.

Step 1205, the sorting object sends the delivery result to the sorting machine.

For example, the sorting object may send delivery results to the sorting system and then to the sorting machine by the sorting system. Wherein the delivery result comprises delivered or undelivered to the caching device.

In step 1206, the sorter controls the buffer to move up and down.

For example, if the delivery result is delivered, the sorter may control the buffer to move up and down. As shown in fig. 12B (B), after receiving the goods, the buffer device B moves downward to move the buffer device a to the delivery position.

It should be noted that, steps 1204 to 1205 may also be referred to as a buffer adjustment stage, where the control mechanism queries whether there is a cargo on each buffer according to the sequence of the middle, upper and lower layers, and if they are idle, the control mechanism preferentially adjusts the middle layer (i.e. buffer B) to the delivery position; if the middle layer is not idle, the states of the upper layer and the lower layer are continuously determined until the delivery bit has an idle cache device.

After the delivered delivery results sent by the sorting robot are obtained, the control mechanism continuously adjusts the positions of the caching devices so as to continuously receive delivery of the sorting objects.

In step 1207, the sorter obtains the cached cargo information.

For example, the sorter determines whether the buffer has received the goods delivered by the sort object and continues to step 1208 when it is determined that the buffer has received the goods delivered by the sort object.

At step 1208, the sorter queries the current location of the caching apparatus.

In step 1209, the sorter controls the delivery mechanism to run to the dock corresponding to the current location.

As shown in fig. 12B (B), the delivery mechanism is operated to the stop position corresponding to the current position of the caching device B.

At step 1210, the sorter sends a delivery mechanism ready instruction.

For example, a delivery mechanism ready instruction is used to instruct a delivery mechanism to reach a dock.

At step 1211, the sorter controls the caching device to deliver the goods to the delivery mechanism.

For example, the sorter may control the caching device to deliver the goods to the delivery facility in accordance with the delivery facility ready instructions. As shown in fig. 12B (c), the buffer device B delivers the goods thereon to the delivery mechanism by rotating the flap.

It should be noted that, in the process that the buffer device delivers the goods to the delivery mechanism, after the buffer device receives the information of the goods delivered by the sorting object, the control mechanism controls the delivery mechanism to operate to the stop position corresponding to the current position of the buffer device and notifies the buffer device to discharge so as to deliver the goods to the delivery mechanism.

In step 1212, the sorter determines the delivery result of the caching device.

For example, delivery results include delivered and undelivered.

Step 1213, control transfers the goods to the corresponding tote by the delivery mechanism.

It should be noted that, in the above embodiment, the description is directed to a sorting task, and the execution process of the next sorting task is similar, so that repetition is avoided and will not be repeated here.

According to the goods sorting method, the buffer storage mechanism is added in the sorting machine, the buffer storage mechanism comprises a plurality of buffer storage devices, and each buffer storage device can receive and buffer goods delivered by sorting objects and deliver the goods to the delivery mechanism. Moving the first buffer device to a delivery position to receive the first goods delivered by the sorting object, and after receiving the first goods, moving the first buffer device to the current position to deliver the first goods to a delivery mechanism; the second buffer device can be moved to the delivery position while the first buffer device leaves the delivery position, so that the second buffer device can continuously receive the next delivery of the sorting object at the delivery position. Therefore, the goods sorting method provided by the embodiment of the application can ensure that the delivery position of the sorting machine can continuously exist the buffer device for receiving delivery of the sorting objects, so that the problem that the sorting robot can deliver after reaching the delivery position and waiting for resetting of the delivery mechanism can be avoided, the waiting time of the sorting robot is shortened, and the goods sorting efficiency is improved.

Embodiments of the present application provide a sorter that includes a caching mechanism and a delivery mechanism. The buffer mechanism comprises a plurality of buffer devices, wherein each buffer device in the plurality of buffer devices is configured to buffer goods delivered by the sorting objects; the plurality of cache devices comprise a first cache device and a second cache device, the first cache device is a cache device corresponding to a first sorting task, and the second cache device is a cache device corresponding to a second sorting task; wherein:

the first caching device is configured to move to a delivery position, and first cargoes corresponding to a first sorting task delivered by a sorting object are received at the delivery position; and after receiving the first cargo, moves to the first position.

The second caching device is configured to move to the delivery position after the first caching device receives the first goods, so as to receive the second goods corresponding to the second sorting task delivered by the sorting object at the delivery position.

The delivery mechanism is configured to interface with the first caching device to receive the first goods delivered by the first caching device and deliver the first goods to the turnover container corresponding to the first sorting task.

In some embodiments, the delivery mechanism is configured to move to a target dock corresponding to a current location of the first caching device and receive the first cargo delivered by the first caching device at the target dock; wherein the current location comprises a first location.

In some embodiments, the caching mechanism further comprises a lifting device; the plurality of buffer devices are respectively arranged on the lifting device, and each buffer device can move up and down through the lifting device; the first buffer device is configured to move to a delivery position through the lifting device, and receives first cargoes corresponding to a first sorting task delivered by a sorting object at the delivery position; and after receiving the first goods, the first goods are moved to the first position through the lifting device.

In some embodiments, the caching mechanism further comprises an operation device; the operation device is coupled with each buffer device; the operation device is configured to drive each buffer device to move up and down along the lifting device and/or drive the first buffer device to deliver the first goods to the delivery mechanism.

In some embodiments, the sorter further comprises at least one guide; the delivery mechanism is arranged to the guiding mechanism, and the delivery mechanism can move transversely and/or vertically through the guiding mechanism; the delivery mechanism is configured to: moving to a target parking position through a guiding mechanism; and after the target berth receives the first goods delivered by the first caching device, delivering the first goods to the turnover container corresponding to the first sorting task through the guide mechanism.

In some embodiments, there is a third buffer device in the plurality of buffer devices located adjacently above the first buffer device, and the first cargo has a size greater than an initial spacing between the third buffer device and the first buffer device; the third buffer device is configured to move to a second position so that a first distance between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is larger than the size of the first cargo; the first and third caching means are configured to: simultaneously moving to enable the first buffer device to move to a delivery position; wherein, in the process that first buffer gear and third buffer gear removed, the first interval between third buffer gear and the first buffer gear keeps unchanged.

In some embodiments, there is a third buffer device in the plurality of buffer devices located adjacently above the first buffer device, and the size of the first cargo is greater than an initial spacing between the third buffer device and the first buffer device; the first caching device is configured to move to a delivery location; the third buffer device is configured to move to a third position so that a second distance between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is larger than the size of the first cargo; and in the process of moving the first buffer device and the third buffer device, the interval between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is changed from the initial interval to the second interval.

In some embodiments, the buffer device comprises a flap device or a conveyor line.

In some embodiments, the sorting objects include sorting robots and sorting personnel.

Some embodiments of the present application provide a sorting system including a sorter, a sorting robot, and a control device; the sorting machine comprises a caching mechanism and a delivery mechanism; the caching mechanism comprises a plurality of caching devices; each of the plurality of caching devices is configured to cache goods delivered by the sorting robot, wherein:

the control device is configured to send the first sorting task and the second sorting task to the sorting machine.

The sorter is configured to acquire a first sorting task and a second sorting task, determine a first buffer device for the first sorting task among the plurality of buffer devices according to the first sorting task and the second sorting task, and determine a second buffer device for the second sorting task; controlling the first buffer device to move to a delivery position so as to receive first cargoes corresponding to a first sorting task delivered by the sorting robot at the delivery position; and sending a ready instruction to the control device when the first buffer device moves to the delivery position.

The control device is configured to send a delivery instruction to the sorting robot in accordance with the ready instruction.

The sorting robot is configured to: and acquiring a delivery instruction, and delivering the first goods to a first cache device in the plurality of cache devices according to the delivery instruction.

The sorter is configured to: after the first buffer device receives the first goods, controlling the first buffer device to move from the delivery position to the first position; controlling the second buffer device to move to the delivery position so that the second buffer device receives second cargoes corresponding to a second sorting task delivered by the sorting robot at the delivery position; according to the current position of the first buffer device, the delivery mechanism is controlled to be in butt joint with the first buffer device so as to receive the first goods delivered by the first buffer device and deliver the first goods to a turnover container corresponding to the first sorting task.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to some embodiments of the present application. In some embodiments, an electronic device includes one or more processors and memory. The memory is configured to: one or more programs are stored. Wherein the one or more processors implement the method of sorting goods in the above embodiments when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors.

As shown in fig. 13, the electronic device 1000 includes: a processor 1001 and a memory 1002. Illustratively, the electronic device 1000 may further include: a communication interface (Communications Interface) 1003 and a communication bus 1004.

The processor 1001, the memory 1002, and the communication interface 1003 perform communication with each other via the communication bus 1004. Communication interface 1003 is used to communicate with network elements of other devices such as clients or other servers.

In some embodiments, the processor 1001 is configured to execute the program 1005, and may specifically perform the relevant steps in the cargo sorting method embodiment described above. In particular, program 1005 may include program code comprising computer-executable instructions.

The processor 1001 may be, for example, a central processing unit CPU, or a specific integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement embodiments of the present application. The one or more processors that the electronic device 1000 may include may be the same type of processor, such as one or more CPUs; but may also be different types of processors such as one or more CPUs and one or more ASICs.

In some embodiments, memory 1002 is used to store program 1005. The Memory 1002 may include a high-speed RAM Memory or may further include a Non-Volatile Memory (NVM), such as at least one magnetic disk Memory.

The program 1005 may be specifically invoked by the processor 1001 to cause the electronic device 1000 to perform the operations of the cargo sorting method in the above-described embodiment.

Embodiments of the present application provide a computer readable storage medium storing at least one executable instruction that, when executed on an electronic device 1000, cause the electronic device 1000 to perform the method for sorting goods in the above embodiments.

The executable instructions may be particularly useful for causing the electronic device 1000 to perform the operations of the method of sorting goods in the above-described embodiments.

For example, the computer readable storage medium may be Read-Only Memory (ROM), random-access Memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), compact disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage device, and the like.

The advantages achieved by the sorting machine, the sorting system, the electronic device and the computer readable storage medium provided in the embodiments of the present application can refer to the advantages in the corresponding cargo sorting method provided above, and are not described herein again.

It is noted that in the present application, relational terms such as first and second, and the like are used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises an element.

In this specification, each embodiment is described in a related manner, and identical and similar parts of each embodiment are all referred to each other, and each embodiment mainly describes differences from other embodiments. In particular, for the device embodiments, since they are substantially similar to the method embodiments, the description is relatively simple, and reference is made to the description of the method embodiments in part.

Logic and/or steps represented in the flowcharts or otherwise described herein, e.g., a ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions, can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions.

For the purposes of this description, a "computer-readable medium" can be any means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium would include the following: an electrical connection (electronic device) having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette (magnetic device), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber device, and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM).

Additionally, the computer-readable medium may even be paper or other suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program may be electronically captured, via, for instance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory. It is to be understood that portions of the present application may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

In the above-described embodiments, the various steps or methods may be implemented in software or firmware stored in a memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system. For example, if implemented in hardware, as in another embodiment, may be implemented using any one or combination of the following techniques, as is well known in the art: discrete logic circuits having logic gates for implementing logic functions on data signals, application specific integrated circuits having suitable combinational logic gates, programmable Gate Arrays (PGAs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and the like.

The above-described embodiments of the present application are not intended to limit the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method of sorting goods, the method being applied to a sorting system comprising a caching mechanism and a delivery mechanism; the caching mechanism comprises a plurality of caching devices, wherein each caching device in the plurality of caching devices is used for caching goods delivered by sorting objects; the method comprises the following steps:

acquiring a first sorting task, and determining a first cache device corresponding to the first sorting task from the plurality of cache devices;

controlling the first buffer device to move to a delivery position, and receiving first cargoes corresponding to the first sorting task delivered by the sorting object at the delivery position;

after the first buffer device receives the first goods, controlling the first buffer device to move from the delivery position to a first position, and controlling a second buffer device to move to the delivery position, so that the second buffer device receives second goods corresponding to a second sorting task delivered by the sorting object at the delivery position; the second buffer device is a buffer device corresponding to the second sorting task, and the second buffer device is different from the first buffer device;

And controlling the delivery mechanism to be in butt joint with the first buffer device so as to receive the first goods delivered by the first buffer device and deliver the first goods to the turnover container corresponding to the first sorting task.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlling the delivery mechanism to interface with the first caching device to receive the first cargo delivered by the first caching device comprises:

according to the current position of the first caching device, controlling the delivery mechanism to move to a target stop position corresponding to the current position, and receiving the first goods delivered by the first caching device at the target stop position; wherein the current location includes the first location.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining a first buffer device of the plurality of buffer devices corresponding to the first sorting task comprises:

acquiring state information of each cache device; the state information is used for indicating whether goods are placed or not placed on the caching device;

and determining a first cache device corresponding to the first sorting task from the plurality of cache devices according to the state information of each cache device.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein determining a first buffer device corresponding to the first sorting task among the plurality of buffer devices according to the status information of each buffer device includes:

according to the state information of each buffer device, if the fact that one buffer device without goods is arranged in the plurality of buffer devices is determined, the buffer device without goods is determined to be the first buffer device;

and if the plurality of cache devices are determined to have at least two cache devices without goods, determining the first cache device in the at least two cache devices without goods.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said determining said first buffer device among said at least two buffer devices not having cargo placed therein comprises:

randomly determining one buffer device without goods as the first buffer device in the at least two buffer devices without goods; or,

and determining the first buffer device in the at least two buffer devices without goods according to the priority information of the at least two buffer devices without goods.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein at an initial time, a pitch between any two adjacent ones of the plurality of cache devices is an initial pitch;

in the moving process of the first buffer device, the initial interval between any two adjacent buffer devices is kept unchanged; or, in the moving process of the first buffer device, the distance between at least two adjacent buffer devices changes.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein controlling the first caching device to move to a delivery location comprises:

determining the size of the first cargo according to the first sorting task;

if a third buffer device positioned above the first buffer device adjacently exists in the plurality of buffer devices, and the size of the first goods is larger than the initial interval between the third buffer device and the first buffer device, controlling the third buffer device to move to a second position so that the first interval between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is larger than the size of the first goods;

controlling the first buffer device and the third buffer device to move simultaneously so as to move the first buffer device to the delivery position; and in the moving process of the first buffer device and the third buffer device, the first interval between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is kept unchanged.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein controlling the first caching device to move to a delivery location comprises:

determining the size of the first cargo according to the first sorting task;

if a third buffer device positioned above the first buffer device adjacently exists in the plurality of buffer devices, and the size of the first goods is larger than the initial interval between the third buffer device and the first buffer device, controlling the first buffer device to move to the delivery position, and controlling the third buffer device to move to a third position, so that the second interval between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is larger than the size of the first goods; and in the process of moving the first buffer device and the third buffer device, the interval between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is changed from the initial interval to the second interval.

9. The method according to any one of claims 2-5, wherein controlling the delivery mechanism to move to a target dock corresponding to the current location according to the current location of the first caching device comprises:

Determining the target parking position corresponding to the current position according to the current position and a preset corresponding relation; the preset corresponding relation comprises a plurality of positions and preset stopping positions corresponding to the positions;

controlling the delivery mechanism to move to the target docking station.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining the target dock corresponding to the current position according to the current position and a preset correspondence includes:

under the condition that the plurality of positions comprise the current position, determining a preset parking position corresponding to the current position as the target parking position according to the preset corresponding relation;

and under the condition that the plurality of positions do not comprise the current position, calculating the target parking position corresponding to the current position according to the current position.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of cache devices comprises three cache devices and the preset dock comprises five docks.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, further comprising:

when the first buffer device moves to the delivery position, a ready instruction is sent to a sorting system, so that the sorting system sends a delivery instruction to the sorting object based on the ready instruction; the delivery instruction is used for indicating the sorting object to deliver the first goods to the first caching device.

13. The sorting machine is characterized by comprising a caching mechanism and a delivery mechanism;

the caching mechanism comprises a plurality of caching devices, wherein each caching device in the plurality of caching devices is configured to cache goods delivered by sorting objects; the plurality of cache devices comprise a first cache device and a second cache device, wherein the first cache device is a cache device corresponding to a first sorting task, and the second cache device is a cache device corresponding to a second sorting task;

the first buffer device is configured to: moving to a delivery position, and receiving first cargoes corresponding to the first sorting task delivered by the sorting object at the delivery position; and after receiving the first cargo, moving to a first position;

the second buffer device is configured to: after the first buffer device receives the first goods, moving to the delivery position to receive second goods corresponding to the second sorting task delivered by the sorting object at the delivery position;

the delivery mechanism is configured to: and the first goods are docked with the first buffer device so as to be received and delivered to the turnover container corresponding to the first sorting task.

14. The sorter of claim 13, wherein the delivery mechanism is configured to:

moving to a target stop position corresponding to the current position of the first caching device, and receiving the first goods delivered by the first caching device at the target stop position; wherein the current location includes the first location.

15. The sorter of claim 14 wherein the buffer mechanism further comprises a lifting device; the plurality of buffer devices are respectively arranged on the lifting device, and each buffer device can move up and down through the lifting device;

the first caching apparatus is configured to: moving to the delivery position through the lifting device, and receiving the first goods corresponding to the first sorting task delivered by the sorting object at the delivery position; and after receiving the first goods, moving to the first position through the lifting device.

16. The sorter of claim 15 wherein the buffer mechanism further comprises an operating device; the operation device is coupled with each buffer device;

the operation device is configured to: and driving each buffer device to move up and down along the lifting device, and/or driving the first buffer device to deliver the first goods to the delivery mechanism.

17. The sorter of any of claims 13-16 further comprising at least one guide; the delivery mechanism is arranged to the guiding mechanism, and the delivery mechanism can move transversely and/or vertically through the guiding mechanism; the delivery mechanism is configured to:

moving to the target dock by the guide mechanism;

and after the target berth receives the first goods delivered by the first caching device, delivering the first goods to the turnover container corresponding to the first sorting task through the guide mechanism.

18. The sorter of any of claims 13-16 wherein at an initial time, a spacing between any two adjacent ones of the plurality of buffer is an initial spacing;

19. The sorter of claim 18 wherein a third buffer is present in the plurality of buffers adjacently above the first buffer and the first cargo has a size greater than the initial spacing between the third buffer and the first buffer;

The third caching apparatus is configured to: moving to a second position so that a first distance between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is larger than the size of the first goods;

the first and third caching means are configured to: simultaneously moving to enable the first caching device to move to the delivery position; and in the moving process of the first buffer device and the third buffer device, the first interval between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is kept unchanged.

20. The sorter of claim 18 wherein a third buffer is present in the plurality of buffers adjacently above the first buffer and the first cargo has a size greater than the initial spacing between the third buffer and the first buffer;

the first caching apparatus is configured to: moving to the delivery location;

the third caching apparatus is configured to: moving to a third position so that a second distance between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is larger than the size of the first goods; and in the process of moving the first buffer device and the third buffer device, the interval between the third buffer device and the first buffer device is changed from the initial interval to the second interval.

21. Sorting machine according to any of the claims 13-16, characterized in that the buffer means comprise a flap device or a conveyor line.

22. The sorter of any of claims 13-16 wherein the sorting objects include sorting robots and sorting personnel.

23. A sorting system, characterized in that the sorting system comprises a sorting machine, a sorting robot and a control device;

the sorting machine comprises a buffer mechanism and a delivery mechanism; the caching mechanism comprises a plurality of caching devices; each of the plurality of cache devices is configured to: caching goods delivered by the sorting robot;

the control device is configured to: sending a first sorting task and a second sorting task to the sorting machine;

the sorter is configured to: acquiring the first sorting task and the second sorting task, determining a first cache device for the first sorting task in the plurality of cache devices according to the first sorting task and the second sorting task, and determining a second cache device for the second sorting task; controlling the first buffer device to move to a delivery position, so as to receive first cargoes corresponding to the first sorting task delivered by the sorting robot at the delivery position, and sending a ready instruction to the control device when the first buffer device moves to the delivery position;

The control device is configured to: sending a delivery instruction to the sorting robot according to the ready instruction;

the sorting robot is configured to: acquiring the delivery instruction, and delivering the first goods to the first caching device according to the delivery instruction;

the sorter is configured to: after the first buffer device receives the first goods, controlling the first buffer device to move from the delivery position to a first position; controlling a second buffer device to move to the delivery position so that the second buffer device receives second cargoes corresponding to the second sorting task delivered by the sorting robot at the delivery position; and controlling the delivery mechanism to be in butt joint with the first buffer device so as to receive the first goods delivered by the first buffer device and deliver the first goods to the turnover container corresponding to the first sorting task.

24. An electronic device, comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory configured to: storing one or more programs;

wherein the one or more processors implement the method of sorting goods according to any one of claims 1-12 when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors.

25. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that a computer program is stored thereon, which, when being executed by a processor, implements the method of sorting goods according to any of claims 1-12.