TWM648432U - Workstation and warehousing system - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a workstation and a warehousing system. The workstation includes: at least two workstation bodies; the workstation body includes: a conveyor line, the conveyor line includes: a merging conveyor line and a branch conveyor line, and the branch conveyor line includes: The box conveying line and at least two box taking and conveying lines; the at least two box taking and conveying lines include at least one first box taking and conveying line matched with the first robot, and at least one second box taking and conveying line matched with the second robot line; the intersections of the first box-taking conveying line, the second box-taking conveying line and the merging conveying line are located downstream of the intersection of the box-releasing conveying line and the merging conveying line. The workstation of the embodiment of the present disclosure can improve the efficiency of the first robot and the second robot in picking up boxes and transporting boxes, thereby making the overall outbound efficiency higher.

Description

Workstation and warehousing system

The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of smart warehousing technology, and in particular, to a workstation and a warehousing system.

With the continuous development of smart warehousing technology, society's demand for warehousing is also increasing. Workstations and robots can assist in the processing of various types of goods, improve cargo processing efficiency and reduce costs. In the current smart warehousing system, when an order issued by the customer system is obtained, the order can be sent to the workstation first, and then a pick-up task is generated for the bin robot according to the workstation's cargo requirements. The bin robot then collects the materials containing the goods. The boxes are transported to the corresponding workstations, and the picking personnel complete the picking.

Typically, the goods in each order may be the same or different, so each workstation may need to pick the same goods. If the goods required by multiple workstations are in the same bin, the bin is a cross-station bin and needs to be picked by multiple workstations. After all workstations have completed picking, the material box needs to be returned to the warehouse. At this time, the material box is the material box to be returned to the warehouse.

Currently, only the boxes to be crossed between stations and the boxes to be returned to the warehouse are transported by the box robot, and the workstation is only matched with a single box robot. Since the bin robot can transport multiple bins at a time, when the bin robot carries bins to be crossed and bins to be returned to the warehouse at the same time, the overall transport efficiency of the bin robot will be reduced, resulting in lower overall outbound efficiency.

The present disclosure provides a workstation and a storage system to solve the current problem of When the robot carries cross-station bins and return bins at the same time, it will reduce the overall transport efficiency of the bin robot, resulting in low overall outbound efficiency.

A first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a workstation, including: at least two workstation bodies; the workstation body includes: a conveyor line, the conveyor line includes: a converging conveyor line and a branch conveyor line, the branch conveyor line includes: box conveying line and at least two box-picking and conveying lines; the at least two box-picking and conveying lines include at least one first box-picking and conveying line matched with the first robot, and at least one second box-picking and conveying line matched with the second robot; The intersections of the first box-taking conveying line, the second box-taking conveying line and the merging conveying line are located downstream of the intersection of the box-releasing conveying line and the merging conveying line; the workstation body , used to support the first robot and the second robot to transport the target material box on the corresponding box picking and conveying line.

Optionally, in the workstation as described above, the first box-taking conveyor line transports the material boxes to be returned to the warehouse or the material boxes to be crossed over; wherein the material boxes to be returned to the warehouse are to be returned to the warehouse by the first robot. The first box-taking conveyor line transports the boxes back to the inventory area; the second box-picking and conveying line transports the boxes to be crossed; wherein the boxes to be crossed are for the first robot to be transferred from the first The box picking and conveying line transports the boxes to other workstations or the second robot transports the boxes to other workstations through the second box picking and conveying line.

Optionally, in the workstation as described above, there are multiple box-releasing conveyor lines, and the box-releasing conveyor lines include at least one first box-releasing conveyor line matched with the first robot, and at least one first box-releasing conveyor line matched with the second robot. A second conveyor line for placing boxes.

Optionally, in the workstation as described above, the length of each branch conveyor line is the same; the first box placing conveyor line is connected to the starting point of the converging conveyor line; the second box placing conveyor line is connected to the third A box-releasing conveyor line is adjacent; the second box-taking conveyor line and the converging conveyor line The end point is connected; the first box-taking conveying line is adjacent to the second box-taking conveying line.

Optionally, in the workstation as described above, the length of the first box putting conveyor line is the same as the length of the first box taking conveyor line; the length of the second box putting conveyor line is the same as the length of the second box taking conveyor line. The lengths of the conveyor lines are the same; the difference between the length of the first box-releasing conveyor line and the length of the second box-releasing conveyor line is a preset length; the preset length is at least greater than the length of the second robot; The first box-releasing conveyor line is connected to the starting point of the merging conveyor line; the second box-releasing conveyor line is adjacent to the first box-releasing conveyor line; and the first box-taking conveyor line is connected to the merging conveyor line. The end points of the conveying lines are connected; the second box-taking conveying line is adjacent to the first box-taking conveying line.

A second aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure provides a warehousing system, including: a control device, a first robot, a second robot, and a workstation as described in any one of the first aspects; the control device is connected to the first robot, the second robot respectively. And workstation communication connection; the first robot is used to pick and place the material boxes to be returned to the warehouse and/or the material boxes to be crossed; the second robot is used to pick and place the boxes to be crossed; the control device is used to control The first robot or the second robot transports the target material box on the corresponding box picking and conveying line on the workstation body.

Optionally, in the warehousing system as described above, the height of the second robot is smaller than the height corresponding to the horizontal line where the converging conveyor line and each branch conveyor line are located in the workstation body; the main activity area of the first robot and the main activity area of the second robot are There is no overlap; the main activity area of the second robot includes: the internal area and the lower area of each workstation body and the area between each workstation body; the control device is used to control the first robot or the second robot to pass through the corresponding main activity area. Move mode to move.

Optionally, in the warehousing system as described above, the first robot main activity area includes: an area between the box picking area and the inventory area of the first box picking conveyor line of each workstation body.

Optionally, in the warehousing system as described above, the area between the box picking area and the inventory area of the first box picking conveyor line of each workstation body includes: a driving area and a queuing waiting area, and the queuing waiting area is the third A robot queues up and waits to enter the driving area or the box picking area of the first box picking conveyor line of the workstation body or the box placing area of the first box placing conveyor line of the workstation body.

Optionally, in the warehousing system as described above, the box putting conveyor line of the workstation body includes: a first box putting conveyor line and a second box put conveying line; the second box put conveying line is connected to the starting point of the merging conveyor line; The first box putting conveying line is adjacent to the second box putting conveying line; the second box taking conveying line is connected to the end point of the converging conveying line; the first box taking conveying line is adjacent to the second box taking conveying line.

Optionally, in the storage system as described above, the second box-releasing conveyor line, the second box-taking conveyor line and the merging conveyor line are all in the same direction.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a workstation and a warehousing system. The workstation includes: at least two workstation bodies; the workstation body includes: a conveyor line, the conveyor line includes: a converging conveyor line and a branch conveyor line, and the branch conveyor line includes: A box-releasing conveyor line and at least two box-picking conveyor lines; the at least two box-picking and conveying lines include at least one first box-picking conveyor line matching the first robot, and at least one second box-picking conveyor line matching the second robot Conveying line; the intersections of the first box-taking conveying line, the second box-taking conveying line and the converging conveying line are located downstream of the intersection of the box-releasing conveying line and the converging conveying line; The workstation body is used to support the first robot and the second robot to transport the target material box on the corresponding box picking and conveying line. In the workstation of the embodiment of the present disclosure, each workstation body includes at least one first box-taking conveyor line matched with the first robot, and at least one second box-picked conveyor line matched with the second robot, which can be used to support the first robot and The second robot transports the target material box on the corresponding box picking and conveying line. By supporting the first robot and the second robot to pick up boxes and deliver boxes in different areas, the efficiency of the first robot and the second robot in picking up boxes and delivering boxes can be improved, thereby making the overall outbound efficiency higher.

1:The first robot

2:Second robot

3: Workstation body

4: Target bin

5:Control equipment

6: Inventory area

31: Convergence conveyor line

33:Conveyor line for placing boxes

35: The first box taking conveyor line

37: The second box taking conveyor line

331: The first box placing conveyor line

333: The second box placing conveyor line

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

Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a workstation provided by a first embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a workstation provided by a second embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a workstation provided by a third embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 4 Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of the warehousing system provided by the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of the warehousing system provided by the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 6 is a schematic structural diagram of the warehousing system provided by the sixth embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 7 is a schematic structural diagram of the warehousing system provided by the seventh embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the warehousing system provided by the present disclosure.

Specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown through the above-mentioned drawings and will be described in more detail below. These drawings and written description are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosed concepts in any way, but rather to illustrate the concepts of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art with reference to the specific embodiments.

Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, the same numbers in different drawings refer to the same or similar elements unless otherwise indicated. The implementations described in the following exemplary embodiments are not intended to be related to All embodiments consistent with this disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with aspects of the disclosure as detailed in the appended claims.

The technical solutions of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with specific examples. The following specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be described again in some embodiments. Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In order to clearly understand the technical solution of the present application, the prior art solution will first be introduced in detail. The current smart warehousing system consists of control equipment, robots, and workstations. The control equipment will instantly obtain the orders issued by the customer system and distribute the orders to various workstations. At the same time, based on the cargo needs of each workstation, the bin robot generates a pick-up task to control the bin robot to transport bins containing goods to each workstation. Bin robots can transport bins from one workstation to another, and can also travel between inventory areas and workstations. Currently, only cross-station bins are transported by bin robots. Since the bin robot can transport multiple bins at a time, when the bin robot carries cross-station bins and return bins at the same time, the overall transport efficiency of the bin robot will be reduced. , resulting in lower overall outbound efficiency.

Therefore, in view of the technical problem in the prior art that when the bin robot carries cross-station bins and return bins at the same time, the overall transport efficiency of the bin robot will be reduced, resulting in low overall outbound efficiency, the inventor is currently researching It was found that on the basis of the existing technology, two types of robots can be used to transport boxes, and the workstation can be improved to a certain extent so that the workstation can support the first robot and the second robot to pick up the target boxes on the corresponding box picking conveyor line. Carry out transportation to improve overall outbound efficiency.

Specifically, after improvement, the workstation includes: at least two workstation entities. The workstation body includes: conveyor line, which includes: converging conveyor line and branch conveyor line, branch conveyor line The delivery line includes: a box placing conveyor line and at least two box taking conveyor lines. The at least two box-picking and conveying lines include at least one first box-picking and conveying line matched with the first robot, and at least one second box-picking and conveying line matched with the second robot. The intersections of the first box-taking conveyor line, the second box-picking conveyor line and the merging conveyor line are all located downstream of the intersection of the box-releasing conveyor line and the merging conveyor line. The workstation body is used to support the first robot and the second robot to transport the target boxes on the corresponding box picking and conveying line. Each workstation body of the workstation in the embodiment of the present disclosure includes at least one first box-taking conveyor line matched with the first robot, and at least one second box-picked conveyor line matched with the second robot, which can be used to support the first robot and The second robot transports the target material box on the corresponding box picking and conveying line. By supporting the first robot and the second robot in picking up, placing, and transporting boxes in different areas, the efficiency of the first robot and the second robot in picking up, placing, and transporting boxes can be improved, thereby making the overall outbound efficiency higher.

Based on the above creative discovery, the inventor proposes the technical solution of the present application.

The embodiments of the present disclosure will be introduced below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a workstation provided by the first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1, in this embodiment, the workstation includes: at least two workstation bodies 3. The workstation body 3 includes a conveyor line. The conveyor line includes a converging conveyor line 31 and a branch conveyor line. The branch conveyor line includes a box placing conveyor line 33 and at least two box taking conveyor lines.

The at least two box-picking and conveying lines include at least one first box-picking and conveying line 35 matching the first robot 1 and at least one second box-picking and conveying line 37 matching the second robot 2 . The intersections of the first box-taking conveying line 35 and the second box-taking conveying line 37 and the converging conveying line 31 are located downstream of the intersection of the box-releasing conveying line 33 and the converging conveying line 31 .

Workstation body 3, used to support the pairing of the first robot 1 and the second robot 2 The target box 4 on the box conveying line should be taken for transportation.

In this embodiment, the target material box 4 can be any material box on the conveyor line, and the type of the target material box 4 is a material box to be returned to the warehouse or a material box to be crossed to the station. The material box to be returned to the warehouse refers to the material box that is picked in the workstation body 3, and the next transportation destination is the inventory area. The material box to be cross-station refers to the material box that is picked in a workstation body 3, and the next transportation destination is other workstation body 3. material box.

The first box-taking conveying line 35 can be matched with the material boxes to be returned to the warehouse, and transport the material boxes to be returned to the warehouse, and the second box-taking and conveying line 37 can be matched with the material boxes to be crossed to the station, and transport the material boxes to be crossed to the station. At the same time, it can also be set according to actual needs. For example, the first box-taking conveyor line 35 can be matched with the material boxes to be returned to the warehouse and the material boxes to be crossed to the station, and the material boxes to be returned to the warehouse and the material boxes to be crossed to the station are transported by the first robot 1 Responsible for shipping. By matching the box picking conveyor line with the type of material box and the division of labor between the first robot 1 and the second robot 2 when transporting the material box, the overall transport efficiency of the material box can be improved.

Since in practical applications, the number of boxes to be returned to the warehouse is relatively large, the first robot 1 can be a robot with the function of transporting multiple boxes at a time, and the second robot 2 can be a robot that can only transport one box at a time, such as Belt type single box robot, jacking type robot, etc.

For example, the first box-taking conveyor line 35 may only transport the storage boxes to be returned. At this time, the first robot 1 only transports the storage boxes to be returned. The second box-picking conveyor line 37 only transports the material boxes to be crossed, and the second robot 2 only transports the material boxes to be crossed. This allows the first robot 1 and the second robot 2 to transport different types of material boxes respectively, thereby improving the overall transport efficiency of the material boxes to be returned to the warehouse and the material boxes to be crossed to the station.

For example, the first box-taking conveyor line 35 can transport the material boxes to be returned to the warehouse and the material boxes to be crossed to the station. At this time, the first robot 1 can transport the material boxes to be returned to the warehouse and the boxes to be crossed to the station. The second box-taking conveyor line 37 can transport the material boxes to be crossed. At this time, the second box-picking and conveying line 37 only transports the material boxes to be crossed. Station material box. The boxes to be crossed from the merging conveyor line 31 to the first box-taking conveyor line 35 may be arranged in multiple consecutive rows, or may be arranged crosswise with the boxes to be returned to the warehouse. When the boxes to be crossed are arranged in multiple rows, the same first robot 1 can be used to transport the same batch of boxes to be crossed, thereby improving the transport efficiency of the boxes. The multiple consecutive arrangements can be arranged according to whether the next workstation body 3 to which the to-be-crossed-station material box is transported is the same, or the arrangement can be performed only by considering that the type of the material box is the to-be-cross-station material box.

Due to the large number of robots in actual application scenarios, the first robot 1 may be lined up and waiting. At this time, the first robot 1 can be lined up along the direction from the workstation body 3 to the inventory area, or along the direction from the workstation body 3 to the inventory area. 3. Arrange them in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the inventory area, thereby making the robots more orderly.

At the same time, multiple channels can also be divided into the area between the workstation body 3 and the inventory area, such as a high-speed passage for the movement of the first robot 1 or the second robot 2, and a queuing channel for the first robot 1 or the second robot. 2 wait in line to further ensure that the moving areas of the first robot 1 and the second robot 2 do not overlap and the two robots do not interfere with each other.

Optionally, in order to further improve the overall transport efficiency of the box robot, multiple box placing conveyor lines 33 can be provided on the workstation body 3 , and the box placing conveyor lines 33 include at least one first line that matches the first robot 1 The box placing conveyor line 331 is at least one second box placing conveyor line 333 matched with the second robot 2 .

When the first robot 1 takes the material box from the inventory area or other workstation body 3 and transports it to the current workstation body 3, it no longer needs to line up with the second robot 2 to place the material box on the same box placing conveyor line. The first robot 1 can place the material box on the matching first box placing conveyor line 331. Similarly, the second robot 2 can also place the material box on the matching second box placing conveyor line 333, which improves the first The efficiency of the robot 1 and the second robot 2 in placing the material box to the workstation body 3.

As shown in FIG. 2 , in addition to providing multiple box placing conveyor lines 33 , the lengths of each branch conveyor line including the multiple box placing conveyor lines 33 can be further set to be the same. At the same time, the first placing conveyor line The box conveyance line 331 is connected to the starting point of the merge conveyance line 31 . The second box placing and conveying line 333 is adjacent to the first box placing and conveying line 331 . The second box-taking conveyor line 37 is connected to the end point of the merging conveyor line 31 . The first box-taking conveying line 35 is adjacent to the second box-taking conveying line 37 .

When the lengths of the branch conveyor lines are the same, the first robot 1 and the second robot 2 can move to the corresponding box-taking conveyor line in a circular or straight manner after placing the boxes on the corresponding box-putting conveyor line 33 .

After the first robot 1 places the material box on the first box placing conveyor line 331, it needs to determine whether there is a second robot 2 in the box placing area of the second box placing conveyor line 333, and the queuing situation of the second robot 2. If there is no second robot 2, The second robot can move in a straight line to the waiting area or the box picking area of the first box picking conveyor line 35 .

After the second robot 2 places the material box on the second box placing conveyor line 333, it needs to determine whether there is the first robot 1 in the box picking area of the first box picking conveyor line 35, and the queuing situation of the first robot 1. If there is no A robot can move in a straight line to the waiting area or the box picking area of the second box picking conveyor line 37 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , in addition to having a plurality of box placing conveyor lines 33 , the length of the first box putting conveyor line 331 and the length of the first box taking out conveyor line 35 can be further set to be the same. The length of the second box placing conveyor line 333 and the length of the second box taking out conveyor line 37 are set to be the same. The difference between the length of the first box placing conveyor line 331 and the length of the second box placing conveyor line 333 is a preset length. The preset length is at least greater than the length of the second robot 2 .

The first box placing conveyor line 331 is connected to the starting point of the merging conveyor line 31 . The second box placing and conveying line 333 is adjacent to the first box placing and conveying line 331 . The first box taking conveyor line 35 and the merge conveyor The end point of line 31 is connected. The second box-taking conveying line 37 is adjacent to the first box-taking conveying line 35 .

At this time, the structure of the workstation body 3 is that the second box placing conveyor line 333 and the second box picking conveyor line 37 are wrapped by the first box putting conveying line 331 and the first box picking conveyor line 35, and the second box putting conveying line 331 and the first box picking conveyor line 35 are wrapped. The length of the line 333 and the second box taking conveyor line 37 is shorter. As shown in Figure 3, the waiting area and the moving area between the first robot 1 and the second robot 2 are separated to a certain extent. After placing the transported material boxes on the first box placing conveyor line 331, the first robot 1 can directly move to the box picking area of the first box picking conveyor line 35 or the waiting area of the first box picking conveyor line 35 without It is necessary to determine whether the movement path will be blocked by the second robot 2. In the same way, after the second robot 2 places the transported material box on the second box placing conveyor line 333, it can directly move to the box picking area of the second box picking conveyor line 37 or the waiting area of the second box picking conveyor line 37. , there is no need to judge whether the movement path will be blocked by the first robot 1.

By improving the branch conveyor line of the workstation body 3, the waiting areas and moving paths of the first robot 1 and the second robot 2 can be further separated, reducing the mutual influence of the first robot 1 and the second robot 2, and improving the efficiency of the first robot 1. and the overall efficiency of the second robot 2 in transporting the material box.

As shown in Figure 4, this embodiment also provides a warehousing system, including: a control device 5, a first robot 1, a second robot 2, and a workstation as shown in any one of Embodiments 1 to 3. The control device 5 is communicatively connected with the first robot 1, the second robot 2 and the workstation respectively (see Figure 8).

The first robot 1 is used to pick and place the material boxes to be returned to the warehouse and/or the material boxes to be crossed to the station.

The second robot 2 is used to pick and place the material boxes to be crossed.

The control device 5 is used to control the first robot 1 or the second robot 2 to transport the target bin 4 on the corresponding box picking conveyor line on the workstation body 3, and the destination area of the transport is the warehouse. Storage area 6 or other workstation body 3.

In the warehousing system of this embodiment, the target bin 4 can be any bin on the conveyor line, and the category can be a bin to be returned to the warehouse or a bin to be crossed to the station. The control device 5 is intended for various forms of digital computers, such as laptop computers, desktop computers, workstations, personal digital assistants, servers, blade servers, mainframe computers, and other suitable computers.

The control device 5 may include: a processor and a memory. The various components are connected to each other using different busbars and can be mounted on a common motherboard or otherwise mounted as desired. The processor can process instructions executed within the control device 5 . The bus may be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. Buses can be divided into address buses, data buses, control buses, etc.

The control device 5 can determine the type of the target bin 4 on the conveying line, and determine the box-taking conveying line corresponding to the target bin 4 according to the type of the target bin 4 on the conveying line, thereby controlling the first robot 1 or the second robot 2 to control the workstation body. 3 is transported corresponding to the target box 4 on the box taking conveyor line.

In this embodiment, the overall number of material boxes to be returned to the warehouse is relatively large, and the corresponding box taking and conveying line is the first box taking and conveying line 35, while the overall number of material boxes to be crossed over is relatively small. The situation of the boxes, such as whether the boxes to be crossed are continuously arranged, whether the current number of boxes to be crossed is larger, etc., to determine whether the multiple boxes to be crossed correspond to the first box taking conveyor line 35 or the second box taking conveyor line 37, to be transported by the first robot 1 or the second robot 2.

For example, when there are a large number of cross-station material boxes and they are arranged continuously, it can be confirmed that The corresponding box-taking conveying line is defined as the first box-taking conveying line 35, so that the first robot 1 transports the plurality of material boxes to be crossed to improve the transportation efficiency.

At the same time, you can also select a certain material box that has not entered the box taking conveyor line as the target material box 4, and determine the types and corresponding quantities of the multiple material boxes that have not entered the box taking conveyor line in the preset area of the target material box 4. And determine the first box-taking conveying line 35 or the second box-taking conveying line 37 corresponding to the target material box 4 according to the types and corresponding quantities of the plurality of material boxes, so that the workstation body 3 transports the target material box 4 to the third material box. A box-taking conveying line 35 or a second box-taking conveying line 37.

For example, target bin 4 is a bin to be crossed between stations. If multiple bins within the preset area of target bin 4 that have not entered the box taking conveyor line are all bins to be returned to the warehouse, then it is determined that target bin 4 corresponds to the second station. Take the box conveying line 37. If the multiple boxes in the preset area of the target box 4 that have not entered the box taking conveyor line are all boxes to be crossed, then it is determined that the target box 4 corresponds to the first box taking conveyor line 35. If The multiple bins that have not entered the box picking conveyor line in the preset area of the target bin include bins to be crossed to the station and bins to be returned to the warehouse. According to the number of bins to be crossed in the multiple bins and the first predetermined The relationship between the quantity thresholds is set to determine the first box-taking conveying line 35 or the second box-taking conveying line 37 that the target bin 4 finally corresponds to.

The preset area can be set according to needs, such as the first two bins centered on target bin 4, or the last two bins centered on target bin 4, etc. For example, according to the direction from the box putting conveyor line to the box taking conveyor line, the three bins in front of the target bin 4 are the bins to be crossed, the bins to be crossed, and the bins to be returned to the warehouse. box, and the three boxes behind the target box 4 are all boxes to be returned to the warehouse. Assuming that the preset area of the target bin 4 is the first two bins with the target bin 4 as the center plus the last two bins, the types and types of the multiple bins in the preset area are three. There are two material boxes to be returned to the warehouse, and the order is three material boxes to be crossed to the warehouse - two material boxes to be returned to the warehouse.

At the same time, for the target bin 4 that has not entered the box picking conveyor line, and the target bin 4 When a container is to be moved across stations, the corresponding container conveying line may also be determined based on the relationship between the number of all the containers on the second container conveying line 37 and the second preset quantity threshold. For example, if it is determined that the number of all bins on the second bin conveying line 37 is greater than the second preset quantity threshold, then it is determined that the target bin 4 corresponds to the first bin conveying line 35 .

In order to enable the boxes that have not entered the box picking conveyor line to be better arranged according to the box categories, the first robot 1 can be controlled to place the boxes in a preset order when the first robot 1 places the boxes. Specifically:

The control device 5 determines the first robot 1 in the box placing area of the first box placing conveyor line 331 and the number of bins to be carried by the first robot 1. The first robot 1 is in each target bin 4 that is ready to be carried. The state of placing the box into the box opening of the box putting area.

The control device 5 controls the first robot 1 to place each target box 4 carried by the first robot 1 into the box opening of the box putting area according to the number of boxes to be crossed and the third preset quantity threshold.

The first robot 1 can travel back and forth between the inventory area 6 and the workstation body 3. Therefore, the source of the material boxes placed by the first robot 1 at the target workstation body 3 can be the material boxes in the inventory area 6 or the material boxes of other workstation bodies 3. The type of material box can be a material box to be cross-station or a material box to be returned to the warehouse. When the number of boxes to be crossed by the first robot 1 is greater than or equal to the third preset quantity threshold, the first robot 1 can be controlled to continuously place the boxes to be crossed to provide a basis for the subsequent continuous arrangement of the boxes to be crossed. . When the number of material boxes to be crossed carried by the first robot 1 is less than the third preset quantity threshold, the first robot 1 can be controlled to place all the material boxes carried in the order of acquisition time, random placement order, etc.

For example, if the number of material boxes to be crossed by the first robot 1 is greater than or equal to the third preset quantity threshold, all the materials to be crossed by the first robot 1 are controlled. The boxes are continuously placed into the box opening of the box placing area.

If the number of bins to be crossed carried by the first robot 1 is less than the third preset quantity threshold, the priority order of the picking tasks corresponding to each target bin 4 carried by the first robot 1 is determined, and the first robot is controlled. 1. Put each target box 4 carried into the box opening of the box placing area in order of priority.

By controlling the order in which the first robot 1 places the material boxes, the number of continuously arranged material boxes to be crossed over on the converging conveyor line 31 can be increased, and the first robot 1 transports the continuously arranged material boxes to be crossed over, thereby improving the continuous The transport efficiency of the arranged to-be-crossed bins.

As shown in FIG. 5 , in order to further utilize the space of the warehousing system, the height of the second robot 2 can be set smaller than the height corresponding to the horizontal line where the merging conveyor line 31 and each branch conveyor line are located in the workstation body 3 . Therefore, the second robot 2 can move in the area below the workstation body 3 and between the workstation bodies 3, thereby improving the utilization rate of the storage movement space.

The main activity area of the first robot does not overlap with the main activity area of the second robot. The main activity area of the second robot includes: the inner area and the lower area of each workstation body 3 and the area between each workstation body 3 .

The control device 5 is used to control the first robot 1 or the second robot 2 to move through the corresponding main activity area.

At the same time, the first robot main activity area includes: the area between the box picking area of the first box picking conveyor line 35 of each workstation body 3 and the inventory area 6, which area is relatively large. Even if the first robot 1 is a large container robot, it can move freely in the area between the inventory area 6 and the workstation body 3 without easily causing congestion.

In this embodiment, since the first robot 1 is in the waiting state or ready to put Both the box state and the box-ready state are close to the main activity area of the first robot. Therefore, when the first robot 1 needs to move to the inventory area 6 or the box placement area of the branch conveyor line corresponding to the other workstation body 3, the first robot 1 It can move to the above-mentioned area only by passing through the main activity area of the first robot without passing through the main activity area of the second robot, which reduces the congestion situation of the first robot 1 and the second robot 2.

Optionally, the area between the box-picking area and the inventory area 6 of the first box-picking conveyor line 35 of each workstation body 3 includes: a driving area and a queuing and waiting area. The queuing and waiting area is where the first robot 1 queues and waits to enter the driving area. Or the area of the box picking area of the first box picking conveyor line 35 of the workstation body 3 or the box placing area of the first box placing conveyor line 331 of the workstation body 3 .

As shown in Figure 5, the upper half of the first robot's main activity area can be set as a driving area, and the lower half can be set as a queuing and waiting area. By functionally dividing the first robot's main activity area, the first robot 1 can The moving area moves at high speed to improve the moving efficiency of the first robot 1.

At the same time, when the number of first robots 1 is large, the main activity area of the first robot can also be divided into multiple waiting areas and multiple driving areas. The driving area range can be based on the number of first robots 1 that can move simultaneously in the area. to make selections so that severe congestion does not occur in each driving area.

For the second robot 2, if the second robot 2 moves from the internal area of the workstation body 3 to the inventory area 6, the second robot 2 will move to the destination area through the second robot main activity area and the first robot main activity area in sequence.

If the second robot 2 moves from the internal area of the workstation body 3 to the internal area of another workstation body 3, the second robot 2 needs to move to the destination area at least through the second robot main activity area.

The movement mode of the second robot 2 after carrying the material box is related to the overall height of the second robot 2 after carrying the material box. When the second robot 2 does not carry the material box, the overall height is the height of the second robot 2. At this time, The second robot 2 can shuttle around the lower area of each workstation body 3, and when the second robot 2 carries a material box, the overall height is the sum of the height of the second robot 2 and the height of the material box.

The second robot 2 is in the state of carrying a material box, and when the overall height is less than the height corresponding to the horizontal line where the converging conveyor line 31 and each branch conveyor line are located in the workstation body 3, the second robot 2 can still only pass through the second robot's main activity area. Move to the destination area corresponding to the other workstation body 3, for example, pass through the area below the branch conveyor line, and pass through the area below the branch conveyor line of the other workstation body 3, and finally reach the destination area.

When the overall height is greater than or equal to the height corresponding to the horizontal line where the converging conveyor line 31 and each branch conveyor line are located in the workstation body 3, the second robot 2 cannot pass through the lower area of the workstation body 3. Therefore, when the second robot 2 moves When approaching the branch conveyor line, it is necessary to move from the main activity area of the second robot 2 to the main activity area of the first robot 1 to bypass the branch conveyor line, and then move to the destination area.

In this embodiment, the workstation body 3 can be further improved, specifically as follows: the second box-laying conveyor line 333 in the workstation body 3 is connected to the starting point of the converging conveyor line 31 . The first box placing and conveying line 331 is adjacent to the second box placing and conveying line 333 . The second box-taking conveyor line 37 is connected to the end point of the merging conveyor line 31 . The first box-taking conveying line 35 is adjacent to the second box-taking conveying line 37 .

Through the characteristic that the second robot 2 can shuttle in the area below the workstation body 3, the second robot 2 can move from the bottom of the workstation body 3 after placing the material box in the box placing area of the second box placing conveyor line 333, that is, when not carrying the material box. The area shuttles to the second box taking conveyor line 37. At the same time, since the first box-releasing conveyor line 331 and the first box-taking conveyor line 35 are arranged adjacent to each other, the first robot 1. When moving from the first box-releasing conveyor line 331 to the first box-taking conveyor line 35, it is not necessary to consider whether there is a second robot 2 on the moving path, and the moving path is short, and the moving efficiency of the first robot 1 is high.

When the workstation body 3 is set up as described above, the first robot 1 can move more efficiently in the internal area of the workstation body 3. At the same time, although the second robot 2 has a longer movement path, it can shuttle from the area below the workstation body 3 to a higher moving efficiency. Not low. The movement efficiency of the first robot 1 and the second robot 2 in the internal area of the workstation body 3 is improved as a whole, and the overall transport efficiency of the material box is also improved.

Optionally, as shown in Figure 6, the second box placing conveyor line 333, the second box taking conveyor line 37 and the converging conveyor line 31 are all in the same direction. When the shape of the workstation body 3 changes, if the overall height of the second robot 2 and the carrying bin is greater than or equal to the height of the workstation body 3, the path that the second robot 2 can move will also change accordingly.

The destination area to which the second robot 2 needs to move is the box placing area of the second box placing conveyor line 333 of the next sequential workstation body 3 . The box placing area of the second box placing conveyor line 333 of the next sequential workstation body 3 is adjacent to the box taking area of the second box taking conveyor line 37 of the current workstation 3 body. As shown in Figure 6, it is assumed that the left workstation body 3 is the current workstation body 3, and the right workstation body 3 is the next workstation body 3.

If the destination area is determined to be the box placing area of the second box placing conveyor line 333 of the next sequential workstation body 3, the second robot 2 is controlled to move to the destination area in a straight line. As shown in Figure 6, when the destination area is the box placing area of the second box placing conveyor line 333 of the right workstation body 3, that is, the lower left corner area of the right workstation body 3 in the figure, at this time, the second robot 2 is on the left workstation body The box-picking area of the second box-picking conveyor line 37 of 3 is the lower right corner area of the left workstation body 3 in the figure. After picking up the boxes, it can be moved in a straight line to the lower left corner of the right workstation body 3 and perform the box placing operation.

When the destination area is not the box putting area of the second box putting conveyor line 333 of the next sequential workstation body 3, the destination area may be the next sequential workstation body 3, or other workstation bodies 3. At this time, due to the second robot 2 and the overall height of the target bin 4 is greater than or equal to the height of the workstation body 3, the second robot 2 still needs to pass through the second robot main activity area and the first robot main activity area to move to the destination area.

If the overall height of the second robot 2 and the carrying material box is less than the height corresponding to the horizontal line where the converging conveyor line 31 and each branch conveyor line are located in the workstation body 3, the second robot 2 can still move to other places only through the second robot's main activity area. The destination area corresponding to the workstation body 3.

When the destination area is the box placing area of the second box placing conveyor line 333 of the next sequential workstation body 3, the movement method is the same as when the above-mentioned overall height is greater than or equal to the height of the workstation body 3.

When the destination area is not the box putting area of the second box putting conveyor line 333 of the next sequential workstation body 3, the destination area may be the next sequential workstation body 3, or other workstation bodies 3. At this time, due to the second robot 2 and the overall height of the target bin 4 is smaller than the height of the workstation body 3, and can still pass through the lower area of the second box-laying conveyor line 333, the merging conveyor line 31 and/or the second box-taking conveyor line 37 of each workstation body 3 way to finally reach the destination area. Thereby, the moving path of the second robot 2 is shortened, and the efficiency of the second robot in transporting the material box is improved.

As shown in Figure 7, the shape of the workstation body 3 of this embodiment is the same as that of the workstation body 3 in the third embodiment, that is, the length of the first box placing conveyor line 331 in the workstation body 3 is the same as the length of the first box taking conveyor line 35. , the length of the second box-releasing conveyor line 333 is the same as the length of the second box-releasing conveyor line 37, and the length of the first box-releasing conveyor line 331 is the length of the second box-releasing conveyor line 333. The difference between is a preset length, and the preset length is at least greater than the length of the second robot 2 .

At the same time, the first box placing conveyor line 331 is connected to the starting point of the merging conveyor line 31 . The second box placing and conveying line 333 is adjacent to the first box placing and conveying line 331 . The first box-taking conveyor line 35 is connected to the end point of the merging conveyor line 31 . The second box-taking conveying line 37 is adjacent to the first box-taking conveying line 35 .

In this embodiment, if it is determined that the overall height of the second robot 2 and the target bin 4 is smaller than the height of the workstation body 3 , the second robot 2 is controlled to move to the destination area through the area below the branch conveyor line of each workstation body 3 .

As shown in Figure 7, the four branch conveying lines are perpendicular to the converging conveying line 31. The branch conveying line matching the second robot 2 is relatively shorter, while the branch conveying line matching the first robot 1 is relatively longer, thus forming An area where the second robot 2 can stay and wait is obtained. If the overall height of the second robot 2 and the target bin 4 is smaller than the height of the workstation body 3, at this time, the second robot 2 can directly pass through the lower area of the branch conveyor line to reach the destination area of other workstation bodies 3 without the need for Then the detour is performed through the main activity area of the first robot, thereby improving the movement efficiency of the second robot 2.

Optionally, in this embodiment, after the first robot 1 or the second robot 2 places the transported material boxes on the corresponding box placing conveyor line, if the destination area to which the second robot 2 moves is the second box picking In the box picking area of the conveyor line 37, the target robot is controlled to move in a straight direction to the destination area.

If the destination area to which the first robot 1 moves is the box-picking area of the first box-picking conveyor line 35, the target robot is controlled to move to the destination area in a straight line.

As shown in FIG. 7 , although the first box putting conveying line 331 and the first box taking conveying line 35 are separated by the second box putting conveying line 333 and the second box taking conveying line 37 , the second box putting conveying line 333 The second box-picking conveyor line 37 is relatively short and will not affect the movement of the first robot 1. At the same time, Therefore, the movement of the second robot 2 will not be affected. Therefore, either the first robot 1 or the second robot 2 can move in a straight line from the box putting area corresponding to the box putting conveyor line to the box taking area corresponding to the box taking conveyor line.

Other implementations of the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure disclosed herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the embodiments of the disclosure that follow the general principles of the embodiments of the disclosure and include those in the technical field not disclosed by the embodiments of the disclosure. Common knowledge or common technical means. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the disclosed embodiments being indicated by the following claims.

It is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the precise structures described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the disclosed embodiments is limited only by the appended claims.

1:The first robot

2:Second robot

3: Workstation body

4: Target bin

31: Convergence conveyor line

33:Conveyor line for placing boxes

35: The first box taking conveyor line

37: The second box taking conveyor line

Claims (11)

A workstation, characterized in that it includes: at least two workstation bodies; the workstation body includes: a conveyor line, the conveyor line includes: a merging conveyor line and a branch conveyor line, the branch conveyor line includes: a box placing conveyor line and at least two The at least two box-taking and conveying lines include at least one first box-taking and conveying line matched with the first robot, and at least one second box-taking and conveying line matched with the second robot; the first The intersection of the box-taking conveying line and the second box-taking conveying line and the converging conveying line is located downstream of the intersection of the box-releasing conveying line and the converging conveying line; the workstation body is used to support The first robot and the second robot transport the target material boxes on the corresponding box picking and conveying lines. The workstation according to claim 1, characterized in that the first box-taking conveyor line transports the material boxes to be returned to the warehouse or the material boxes to be crossed to the station; wherein the material boxes to be returned to the warehouse are the materials to be returned to the warehouse by the first robot. The first box-taking conveyor line transports the material boxes back to the inventory area; the second box-picking and conveying line transports the material boxes to be crossed by the station; wherein the material boxes to be crossed by the first robot are transported by the first robot. The first box-taking conveyor line transports the boxes to other workstations or the second robot transports the boxes to other workstations through the second box-picking conveyor line. The workstation according to claim 1, characterized in that there are multiple box-releasing conveyor lines, and the box-releasing conveyor lines include at least one first box-releasing conveyor line matching the first robot, and the second robot Matching at least one second box placing conveyor line. The workstation according to claim 3, characterized in that the length of each branch conveyor line is the same; the first box placing conveyor line is connected to the starting point of the converging conveyor line; the second box placing conveyor line is connected to the starting point of the converging conveyor line; The first box-releasing conveying line is adjacent; the second box-taking conveying line is connected to the end point of the converging conveying line; the first box-taking conveying line is adjacent to the second box-taking conveying line. The workstation according to claim 3, characterized in that the length of the first box-releasing conveyor line is the same as the length of the first box-taking conveyor line; the length of the second box-releasing conveyor line is the same as the length of the second box-releasing conveyor line. The lengths of the two box-taking conveyor lines are the same; the difference between the length of the first box-releasing conveyor line and the length of the second box-releasing conveyor line is a preset length; the preset length is at least greater than that of the second robot The length of the first box-releasing conveyor line is connected to the starting point of the merged conveyor line; the second box-releasing conveyor line is adjacent to the first box-releasing conveyor line; the first box-taking conveyor line is connected to the starting point of the converging conveyor line; The end points of the merging conveyor lines are connected; the second box-taking conveying line is adjacent to the first box-taking conveying line. A warehousing system, characterized in that it includes: a control device, a first robot, a second robot and a workstation as described in any one of claims 1 to 5; the control device is connected to the first robot, the second robot and the workstation respectively. Communication connection; the first robot is used to pick and place the bins to be returned to the warehouse and/or the bins to be crossed; the second robot is used to pick and place the bins to be crossed; the control device is used to control the first The robot or the second robot transports the target material box on the corresponding box picking and conveying line on the workstation body. The warehousing system according to claim 6, characterized in that the height of the second robot is small The height corresponding to the horizontal line where the converging conveyor line and each branch conveyor line are located in the workstation body; the main activity area of the first robot does not overlap with the main activity area of the second robot; the main activity area of the second robot includes: the internal area of each workstation body and The lower area and the area between each workstation body; the control device is used to control the first robot or the second robot to move through the corresponding main activity area. The warehousing system according to claim 7, wherein the first robot main activity area includes: an area between the box picking area and the inventory area of the first box picking conveyor line of each workstation body. The warehousing system according to claim 8, wherein the area between the box picking area and the inventory area of the first box picking conveyor line of each workstation body includes: a driving area and a queuing waiting area, and the queuing waiting area The area is the area where the first robot queues up and waits to enter the driving area or the box picking area of the first box picking conveyor line of the workstation body or the box placing area of the first box releasing conveyor line of the workstation body. The warehousing system according to claim 7, characterized in that the box-releasing conveyor line of the workstation body includes: a first box-releasing conveyor line and a second box-releasing conveyor line; a link between the second box-releasing conveyor line and the merged conveyor line. The starting point is connected; the first box putting conveying line is adjacent to the second box putting conveying line; the second box taking conveying line is connected with the end point of the converging conveying line; the first box taking conveying line is adjacent to the second box taking conveying line . The warehousing system according to claim 10, wherein the second box-releasing conveyor line, the second box-taking conveyor line and the converging conveyor line are all in the same direction.

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