WO2022121460A1

WO2022121460A1 - Agv intelligent forklift, and method and apparatus for detecting platform state of floor stack inventory areas

Info

Publication number: WO2022121460A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/121157
Authority: WO
Inventors: 万慧铭; 徐光运; 张贻弓
Original assignee: 兰剑智能科技股份有限公司
Priority date: 2020-12-07
Filing date: 2021-09-28
Publication date: 2022-06-16
Also published as: CN112630786A; CN113447936B; CN113447936A

Abstract

An AGV intelligent forklift, and a method and apparatus for detecting the platform state of a floor stack inventory areas, the method comprising the following steps: acquiring data of all floor stack inventory areas in a warehouse, wherein the data of the floor stack inventory areas comprises the center positioning coordinates, length and width of the floor stack inventory areas; acquiring platform data in the floor stack inventory areas during the process in which the AGV intelligent forklift carries goods; and analyzing platform data information to obtain the storage state of the floor stack inventory areas. According to the scheme, the storage state of the floor stack inventory areas is obtained, and the AGV intelligent vehicle can be conveniently guided forwards to pick and place goods.

Description

AGV intelligent forklift and platform status detection method and device in ground stack storage area

technical field

The invention relates to an AGV intelligent forklift and a method and device for detecting the status of a platform in a ground stack storage area, belonging to the technical field of AGV forklift control.

Background technique

There are multiple stockpiling areas inside the modern logistics warehouse, and each stockpiling area is distributed with multiple platforms. The goods are stored on the platforms, and the goods are picked up and placed in and out of the stockpiling area by manual and AGV smart vehicles. . In order to send the platform picking and placing instructions to the AGV smart car, it is necessary to update the storage status of each ground stack inventory area in real time and display it on the electronic map.

In order to realize the function of updating the status of the regional platform in the database, two methods can be adopted: the first method is to set up sensors on the platform of the ground pile inventory area, and judge the platform status through the sensor signal changes; this method needs to complete the wiring around the platform, Setting up sensors and designing a cargo detection system is complicated and costly; second, after manually picking and placing goods on the platform, let the manual feed back the status of the platform after picking and placing the goods to the AGV system by scanning codes and other methods. Then, it is integrated with the platform data fed back after the AGV picks up and puts out the goods, so as to update the status of all the platforms in the stockpiling area, and then send it to the AGV system. To sum up, the measures for obtaining the status of existing regional platforms are not only costly but also inefficient.

Therefore, there is a need for a method for detecting the status of a platform in a ground stack storage area with improved efficiency while reducing costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention proposes a method and device for detecting the status of an AGV intelligent forklift and a platform in a ground stack storage area, which not only has low cost, but also has high efficiency.

The technical scheme adopted by the present invention to solve its technical problems is:

In a first aspect, a method for detecting the status of a platform in a ground pile inventory area provided by an embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that it includes the following steps:

Acquiring data of all ground pile inventory areas in the warehouse, the data of the ground pile inventory areas including the center positioning coordinates, length and width of the ground pile inventory area;

In the process of AGV intelligent forklift handling the goods, the platform data in the stockpiling area is obtained;

The data information of the platform is analyzed to obtain the storage status of the stockpiling area of the ground pile.

As a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, the obtaining data of all the ground pile inventory areas in the warehouse includes: acquiring data of all ground pile inventory areas within the warehouse from the AGV system, and extracting the data of the ground pile inventory areas. location and boundaries.

As a possible implementation of this embodiment, the acquisition of platform data in the ground stack inventory area during the process of the AGV intelligent forklift moving goods includes:

When the AGV intelligent forklift moves goods between different stockpiling areas in the warehouse, the laser scanner scans the stockpiling areas passing by on the way to obtain platform data.

As a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, the analysis of the platform data information to obtain the storage status of the ground pile inventory area includes:

According to the current position of the AGV intelligent forklift and the position of the laser scanner relative to the vehicle, the scanning data of the laser scanner is converted into the global map;

Calculate the coordinates of the center of the platform, the four corners of the platform and the position of the laser scanner in the global map;

Generate the line connecting the laser scanner to the center of the platform and the four corners of the platform, and find the line connecting the laser scanner to the four corners, the line connecting the center of the platform with the largest counterclockwise angle and the line with the largest clockwise angle; these two The straight line is the angular range from the laser scanner to the laser point of the platform;

Calculate the angular range of the two lines found, and filter the laser point data;

Calculate the relative position of a directional line segment from the laser scanner represented by each laser point and the platform, and determine whether the laser point is in front of the platform, on the platform or behind the platform;

Count the proportion of laser points in each position to all effective laser points, and get the ratio of hitting in front of the platform (occluded), the ratio of hitting on the platform, and the ratio of hitting the back of the platform;

According to the set availability ratio and out-of-stock ratio, the platform status is judged.

As a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, according to the set availability ratio and out-of-stock ratio, the platform status judgment is performed, including:

When the ratio of hitting on the platform > the set ratio of stock availability on the platform, it is considered that the platform is in stock;

When the availability judgment fails, it is judged whether there is no stock. When the ratio of the points behind the platform > the set platform out-of-stock ratio, it is considered that the platform is out of stock;

When the out-of-stock judgment fails, the platform is considered to be blocked;

If the station status cannot be judged, set the station status to unknown;

The non-unknown detection results of the same station N times are counted, and the result with more times is selected as the current detection result.

As a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, the detection method further includes the following steps: updating the storage state information of the ground pile inventory area.

As a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, the updating of the storage status information of the ground pile inventory area includes:

The AGV intelligent forklift uploads the storage status information of the ground pile inventory area to the AGV system;

The AGV system integrates the status data uploaded by all AGV smart vehicles, and updates the storage status of all the storage areas of the ground pile in the map.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a device for detecting the status of a platform in a ground stack storage area, including:

The inventory area data acquisition module is used to acquire the data of all the ground pile inventory areas in the warehouse, and the data of the ground pile inventory area includes the center positioning coordinates, length and width of the ground pile inventory area;

The platform scanning module is used to obtain the platform data in the storage area of the ground stack during the process of AGV intelligent forklift handling goods;

The data analysis module is used to analyze the data information of the platform, and obtain the storage status of the storage area of the ground pile.

As a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, the detection device further includes:

The information update module is used to update the storage status information of the ground pile inventory area.

In a third aspect, an AGV intelligent forklift provided by an embodiment of the present invention includes a laser scanner, a communication module, a processor, a memory, and a bus. The laser scanner is fixedly installed around the forklift's running direction to detect obstacles Implement obstacle avoidance function, and scan the storage area of the ground pile; the processor is connected with the AGV system through a communication module; the processor is connected with a laser scanner; the memory stores machine-readable instructions executable by the processor , when the computer device is running, the processor communicates with the memory through a bus, and the processor executes the machine-readable instructions, so as to execute the detection of the status of the storage area platform as described above. steps of the method.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a storage medium, where a computer program is stored on the storage medium, and when the computer program is run by a processor, the steps of the above-mentioned method for detecting the status of a platform in a storage area are arbitrarily executed.

The beneficial effects that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention can have are as follows:

The present invention utilizes the existing 2D laser scanner of the AGV intelligent forklift to realize the obstacle avoidance function. During the movement of the goods in the warehouse, it will pass through a plurality of storage areas of the ground pile, and the laser scanner will scan the storage area of the ground pile to obtain Through data analysis, the storage status of the ground stack inventory area, including the quantity of goods in the area, platform status, etc., is obtained. The present invention not only obtains the storage status of the ground stack storage area, but also conveniently guides the AGV intelligent vehicle to pick up and place the goods.

In order to detect whether there are obstacles on the moving route and realize the obstacle avoidance function, the AGV intelligent forklift is equipped with laser scanners around it. On this basis, the present invention proposes an AGV intelligent forklift. When the AGV intelligent forklift moves through the ground pile storage area, it uses a laser scanner to scan the ground pile storage area in real time, and obtains the ground pile storage area storage by analyzing the scanning data of the laser scanner. status, and update the storage status in the stockpiling area in real time, which is convenient to guide the AGV smart car to pick up and place the goods.

Description of drawings:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a method for detecting the status of a platform in a ground pile inventory area according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the interior of a warehouse according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a ground pile inventory area according to an exemplary embodiment;

Fig. 4 is a structural diagram of an apparatus for detecting the status of a platform in a ground stack storage area according to an exemplary embodiment.

Detailed ways

Below in conjunction with accompanying drawing and embodiment, the present invention will be further described:

In order to clearly illustrate the technical features of the solution, the present invention will be described in detail below through specific embodiments and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The following disclosure provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing different structures of the invention. In order to simplify the disclosure of the present invention, the components and arrangements of specific examples are described below. Furthermore, the present invention may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in different instances. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself indicate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or arrangements discussed. It should be noted that the components illustrated in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques and processes are omitted from the present invention to avoid unnecessarily limiting the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1-FIG. 3, a method for detecting the status of a platform in a ground pile inventory area provided by an embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that, it includes the following steps:

Acquiring data of all ground pile inventory areas in the warehouse, the data of the ground pile inventory areas including the center positioning coordinates, length and width of the ground pile inventory areas;

When the AGV intelligent forklift moves goods between different storage areas in the warehouse, the laser scanner scans the storage areas on the way through to obtain platform data.

Since the angle of the obstacle avoidance laser scanner is generally 270 degrees, after obtaining the angle range of the laser point from the laser scanner to the platform, a visual ratio can be obtained; The ratio of effective laser points, and then multiplying this ratio by the visible ratio, you can get the ratio of hitting in front of the platform (obscured), the ratio of hitting on the platform, and the ratio of hitting the back of the platform.

When the out-of-stock judgment fails, the platform is considered to be blocked;

If the station status cannot be judged, set the station status to unknown;

As a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, the detection method further includes the following steps: updating the storage status information of the storage area of the ground pile.

As shown in FIG. 4 , a device for detecting the status of a platform in a ground stack storage area provided by an embodiment of the present invention includes:

An AGV intelligent forklift provided by an embodiment of the present invention includes a laser scanner, a communication module, a processor, a memory and a bus. The laser scanner is fixedly installed around the running direction of the forklift, and is used to detect obstacles and realize the obstacle avoidance function , and scan the ground stack inventory area; the processor is connected to the AGV system through a communication module; the processor is connected to a laser scanner; the memory stores machine-readable instructions executable by the processor, when the processor is When the computer device is running, the processor communicates with the memory through a bus, and the processor executes the machine-readable instructions, so as to execute the steps of the above-mentioned method for detecting the status of a platform in a storage area.

At present, laser scanners for realizing obstacle avoidance function are installed around the AGV intelligent forklift. Now, these laser scanners are used to scan the storage area of the ground pile, and the present invention develops a new use function. The AGV intelligent forklift can reach each station according to the instructions of the host computer, and it knows the positioning data of all stations.

Specifically, the above-mentioned memory and processor can be a general-purpose memory and processor, which is not specifically limited here. When the processor runs a computer program stored in the memory, it can execute the above-mentioned method for detecting the status of a platform in a stockpiling area.

Corresponding to the starting method of the above application program, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a storage medium, where a computer program is stored on the storage medium, and the computer program is executed by the processor to execute the detection of the status of the platform in the storage area arbitrarily as described above. steps of the method.

The device for starting the application provided by the embodiments of the present application may be specific hardware on the device or software or firmware installed on the device, or the like. The implementation principles and technical effects of the devices provided in the embodiments of the present application are the same as those in the foregoing method embodiments. For brief description, for the parts not mentioned in the device embodiments, reference may be made to the corresponding content in the foregoing method embodiments. Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can all refer to the corresponding processes in the above method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, a system, or a computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other manners. The device embodiments described above are only illustrative. For example, the division of modules is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple modules or components may be combined or integrated. to another system, or some features can be ignored, or not implemented. On the other hand, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be through some communication interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or modules, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

Modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and components shown as modules may or may not be physical modules, that is, they may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network modules. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution in this embodiment.

In addition, each functional module in the embodiments provided in this application may be integrated into one processing module, or each module may exist physically alone, or two or more modules may be integrated into one module.

The present application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present application. It will be understood that each process and/or block in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of processes and/or blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to the processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine such that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce Means for implementing the functions specified in a flow or flow of a flowchart and/or a block or blocks of a block diagram.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory capable of directing a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory result in an article of manufacture comprising instruction means, the instructions The apparatus implements the functions specified in the flow or flow of the flowcharts and/or the block or blocks of the block diagrams.

These computer program instructions can also be loaded on a computer or other programmable data processing device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process such that The instructions provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flow or blocks of the flowcharts and/or the block or blocks of the block diagrams.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and not to limit them. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: the present invention can still be Modifications or equivalent replacements are made to the specific embodiments of the present invention, and any modifications or equivalent replacements that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

A method for detecting the status of a platform in a ground pile inventory area, characterized in that it includes the following steps:

Acquiring data of all ground pile inventory areas in the warehouse, the data of the ground pile inventory areas including the center positioning coordinates, length and width of the ground pile inventory areas;

In the process of AGV intelligent forklift handling the goods, the platform data in the stockpiling area is obtained;

The data information of the platform is analyzed to obtain the storage status of the stockpiling area of the ground pile.
The method for detecting the status of a platform in a ground pile inventory area according to claim 1, wherein the acquiring data of all ground pile inventory areas in the warehouse includes:

Obtain the data of all the stockpiling areas within the warehouse from the AGV system, and extract the location and boundaries of the stockpiling areas.
The method for detecting the status of a platform in a ground pile inventory area according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition of platform data in the ground pile inventory area during the process of the AGV intelligent forklift moving goods includes:

When the AGV intelligent forklift moves goods between different stockpiling areas in the warehouse, the laser scanner scans the stockpiling areas passing by on the way to obtain platform data.
The method for detecting the status of a platform in a ground pile inventory area according to claim 1, wherein the analyzing the platform data information to obtain the storage status of the ground pile inventory area includes:

According to the current position of the AGV intelligent forklift and the position of the laser scanner relative to the vehicle, the scan data of the laser scanner is converted into the global map;

Calculate the coordinates of the center of the platform, the four corners of the platform and the position of the laser scanner in the global map;

Generate the line connecting the laser scanner to the center of the platform and the four corners of the platform, and find the line connecting the laser scanner to the four corners, the line connecting the center of the platform with the largest counterclockwise angle and the line with the largest clockwise angle; these two The straight line is the angular range from the laser scanner to the laser point of the platform;

Calculate the angular range of the two lines found, and filter the laser point data;

Calculate the relative position of a directional line segment from the laser scanner represented by each laser point and the platform, and determine whether the laser point is in front of the platform, on the platform or behind the platform;

Count the proportion of laser points in each position to all effective laser points, and get the ratio of hitting in front of the platform, on the platform, and behind the platform;

According to the set availability ratio and out-of-stock ratio, the platform status is judged.
The method for detecting the status of a platform in a ground pile inventory area according to claim 4, wherein the step of judging the status of the platform according to the set availability ratio and out-of-stock ratio includes:

When the ratio of hitting on the platform > the set ratio of stock availability on the platform, it is considered that the platform is in stock;

When the availability judgment fails, it is judged whether there is no stock. When the ratio of the points behind the platform > the set platform out-of-stock ratio, it is considered that the platform is out of stock;

When the out-of-stock judgment fails, the platform is considered to be blocked;

If the station status cannot be judged, set the station status to unknown;

The non-unknown detection results of the same station N times are counted, and the result with more times is selected as the current detection result.
The method for detecting the status of a platform in a ground pile storage area according to claim 4, further comprising the step of: updating the storage status information of the ground pile storage area.
The method for detecting the status of a platform in a ground pile storage area according to claim 6, wherein the updating of the storage status information of the ground pile storage area includes:

The AGV intelligent forklift uploads the storage status information of the ground pile inventory area to the AGV system;

The AGV system integrates the status data uploaded by all AGV smart vehicles, and updates the storage status of all the storage areas of the ground pile in the map.
A device for detecting the status of a platform in a ground pile inventory area, characterized in that it includes:

The inventory area data acquisition module is used to acquire the data of all the ground pile inventory areas in the warehouse, and the data of the ground pile inventory area includes the center positioning coordinates, length and width of the ground pile inventory area;

The platform scanning module is used to obtain the platform data in the storage area of the ground stack during the process of AGV intelligent forklift handling goods;

The data analysis module is used to analyze the data information of the platform, and obtain the storage status of the storage area of the ground pile.
The device for detecting the status of a platform in a ground stack storage area according to claim 8, further comprising:

The information update module is used to update the storage status information of the ground pile inventory area.
An AGV intelligent forklift is characterized in that it includes a laser scanner, a communication module, a processor, a memory and a bus, the laser scanner is fixedly installed around the forklift's running direction, and is used to detect obstacles to achieve obstacle avoidance functions, and The storage area of the ground stack is scanned; the processor is connected to the AGV system through a communication module; the processor is connected to a laser scanner; the memory stores machine-readable instructions executable by the processor, when the computer device When running, the processor communicates with the memory through a bus, and the processor executes the machine-readable instructions, so as to execute the ground pile inventory area station status according to any one of claims 1-7 when executed. steps of the detection method.
A storage medium, characterized in that, a computer program is stored on the storage medium, and when the computer program is run by a processor, the computer program executes the steps of the method for detecting the status of a platform in a ground pile storage area according to any one of claims 1-7.