WO2023179352A1

WO2023179352A1 - Method and apparatus for controlling robot to move in working area, and related product

Info

Publication number: WO2023179352A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/079931
Authority: WO
Inventors: 宋桐娟; 林翰
Original assignee: 深圳市海柔创新科技有限公司
Priority date: 2022-03-24
Filing date: 2023-03-06
Publication date: 2023-09-28
Also published as: CN116835207A

Abstract

Provided are a method and apparatus for controlling a robot (2, 3) to move in a working area, and a related product. A workstation (4) and a first robot (2) are provided in the working area. The workstation (4) comprises a convergent conveying line and at least two branch conveying lines which intersect with the convergent conveying line, and the height of the first robot (2) is less than the heights of the convergent conveying line and each branch conveying line in the workstation (4); and a main activity area of the first robot (2) comprises a workstation area, wherein the workstation area is an inner area and a lower area of each workstation (4) comprising the current workstation (4), and areas between various workstations (4), and the first robot (2) is located at the current workstation (4). The method comprises: determining a target area to which a first robot (2) needs to move; and according to the target area, controlling the first robot (2) to pass through a main activity area of the first robot (2) so as to move to the target area. By using the method, the utilization rate of a movement space of a warehouse is improved, and the goods transportation efficiency is also improved.

Description

Methods, devices and related products for controlling the movement of robots in the work area

Technical field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of intelligent warehousing technology, and in particular, to a method, device and related products for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area.

Background technique

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 intelligent warehousing system, when an order issued by the customer system is obtained, the order can be sent to the workstation first, and then based on the workstation's cargo requirements, a pick-up task is generated for the bin robot, and the bin robot collects the goods containing the goods. The material boxes are transported to the corresponding workstations, and the picking personnel complete the picking.

In the application scenario of smart warehousing technology, the transportation of boxes from the warehouse to the workstation and from one workstation to other workstations are performed by the box robot. Due to the large size of the box robot, it cannot go to places with narrow spaces. Moving space is less efficiently utilized, resulting in less efficient delivery of goods.

Application content

The present disclosure provides a method, device and related products for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area to solve the problem of low utilization rate of moving space in warehouses due to the large size of the container robot and its inability to go to places with narrow spaces. , which leads to the problem of low efficiency of cargo transportation.

A first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area. A work station and a first robot are provided in the work area. The work station includes a merging conveyor line and at least two lines that intersect with the merging conveyor line. Branch conveyor line, the height of the first robot is smaller than the height of the converging conveyor line and each branch conveyor line in the workstation; the main activity area of the first robot includes a workstation area, and the workstation area includes each workstation including the current workstation. Work The inner area and lower area of the station and the area between each workstation, the first robot is located at the current workstation;

The methods include:

Determine the target area to which the first robot needs to move;

According to the target area, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot.

Optionally, in the method as described above, a second robot is also provided in the working area, and the main activity area of the second robot does not overlap with the main activity area of the first robot; the main activity area of the second robot The activity area includes the area between the workstation area and the inventory area;

The method also includes:

Determine the type of the target robot that needs to perform the operation of transporting the bin in the current workstation and the target area to which the target robot needs to move; the target robot is the first robot or the second robot;

When the target robot is the second robot, control the second robot to carry out the material box operation;

Control the movement of the second robot through the main activity area to the target area.

Optionally, as described above, the method of controlling the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot includes:

Control the first robot to transport the material box;

Control the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot.

When the target robot is the first robot, control the first robot to carry the material box;

Optionally, as described above, the workstation includes a merging conveyor line and at least four branch conveyor lines that intersect with the merging conveyor line;

The branch conveyor line includes at least one first box-releasing conveyor line and at least one first box-taking conveyor line matched with the first robot, and at least one second box-releasing conveyor line and at least one second box-picked conveyor line matched with the second robot. Box conveyor line;

The intersections of the first box-taking conveyor line and the second box-picking conveyor line respectively with the merging conveyor line are located between the first box-releasing conveyor line, the second box-releasing conveyor line and the merging conveyor line. downstream of the interchange.

Optionally, as described above, the control moves through the main activity area of the second robot to the target area, including:

If it is determined that the target area is the inventory area or the bin placement area of the corresponding branch conveyor line of other workstations, the second robot is controlled to move to the target area in a movement mode that only passes through the main activity area of the second robot.

Optionally, as mentioned above, the method of controlling the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot includes:

If it is determined that the target area is the inventory area, control the first robot to move to the target area through the first robot main activity area and the second robot main activity area in sequence;

If it is determined that the target area is the area where the boxes are placed on the branch conveyor lines corresponding to other workstations, the first robot is controlled to move at least through the main activity area of the first robot according to the overall height of the first robot when transporting the boxes and the height of the current workstation. to the target area.

Optionally, as described above, controlling the first robot to move to the target area through at least the first robot's main activity area based on the overall height of the first robot when transporting the material box and the height of the current workstation includes:

Determine the height of the first robot and the height of the target bin as the overall height of the first robot when transporting the bin;

Determine whether the overall height is smaller than the height of the current workstation;

If it is determined that the overall height is less than the height of the current workstation, control the first robot to move to the target area only through the first robot's main activity area;

If it is determined that the overall height is greater than or equal to the height of the current workstation, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through at least the first robot main activity area.

Optionally, in the method described above, the branch conveyor lines include four; the intersection of the first box-releasing conveyor line and the merging conveyor line is the starting point of the merging conveyor line, and the first box-taking conveyor line is connected to the merging conveyor line. The intersection of the conveying lines is the end point of the merging conveying line, and the first box putting conveying line, the first box taking conveying line and the merging conveying line are all in the same direction; the box placing area is the Box area or box picking area;

If it is determined that the overall height is greater than or equal to the height of the current workstation, then controlling the first robot to move to the target area through at least the first robot main activity area includes:

If it is determined that the overall height is greater than or equal to the height of the current workstation, it is determined whether the target area is the box placing area of the first box putting conveyor line of the next sequential workstation; the first box placing conveyor of the next sequential workstation The box placing area of the line is adjacent to the box picking area of the first box picking conveyor line of the current workstation;

If it is determined that the target area is the box placing area of the first box placing conveyor line of the next sequential workstation, then control the first robot to move to the target area in a straight line;

If it is determined that the target area is not the box placing area of the first box placing conveyor line of the next sequential workstation, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through the first robot main activity area and the second robot main activity area.

Optionally, as described above, controlling the first robot to move to the target area only through the main activity area of the first robot includes:

The first robot is controlled to move from the area below the merging conveyor line of each workstation to the target area.

If it is determined that the target area is the box picking area of the first box picking conveyor line, then control the first robot to move from the area below the merging conveyor line to the target area;

The control moves through the main activity area of the second robot to the target area, including:

If it is determined that the target area is the box-picking area of the second box-picking conveyor line, the second robot is controlled to move to the target area in a straight line.

Optionally, in the method as described above, the branch conveyor lines include four; the length of the first box-releasing conveyor line is the same as the length of the first box-picking conveyor line; the length of the second box-releasing conveyor line is The length is the same as the length of the second box-taking conveyor line; the difference between the length of the second box-releasing conveyor line and the length of the first box-releasing conveyor line is a preset length; the preset length At least greater than the length of the first robot;

The second box-releasing conveyor line is connected to the starting point of the merging conveyor line; the first box-releasing conveyor line is adjacent to the second box-releasing conveyor line; and the second box-taking conveyor line is connected to the merging conveyor line. The end points of the conveying lines are connected; the first box-taking conveying line is adjacent to the second box-taking conveying line;

If it is determined that the overall height is smaller than the height of the current workstation, then controlling the first robot to move to the target area only through the first robot main activity area includes:

If it is determined that the overall height is less than the height of the current workstation, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area via the lower area of the branch conveyor line of each workstation.

Optionally, in the method described above, the area where the boxes are placed is a box putting area or a box taking area; the controlling the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot includes:

If it is determined that the target area is the box picking area of the first box picking conveyor line, then control the first robot to move to the target area in a straight line;

A second aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure provides a device for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area. A workstation and a first robot are provided in the work area. The workstation includes a merging conveyor line and at least two lines that intersect with the merging conveyor line. Branch conveyor line, the height of the first robot is smaller than the height of the converging conveyor line and each branch conveyor line in the workstation; the main activity area of the first robot includes the internal area and lower area of each workstation in the current workstation and each The area between workstations, the first robot is located at the current workstation;

The device includes:

A first determination module used to determine the target area to which the first robot needs to move;

The first control module is used to control the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot according to the target area.

Optionally, with the device as described above, a second robot is also provided in the working area, and the main activity area of the second robot does not overlap with the main activity area of the first robot; the main activity area of the second robot The activity area includes the area between the workstation area and the inventory area;

The device also includes:

The second determination module is used to determine the type of the target robot that needs to perform the operation of transporting the bin in the current workstation and the target area to which the target robot needs to move; the target robot is the first robot or the second robot;

The second control module is used to control the second robot to carry out the operation of carrying the material box when the target robot is the second robot; to control the second robot to move to the target area through the main activity area.

Optionally, with the device as described above, when controlling the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot, the first control module is specifically used to:

Control the first robot to carry the material box; control the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot.

When the target robot is the first robot, the first robot is controlled to carry the material box; the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot.

Optionally, with the above device, the workstation includes a merging conveyor line and at least four branch conveyor lines that intersect with the merging conveyor line; the branch conveyor lines include at least one first box-laying conveyor line matching the first robot and at least A first box-taking conveyor line, at least one second box-releasing conveyor line and at least one second box-picking conveyor line matching the second robot; the first box-picking conveyor line and the second box-picking conveyor line respectively The intersections with the merging conveyor line are all located downstream of the intersections of the first box-releasing conveyor line and the second box-releasing conveyor line and the merging conveyor line.

Optional, as mentioned above, the second control module is specifically used to: when controlling the movement of the second robot through the main activity area to the target area:

If it is determined that the target area is the inventory area, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through the first robot main activity area and the second robot main activity area; if it is determined that the target area is the placement of branch conveyor lines corresponding to other workstations In the material box area, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through at least the main activity area of the first robot according to the overall height of the first robot when transporting the material box and the height of the current workstation.

Optionally, in the device as described above, the first control module controls the first robot to move to the target through at least the main activity area of the first robot according to the overall height of the first robot when transporting the material box and the height of the current workstation. area, specifically used for:

Determine the height of the first robot and the height of the target bin as the overall height of the first robot when transporting the bin; determine whether the overall height is less than the height of the current workstation; if it is determined that the overall height is less than the height of the current workstation, then Control the first robot to only pass the first machine The robot's main activity area moves to the target area; if it is determined that the overall height is greater than or equal to the height of the current workstation, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through at least the first robot's main activity area.

Optionally, in the device as described above, the branch conveyor lines include four; the intersection of the first box-releasing conveyor line and the merging conveyor line is the starting point of the merging conveyor line, and the first box-taking conveyor line is connected to the merging conveyor line. The intersection of the conveying lines is the end point of the merging conveying line, and the first box putting conveying line, the first box taking conveying line and the merging conveying line are all in the same direction; the box placing area is the Box area or box picking area;

If the first control module determines that the overall height is greater than or equal to the height of the current workstation, and then controls the first robot to move to the target area through at least the first robot's main activity area, it is specifically used to:

If it is determined that the overall height is greater than or equal to the height of the current workstation, it is determined whether the target area is the box placing area of the first box putting conveyor line of the next sequential workstation; the first box placing conveyor of the next sequential workstation The box-releasing area of the line is adjacent to the box-releasing area of the first box-releasing conveyor line of the current workstation; if the target area is determined to be the box-releasing area of the first box-releasing conveyor line of the next sequential workstation, the first box-releasing conveyor line is controlled. The robot moves to the target area in a straight line; if it is determined that the target area is not the box placing area of the first box placing conveyor line of the next sequential workstation, the first robot is controlled to pass through the first robot main activity area and the second robot The main activity area moves to the target area.

Optionally, with the device as described above, when the first control module controls the first robot to move to the target area only through the first robot's main activity area, it is specifically used to:

When the second control module controls the movement of the second robot through the main activity area to the target area, it is specifically used to:

If it is determined that the target area is the box picking area of the second box picking conveyor line, the second robot is controlled to Move straight to the target area.

Optionally, in the device as described above, the branch conveyor lines include four; the length of the first box placing 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 length is the same as the length of the second box-taking conveyor line; the difference between the length of the second box-releasing conveyor line and the length of the first box-releasing conveyor line is a preset length; the preset length At least greater than the length of the first robot; the second box placing conveyor line is connected to the starting point of the converging conveyor line; the first box placing conveyor line is adjacent to the second box placing conveyor line; the second The box-taking conveying line is connected to the end point of the merging conveying line; the first box-taking conveying line is adjacent to the second box-taking conveying line;

When the first control module determines that the overall height is smaller than the height of the current workstation and controls the first robot to move to the target area only through the first robot's main activity area, it is specifically used to:

Optionally, with the device as described above, the area where the boxes are placed is a box putting area or a box taking area; when the first control module controls the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot, Specifically used for:

A third aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure provides a control device, including: a memory and a processor;

Memory; memory for storing instructions executable by the processor;

Wherein, the processor is configured to execute, by the processor, the method of controlling the movement of a robot within a work area according to any one of the first aspects.

A fourth aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure provides a warehousing system, including: the control device, a workstation, a first robot and a second robot described in the third aspect;

The workstation, the first robot and the second robot are used to control equipment Perform corresponding operations under control.

A fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium. Computer-executable instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium. When executed by a processor, the computer-executable instructions are used to implement any one of the first aspects. The above-mentioned method of controlling the movement of a robot within a work area.

A sixth aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the method for controlling a robot to move within a work area according to any one of the first aspects is implemented.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method, device and related products for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area. A workstation and a first robot are provided in the work area. The workstation includes a merging conveyor line and a merging conveyor line that intersects with the merging conveyor line. At least two branch conveyor lines, the height of the first robot is smaller than the height of the converging conveyor line and each branch conveyor line in the workstation; the main activity area of the first robot includes a workstation area, and the workstation area includes the current workstation The inner area and lower area of each workstation and the area between each workstation, the first robot is located at the current workstation; the method includes: determining the target area to which the first robot needs to move; according to the target area , controlling the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot. In the method of controlling the movement of a robot in a work area according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the height of the first 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. Therefore, the first robot can move in the inner area and the lower area of each workstation including the current workstation and the workstation area between each workstation. The main activity area includes an area that the large container robot cannot go to. This improves the utilization of mobile space in warehousing and also improves the efficiency of cargo transportation.

Description of the drawings

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 scene diagram that can implement a method of controlling a robot to move in a work area according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling a robot to move in a work area according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 3 is a method for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area provided by the second embodiment of the present disclosure. process diagram;

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the docking structure of a conveyor line provided by the second embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 5 is a scene diagram of a method for controlling a robot to move in a work area according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the first robot movement path of the method for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area provided by the third embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the first robot movement path of the method for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area provided by the third embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 8 is a scene diagram of a method for controlling a robot to move in a work area according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a device for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area provided by the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a control device provided by the sixth embodiment of 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.

Detailed ways

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 do not represent all implementations consistent with the present 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 intelligent warehousing system consists of control equipment, robots, and workstations. The control equipment will obtain the orders issued by the customer system in real time and distribute the orders to various workstations. At the same time, based on the cargo needs of each workstation, the feeding box robot generates picking tasks to control the box machine People transport bins containing goods to various workstations. Box robots can transport boxes from one workstation to another, and can also travel between warehouses and workstations. Since the application scenario space of the warehousing system is limited, and the container robot is large in size, there is a lot of unused space, and the utilization rate of the mobile space in the warehousing is low, resulting in low cargo transportation efficiency.

Therefore, in order to solve the technical problem of low cargo transportation efficiency in the existing technology, the inventor found in the research that in order to solve the current problem of low cargo transportation efficiency, a robot can be used based on the existing technology. The robot can You can move in the areas inside and below each workstation, including the current workstation, and in the areas between each workstation. This makes full use of the areas that the existing technology Huizhong container robots cannot reach, improves the utilization of mobile space in warehousing, and thereby improves the efficiency of cargo transportation.

Specifically, the target area to which the first robot needs to move is first determined, and based on the target area corresponding to the first robot, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot. Because the height of the first robot is smaller than the corresponding height of the horizontal line where the converging conveyor line and each branch conveyor line are located in the workstation. Thus, the first robot can move within and below each workstation within the workstation and in the workstation area between each workstation. It improves the utilization rate of warehousing mobile space and also improves the efficiency of cargo transportation.

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

The application scenarios of the method for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area provided by embodiments of the present disclosure are introduced below. As shown in Figure 1, 1 is the control device, 2 is the first robot, 3 is the second robot, 4 is the workstation, 5 is the bin, 6 is the inventory area, and 7 is the picking person or robotic arm with picking function. device of. As shown in Figure 1, a second robot is added to this application scenario. The main activity area of the second robot does not overlap with the main activity area of the first robot. The main activity area of the second robot and the main activity area of the first robot are only for convenience of understanding. for example. The second robot main activity area is located in the middle area of Figure 1, the area between the workstation area including the two workstations 4 and the inventory area 6. The first robot main activity area is located in the bottom area of FIG. 1 , including the inner area and lower area of the two workstations 4 and the workstation area between the two workstations 4 . In the figure, the first robot 2, the second robot 3, and the workstations 4 are only shown in multiples for illustration. The positions and quantities of the first robot 2, the second robot 3, and the workstations 4 can be determined according to the needs of the actual application scenario. Make settings. The network architecture of the application scenario corresponding to the method for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure includes: control Manufacturing equipment 1, first robot 2, second robot 3, workstation 4, material box 5 and inventory area 6. There are multiple first robots 2 and second robots 3, and pallets for transporting goods can be installed and moved with the goods.

In the application scenario of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the workstation 4 is exemplified by taking the left workstation and the right workstation. During the operation of the warehousing system, the control device 1 determines in real time the type of target robot in the current workstation that needs to perform the operation of transporting bins and the target area to which the target robot needs to move. The current workstation can be the left workstation or the right workstation in Figure 1. The current workstation is the workstation where the first robot 2 and/or the second robot 3 interact or are expected to interact. For example, the interaction will transport the material box to the workstation and take the materials from the workstation. Retrieval box, etc. At this time, the first robot 2 and/or the second robot 3 will be within the range of the current workstation.

Assume that the current workstation is the left workstation. At this time, the second robot 3 is in the box picking area on the right side of the left workstation and needs to carry out the box handling operation. If the target area to which the second robot 3 transports the boxes is the inventory area 6, the control device 1 controls the second robot 3 to carry the boxes through the second robot's main activity area and move to the inventory area 6. If the target area of the second robot 3 for transporting boxes is the right workstation, the control device 1 controls the second robot 3 to move the box with the box through the second robot's main activity area to the box placing area of the box placing conveyor line on the left side of the right workstation.

Assume that the current workstation is the right workstation. At this time, the first robot 2 is in the box picking area on the right side of the right workstation and needs to carry out the operation of transporting boxes. If the target area of the first robot 2 for transporting the boxes is the inventory area 6, the control device 1 controls the first robot 2 to carry the boxes through the first robot main activity area and the second robot main activity area in sequence, and move to the inventory area 6 . If the target area of the first robot 2 for transporting boxes is the left workstation, the control device 1 controls the first robot 2 to move the box with the box to the box placing area on the left side of the left workstation mainly through the movement of the first robot's main activity area. At the same time, when the first robot is not carrying goods, it can shuttle in the area below the left and right workstations. Since the second robot will not move to the area below the left and right workstations, it will not cause the second robot to interact with the first. The mutual interference between robots improves the utilization of mobile space in warehousing and improves the efficiency of cargo delivery.

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

Figure 2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling a robot to move in a work area provided by the first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2, in this embodiment, the execution subject of the embodiment of the present disclosure is to control the movement of the robot in the work area. A device that controls the movement of the robot within the work area The device can be integrated into electronic equipment. In this embodiment, a workstation and a first robot are provided in the work area. The workstation includes a merging conveyor line and at least two branch conveyor lines that intersect with the merging conveyor line. The height of the first robot is smaller than the merging conveyor line and each branch conveyor in the workstation. The height of the line. The main activity area of the first robot includes the workstation area. The workstation area is the internal area and lower area of each workstation including the current workstation, and the area between each workstation. The first robot is located at the current workstation. The method provided by this embodiment for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area includes the following steps:

Step S101: Determine the target area to which the first robot needs to move.

The target area can be an inventory area, an area of the current workstation, or an area of other workstations.

Step S102, according to the target area, control the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot.

The main activity area refers to the main activity area. Generally, the main activity area of the first robot is the internal area and the lower area of each workstation including the current workstation and the workstation area between each workstation. Occasionally, it will move in other areas. Areas, such as the activity areas of other robots, the area between the workstation area and the inventory area, etc.

The main activity area of the first robot includes the workstation area, and the workstation area includes the internal area and the lower area of each workstation within the current workstation and the area between each workstation. Therefore, the first robot can be at each workstation including the current workstation. The main activity area includes areas that large container robots cannot go to, thereby improving the utilization of the moving space in the warehouse and improving the efficiency of cargo delivery.

At the same time, since the first robot is mainly used to transport boxes when the current workstation is running, controlling the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot can be specifically:

Control the first robot to carry the material box, and control the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot. Transporting boxes includes placing or picking up boxes, and moving boxes with them.

At the same time, a second robot can also be installed in the work area, and the main activity area of the second robot does not overlap with the main activity area of the first robot. The main activity area of the second robot includes the area between the workstation area and the inventory area.

Then the method of this embodiment may include the following steps:

First, determine the type of target robot that needs to carry out the bin handling operation in the current workstation and the target area to which the target robot needs to move.

When the target robot is the first robot, the first robot is controlled to carry the material box, and the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot.

When the target robot is a second robot, the second robot is controlled to perform the operation of transporting the bin, and is controlled to move to the target area through the main activity area of the second robot.

In this embodiment, the box handling operation may be performed after picking up the box from the box picking area of the workstation branch conveyor line, or after placing the box from the box putting area of the workstation branch conveyor line. The target area can be an inventory area, an area of the current workstation, or an area of other workstations.

In this embodiment, the types of target robots may include two types, namely, a first robot and a second robot. The second robot may be a commonly used bin robot. The bin robot is larger and can carry multiple bins at a time. , each material box can have one or more goods. The first robot can be a small robot, such as a jack-up robot. The small robot can carry a small number of material boxes at a time, usually one.

Secondly, according to the target robot category and the corresponding target area, the target robot is controlled to move to the target area by passing through the main activity area of the corresponding category robot. Wherein, the main activity area of the second robot does not overlap with the main activity area of the first robot. The height of the first robot is smaller than the height corresponding to the horizontal line where the lower surface of the converging conveyor line and each branch conveyor line is located in the workstation. The main activity area of the first robot includes the inner area and lower area of each workstation within the current workstation and the area between each workstation.

In this embodiment, the main activity area of the second robot does not overlap with the main activity area of the first robot. The main activity area of the first robot mainly includes the inner area of the workstation, the lower area, and the area between the workstations. Because the height of the first robot is smaller than the height corresponding to the horizontal line where the lower surface of the converging conveyor line and each branch conveyor line is located in the workstation. Therefore, you can freely shuttle around the lower area of the workstation, improving the utilization of warehouse movement space.

The main activity area of the second robot can generally be set to the area between the inventory area and the workstation area, which is larger. If the second robot is a larger bin robot, it can also move freely in the area between the inventory area and the workstation, and is less likely to cause congestion.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for controlling a robot to move in a work area. The main activity area of the target robot is divided into a first robot main activity area and a first robot main activity area according to the robot category. In the main activity area of the second robot, the two main activity areas do not overlap, and the height of the first robot is smaller than the height corresponding to the horizontal line where the lower surfaces of the converging conveyor line and each branch conveyor line are located in the workstation. Therefore, the first robot can move in areas inside and below each workstation, including the current workstation, and in areas between each workstation. The main activity area includes areas that the second robot cannot go to. When the target robot needs to perform the operation of transporting the material box, it can be determined according to the target robot category and the target area to which the target robot needs to move to move to the target area by passing through the main activity area of the corresponding category robot, so that the second robot and the first robot can move to the target area. The robot uses the warehousing space as much as possible to move, thereby improving the utilization rate of the warehousing mobile space.

Figure 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling a robot to move in a work area provided by a second embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3, the method for controlling a robot to move within a work area provided by this embodiment is based on the present disclosure. Based on the method for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area provided by an embodiment, further description is provided. The method for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area provided by this embodiment includes the following steps.

It should be noted that the workstation includes a merging conveyor line and at least four branch conveyor lines that intersect with the merging conveyor line.

The branch conveyor line includes at least one first box-releasing conveyor line and at least one first box-taking conveyor line matched with the first robot, and at least one second box-releasing conveyor line and at least one second box-picked conveyor matched with the second robot Wire.

The intersections of the first box unloading conveyor line and the second box unloading conveyor line respectively with the merging conveyor line are located downstream of the intersections of the first box unloading conveyor line and the second box unloading conveyor line and the merging conveyor line.

Step S201: Determine the type of the target robot in the current workstation that needs to perform the operation of transporting the bin and the target area to which the target robot needs to move.

Steps S202-S204 are executed respectively according to the determined type of the target robot and the target area to which the target robot needs to move.

In this embodiment, the workstation includes at least four branch conveyor lines, there are at least two branch conveyor lines matching the second robot, and there are at least two branch conveyor lines matching the first robot, so that the box-laying conveyor line of the workstation is and the box-taking conveyor line, so that the second robot only needs to perform corresponding tasks on the matching second box-releasing conveyor line and the second box-picking conveyor line, and the first robot only needs to perform the corresponding tasks on the matching first box-releasing conveyor line and the first box-picking conveyor line. The box picking conveyor line performs corresponding tasks. This solves the problem of congestion caused by the second robot and the first robot when picking up and placing boxes, and improves efficiency. Improved the overall transportation efficiency of goods.

Between the second box-laying conveyor line and the first box-laying conveyor line, which conveyor line is set closer to the upstream of the converging conveyor line can be set according to actual needs. Generally, the second box-laying conveyor line can be set closer to the confluence. The conveyor line is upstream, thereby making better use of the edge area space of the workstation to facilitate the movement and waiting of the second robot.

The first robot matches the first box-releasing conveyor line and the first box-picking conveyor line. When the first robot adopts a jack-up robot, the first box-releasing conveyor line and the first box-picking conveyor line are connected to the first robot. As shown in Figure 4, it is a U-shaped structure. Both ends of the U-shaped structure include rollers, which can facilitate the material box entering or leaving the conveyor line. The middle part of the U-shaped structure is the conveyor line area. The conveyor line where the jack-up robot is docked consists of two sub-conveyor lines, namely the upper and lower sub-conveyor lines divided by horizontal dotted lines in the figure. The two sub-conveyor lines can facilitate the entry of the jack-up robot. Put down the material box at the conveyor line position.

Step S202, if it is determined that the type of the target robot is the second robot and the target area is the inventory area or the bin placement area of the corresponding branch conveyor line of other workstations, then control the second robot to move in a manner that only passes through the main activity area of the second robot. to the target area.

In this embodiment, since the second robot is close to the main activity area of the second robot whether it is in the waiting state, the state of preparing to put boxes, or the state of preparing to take boxes, therefore, when the second robot needs to move to the inventory area or the corresponding branch of other workstations, When placing the bin area on the conveyor line, the second robot can only pass through the second robot's main activity area, that is, it can move to the above area without passing through the first robot's main activity area, which reduces the congestion between the second robot and the first robot. .

Step S203, if it is determined that the target robot is the first robot and the target area is the inventory area, control the first robot to move to the target area through the first robot main activity area and the second robot main activity area in sequence.

In this embodiment, since the first robot and the inventory area are generally separated by the second robot's main activity area, when the first robot transports the material boxes to the inventory area, it will pass through the first robot's main activity area to avoid the waiting time of the second robot. area or currently congested area. At the same time, the first robot passes through the main activity area of the second robot to move to the inventory area. The specific movement route can be set according to the actual situation. For example, if a robot congestion occurs in the first robot's main activity area, the first robot can bypass this area and move from other areas in the first robot's main activity area to the second robot's main activity area. The same applies when moving the activity area, so we won’t go into details here.

Step S204, if it is determined that the target robot is the first robot and the target area is other workstations In the area where the bins are placed on the corresponding branch conveyor line, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through at least the main activity area of the first robot based on the overall height of the first robot when transporting the bins and the height of the current workstation.

In this embodiment, if the first robot needs to transport the boxes to the box placement area of the branch conveyor line of other workstations after taking the boxes, the box placement area may include a box pickup area and a box placement area, and the box placement area may include: The overall height including the first robot and the target bin is used to determine how the first robot moves to the target area, whether it only passes through the first robot's main activity area or whether it passes through the first robot's main activity area and the second robot's main activity area.

Specifically, the height of the first robot and the height of the target bin can be determined as the overall height of the first robot when transporting the bin.

Determine whether the overall height is less than the height of the current workstation.

If it is determined that the overall height is smaller than the height of the current workstation, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area only through the main activity area of the first robot.

If it is determined that the overall height is greater than or equal to the height of the current workstation, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through at least the main activity area of the first robot.

In this embodiment, the height of the current workstation is the same as the height of other workstations, and each workstation is set according to unified specifications. When the first robot carries the target material box and the overall height of the first robot and the target material box is less than the height of the current workstation, the first robot can pass through the area below the current workstation, such as through the area below the branch conveyor line. Pass through, and pass through the area below the branch conveyor line of other workstations, and finally reach the target area.

If the height of the workstation is set to be greater than or equal to the overall height of the first robot when carrying the target material box, the utilization rate of the storage moving space will be further improved, and at the same time, there will be no mutual interaction between the first robot and the second robot. Interference situation and improve cargo delivery efficiency.

When the first robot carries the target bin and the overall height of the first robot and the target bin is greater than or equal to the height of the current workstation, the first robot cannot pass through the area below the current workstation. Therefore, when the first robot moves to the branch When near the conveyor line, it is necessary to move from the main activity area of the first robot to the main activity area of the second robot to bypass the branch conveyor line, and then move to the target area.

Figure 5 is a scene diagram of a method for controlling a robot to move within a work area provided by the third embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5, the method provided by this embodiment for controlling the movement of the robot in the work area The method is based on the method of controlling the robot to move within the work area provided by the previous embodiment of the present disclosure, and further refines the workstation and step 204. The method for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area provided by this embodiment includes the following steps.

It should be noted that in this embodiment, there are four branch conveying lines. The intersection of the first box-releasing conveyor line and the merging conveyor line is the starting point of the merging conveyor line, the intersection of the first box-taking conveyor line and the merging conveyor line is the end point of the merging conveyor line, and the first box-releasing conveyor line, the first The box taking conveyor line and the merge conveyor line are all in the same direction. The area where the boxes are placed is the box putting area or the box taking area.

When the shape of the workstation changes, if the overall height of the first robot and the target bin is greater than or equal to the height of the current workstation, the path that the first robot can move also changes accordingly.

First, it can be determined whether the target area is the box placing area of the first box placing conveyor line of the next sequential workstation. The box putting area of the first box putting conveyor line of the next work station is adjacent to the box taking area of the first box taking conveyor line of the current work station. As shown in Figure 5, assume that the left workstation is the current workstation and the right workstation is the next workstation.

If it is determined that the target area is the box placing area of the first box placing conveyor line of the next sequential workstation, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area in a straight line. As shown in Figure 5, when the target area is the box putting area of the first box putting conveyor line of the right workstation, that is, the lower left corner area of the right workstation in the figure, at this time, the first robot is at the first box picking conveyor line of the left workstation. The box picking area is the lower right corner area of the left workstation in the picture. After the first robot picks up the box, it can move straight to the lower left corner of the right workstation and perform the box placing operation.

When the target area is not the box putting area of the first box putting conveyor line of the next sequential workstation, since the target area in this embodiment is the workstation, not the inventory area, the target area may be the next sequential workstation, or other workstations. . At this time, since the overall height of the first robot and the target bin is greater than or equal to the height of the current workstation, it still needs to pass through the main activity area of the first robot and the main activity area of the second robot to move to the target area. The specific path is shown in Figure 6 As shown in Figure 6, the operator is the picker at the workstation or a device with picking functions like a robotic arm. The direction of the arrow points to the direction of the movement path of the first robot, and the target area is the box delivery of the rightmost workstation. Line box placing area. The first robot passes through the main activity area of the first robot and the main activity area of the second robot in sequence, and moves to the target area.

When the overall height of the first robot and the target bin is less than the height of the current workstation, due to the change in the shape of the workstation, the first robot can be controlled to move from the area below the converging conveyor line of each workstation to the target area.

As shown in Figure 7, the operator in Figure 7 is the picker at the workstation or a device with picking functions like a robotic arm. The direction of the arrow points to the direction of the moving path of the first robot. Since the overall height of the first robot and the target bin is less than The height of the current workstation, and the specifications between each workstation are generally uniform. The first robot can pass through the first box placing conveyor line, the merge conveyor line and/or the area below the first box picking conveyor line of different workstations in order to reach the target area. . As a result, the moving path of the first robot is shorter and the efficiency of the first robot in transporting the material box is improved.

Optionally, in this embodiment, after the workstation shape changes, if it is determined that the target area of the first robot is the box picking area of the first box picking conveyor line, the first robot is controlled to move from the area below the merging conveyor line to the target area, the box-picking area of the first box-picking conveyor line is the box-picking area of the first box-picking conveyor line of the same workstation. It can be seen from Figure 5 that after the first robot places the material box in the box putting area of the first box putting conveyor line, it can move directly from the area below the converging conveyor line to the box taking area of the first box taking conveyor line.

After the second robot places the transported material boxes on the corresponding box placing conveyor line, if the target area is the box picking area of the second box picking conveyor line, the second robot is controlled to move to the target area in a straight line.

As can be seen from Figure 5, due to the second box picking conveyor line and the second box placing conveyor line matched by the second robot, there is a gap between the first box picking conveyor line and the first box placing conveyor line matched with the first robot. Far away, when the second robot moves from the second box-releasing conveyor line to the second box-picking conveyor line, it does not need to consider the position of the first robot and only moves in a straight line, thereby improving the movement of the second robot. efficiency.

Figure 8 is a scene diagram of a method for controlling a robot to move in a work area according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 8, the method for controlling a robot to move in a work area provided by this embodiment is based on the method for controlling a robot to move in a work area provided by the previous embodiment of the present disclosure, with a certain degree of modifications to the workstation. changes in form. The method for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area provided by this embodiment includes the following steps.

It should be noted that the branch conveyor lines include four. The length of the second box-releasing conveyor line is the same as the length of the second box-taking conveyor line. The length of the first box-releasing conveyor line is the same as the length of the first box-taking conveyor line. The difference between the length of the second box placing conveyor line and the length of the first box placing conveyor line is the preset length. The preset length is at least greater than the length of the first robot.

The second box-laying conveyor line is connected to the starting point of the merging conveyor line. The first box placing conveyor line is adjacent to the second box putting conveying line. The second box-taking conveyor line is connected to the end point of the merging conveyor line. The first box taking conveying line is adjacent to the second box taking conveying line.

In this embodiment, if it is determined that the overall height of the first robot and the target bin is smaller than the height of the current workstation, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through the area below the branch conveyor line of each workstation.

As shown in Figure 8, the four branch conveying lines are perpendicular to the converging conveying line. The branch conveying line matching the first robot is relatively shorter, while the branch conveying line matching the second robot is relatively longer, thus forming a structure that can be used. The first robot is stranded in the waiting area. If the overall height of the first robot and the target bin is less than the height of the current workstation, at this time, the first robot can directly pass through the area below the branch conveyor line to reach the target area of other workstations without going through the main activity of the second robot. The area is detoured to improve the movement efficiency of the first robot.

Optionally, in this embodiment, after the second robot or the first robot places the transported boxes on the corresponding box placing conveyor line, if it is determined that the type of the target robot is the first robot and the target area is the first box picking In the box picking area of the conveyor line, the target robot is controlled to move straight to the target area.

If it is determined that the type of the target robot is the second robot and the target area is the box picking area of the second box picking conveyor line, then the target robot is controlled to move to the target area in a straight line.

As shown in Figure 8, although the first box releasing conveyor line and the first box picking up conveyor line are separated from each other by the second box releasing conveyor line and the second box picking up conveyor line, the first box releasing conveyor line and the first box picking out conveyor line The conveyor line is relatively short and will not affect the movement of the second robot. Likewise, the movement of the first robot will not be affected. Therefore, either the second robot or the first robot 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.

Figure 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a device for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area provided by the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 9, in this embodiment, a workstation and a first robot are provided in the work area, and the workstation includes a merging conveyor line and at least two branches that intersect with the converging conveyor line For line delivery, the height of the first robot is smaller than the height of the converging conveyor line and each branch conveyor line in the workstation. The main activity area of the first robot includes the workstation area. The workstation area is the internal area and lower area of each workstation including the current workstation, and the area between each workstation. The first robot is located at the current workstation. The device 400 for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area includes:

The first determination module 401 is used to determine the target area to which the first robot needs to move.

The first control module 402 is used to control the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot according to the target area.

The device for controlling the movement of the robot in the work area provided by this embodiment can execute the technical solution of the method embodiment shown in Figure 2. Its implementation principles and technical effects are similar to those of the method embodiment shown in Figure 2, and will not be described in detail here. .

At the same time, the device for controlling the movement of a robot in the work area provided by the present disclosure is based on the device for controlling the movement of a robot in the work area provided by the previous embodiment, and further improves the device 400 for controlling the movement of a robot in the work area. Refinement.

Optionally, in this embodiment, a second robot is also provided in the work area, and the main activity area of the second robot does not overlap with the main activity area of the first robot. The main activity area of the second robot includes the area between the workstation area and the inventory area.

The device 400 for controlling the movement of the robot within the work area also includes:

The second determination module is used to determine the type of the target robot that needs to perform the operation of transporting the material box in the current workstation and the target area to which the target robot needs to move. The target robot is the first robot or the second robot.

The second control module is used to control the second robot to carry out the operation of carrying the material box when the target robot is the second robot. Control the movement of the second robot through the main activity area to the target area.

Optionally, in this embodiment, when controlling the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot, the first control module 402 is specifically used to:

The first robot is controlled to carry the material box, and the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot.

When the target robot is the first robot, the first robot is controlled to carry the material box. Control the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the workstation includes a merging conveyor line and at least four branch conveyor lines that intersect with the merging conveyor line. The branch conveyor line includes at least one first box-releasing conveyor line and at least one first box-taking conveyor line matched with the first robot, and at least one second box-releasing conveyor line and at least one second box-picked conveyor matched with the second robot Wire. The intersections of the first box unloading conveyor line and the second box unloading conveyor line respectively with the merging conveyor line are located downstream of the intersections of the first box unloading conveyor line and the second box unloading conveyor line and the merging conveyor line.

Optionally, in this embodiment, when controlling the movement of the second robot through the main activity area to the target area, the second control module is specifically used to:

If it is determined that the target area is the inventory area, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through the first robot main activity area and the second robot main activity area. If it is determined that the target area is the area where the boxes are placed on the branch conveyor lines corresponding to other workstations, the first robot is controlled to move to the target through at least the main activity area of the first robot based on the overall height of the first robot when transporting the boxes and the height of the current workstation. area.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the first control module 402 controls the first robot to move to the target area through at least the main activity area of the first robot according to the overall height of the first robot when transporting the material box and the height of the current workstation. Specifically, Used for:

The height of the first robot and the height of the target bin are determined as the overall height of the first robot when transporting the bin. Determine whether the overall height is less than the height of the current workstation. If it is determined that the overall height is smaller than the height of the current workstation, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area only through the main activity area of the first robot. If it is determined that the overall height is greater than or equal to the height of the current workstation, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through at least the main activity area of the first robot.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the branch conveying lines include four. The intersection of the first box-releasing conveyor line and the merging conveyor line is the starting point of the merging conveyor line, the intersection of the first box-taking conveyor line and the merging conveyor line is the end point of the merging conveyor line, and the first box-releasing conveyor line, the first The box taking conveyor line and the merge conveyor line are all in the same direction. The area where the boxes are placed is the box putting area or the box taking area.

If the first control module 402 determines that the overall height is greater than or equal to the height of the current workstation, and then controls the first robot to move to the target area through at least the first robot's main activity area, it is specifically used to:

If it is determined that the overall height is greater than or equal to the height of the current workstation, it is determined whether the target area is the box placing area of the first box placing conveyor line of the next sequential workstation. The box putting area of the first box putting conveyor line of the next work station is adjacent to the box taking area of the first box taking conveyor line of the current work station. If it is determined that the target area is the box placing area of the first box placing conveyor line of the next sequential workstation, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area in a straight line. If it is determined that the target area is not the box placing area of the first box placing conveyor line of the next sequential workstation, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through the first robot main activity area and the second robot main activity area.

Optionally, in this embodiment, when the first control module 402 controls the first robot to move to the target area only through the first robot's main activity area, it is specifically used to:

Control the first robot to move from the area below the merging conveyor line of each workstation to the target area.

If it is determined that the target area is the box picking area of the first box picking conveyor line, the first robot is controlled to move from the area below the merging conveyor line to the target area.

The second control module is specifically used to control the movement of the second robot through the main activity area to the target area:

Optionally, in this embodiment, the branch conveying lines include four. 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-taking conveyor line. The difference between the length of the second box placing conveyor line and the length of the first box placing conveyor line is the preset length. The preset length is at least greater than the length of the first robot. The second box-laying conveyor line is connected to the starting point of the merging conveyor line. The first box placing conveyor line is adjacent to the second box putting conveying line. The second box-taking conveyor line is connected to the end point of the merging conveyor line. The first box taking conveying line is adjacent to the second box taking conveying line.

If the first control module 402 determines that the overall height is smaller than the height of the current workstation and controls the first robot to move to the target area only through the first robot's main activity area, it is specifically used to:

If it is determined that the overall height is smaller than the height of the current workstation, the first robot is controlled to pass through each workstation. The area below the branch conveyor line of the work station is moved to the target area.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the area where the material boxes are placed is a box putting area or a box taking area. When controlling the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot, the first control module 402 is specifically used to:

If it is determined that the target area is the box picking area of the first box picking conveyor line, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area in a straight moving manner.

The device for controlling the movement of the robot in the work area provided by this embodiment can execute the technical solutions of the method embodiments shown in Figures 2-8. Its implementation principles and technical effects are similar to those of the method embodiments shown in Figures 2-8. This will not be repeated one by one.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure also provides a control device, a warehousing system, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product.

As shown in Figure 10, Figure 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a control device provided by a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure. The control device 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 components shown herein, their connections and relationships, and their functions are examples only and are not intended to limit implementations of the disclosure described and/or claimed herein.

As shown in Figure 10, the control device includes: a processor 501 and a memory 502. The various components are connected to each other using different buses and can be mounted on a common motherboard or otherwise mounted as desired. The processor can process instructions executed within the control device. The bus can be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of presentation, the buses in the drawings of this disclosure are not limited to only one bus or one type of bus.

The memory 502 is the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium provided by the present disclosure. in, The memory stores instructions that can be executed by at least one processor, so that at least one processor executes the method for controlling the movement of a robot within a work area provided by the present disclosure. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of the present disclosure stores computer instructions, which are used to cause the computer to execute the method of controlling a robot to move within a work area provided by the present disclosure.

As a non-transient computer-readable storage medium, the memory 502 can be used to store non-transient software programs, non-transient computer executable programs and modules, such as program instructions corresponding to the method of controlling a robot to move within a work area in an embodiment of the present disclosure. / module (for example, the first determination module 401 and the first control module 402 shown in Figure 9). The processor 501 executes various functional applications and data processing of the server by running non-transient software programs, instructions and modules stored in the memory 502, that is, implementing the method of controlling the robot to move within the work area in the above method embodiment.

This embodiment also provides a warehousing system, including the above control device, the workstations in Embodiments 1 to 5, and a robot.

The workstation is used to send target order sorting information to the control device according to the sorting completion instructions when receiving the sorting completion instructions input by the picking personnel.

The robot is used to perform corresponding operations under the control of the control device.

At the same time, this embodiment also provides a computer product. When the instructions in the computer product are executed by the processor of the control device, the control device can execute the methods of controlling the robot to move in the work area in the above-mentioned Embodiments 1 to 4.

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.

Claims

A method for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area, characterized in that a workstation and a first robot are provided in the work area, and the workstation includes a merging conveyor line and at least two branch conveyor lines that intersect with the merging conveyor line, The height of the first robot is smaller than the height of the converging conveyor line and each branch conveyor line in the workstation; the main activity area of the first robot includes the workstation area, and the workstation area is the internal area of each workstation including the current workstation. And the area below and the area between each workstation, the first robot is located at the current workstation;

The methods include:

Determine the target area to which the first robot needs to move;

According to the target area, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot.
The method according to claim 1, characterized in that there is a second robot in the working area, and the main activity area of the second robot does not overlap with the main activity area of the first robot; The main activity area of the second robot includes the area between the workstation area and the inventory area;

The method also includes:

Determine the type of the target robot that needs to perform the operation of transporting the bin in the current workstation and the target area to which the target robot needs to move; the target robot is the first robot or the second robot;

When the target robot is the second robot, control the second robot to carry out the material box operation;

Control the movement of the second robot through the main activity area to the target area.
The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot includes:

Control the first robot to transport the material box;

Control the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot.
The method of claim 2, wherein controlling the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot includes:

When the target robot is the first robot, control the first robot to carry the material box;

Control the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot.
The method according to claim 4, wherein the workstation includes a merging conveyor line and at least four branch conveyor lines that intersect with the merging conveyor line;

The branch conveyor line includes at least one first box-releasing conveyor line and at least one first box-taking conveyor line matched with the first robot, and at least one second box-releasing conveyor line and at least one second box-picked conveyor line matched with the second robot. Box conveyor line;

The intersections of the first box-taking conveying line and the second box-taking conveying line and the merging conveying line are located at the intersections of the first box-releasing conveying line, the second box-releasing conveying line and the merging conveying line. downstream of the location.
The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the control to move to the target area through the main activity area of the second robot includes:

If it is determined that the target area is the inventory area or the bin placement area of the corresponding branch conveyor line of other workstations, the second robot is controlled to move to the target area in a movement mode that only passes through the main activity area of the second robot.
The method of claim 5, wherein controlling the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot includes:

If it is determined that the target area is the inventory area, control the first robot to move to the target area through the first robot main activity area and the second robot main activity area in sequence;

If it is determined that the target area is the area where the boxes are placed on the branch conveyor lines corresponding to other workstations, the first robot is controlled to move at least through the main activity area of the first robot according to the overall height of the first robot when transporting the boxes and the height of the current workstation. to the target area.
The method of claim 7, wherein the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through at least the main activity area of the first robot based on the overall height of the first robot when transporting the material box and the height of the current workstation, include:

Determine the height of the first robot and the height of the target bin as the overall height of the first robot when transporting the bin;

Determine whether the overall height is smaller than the height of the current workstation;

If it is determined that the overall height is less than the height of the current workstation, control the first robot to move to the target area only through the first robot's main activity area;

If it is determined that the overall height is greater than or equal to the height of the current workstation, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through at least the first robot main activity area.
The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the branch conveying lines include four; the intersection of the first box-releasing conveying line and the converging conveying line is the starting point of the converging conveying line, and the first box-taking conveying line The intersection of the line and the merge conveyor line is the end point of the merge conveyor line, and the first box placing conveyor The feeding line, the first box taking conveyor line and the converging conveying line are all in the same direction; the box placement area is a box placing area or a box taking area;

If it is determined that the overall height is greater than or equal to the height of the current workstation, then controlling the first robot to move to the target area through at least the first robot main activity area includes:

If it is determined that the overall height is greater than or equal to the height of the current workstation, it is determined whether the target area is the box placing area of the first box putting conveyor line of the next sequential workstation; the first box placing conveyor of the next sequential workstation The box placing area of the line is adjacent to the box picking area of the first box picking conveyor line of the current workstation;

If it is determined that the target area is the box placing area of the first box placing conveyor line of the next sequential workstation, then control the first robot to move to the target area in a straight line;

If it is determined that the target area is not the box placing area of the first box placing conveyor line of the next sequential workstation, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area through the first robot main activity area and the second robot main activity area.
The method of claim 9, wherein controlling the first robot to move to the target area only through the main activity area of the first robot includes:

The first robot is controlled to move from the area below the merging conveyor line of each workstation to the target area.
The method of claim 9, wherein controlling the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot includes:

If it is determined that the target area is the box picking area of the first box picking conveyor line, then control the first robot to move from the area below the merging conveyor line to the target area;

The control moves through the main activity area of the second robot to the target area, including:

If it is determined that the target area is the box-picking area of the second box-picking conveyor line, the second robot is controlled to move to the target area in a straight line.
The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the branch conveying lines include four; the length of the first box putting conveying line is the same as the length of the first box taking conveying line; the second box putting conveying line The length of the conveyor line is the same as the length of the second box-taking conveyor line; the difference between the length of the second box-releasing conveyor line and the length of the first box-releasing conveyor line is a preset length; the The preset length is at least greater than the length of the first robot;

The second box-releasing conveyor line is connected to the starting point of the merging conveyor line; the first box-releasing conveyor line is adjacent to the second box-releasing conveyor line; the second box-taking conveyor line is connected to the merging conveyor line. The end points of the conveying lines are connected; the first box-taking conveying line is adjacent to the second box-taking conveying line;

If it is determined that the overall height is smaller than the height of the current workstation, control the first machine People only move through the main activity area of the first robot to the target area, including:

If it is determined that the overall height is less than the height of the current workstation, the first robot is controlled to move to the target area via the lower area of the branch conveyor line of each workstation.
The method according to claim 12, characterized in that the area where the boxes are placed is a box putting area or a box taking area; and the controlling the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot includes:

If it is determined that the target area is the box picking area of the first box picking conveyor line, then control the first robot to move to the target area in a straight line;

The control moves through the main activity area of the second robot to the target area, including:

If it is determined that the target area is the box-picking area of the second box-picking conveyor line, the second robot is controlled to move to the target area in a straight line.
A device for controlling the movement of a robot in a work area, characterized in that a workstation and a first robot are provided in the work area, and the workstation includes a merging conveyor line and at least two branch conveyor lines that intersect with the merging conveyor line, The height of the first robot is smaller than the height of the converging conveyor line and each branch conveyor line in the workstation; the main activity area of the first robot includes the workstation area, and the workstation area is the internal area of each workstation including the current workstation. And the area below and the area between each workstation, the first robot is located at the current workstation;

The device includes:

A first determination module used to determine the target area to which the first robot needs to move;

The first control module is used to control the first robot to move to the target area through the main activity area of the first robot according to the target area.
A control device, characterized by including: a memory and a processor;

Memory; memory for storing instructions executable by the processor;

Wherein, the processor is configured to execute, by the processor, the method of controlling a robot to move within a work area as described in any one of claims 1 to 13.
A warehousing system, characterized by comprising: the control device according to claim 15, a workstation, a first robot and a second robot;

The workstation, the first robot and the second robot are used to perform corresponding operations under the control of a control device.
A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that computer-executable instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when executed by a processor, the computer-executable instructions are used to implement the following: The method of controlling the movement of a robot in a work area according to any one of claims 1 to 13.
A computer program product, including a computer program, characterized in that when the computer program is executed by a processor, the method of controlling a robot to move within a work area according to any one of claims 1 to 13 is implemented.