CN109747887B

CN109747887B - Automatic packaging system, mechanical arm, packaging method and device for warehousing articles

Info

Publication number: CN109747887B
Application number: CN201811483743.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郑勇
Original assignee: Beijing Jizhijia Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Jizhijia Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-12-05
Filing date: 2018-12-05
Publication date: 2021-12-10
Anticipated expiration: 2038-12-05
Also published as: CN109747887A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses an automatic packaging system, a mechanical arm, a packaging method and a device for warehousing articles, wherein the method is carried out based on the mechanical arm and comprises the following steps: receiving a packaging instruction, wherein the packaging instruction is generated by the server according to a user order and comprises a packaging record of the order, and the packaging record comprises an article ID and a boxing order corresponding to the article; sequentially grabbing the articles in the user order received in the first container according to the article ID and the boxing order corresponding to the articles, and putting the articles into the packing box if the currently grabbed articles are the articles with the current boxing order indicated by the packing record; and if the currently grabbed article is not the article of the current packing sequence indicated by the packing record, placing the currently grabbed article into a second container for temporary storage. By the scheme of the embodiment of the invention, the commodity ex-warehouse efficiency is improved, the warehousing operation efficiency is improved, and better shopping experience is provided for users.

Description

Automatic packaging system, mechanical arm, packaging method and device for warehousing articles

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of logistics storage, in particular to an automatic packaging system, a manipulator, a packaging method and a packaging device for storage articles.

Background

At present, in the warehousing service, the packing process is usually completed as follows: in the packing area, a user selects a needed article in the picking container according to the content of the user order, and the placing strategy of the goods in the packing box is determined according to the property of the article, such as whether the article is pressure-resistant or fragile.

However, with the increasing demand for online shopping, the user's orders are dramatically increasing. In the packing link, the articles are suddenly increased when the mobile robot which is not tired at night and day after day carries the sorting container, the manual packing efficiency can not obviously follow up, the goods overstock is caused, the goods are discharged from the warehouse slowly, and the warehousing operation efficiency and the user experience are influenced.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, embodiments of the present invention provide an automatic packaging system, a manipulator, a packaging method and a packaging device for warehousing articles, which at least partially solve the problems in the prior art.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an automatic packaging system for warehousing goods, including:

the packaging box comprises a first container, a second container, a packaging box, a manipulator and a server; wherein

A first container for receiving items in a user order;

the server is used for generating a packaging instruction according to a user order and sending the packaging instruction to the mechanical arm; the packaging instruction comprises a packaging record of the order, and the packaging record comprises an article ID and a boxing order corresponding to the article;

the manipulator is used for receiving the packaging instruction, sequentially grabbing the articles stored in the first container according to the article ID and the packaging sequence, and putting the articles into the packaging box if the currently grabbed articles are the articles in the current packaging sequence indicated by the packaging record; if the currently grabbed article is not the article in the current boxing order indicated by the packaging record, putting the currently grabbed article into the second container;

the second container is used for temporarily storing intermediate articles in the process of grabbing the articles by the manipulator, wherein the intermediate articles are not the articles in the current boxing sequence indicated by the packing record in each grabbing process;

and the packing box is used for containing the articles grabbed from the first container by the mechanical arm.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, the second container includes a first cache portion and a second cache portion;

the first buffer memory part and the second buffer memory part are used for the manipulator to put the intermediate article according to the following rules:

if the currently grabbed article is not an article in the current boxing order and is not an article in the next boxing order, putting the currently grabbed article into the first cache part;

and if the currently grabbed article is not the article in the current packing order but belongs to the article in the next packing order, placing the currently grabbed article into the second cache part.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, the first cache portion and the second cache portion are two independent containers; or, the first buffer part and the second buffer part are two different areas divided by the same container.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the manipulator comprises an image pickup device, a processor and an execution mechanism;

the camera shooting equipment is used for shooting the articles grabbed by the actuating mechanism;

the processor is used for identifying the photographed articles, and sending out a first driving signal when identifying that the articles are the articles corresponding to the sequence indicated by the packaging record; when the article is identified as an intermediate article, sending a second driving signal;

the actuating mechanism is used for grabbing articles from the first container, putting the articles into the packing box if the first driving signal is received, and putting the articles into the second container if the second driving signal is received.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the manipulator comprises an RFID reader, a processor and an execution mechanism;

the RFID reader is used for scanning the electronic tags of the articles grabbed by the actuating mechanism;

the processor is used for identifying the scanned articles, and sending out a first driving signal when identifying that the articles are the articles corresponding to the sequence indicated by the packaging record; when the article is identified as an intermediate article, sending a second driving signal;

According to a particular implementation of an embodiment of the invention, the robot is further configured to,

when the second container has no accommodating space or the first container has no articles and the second container has articles, receiving a pouring instruction of a server, and pouring the articles in the second container into the first container.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an automatic packaging system for warehousing goods, including:

the packaging box comprises a first container, a second container, a third container, a packaging box, a first mechanical arm, a second mechanical arm and a server; wherein

A first container for receiving items of a user order;

the server is used for generating a first packing instruction and a second packing instruction according to a user order, sending the first packing instruction to the first manipulator and sending the second packing instruction to the second manipulator, wherein the first packing instruction comprises an article ID; the second packing instruction comprises a packing order corresponding to the item ID;

the first manipulator is used for receiving the first packing instruction, sequentially grabbing the articles stored in the first container according to the article ID, and putting the articles into the third container if the currently grabbed articles are the articles indicated by the first packing instruction; if the currently grabbed article is not the article indicated by the first packing instruction, placing the currently grabbed article into the second container;

a third container for receiving the articles gripped by the first manipulator;

the second container is used for temporarily storing intermediate articles in the process of grabbing the articles by the first manipulator, wherein the intermediate articles are not indicated by the first packing record in each grabbing process;

the second manipulator is used for receiving the second packing instruction and putting the articles in the third container into the packing box according to the second packing instruction;

and the packing box is used for containing the articles grabbed by the second manipulator in sequence.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an automatic packaging method for warehousing articles, where the method is performed based on a manipulator, and includes:

receiving a packaging instruction, wherein the packaging instruction is generated by a server according to a user order and comprises a packaging record of the order, and the packaging record comprises an article ID and a boxing order corresponding to the article;

sequentially grabbing the articles in the user order received in the first container according to the article ID and the boxing order corresponding to the articles, and if the currently grabbed articles are the articles in the current boxing order indicated by the packaging record, putting the articles into the packaging box; and if the currently grabbed article is not the article of the current packing sequence indicated by the packing record, placing the currently grabbed article into a second container for temporary storage.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, the manipulator puts the articles into the second container for temporary storage according to the following rules:

if the currently grabbed article is not an article in the current boxing order and is not an article in the next boxing order, putting the currently grabbed article into a first cache part;

if the currently grabbed article is not the article in the current boxing order but belongs to the article in the next boxing order, putting the currently grabbed article into a second cache part;

the first buffer part and the second buffer part are two mutually independent containers; or

The first buffer part and the second buffer part are two different areas divided by the same container.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, when at least two packing instructions are received, the following operations are performed:

and sequentially executing each packaging record in each packaging instruction according to the sequence of the packaging instructions, and after all the packaging instructions are executed, sending feedback information for completing packaging tasks to the server.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, when at least two packed instructions are received, the packed instructions are stored in an instruction pool, and the following operations are performed:

identifying an item to which the packaging instructions relate;

dividing the packed instruction into an immediate execution instruction and a preparatory execution instruction;

sequentially grabbing the articles stored in the first container according to the article ID and the packing sequence, and if the currently grabbed articles are the articles in the current packing sequence indicated by the immediately executed instruction, putting the articles into the packing box; if the item is not in the current boxing order indicated by the immediate execution instruction, putting the item into a second container; if the target object is the target object in the preparation execution instruction, putting the target object into a second container;

and after all the packing instructions in the instruction pool are executed, sending feedback information of completing the packing task to the server.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention, when no accommodating space exists in the second container or when no article exists in the first container and the second container has the article, a pouring instruction of a server is received, and the article in the second container is poured into the first container.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an automatic packing apparatus for warehousing articles, where the apparatus is disposed in a manipulator, and includes:

the system comprises a receiving module, a packing module and a packing module, wherein the receiving module is used for receiving a packing instruction, the packing instruction is generated by a server according to a user order and comprises a packing record of the order, and the packing record comprises an article ID and a packing sequence corresponding to the article;

the boxing module is used for sequentially grabbing the articles in the user order received in the first container according to the article ID and the boxing sequence corresponding to the articles, and putting the articles into the packaging box if the currently grabbed articles are the articles with the current boxing sequence indicated by the packaging record; and if the currently grabbed article is not the article of the current packing sequence indicated by the packing record, placing the currently grabbed article into a second container for temporary storage.

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, the boxing module further includes:

the first cache unit is used for placing the currently grabbed article into a first cache part if the currently grabbed article is not an article in the current boxing order and is not an article in the next boxing order;

the second cache unit is used for placing the currently grabbed article into a second cache part if the currently grabbed article is not an article in the current boxing order but belongs to an article in the next boxing order;

the first buffer part and the second buffer part are two independent containers; or

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: a first scheduling unit, configured to, when the number of the received packed instructions is at least two, perform the following operations:

According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes:

the second scheduling unit is configured to store the packed instruction into an instruction pool when the number of the received packed instructions is at least two, and includes:

an identification unit configured to scan the item related to the packaging instruction;

an instruction dividing section for dividing the packed instruction into an immediate execution instruction and a preparatory execution instruction;

a grasping section configured to sequentially grasp the articles stored in the first container according to the article ID and a packing order, and put the currently grasped articles into the packing box if the currently grasped articles are articles in the current packing order indicated by the immediately executed instruction; if the item is not in the current boxing order indicated by the immediate execution instruction, putting the item into a second container; if the target object is the target object in the preparation execution instruction, putting the target object into a second container;

and the feedback sending part is used for sending feedback information of completing the packaging task to the server after all the packaging instructions in the instruction pool are executed.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a manipulator, including:

comprising at least one processor; and the number of the first and second groups,

a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to execute the method for automatically packaging warehousing goods in any one of the implementations of the first aspect or the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer instructions for causing a computer to execute the method for automatically packaging warehousing goods in any implementation manner of the first aspect or the first aspect.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer program product, where the computer program product includes a computer program stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and the computer program includes program instructions, when the program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer executes the method for automatically packaging warehousing goods in the foregoing first aspect or any implementation manner of the first aspect.

The automatic packaging system, the manipulator, the packaging method and device, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium and the computer program for the warehouse goods provided by the embodiment of the invention adopt the manipulator to sequentially capture goods in the first container for accommodating order goods. Since each first container is filled with a plurality of articles of an order, but a plurality of articles are likely to be stacked in the container, so that some articles are on the outer layer and some articles are on the inner layer, if the articles on the outer layer according to the packing sequence are not the articles to be packed currently, the manipulator can temporarily store the articles in the second container after gripping the articles on the outer layer. That is, in the grabbing process of the manipulator, if the currently grabbed article is the article of the current boxing order indicated by the packing record, the currently grabbed article is placed into the packing box; and if the currently grabbed article is not the article in the current packing order indicated by the packing record, placing the currently grabbed article in the second container. It can be seen that the embodiment of the invention effectively assists the mechanical arm to complete recognition and sorting by adding the second container, and finally, the articles put into the packing box are packed.

According to the embodiment of the invention, in the packing link, the manipulator packing is adopted to replace manual packing in the prior art, so that the current situation of cargo overstock in the packing link is solved, the commodity ex-warehouse efficiency is improved, the warehousing operation efficiency is improved, and better shopping experience is provided for users.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control architecture of the warehousing system of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of the operation of an item picking system in a warehousing system;

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of a mobile robot in an item picking system;

FIG. 2C is a schematic view of a shelf in the item picking system;

FIG. 2D is a schematic structural view of a transfer case on a sorting seeding wall in the item sorting system;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an embodiment of an automatic packing system for warehousing goods according to the present invention;

FIG. 4A is a block diagram of a manipulator of the automatic warehousing article packaging system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4B is a block diagram of another robot in the automatic warehousing article packaging system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5A is a schematic structural diagram of a second container in the automatic warehouse article packaging system according to the embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5B is a schematic structural diagram of another second container in the automatic warehouse article packaging system according to the embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of an automatic packing system for warehousing goods according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating steps of an automatic packing method for warehousing goods according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating steps of a method for automatically packing warehousing goods according to an embodiment of the present invention, when at least two packing instructions are received;

fig. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an automatic packing apparatus for warehousing goods according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an automatic packing apparatus for warehousing goods according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an automatic packing apparatus for warehousing goods according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control unit of a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It should be understood that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the invention, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a block diagram of a control structure of a warehousing system, which comprises an operation table, a control system, an article picking system and an article packing system.

The control system is enabled to work through the operation platform by workers, the control system sends out an instruction to control the article picking system to pick the articles in the user order in the warehouse, and the packing system packs the articles according to the received packing instruction from the control system.

In the prior art, item picking systems may be implemented partially or completely by mobile robots, while packing systems are manual. According to the automatic packaging system for the warehousing articles, which is disclosed by the embodiment of the invention, the mechanical arm is adopted to replace manpower, so that the problems that the manual packaging efficiency is obviously unable to keep pace with that of goods overstock, the goods are slowly taken out of the warehouse, and the warehousing operation efficiency and the user experience are influenced are solved.

Referring to fig. 2A, fig. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation of an embodiment of an item picking system in a warehousing system.

An item picking system comprising: the mobile robot 10, the server 20, the shelf area 30 and the sorting station 40, the shelf area 30 is provided with a plurality of shelves 31, various articles are placed on the shelves 31, for example, as the shelves where various commodities are placed are seen in a supermarket, and the shelves 31 are arranged in a shelf array form.

The operator operates the server 20 through the console 100, the server 20 performs wireless communication with the mobile robot 10, and the mobile robot 10 performs an article transfer task under the control of the server 20. For example, the server 20 plans a movement path for the mobile robot 10 in accordance with the transportation task, and the mobile robot 10 travels along an empty space (a part of a passage through which the mobile robot 10 passes) in the array of the racks 31 in accordance with the movement path. In order to plan a moving path for the mobile robot 10, a working area of the mobile robot 10 (the working area includes at least the rack area 30 and the area where the picking station 40 is located) is divided into a plurality of sub-areas (i.e., cells) in advance, and the mobile robot 10 moves from sub-area to form a moving track.

Referring to fig. 2B, the mobile robot 10 may include a driving mechanism 101 by which the mobile robot 10 can move within the work space, and the mobile robot 10 may further include a lifting mechanism 102 for carrying a rack, and the mobile robot 10 may move below the target rack 31, lift the target rack 31 using the lifting mechanism 102, and carry to the assigned picking station 40. The lifting mechanism 102 lifts the entire target shelf 31 from the ground when lifted up, so that the mobile robot 10 carries the target shelf 31, and the lifting mechanism 102 lowers the target shelf 31 on the ground. The target recognition unit 103 on the mobile robot 10 can effectively recognize the target shelf 31 when the mobile robot 10 lifts the target shelf 31.

In addition, if based on visual navigation, mobile robot 10 includes a navigation recognition component (not shown in fig. 2B) for recognizing navigation markers (e.g., two-dimensional codes) on the paved surface. Of course, the mobile robot 10 further includes a control module (not shown in fig. 2B) that controls the entire mobile robot 10 to implement functions such as movement, navigation, and the like. In one example, the mobile robot 10 includes at least two cameras, up and down, that can drive forward based on two-dimensional code information (other ground identifiers are also possible) captured by the camera that is down, and can drive under the shelf 31 prompted by the server 20 based on the route determined by the server 20. As shown in fig. 2C, fig. 2C is a schematic view of a shelf 31 according to an embodiment of the present invention, where an item 60 is stored on the shelf 31, but the item 60 may also be stored in a storage container. In certain embodiments, the shelf 31 includes a plurality of vertically stacked compartments, each compartment capable of holding a plurality of items 60. The shelf 31 comprises the two-dimensional code 601, after the mobile robot 10 runs under the shelf 31, the two-dimensional code 601 is correctly shot through the upward camera, the mobile robot 10 is ensured to be right under the shelf 31, so that the mobile robot 10 can stably lift and carry the shelf 31, and the shelf 31 comprises one or more supporting parts 602. Additionally, in certain embodiments, the items 60 may also be suspended from hooks or rods within the shelf 31 or on the shelf 31. The items 60 can be placed on the shelf 31 in any suitable manner on the interior or exterior surface of the shelf 31.

The mobile robot 10 carries the target shelf 31 to the picking station 40 where a picker 41 or a picking device (e.g., robotic arm) picks items from the shelf 31 and places them into totes 50 on a pick-and-place wall for packing, as shown in fig. 2D.

Referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 is a schematic view of the working principle of the automatic packaging system for warehousing goods according to the embodiment of the invention.

The automatic packaging system for warehousing goods of the embodiment comprises: a first container 50 (i.e., a tote), a second container 90, a package 80, a robot 70, and a server 20.

The first container 50 is used for receiving the items in the user order. The first container is here the turnaround container in the picking station 40. The first receptacle 50 is located on a sorting seeding wall that contains a plurality of seeding sites, each of which can carry a first receptacle 50.

There may also be an indicator light corresponding to each sowing position. For a certain sowing position in the fixed picking sowing wall, when all the items of the order are picked, the picking personnel or the picking equipment turn off the indicator light from on, and the first container 50 (turnover box) in the sowing position can be turned to the packing station to pack the items.

For a moving sorting sowing wall, for example, the moving sorting sowing wall itself may carry a first container 50, which together with the first container 50 can be moved to the packaging station when the indicator lights under all the sowing locations are extinguished from lighting.

In one example, the moving sorting sowing wall can be manually moved to the packaging station, and the four column foot positions of the moving sorting sowing wall can be provided with rollers, so that the movement of the sorting sowing wall is facilitated, and the moving sorting sowing wall can be carried to the packaging station by a mobile robot as an alternative.

Each first container 50 may contain an item ordered by one user, or may contain a plurality of items ordered by a plurality of users, and the storage space of the first container is determined by the server 20 according to the number of items in the order.

The server 20 is used for generating a packaging instruction according to the user order and sending the packaging instruction to the manipulator; the packaging instruction comprises a packaging record of the order, and the packaging record comprises an article ID and a boxing order corresponding to the article.

The server 20 is a software system with data storage and information processing capability running on the server, and can be connected with the robot, the hardware input system and other software systems through wireless or wired connection. The server 20 may include one or more servers, which may be a centralized control architecture or a distributed computing architecture. The server has a processor 201 and a memory 202, and there may be an order pool 203 in the memory 202.

A manipulator 70, configured to receive a packing instruction, sequentially grab the articles stored in the first container 50 according to the article ID and the packing order, and place the currently grabbed articles into the packing box 80 if the currently grabbed articles are the articles in the current packing order indicated by the packing record; if the currently gripped item is not the item in the current packing order indicated by the packing record, it is placed in the second container 90.

In one embodiment, a block diagram of a robot may be as shown in fig. 4A, the robot including an image capture device, a processor, and an actuator; the camera shooting equipment is used for shooting the articles grabbed by the actuating mechanism; the processor is used for identifying the photographed articles and sending out a first driving signal when the articles are identified as the articles corresponding to the sequence indicated by the packaging record; when the article is identified as an intermediate article, sending a second driving signal; the actuator is used for grabbing articles from the first container, putting the articles into the packing box if receiving a first driving signal, and putting the articles into the second container if receiving a second driving signal.

In another embodiment, a block diagram of a robot may be as shown in fig. 4B, the robot comprising an RFID reader, a processor, and an actuator; the RFID reader is used for scanning the electronic tags of the articles grabbed by the actuating mechanism; the processor is used for identifying the scanned articles, and sending out a first driving signal when the articles are identified as the articles corresponding to the sequence indicated by the packaging record; when the article is identified as an intermediate article, sending a second driving signal; the actuator is used for grabbing articles from the first container, putting the articles into the packing box if receiving a first driving signal, and putting the articles into the second container if receiving a second driving signal.

In other words, in the present embodiment, the first container 50 places items of at least one order picked by the item picking system, but the items are likely to be stacked in the first container 50. This results in some of the product being on the outside of the first container 50 and some of the product being on the inside of the first container 50. If the item at the outer layer is not the item indicated by the current packing record according to the packing sequence, the robot 70 will grasp the outer layer and temporarily store the item in the second container 90.

The packaging box 80 in the system embodiment of the present invention is used for receiving the target articles picked from the first container by the manipulator.

In the embodiment, the second container is added to assist the mechanical arm to complete recognition and sorting, and finally, the articles placed in the packing box are packed. Therefore, in the packing link, the manipulator packing is adopted to replace manual packing in the prior art, the current situation of goods overstock in the packing link is solved, the commodity ex-warehouse efficiency is improved, the warehousing operation efficiency is improved, and better shopping experience is provided for users.

In a preferred embodiment, referring to fig. 5A and 5B, the second container 90 may include a first cache portion and a second cache portion. The first buffer memory part and the second buffer memory part are used for placing the intermediate articles into the manipulator according to the following rules:

i) if the currently grabbed article is not an article in the current boxing order and is not an article in the next boxing order, putting the currently grabbed article into the first cache part 901;

ii) if the current item is not the item in the current packing record but belongs to the item in the next packing record in the packing instruction, the current item is placed in the second buffer memory 902.

In specific implementation, the first buffer 901 and the second buffer 902 may have the following two structural forms: the first buffer 901 and the second buffer 902 are two independent containers. As shown with reference to fig. 5A.

In addition to the above-described configuration, the second container may have the configuration shown in fig. 5B, and the difference from the above-described configuration is that the first buffer 901 and the second buffer 902 are two different regions defined by the same container 90. As shown with reference to fig. 5B.

The above embodiment is intended to improve the packing efficiency by further subdividing the structure of the second container 90. Specifically, when the second container is used as a buffer container to store an item which is not in the current packing order, the attribute of the current item may be further subdivided, and whether the item is in the next packing order or not may be, if so, put it in a specific location although the order of the item does not meet the current indication, so that when the item is needed next, the specific location in the second container is directly taken, and this location is referred to as the second buffer portion in this embodiment.

Therefore, through the processing, the specific part in the second container is sorted, the sorting efficiency can be improved, and the second container can be packed quickly.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, it is set that the items not belonging to the current boxing order are not included, but the items belonging to the next boxing order may be placed in the second buffer portion 902, and actually, in the actual operation, such a rule may be set, of course, and the items in the next two packaging records are placed in the second buffer portion 902.

In one particular implementation of an embodiment of the present invention, the robot 70 is further configured to,

when there is no space in the second container 90, or there is no article in the first container 50 and there is an article in the second container 90, a pouring instruction of the server 20 is received, and the article in the second container 90 is poured into the first container 50.

That is, after a portion of the articles in the first container 50 are placed in the packing box 80 and another portion of the articles are placed in the second container 90, the first container 50 becomes an empty container, and at this time, the articles in the second container 90 are also poured back into the first container 80, and the above process is continued. Until all the articles in the first container 50 are transferred to the packaging box. Logically, the second container 90 can be sorted and packaged as the first container 50 at this time, but such a process would complicate the software program of the robot 70, and therefore, it is a relatively good solution to dump the contents of the second container 90 back into the first container 50 at the expense of software programming.

In addition, consider the unusual situation where the second container 90 is unable to continue to hold items when the first container 50, which is the picking container, has a larger volume than the second container. Similarly, logically, the second container 90 may be regarded as the first container 50 and then sorted and packaged, but in consideration of the cost of software programming, it is a relatively good solution to pour the contents of the second container 90 back into the first container 50.

Referring to fig. 6, the present invention also provides an automatic packing system for warehousing goods, comprising:

a first container 50, a second container 90, a third container 110, a package 80, a first robot 70A, a second robot 70B, and a server 20. Wherein the first container 50 is used for receiving at least one item ordered by a user. The server 20 is configured to generate a first packing instruction and a second packing instruction according to the user order, send the first packing instruction to the first manipulator 70A, and send the second packing instruction to the second manipulator 70B, where the first packing instruction includes an article ID; the second packing instruction includes a packing order corresponding to the item ID. The first manipulator 70A is configured to receive the first packing instruction, sequentially grab the articles stored in the first container 50 according to the article ID, and place the currently grabbed article in the third container 110 if the currently grabbed article is the article instructed by the first packing instruction; if the currently gripped item is not the item indicated by the first packing instruction, it is placed in the second container 90. The third container 110 is configured to receive the target item gripped by the first robot 70A. The second container 90 is used for temporarily storing intermediate articles during the process of grasping the articles by the first manipulator, wherein the intermediate articles are articles which are not indicated by the first packing record during each grasping process. The second manipulator 70B is configured to receive the second packing instruction and place the articles in the third container 110 into the packing box in the packing order according to the second packing instruction. The packing box 80 is used for receiving the articles sequentially grabbed by the second manipulator 70B.

The embodiment is an improvement of the embodiment from the perspective of a production line, and a manipulator is added to divide the packing into two links of sorting and packing. One manipulator is responsible for ordering the order articles, and the other manipulator only needs to pack according to the sorted order. Especially when a plurality of orders are processed in parallel, the efficiency is obviously improved.

The first container 50, the second container 90, the packing box 80, and the server 20 of the embodiment have been described in the previous embodiment, and reference may be made to the above description for relevant points, which is not repeated herein.

step S710, receiving a packaging instruction, wherein the packaging instruction is generated by the server according to a user order and comprises a packaging record of the order, and the packaging record comprises an article ID and a boxing order corresponding to the article;

step S720, sequentially grabbing the articles in the user order received in the first container according to the article ID and the boxing order corresponding to the articles, and putting the articles into the packaging box if the currently grabbed articles are the articles with the current boxing order indicated by the packaging record; and if the currently grabbed article is not the article of the current packing sequence indicated by the packing record, placing the currently grabbed article into a second container for temporary storage.

Through increasing the second container, help the manipulator to accomplish discernment and letter sorting, finally, will put into the packing box article packing can. Therefore, according to the embodiment of the invention, in the packing link, the manipulator packing is adopted to replace manual packing in the prior art, the current situation of cargo overstock in the packing link is solved, the commodity ex-warehouse efficiency is improved, the warehousing operation efficiency is improved, and better shopping experience is provided for users.

Preferably, in one embodiment of the invention, the robot arm temporarily stores the article in the second container according to the following rules:

i) if the currently grasped article is not an article in the current boxing order and is not an article in the next boxing order, placing the currently grasped article into the first cache portion 901;

ii) if the currently gripped article is not the article in the current packing order but belongs to the article in the next packing order, the currently gripped article is placed in the second buffer portion 902.

In specific implementation, the first buffer part and the second buffer part may have the following two structural forms. First, the first buffer memory part and the second buffer memory part are two independent containers. The second aspect of the present invention is different from the above-described structure in that the first buffer unit and the second buffer unit may be two different regions partitioned by the same container.

The above embodiment is intended to improve the packing efficiency by further subdividing the structure of the second container 90. Specifically, when the second container is used as a buffer container to store an item which is not in the current packing order, the attribute of the current item may be further subdivided, and whether the item is in the next packing order or not may be, if so, put it in a specific location although the order of the item does not meet the current indication, so that when the item is needed next, the specific location in the second container is directly taken, and this location is referred to as the second buffer portion in this embodiment. Therefore, through the processing, the specific part in the second container is sorted, the sorting efficiency can be improved, and the second container can be packed quickly.

In one embodiment, when the number of the received packing instructions is at least two, the following two packing methods can be adopted:

i) and sequentially executing each packaging record in each packaging instruction according to the sequence of the packaging instructions, and after all the packaging instructions are executed, sending feedback information for completing packaging tasks to the server.

ii) referring to fig. 8, when the number of the received packing instructions is at least two, the following operations are included:

step S810, identifying the article related to the packaging instruction;

step S820, dividing the packed instruction into an immediate execution instruction and a preparatory execution instruction;

step S830, sorting the articles stored in the first container in sequence according to the article IDs and the packing sequence;

step S840, determining: if the item is the item currently packaged and recorded in the immediate execution command, if yes, step S850A is executed, and if yes, step S850B is executed:

step S850A, putting the packaging box into the box and packaging;

step S850B, if the current packaged and recorded article in the instruction is not executed immediately, putting the article into a second container; if the article is the article in the preparation execution instruction, putting the article into a second container;

and after all the packing instructions in the instruction pool are executed, sending feedback information for completing the packing task to the server.

In this embodiment, an instruction pool is introduced, a plurality of instructions are stored in the instruction pool, and the manipulator executes the immediate execution instruction, and identifies and temporarily stores the articles in the preparatory execution instruction. And an instruction pool is introduced to reduce the communication times with the server side.

In addition, in an embodiment of the present invention, when there is no receiving space in the second container, or when there is no article in the first container and there is an article in the second container, a pouring instruction of the server is received, and the article in the second container is transferred into the first container.

That is, after a part of the articles in the first container is placed in the packing box and another part of the articles is placed in the second container, the first container becomes an empty container, and at this time, the articles in the second container are also poured back into the first container, and the above process is continuously performed. Until all the articles in the first container are transferred to the packaging box. Logically, the second container can be regarded as the first container for picking and packaging, but such a process would complicate the software program of the robot 70, so that it is a relatively good solution to pour the contents of the second container 90 back into the first container from the cost of software programming.

In addition, a non-transitory situation is considered, where the first container, which is the picking container, has a larger volume than the second container, there may be situations where the second container is unable to continue to hold items. Similarly, logically, the second container may also be regarded as the first container for picking and packaging, but in view of the cost of software programming, it is a relatively good solution to pour the items in the second container 90 back into the first container.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an automatic packaging device for warehousing articles, which is disposed in a manipulator, and with reference to fig. 9, includes:

the receiving module 92 is configured to receive a packaging instruction, where the packaging instruction is generated by the server according to the user order and includes a packaging record of the order, and the packaging record includes an article ID and a boxing order corresponding to the article;

the boxing module 91 is configured to sequentially grab the articles in the user order received in the first container according to the article ID and the boxing order corresponding to the articles, and if the currently grabbed articles are the articles in the current boxing order indicated by the packaging record, place the currently grabbed articles in the packaging box; and if the currently grabbed article is not the article of the current packing sequence indicated by the packing record, placing the currently grabbed article into a second container for temporary storage.

This embodiment is automatic packing apparatus of article for storage, install in the manipulator, in the packing link, adopt the manipulator packing to replace the artifical packing among the prior art, solved the current situation of packing link goods backlog, improve commodity ex-warehouse efficiency, improve storage operating efficiency, provide better shopping experience for the user.

Preferably, referring to fig. 10, in another embodiment, the boxing module 91 may further include:

a first buffer unit 910, configured to, if the currently grabbed article is not an article in the current boxing order and is not an article in the next boxing order, place the currently grabbed article into a first buffer portion;

a second buffer unit 911, configured to place the currently grabbed article into the second buffer unit if the currently grabbed article is not the article in the current packing order but belongs to the article in the next packing order; and

and a packing unit 912, configured to put the current item into the packing case when the current item is the item indicated by the current packing record.

The first buffer part and the second buffer part are two independent containers; or the first buffer part and the second buffer part are two different areas divided by the same container.

The above embodiment is intended to further subdivide the structure of the second container, thereby improving the packing efficiency. Specifically, the second container is used as a cache container to store the item not recorded in the current package, and at this time, the attribute of the current item may be further subdivided, and whether the item is the item recorded in the next package or not may be further subdivided, and if so, although the order of the item does not meet the current indication, the item may be placed in a specific location, so that when the item is needed next, the specific location in the second container may be directly reached, and this location is referred to as a second cache portion in this embodiment. Therefore, through the processing, the specific part in the second container is sorted, the sorting efficiency can be improved, and the second container can be packed quickly.

Referring to fig. 11, according to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, the boxing module 91 further includes: a first scheduling unit 914, configured to, when the number of the received packed instructions is at least two, perform the following operations:

In a preferred embodiment, the boxing module 91 may further include a second scheduling unit 913 for storing the packing instructions into the instruction pool when the number of the received packing instructions is at least two, including:

the identification portion 9131 is used for the article to which the packaging instruction relates.

An instruction dividing section 9132 for dividing the packed instruction into an immediate execution instruction and a preparatory execution instruction.

A sorting part 9133, configured to sequentially sort the items stored in the first container according to the item IDs and the packing order, and if the item is a target item of the current packing record in the immediate execution instruction, place the target item in the packing case for packing; if the non-target object is the non-target object of the current packaging record in the immediate execution instruction, putting the non-target object into a second container; and if the target object in the instruction is ready to be executed, putting the target object into a second container.

And a feedback sending part 9134, configured to send feedback information of completing the packaging task to the server after all the packaging instructions in the instruction pool are executed.

In this embodiment, an instruction pool is introduced, a plurality of instructions are stored in the instruction pool, and the manipulator executes the immediate execution instruction, and identifies and temporarily stores the articles in the preparatory execution instruction. And an instruction pool is introduced to reduce the communication times with the server side. The functions of the modules in the embodiments of fig. 9 to 11 correspond to the contents in the corresponding method embodiments, and are not described again here.

Fig. 12 shows a schematic structural diagram of a control part in a robot provided by an embodiment of the present invention, and the robot includes at least one processor 1201 (e.g., a CPU), at least one input/output interface 1204, a memory 11202, and at least one communication bus 1203, which is used for implementing connection communication between these components. The at least one processor 1001 is configured to execute computer instructions stored in the memory 1202 to enable the at least one processor 1001 to perform any of the embodiments of the sub-table method described above. The Memory 1202 is a non-transitory Memory (non-transitory Memory), which may include a volatile Memory such as a high-speed Random Access Memory (RAM) or a non-volatile Memory such as at least one disk Memory. A communication connection with at least one other device or unit is made through at least one input-output interface 1204, which may be a wired or wireless communication interface.

In some embodiments, the memory 1202 stores a program 12021, and the processor 1201 executes the program 12021 to execute the contents of any of the embodiments of automated packaging of warehouse items described above.

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

All the embodiments in the present specification are described in a related manner, and the same and similar parts among the embodiments may be referred to each other, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from the other embodiments. In particular, as for the apparatus embodiment, since it is substantially similar to the method embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and for the relevant points, reference may be made to the partial description of the method embodiment.

The logic and/or steps represented in the flowcharts or otherwise described herein, e.g., an ordered listing of executable instructions that can be considered to implement logical functions, can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. For the purposes of this description, a "computer-readable medium" can be any means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium would include the following: an electrical connection (electronic device) having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette (magnetic device), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber device, and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM). Additionally, the computer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via for instance optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitable manner if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory. It should be understood that portions of the present invention may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

In the above embodiments, the various steps or methods may be implemented in software or firmware stored in memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system. For example, if implemented in hardware, as in another embodiment, any one or combination of the following techniques, which are known in the art, may be used: a discrete logic circuit having a logic gate circuit for implementing a logic function on a data signal, an application specific integrated circuit having an appropriate combinational logic gate circuit, a Programmable Gate Array (PGA), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or the like.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. The utility model provides an automatic packaging system of article for storage which characterized in that includes:

A first container for receiving items of a user order;

a third container for receiving the articles gripped by the first manipulator;

a second container for temporarily storing an intermediate article in a process of grabbing the article by the first manipulator, wherein the intermediate article is not indicated by the first packing record in each grabbing process, and the second container comprises a first buffer storage unit and a second buffer storage unit; the first buffer unit and the second buffer unit are used for the first manipulator to place the intermediate article according to the following rules: if the currently grabbed article is not an article in the current boxing order and is not an article in the next boxing order, putting the currently grabbed article into the first cache part; if the currently grabbed article is not the article in the current boxing order but belongs to the article in the next boxing order, putting the currently grabbed article into the second cache part;

2. The automatic packaging system for warehouse goods according to claim 1, characterized in that,

3. The automatic packaging system for warehouse goods according to claim 1, characterized in that,

the first manipulator comprises an image pickup device, a processor and an executing mechanism;

the actuator is configured to grasp an item from the first container, place the item into the third container if the first drive signal is received, and place the item into the second container if the second drive signal is received.

4. The automatic packaging system for warehouse goods according to claim 1, characterized in that,

the first manipulator comprises an RFID reader, a processor and an executing mechanism;

5. The automatic packaging system for warehouse goods according to claim 1, characterized in that,

the first manipulator is also adapted to,

6. An automatic packing method for warehousing articles is characterized in that the method is carried out based on a mechanical arm and comprises the following steps:

sequentially grabbing the articles in the user order received in the first container according to the article ID and the boxing order corresponding to the articles, and putting the articles into the packing box if the currently grabbed articles are the articles with the current boxing order indicated by the packing record; if the currently grabbed article is not the article in the current boxing order indicated by the packaging record, placing the currently grabbed article into a second container for temporary storage, and if the currently grabbed article is not the article in the current boxing order and is not the article in the next boxing order, placing the currently grabbed article into a first cache part; if the currently gripped item is not an item in the current packing order but belongs to an item in the next packing order, the currently gripped item is placed in the second buffer memory part.

7. The method for automatically packing warehouse articles according to claim 6, wherein the manipulator puts the articles into the second container for temporary storage according to the following rules:

8. The automatic packing method of warehouse goods according to claim 6, characterized in that when the number of the received packing orders is at least two, the following operations are performed:

9. The automatic packaging method for warehousing goods according to claim 6, characterized in that when the number of the received packaging commands is at least two, the packaging commands are stored in a command pool, and the following operations are carried out:

identifying an item to which the packaging instructions relate;

10. The automatic packing method of warehouse goods according to claim 6, characterized in that,

11. The utility model provides an automatic packing apparatus of article for storage, its characterized in that, the device sets up in the manipulator, includes:

the boxing module is used for sequentially grabbing the articles in the user order received in the first container according to the article ID and the boxing sequence corresponding to the articles, and putting the articles into the packaging box if the currently grabbed articles are the articles with the current boxing sequence indicated by the packaging record; if the currently grabbed article is not the article of the current boxing sequence indicated by the packaging record, placing the currently grabbed article into a second container for temporary storage;

the boxing module further comprises:

and the second cache unit is used for placing the currently grabbed article into the second cache part if the currently grabbed article is not the article in the current boxing order but belongs to the article in the next boxing order.

12. The automatic packing apparatus for warehousing goods as claimed in claim 11, wherein:

13. The automatic packing apparatus for warehousing goods according to claim 11, further comprising:

a first scheduling unit, configured to, when the number of the received packed instructions is at least two, perform the following operations:

14. The automatic packing apparatus for warehousing goods according to claim 11, further comprising:

a grasping section configured to sequentially grasp the articles stored in the first container according to the article ID and the packing order, and if the currently grasped article is an article in the current packing order indicated by the immediately executed instruction, place the article in the packing box; if the item is not in the current boxing order indicated by the immediate execution instruction, putting the item into a second container; if the target object is the target object in the preparation execution instruction, putting the target object into a second container;

15. A manipulator, characterized by comprising:

at least one processor; and the number of the first and second groups,

the memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the method for automatically packaging warehouse items according to any one of claims 7 to 10.