CN112330120A

CN112330120A - Library bit allocation method, device, equipment, system and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN112330120A
Application number: CN202011166227.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 艾鑫; 喻润方
Original assignee: Shenzhen Hairou Innovation Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hai Robotics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-10-27
Filing date: 2020-10-27
Publication date: 2021-02-05

Abstract

The embodiment of the disclosure provides a method, a device, equipment, a system and a storage medium for allocating a library bit, wherein the method comprises the following steps: determining at least one task to be processed, the task comprising a return task for returning the bin; allocating storage positions for the bins corresponding to the returning tasks according to the emergency degree of one or more reference tasks, so that the bins are returned to the corresponding storage positions by the robot; wherein the reference task is any task in the at least one task to be processed. According to the storage position allocation method, the storage position allocation device, the storage equipment, the storage system and the storage medium, the storage position can be allocated to the material box according to the emergency degree of the task to be processed, the flexibility of returning goods is improved, the application requirements under different emergency degree scenes are met, and the overall processing efficiency of the system is improved.

Description

Library bit allocation method, device, equipment, system and storage medium

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of smart warehousing technologies, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, a device, a system, and a storage medium for allocating storage locations.

Background

With the continuous development of social trade and electronic commerce, the intelligent warehouse logistics system is more and more widely applied.

In the field of smart warehousing, it is becoming more and more common for robots to replace labor to carry goods. In the goods-to-people system, bins containing goods are stored in the storage positions of the shelf area, the robot can move the bins from the shelf area to a designated position such as an operation table, and the bins of the operation table are operated by the robot or a human, and then returned to the shelf area by the robot. At present, the robot has the problem of poor flexibility in returning goods, and the overall processing efficiency of the system is low.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the disclosure provides a stock allocation method, a stock allocation device, equipment, a stock allocation system and a storage medium, so that the flexibility of returning goods is improved, and the overall processing efficiency of the stock allocation system is improved.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for allocating a slot, where the method includes:

determining at least one task to be processed, the task comprising a return task for returning the bin;

allocating storage positions for the bins corresponding to the returning tasks according to the emergency degree of one or more reference tasks, so that the bins are returned to the corresponding storage positions by the robot;

wherein the reference task is any task in the at least one task to be processed.

In an alternative embodiment, the one or more reference tasks include: the return task; and/or any one or more tasks subsequent to the return task.

In an alternative embodiment, the reference task comprises the return task; the method further comprises the following steps:

adjusting the position of the corresponding stock of the return task according to at least one of the following items: other tasks of the at least one task, newly added tasks assigned to the robot, tasks deleted from the at least one task.

In an optional embodiment, the adjusting the stock position corresponding to the return task is performed according to at least one of the following: other tasks of the at least one task, newly added tasks assigned to the robot, tasks deleted from the at least one task, including:

and if the at least one task and/or the newly added task distributed to the robot comprise a first operation task which is positioned behind the return task and is used for being executed on an operation platform, adjusting a storage position corresponding to the return task according to the state information of the operation platform.

In an optional embodiment, the adjusting, according to the state information of the operation console, a storage location corresponding to the return task includes:

and if other robots are queued to execute a second operation task in the operation platform and the first operation task is prior to the second operation task, reallocating the stock space for the return task through a nearby matching strategy.

In an optional embodiment, the allocating the bin position for the bin corresponding to the return task according to the urgency degree of one or more reference tasks comprises at least one of the following:

if the reference task is the return task and the urgency degree of the return task is urgent, allocating stock positions to the material box by adopting a first allocation strategy;

if the reference task is the return task and the urgency degree of the return task is non-urgency, allocating stock positions to the material box by adopting a second allocation strategy;

if the number of the reference tasks is multiple and the emergency degree of any reference task is emergency, allocating stock positions to the material box by adopting the first allocation strategy;

if the number of the reference tasks is multiple and the emergency degree of each reference task is non-emergency, allocating stock positions to the bin by adopting the second allocation strategy;

wherein the first allocation policy is different from the second allocation policy.

In an alternative embodiment, the first allocation policy comprises at least one of: random distribution, near distribution; and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

the second allocation policy includes: and selecting the bin position allocated to the bin according to the matching degree of the bin position and the bin.

In an optional embodiment, the method further comprises:

and if the emergency degree of the one or more reference tasks changes, allocating the storage space for the corresponding bin of the return task again.

In an optional embodiment, allocating a bin position to a bin corresponding to the return task according to the urgency of one or more reference tasks, comprises:

determining the limit time and/or the limit moving distance of the return task according to the urgency degree of the one or more reference tasks;

and allocating the bin position to the bin according to the limit time and/or the limit moving distance.

In an alternative embodiment, allocating a bin position to the bin based on the time limit and/or the travel distance limit comprises:

searching a library position in an idle state according to the limit time and/or the limit moving distance;

and selecting the bin position allocated to the bin from the searched bin positions.

In an alternative embodiment, selecting the bin allocated to the bin from the located bins comprises:

and selecting the storage position with the highest matching degree with the bin from the searched storage positions to be distributed to the bin.

for each searched bin position, calculating a fraction corresponding to the bin position according to at least one of the matching degree of the bin position and the bin, the time required for returning the bin to the bin position and the distance required for moving the bin to the bin position;

and determining the bin positions distributed to the bin according to the corresponding scores of the bin positions.

In an optional embodiment, calculating a score corresponding to the bin position according to at least one of a matching degree of the bin position and the bin, a time required for returning the bin to the bin position, and a distance required for moving the bin to the bin position includes:

calculating the matching degree score of the bin position according to the matching degree of the bin position and the bin;

calculating a time fraction of the bin according to the time required to return the bin to the bin;

calculating the distance fraction of the storage position according to the distance required for moving the bin to the storage position;

and carrying out weighted summation on the matching degree score, the time score and the distance score to obtain a score corresponding to the position.

In an alternative embodiment, calculating the time fraction of the bin based on the time required to return the bin to the bin position comprises:

determining an expected processing time allocated to the return task;

calculating an absolute value of a difference between a time required to return the bin to the bin position and the expected processing time;

determining a time fraction of the bin according to the absolute value;

wherein the absolute value and the time fraction are in a negative correlation relationship.

In an optional embodiment, the method further comprises:

determining at least one of the following according to the urgency of the reference task: a weight of the match score, a weight of the time score, a weight of the distance score.

In an optional embodiment, the method further comprises:

determining the matching degree of the bin position and the bin corresponding to the return task according to at least one of the following items:

the matching degree of the attribute information of the storage position and the attribute information of the material box corresponding to the return task;

and matching degree of the attribute information of the bin in the preset range around the storage position with the attribute information of the bin corresponding to the goods returning task.

In an optional embodiment, the method further comprises:

determining the corresponding urgency level of the reference task according to at least one of the following items:

the service type corresponding to the reference task;

the deadline corresponding to the reference task;

the remaining time corresponding to the reference task;

state information of an operation platform corresponding to the reference task;

and the user inputs the corresponding urgency degree of the reference task.

In an optional embodiment, the method is applied to a server, and after allocating a stock position for a bin corresponding to the return task, the method further comprises: sending indication information to a robot to indicate the robot to return the bin to a corresponding bin position; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the method is applied to a robot, and after the bin position corresponding to the return task is allocated to the bin, the method further comprises the following steps: and returning the bin to the corresponding bin position.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a library bit allocation apparatus, including:

a determining module for determining at least one task to be processed, the task comprising a return task for returning the bin;

the distribution module is used for distributing storage positions for the workbins corresponding to the returning tasks according to the emergency degree of one or more reference tasks, so that the workbins are returned to the corresponding storage positions by the robot;

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a library bit allocation apparatus, including:

a processor; and

a memory communicatively coupled to the processor;

wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the processor to cause the library bit allocation apparatus to perform the method of any one of the first aspects.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a storage system, including: a server and a robot;

the server is configured to perform the method of any of the first aspect, the robot is configured to return bins to corresponding storage locations; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the server is configured to send at least one task to be processed to a robot configured to perform the method of any of the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer-executable instructions are stored, and when a processor executes the computer-executable instructions, the method according to any one of the first aspect is implemented.

According to the storage position allocation method, the device, the equipment, the system and the storage medium, at least one task to be processed can be determined, the task comprises a return task for returning the bin, and the storage position is allocated to the bin corresponding to the return task according to the emergency degree of one or more reference tasks, so that the bin is returned to the corresponding storage position by the robot, wherein the reference task is any task in the at least one task to be processed, the storage position can be allocated to the bin according to the emergency degree of the task to be processed, the flexibility of returning the bin is improved, the application requirements under scenes with different emergency degrees are met, and the overall processing efficiency of the system is improved.

Drawings

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

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an application scenario provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a method for allocating a slot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of another library position allocation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a principle of selecting a library location according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a process of selecting a bin by scoring according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of another alternative library location provided by embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a position allocation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a position allocation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

To make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure more clear, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described clearly and completely with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, but not all embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments disclosed herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

The scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure can be applied to any suitable industry field or technical field, such as the field of intelligent warehousing.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an application scenario provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure. In a person-to-person warehousing system, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of shelves 20 may be provided in a warehouse 10 or other shelf area for placement of shelves 20, and each shelf 20 may include a plurality of storage locations for placement of bins.

As shown in fig. 1, each shelf 20 is divided into three storage positions, and each storage position can be provided with a bin, and goods are stored in the bin. Of course, the storage space may not be divided in advance, but may be dynamically changed, for example, the storage space for placing the bins may be dynamically determined according to the actual size of the bins to be placed and the current storage conditions of the shelves 20.

The removal and return of the bins may be scheduled by the server 30 and specifically performed by the robot 40. The robot 40 may be connected to and communicate with the server 30 wirelessly or by wire, etc. The number of the servers 30 and the robots 40 may be one or more.

When a bin needs to be removed, robot 40 may move to warehouse 10, remove a bin from the level of shelf 20 and deliver the bin to station 50, where the bin is processed by user 60 at station 50, e.g., to collate the contents of the bin or to remove the contents of the bin; alternatively, the bins may be processed at station 50 by robot 40. After the process is complete, the bins may be returned to the racks 20 in the warehouse 10 by the robot 40.

In practice, to improve efficiency, the robot 40 may take and return items while taking them, i.e., in a one-time path, in an alternating manner. The disposable path may be a path taken by the robot 40 after leaving the console 50 and returning to the console 50, that is, after leaving the console 50, the robot may execute a plurality of tasks, and then return to the console 50, where the plurality of tasks may include both a task of picking up goods and a task of returning goods, thereby achieving picking up goods and improving processing efficiency.

An example of a path for pick-up and return of a product by the robot 40 is shown by the dashed line with arrows in fig. 1. As shown, robot 40 may first move to bay A, remove a bin placed at bay A and send it to station 50, and return the bin after it has been processed, either to bay A, which the bin originally occupied, or to another bay such as bay B. After the work bin is returned to the storage position B, the work bin placed at the storage position C can be taken down and sent to the operation table 50, so that the work of returning and taking goods can be completed at one time.

When returning goods, a random returning scheme can be adopted, a stock position is randomly allocated to the bin to be returned, but the problem that the bin is required to be allocated again due to poor matching between the bin and the stock position can occur, the burden of the system is increased, the flexibility of the allocation of the stock position is poor, and the overall efficiency of the system is low.

In view of this, the embodiment of the present disclosure provides a bin allocation method, which may determine a task to be processed, allocate a bin to be returned according to the urgency of the task, and obtain different allocation results according to different urgency. For example, in case of a more urgent task, the bin may be returned to the nearest stock level to save time as much as possible; when the task is not urgent, the matching degree of each warehouse location and the bin in the warehouse can be slowly calculated, so that the most matched warehouse location is found, the need of redistribution caused by poor matching degree is avoided, the flexibility of warehouse location distribution can be effectively increased, and the overall processing efficiency of the system can be improved.

Some embodiments of the disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The features of the embodiments and examples described below may be combined with each other without conflict between the embodiments.

Fig. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a method for allocating a slot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The execution subject of the method in the embodiment of the present disclosure may be a library space allocation apparatus, such as a server or a robot. As shown in fig. 2, the method provided in this embodiment may include:

step 201, at least one task to be processed is determined, wherein the task comprises a return task for returning the bin.

Alternatively, the tasks in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be any type of task that the robot can handle, including but not limited to: warehousing, ex-warehouse, sorting, replenishment, goods taking, goods returning, warehousing, waiting, charging and the like.

Wherein warehousing may refer to storing the goods in a warehouse; the delivery can be realized by packaging and delivering goods in a warehouse; sorting may refer to picking the goods at an operating floor; replenishment may refer to replenishing existing goods; managing a warehouse may refer to sorting goods in the warehouse, for example, gathering the goods together; picking may refer to taking the goods from a warehouse and sending them to an operator station; returning the goods may refer to returning the used goods to the warehouse; the waiting can mean that the robot waits in a designated area, so that other robots which normally work are prevented from being influenced; charging can mean that the robot goes to fill electric pile and charge.

Optionally, the actual work content corresponding to each task may be set according to actual needs, or the tasks may be split or combined, for example, one ex-warehouse task may be split into multiple tasks of picking and returning goods.

The at least one task to be processed in this step may be at least one task to be processed that is allocated to any robot in the system, and a specific task allocation policy is not limited in this embodiment of the disclosure.

In this embodiment, at least one task to be processed may be determined in various ways, for example, by obtaining from other devices and/or by calculating the determination itself. The at least one task to be processed may include a return task for returning the bin. Wherein the bin may be any type of container capable of holding goods. After the bin is processed at the station, the robot may perform a return task to return the bin to the storage location of the warehouse.

It will be understood that the bin in the return task may be a bin filled with goods or may be an empty bin.

Optionally, the at least one task may include at least one task that the robot can perform in the one-time path, and for example, may include a pick task and a return task to implement a pick-and-return function. For example, after a first bin has been processed at the station, the robot may return to the warehouse with the first bin, place the first bin on the shelf of the warehouse, and remove a second bin and a third bin from the shelf of the warehouse to the station.

Step 202, allocating a storage position to the bin corresponding to the returning task according to the emergency degree of one or more reference tasks, so that the bin is returned to the corresponding storage position by the robot.

In this embodiment, the bin may be allocated according to the urgency of any one or more of the at least one task to be processed. And in order to simplify the task, recording the task which needs to be considered when the bin position is allocated to the bin corresponding to the returning task as a reference task.

The reference task may be the return task itself or other tasks. The number of the reference tasks may be one or multiple, and each reference task may have its corresponding urgency level.

It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present disclosure, one or more reference tasks may be considered to determine the strategy for allocating the bin space for the bin. The considered time can be any time, and the considered tasks at different times can be the same or different.

Optionally, after the first occasion, for example, the robot is assigned with the task, the reference task may be the return task, that is, the bin is assigned to the bin in consideration of the urgency degree of the return task; at a second occasion, for example when a new task is inserted, or when the urgency of other tasks changes, the reference task may reallocate the bin space for the other tasks according to the urgency of the other tasks.

The urgency of the reference task may be expressed in a variety of ways. Optionally, the emergency degree may include: emergency level, and/or time limit, etc.

In an alternative implementation, the degree of urgency may include a level of urgency, which may be classified into urgent or non-urgent, or may have other classification manners, such as high, medium, and low; different urgency levels may correspond to different allocation strategies.

Optionally, allocating a stock position to the bin corresponding to the return task according to the urgency degree of one or more reference tasks, and may include at least one of the following: if the reference task is the return task and the urgency degree of the return task is urgent, allocating stock positions to the material box by adopting a first allocation strategy; if the reference task is the return task and the urgency degree of the return task is non-urgency, allocating stock positions to the material box by adopting a second allocation strategy; if the number of the reference tasks is multiple and the emergency degree of any reference task is emergency, allocating stock positions to the material box by adopting the first allocation strategy; if the number of the reference tasks is multiple and the emergency degree of each reference task is non-emergency, allocating stock positions to the bin by adopting the second allocation strategy; the first allocation strategy is different from the second allocation strategy, so that a strategy for allocating the library bit is determined according to the degree of emergency, the flexibility is effectively improved, and the task requirements under different degrees of emergency are met.

The first allocation policy and the second allocation policy may be set according to actual needs. Optionally, the first allocation policy may include at least one of: random distribution, near distribution; and/or, the second allocation policy may include: and selecting the bin position allocated to the bin according to the matching degree of the bin position and the bin.

The random allocation can be to randomly select one free storage position to be allocated to the bin corresponding to the return task, and the random allocation can be used for simply and quickly allocating one storage position to the bin, so that the time for selecting the storage position is saved, and the calculation power of a server or a robot is saved.

The nearby distribution can be to select an idle storage position closest to the robot to be distributed to the material box corresponding to the goods returning task, the walking path of the robot can be effectively shortened by adopting the nearby distribution mode, the time spent on the goods returning task is reduced, and the processing efficiency under the emergency condition is improved.

In a non-emergency situation, an optimal allocation strategy can be adopted, wherein the optimal allocation can be realized by selecting the bin position allocated to the bin according to the matching degree of the bin position and the bin, so that the bin can be allocated to the bin position matched with the bin position, and the overall performance of the system is improved.

In another alternative implementation, the urgency may include a time limit. The urgency degree of the task can be represented by limiting time, wherein the shorter the limiting time is, the more urgent the task is, and the longer the limiting time is, the less urgent the task is.

The time limit may be a time limit for completing the return task, that is, a time from the start to the end of the return task cannot exceed the time limit, or may be a time limit for completing the return task and moving to a target position of a next task, for example, if the next task of the return task is a pick-up task, a target position of the pick-up task is a position where a bin to be picked is located, and a time from the start of the return task to the target position of the pick-up task cannot exceed the time limit.

In the case of a mission emergency characterized by a time limit, the emergency level may be a continuous variable, and different emergency levels may result in different bin positions being allocated to the same bin to be returned.

Alternatively, an alternative storage space range can be determined according to the degree of urgency, and an appropriate storage space can be selected from this storage space range and allocated to the bin to be returned. For example, under the condition that the limit time of the return task is short, a proper storage position can be selected from a plurality of shelves around the robot, so that the walking distance of the robot is shortened, and the time saving and the storage position matching degree are both considered; under the condition that the limit time of the goods returning task is sufficient, the proper storage position can be selected from the range of the whole storage, so that the selection range is increased, and the most proper storage position can be found conveniently to place the bin.

In yet another alternative implementation, the urgency level may include both a time limit and an urgency level, whether the allocation is a near allocation or an optimal allocation may be determined according to the urgency level, and after determining to adopt a policy for optimal allocation, an optional range of the bin bits may be determined according to the time limit, and then an appropriate bin bit may be selected within the range. Of course, the urgency level may also have other expressions, such as the deadline of the task, and the embodiment does not limit this.

Optionally, the one or more reference tasks may include: the return task; and/or any one or more tasks subsequent to the return task.

Specifically, when allocating stock positions for bins in a return task, the reference task may be the return task itself, and a strategy for allocating the stock positions is determined according to the urgency degree of the return task; alternatively, the reference task may be another task subsequent to the return task, for example, the robot needs to return the goods first and then pick the goods, the urgency of the picking is urgent, and then the return of the goods needs to be completed as soon as possible, and at this time, the position of the warehouse may be selected by random allocation or near allocation. By considering the urgency degree of the goods returning task and the subsequent task, the goods returning task and the subsequent task can be effectively ensured to be smoothly carried out, so that the system can stably and orderly operate.

Of course, the reference task may also be a task before a return task, for example, the system tends to allocate tasks of the same urgency to the same robot, and when the urgency of the return task is unknown, allocation of the positions may be achieved with reference to the urgency of the previous task, so as to further improve flexibility of the position allocation.

In practical application, when a task is assigned to the robot, the emergency degree of the task indicates that the robot can reach a stock position with high matching performance as far as possible when the robot returns the goods, the situation that the system is re-coordinated due to poor matching performance of a bin and the stock position is avoided as far as possible, meanwhile, the flexibility of task scheduling can be improved, the system balance is realized by combining the matching performance of the stock position and the bin with the flexible task scheduling, and the system benefit is improved.

The stock location allocation method provided by the embodiment can determine at least one task to be processed, wherein the task comprises a return task for returning the stock box, and the stock location is allocated to the stock box corresponding to the return task according to the emergency degree of one or more reference tasks, so that the stock box is returned to the corresponding stock location by the robot, wherein the reference task is any task in the at least one task to be processed, the stock location can be allocated to the stock box according to the emergency degree of the task to be processed, the flexibility of returning the stock is improved, the application requirements under scenes with different emergency degrees are met, and the overall processing efficiency of the system is improved.

On the basis of the technical solution provided by the above embodiment, optionally, when the reference task includes the return task, the stock location corresponding to the return task may also be adjusted according to at least one of the following items: other tasks of the at least one task, newly added tasks assigned to the robot, tasks deleted from the at least one task.

The other tasks may refer to other tasks in the at least one task besides the return task, and specifically may be any one or more tasks before or after the return task.

The newly added tasks assigned to the robot may include newly arrived tasks such as new order tasks, or may include burst tasks such as a task going to handle a certain fault, or may include tasks already existing in the system and newly assigned to the robot, such as a task taking over another robot.

The task deleted from the at least one task may be any type of task. Optionally, the deleted task may be a task that does not need to be executed any more, and the system directly deletes the deleted task; or may be a task that is taken away, e.g., deleted from at least one task of the robot and assigned to other robots; alternatively, it may be a withdrawn task, e.g. from at least one task of the robot into an unassigned task pool, waiting for a subsequent re-assignment of the robot or other processing.

And according to at least one of other tasks in the at least one task, the newly added task distributed to the robot and the task deleted from the at least one task, the stock level corresponding to the return task can be adjusted. For example, when a task is newly inserted, or a task is deleted, or when the urgency degree of some tasks changes, the time allocated to each task by the robot may change, and at this time, the stock location may be newly allocated to the return task according to the changed task condition, and the specific allocation strategy may refer to the stock location allocation scheme provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure, so that the stock location of the return task is dynamically adjusted, and the flexibility of stock location allocation is further improved.

Optionally, adjusting the stock level corresponding to the return task according to other tasks in the at least one task and/or a newly added task assigned to the robot may include: and if the at least one task and/or the newly added task distributed to the robot comprise a first operation task which is positioned behind the return task and is used for being executed on an operation platform, adjusting a storage position corresponding to the return task according to the state information of the operation platform.

The state information of the operation station can be used for indicating whether the robot is queued to execute a task or not. Because a plurality of robots may perform task operation on the same operation platform in sequence, the storage positions corresponding to the goods returning tasks are adjusted according to the state information of the operation platform, the goods returning can be completed as soon as possible under the condition that the operation platform is crowded, the waiting of other robots on the operation platform for a long time is avoided, and the smooth operation of the system is guaranteed.

Wherein, according to the state information of the operation console, adjusting the storage position corresponding to the return task may include: and if other robots are queued to execute a second operation task in the operation platform and the first operation task is prior to the second operation task, reallocating the stock space for the return task through a nearby matching strategy.

The nearby matching strategy may refer to returning the bin corresponding to the returning task to the nearest free-state bin. The nearest stock location described herein may be the stock location with the shortest time required for returning the stock, or the stock location with the shortest returning distance.

For example, the tasks to be processed by the first robot include a return task and a first operation task subsequent to the return task, the first operation task being a task that needs to be performed at the operation table, such as a picking task. The task to be processed by the second robot comprises a second operation task which needs to be executed at the operation platform, and the first operation task is prior to the second operation task, namely, the second operation task needs to be executed after the first operation task. For example, the first operation task and the second operation task occupy the same slot position of the console, and the slot position is used to execute the second operation task only after the first operation task is completed. In this case, if the second robot has arrived at the console to wait for the second operation task and the first robot has not yet completed the return task before the first operation task, the stock space may be reallocated for the return task by matching the policy nearby, so that the first robot completes the return as soon as possible and goes to the console to execute the first operation task, thereby reducing the waiting time of the second robot.

On the basis of the technical solutions provided by the above embodiments, optionally, if the urgency level of the one or more reference tasks changes, the stock level of the corresponding bin of the return task may be allocated again.

When there are multiple reference tasks, the urgency levels of the multiple reference tasks may be changed, which may mean that the urgency level of any one of the multiple reference tasks is changed, or that the urgency levels of all the reference tasks are changed.

The degree of urgency may vary and may include at least one of: emergency to non-emergency, non-emergency to emergency, change in time limit, etc. When the emergency degree of the reference task is changed, the bin position can be allocated to the bin corresponding to the return task again according to the changed emergency degree.

Taking the reference task as the return task as an example, if the urgency degree of the return task is non-urgency, allocating a most appropriate stock position for the bin corresponding to the return task according to an optimal allocation strategy; when the urgency degree of the goods returning task is changed from non-urgency to urgency, a nearest stock position can be allocated to the bin again according to a nearby allocation strategy, so that the robot can complete the goods returning task as soon as possible.

Similarly, when the urgency degree of the returning task is changed from urgent to non-urgent, the robot can have more sufficient time to execute the returning task, and at the moment, the stock level obtained through the nearby allocation strategy can be adjusted to a stock level which is far away but has a higher matching degree, so that the stock level adjustment is realized according to the change of the urgency degree, the real-time performance is high, and the overall performance of the system is effectively improved.

In addition, when the degree of urgency is indicated by a time limit or the like, a stock space may be newly allocated to the bin corresponding to the return task when the time limit is changed. Optionally, the range of the available storage space may be re-determined according to the changed limit time, and the storage space allocated to the return task may be selected from the range of the available storage space, or the emergency degree may be re-determined according to the limit time, and the range of the storage space may be re-determined according to the emergency degree. The specific implementation strategy can be seen in the schemes in other embodiments.

For example, in the case that the limit time of the return task is sufficient, an appropriate stock position can be selected from the range of the full stock to be allocated to the return task; as time goes on, the robot delays too long time when executing a certain task before the return task, or a new task is inserted before the return task, at the moment, the limit time of the return task may change, when the limit time of the return task is shortened, the position range can be re-determined according to the limit time, and a proper position is selected from the range, so that the time of the return task is shortened, and the dynamic change requirement of the system task is met.

In other alternative implementations, the corresponding stock position of the return task may be adjusted according to other situations.

In one example, the corresponding storage position of the return task can be adjusted according to the road control condition. For example, when the robot is required to give way to other robots, the time for actually executing a return task may be shortened, and at this time, a storage space may be randomly or nearby allocated to the bin to meet the requirement of road control.

In another example, the position of the corresponding stock of the return task can be adjusted according to the path reservation result of the return task or other tasks. For example, when the path reservation result of the robot is a failure, the robot cannot obtain an available path temporarily, which may affect subsequent work, and at this time, the path of returning goods may be changed, or a bin is randomly or nearby reallocated for the bin, so that the problem that the task cannot be continuously executed due to the failure of the path reservation is avoided, and the operation flexibility of the robot is improved.

In another example, the position of the stock corresponding to the return task may be adjusted according to the execution condition of the return task or other tasks. Optionally, if an action error occurs when the robot executes the return task, for example, when the robot moves to a storage position corresponding to the return task, the spacing between the bins on the two sides of the storage position is too small, and a bin to be returned cannot be placed, or the storage position is occupied by other bins, the action error is triggered, and at this time, the storage position can be allocated to the bin to be returned again.

In another example, if the robot has a positioning error, the position of the stock can be allocated for the return task again, so that the work performance of the robot is improved.

In practical application, the library position corresponding to the return task can be adjusted according to the actual working condition of the system by referring to the above example. Of course, the considered conditions during the adjustment are not limited to the above conditions, and the adjustment strategy may be determined by combining with actual working requirements, which is not limited by the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of another library bit allocation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment is based on the technical scheme provided by the embodiment, and the storage space allocation is realized by determining the limit time and/or the limit moving distance of the return task. As shown in fig. 3, the method may include:

step 301, determining at least one task to be processed, the task comprising a return task for returning the bin.

For the specific implementation principle and process of step 301 in this embodiment, reference may be made to the foregoing embodiments, which are not described herein again.

And step 302, determining the limit time and/or the limit moving distance of the return task according to the urgency degree of one or more reference tasks.

And 303, distributing the bin position for the bin according to the limit time and/or the limit moving distance.

In this embodiment, according to the urgency level of one or more reference tasks, the bin position can be allocated to the bin corresponding to the returning task through steps 302 to 303, so that the bin is returned to the corresponding bin position by the robot. Wherein the reference task is any task in the at least one task to be processed.

Specifically, the time limit and/or the movement limit distance of the return task may be determined according to the urgency degree of the one or more reference tasks, so that the time limit and/or the movement limit distance of the return task may meet the requirements of the one or more reference tasks.

For example, the reference task comprises a return task, the urgency of the return task is characterized by a limit time, and the limit time of the return task can be directly determined according to the urgency.

As another example, the reference task includes a pick task after a return task, which requires 9 a.m.: 00, then the return task and the subsequent pick task may be allocated time according to the position of the console, the moving speed of the robot, the target position of the pick, etc., so that the return task and the pick task may be performed at 9 a.m.: 00 is completed.

For another example, when the urgency level of the reference task is urgent, the limit time of the return task may be directly compressed to the shortest time to complete the return as soon as possible. The shortest time may be a preset time or a time calculated according to the current situation.

The limited movement distance may be determined based on the same principle, and the limited movement distance may be shorter in a case of being more urgent and longer in a case of being less urgent without considering other influence factors. The corresponding relation between the emergency degree and the limit time and/or the limit moving distance can be set according to the actual condition of the warehousing system.

Optionally, the limited moving distance is also determined according to the limited time, for example, the limited time may be subtracted by the time of the robot operating in place and waiting in place and the error time to obtain the movable time, and then the limited moving distance of the robot is obtained by combining the moving speed of the robot. The in-situ operation may refer to time spent on taking down the bin from the basket pack and placing the bin on the storage position after the robot reaches the storage position, and the in-situ waiting may be time spent on avoiding other robots by the robot.

After the limit time and/or the limit moving distance are obtained, the range which can be reached by the robot in the return task can be determined according to the limit time and/or the limit moving distance, and the stock position is selected for the bin corresponding to the return task from the range. Specifically, according to the time limit and/or the travel distance limit, allocating a bin position to the bin includes: searching a library position in an idle state according to the limit time and/or the limit moving distance; and selecting the bin position allocated to the bin from the searched bin positions.

The searched storage positions in the idle state can be the storage positions in the idle state meeting the limit time and/or the limit moving distance, and if a plurality of the searched storage positions exist, one of the searched storage positions can be selected to be allocated to the bin according to a preset strategy.

Optionally, selecting a bin position allocated to the bin from the found bin positions may include: and selecting the storage position with the highest matching degree with the bin from the searched storage positions to distribute to the bin, so that the storage position feed bin with the high matching degree is distributed as far as possible under the condition of meeting the requirement of emergency degree, the time limit and the matching degree are considered, and the storage effect is improved.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a principle of selecting a library location according to an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the bin corresponding to the return task is bin A, and X, Y, Z are available, so that the bin allocated to bin A can be selected according to the matching degree of each bin with bin A. Assuming that the matching degree of the bin position X and the bin A is the highest, the bin position is Y times, and the bin position Z is the lowest, the bin A can be placed at the bin position X even if the bin position X is further away.

When the urgency level of the task is raised, assuming that the available bin positions become only the bin positions Y and Z, the bin position Y may be selected as the bin position allocated to the bin a so that the bin position allocation may seek a balance between the urgency level requirement and the matching level requirement.

According to the stock location allocation method provided by the embodiment, the limit time and/or the limit moving distance of the return task can be determined according to the emergency degree of the one or more reference tasks, and the stock location is allocated to the bin according to the limit time and/or the limit moving distance, so that the optional stock location range can be quickly determined according to the emergency degree of the one or more reference tasks, the appropriate stock location can be selected from the optional stock location range, and the accuracy of stock location allocation is improved.

In addition to selecting the bin with the highest degree of matching, the bin allocated to the bin to be returned may be selected in other ways. For example, an appropriate bin may be selected by scoring. Fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a process of selecting a bin by scoring according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 5, selecting the bin allocated to the bin from the found bins may include:

step 501, for each searched bin, calculating a score corresponding to the bin according to at least one of the matching degree of the bin and the bin, the time required for returning the bin to the bin, and the distance required for moving the bin to the bin.

The distance required for moving the bin to the storage position can be the actual moving distance of the robot to the storage position, and is not a linear distance; the time required to return the bin to the bay may be determined based on the actual distance moved and possible waiting times, for example if a number of robots are working close to the bay during a certain period of time, then the time taken to avoid other robots or to wait for other robots to leave the roadway may be taken into account in calculating the time.

In calculating the score corresponding to the stock position, one or more of the matching degree of the stock position and the bin, the time required for returning the bin to the stock position, and the distance required for moving the bin to the stock position may be optionally calculated. When multiple terms are selected for calculation, the corresponding scores can be obtained by means of weighted summation.

Taking the above three items as examples for calculation, the calculating the score corresponding to the bin position according to at least one of the matching degree between the bin position and the bin, the time required for returning the bin to the bin position, and the distance required for moving the bin to the bin position in this step may include: calculating the matching degree score of the bin position according to the matching degree of the bin position and the bin; calculating a time fraction of the bin according to the time required to return the bin to the bin; calculating the distance fraction of the storage position according to the distance required for moving the bin to the storage position; and carrying out weighted summation on the matching degree score, the time score and the distance score to obtain a score corresponding to the position.

Specifically, the calculation can be performed by the following formula:

S_i＝M_i*g_M+S_i*g_S+D_i*g_D (1)

in the formula (1), S_iIs a fraction of the ith bin, M_iIs the matching score of the ith bin, S_iIs the time fraction of the ith bin, D_iIs the distance fraction of the ith bin, g_M、g_S、g_DThe weight of the matching degree score, the weight of the time score and the weight of the distance score are sequentially used.

Optionally, the bin position and the matching degree of the bin can be in positive correlation with the matching degree score of the bin position, that is, the bin position and the matching degree of the bin are higher, the matching degree score of the bin position is higher, the matching degree score is lower, and therefore the bin position with the higher matching degree can be selected as far as possible, and the overall performance of the system is improved.

Optionally, the distance may be in a negative correlation with the distance score, that is, the farther the distance to be moved is, the lower the corresponding distance score is, and the closer the distance is, the higher the corresponding distance score is, so that the moving distance of the robot may be effectively reduced, and energy may be saved.

Optionally, the required time may be in a negative correlation with the time fraction, that is, the longer the required time is, the lower the corresponding time fraction is, the shorter the required time is, and the higher the corresponding time fraction is, so as to select the library bit with the shorter required time as much as possible, thereby reducing the time cost.

In another alternative implementation, calculating the time fraction of the bin based on the time required to return the bin to the bin may include: determining an expected processing time allocated to the return task; calculating an absolute value of a difference between a time required to return the bin to the bin position and the expected processing time; and determining the time fraction of the library bit according to the absolute value.

The absolute value and the time score are in a negative correlation relationship, that is, the larger the absolute value is, the higher the time score can be, and the smaller the absolute value is, the smaller the time score can be.

Alternatively, the estimated processing time may be determined by a limit time of the return task, or the estimated processing time may be an optimal processing time of the return task considered by the system.

The time required for returning the bin to the storage position is equal to or close to the expected processing time allocated to the bin by the system, the time required for returning goods is too long, the overall processing time of the system is longer, the overall efficiency of the system is reduced, the time required for returning goods is too short, the robot is in an idle state for a longer time, the system can allocate corresponding starting time to each task, and under the condition that the starting time of the next task is far short after the current task is completed, the robot needs to wait for a long time, so that the overall performance of the system is improved, and the work balance of the robot is not facilitated.

Therefore, the time fraction is determined according to the absolute value of the difference between the time required for returning the bin to the storage position and the expected processing time, the storage position with the actual processing time close to the expected processing time can be selected as far as possible, the robot is prevented from being in a blank window period for a long time, and the use efficiency of the robot and the overall performance of the system are improved.

In this embodiment, the weight of each score may be set according to actual needs. Optionally, at least one of the following may be determined according to the urgency of the reference task: a weight of the match score, a weight of the time score, a weight of the distance score.

For example, when the urgency level of the task is urgent, the weight of the time score may be increased, and/or the weight of the matching degree score and the weight of the distance score may be decreased; when the urgency degree of the task is non-urgency, the weight of the time score can be reduced, and/or the weight of the matching degree score and the weight of the distance score can be increased, so that the application requirements of different scenes are met.

And 502, determining the bin positions allocated to the bin according to the corresponding scores of the bin positions.

After determining the scores corresponding to the various positions, the position with the highest score can be selected as the position allocated to the bin corresponding to the returning task, so that the robot can return the bin to the position.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of another alternative library location selection provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 6, the bin corresponding to the return order is bin a, and X, Y, Z are available as the available bin positions, so that the bin position allocated to bin a can be selected according to the fraction of each bin position. Assuming bin X, Y, Z has corresponding scores of 50, 80, and 20, respectively, bin Y with the highest score may be selected and bin a placed in bin Y.

According to the stock level allocation method provided by the embodiment, for each optional stock level, the fraction corresponding to the stock level can be calculated according to at least one of the matching degree of the stock level and the bin, the time required for returning the bin to the stock level and the distance required for moving the bin to the stock level, and the stock level allocated to the bin is determined according to the fraction corresponding to each stock level, so that the optimal solution can be quickly selected from a plurality of optional stock levels through the fraction, and the processing effect of a task and the storage effect of the bin are considered.

On the basis of the technical solutions provided by the above embodiments, optionally, the matching degree of the bin position and the bin corresponding to the return task may also be determined according to at least one of the following items: the matching degree of the attribute information of the storage position and the attribute information of the material box corresponding to the return task; and matching degree of the attribute information of the bin in the preset range around the storage position with the attribute information of the bin corresponding to the goods returning task.

In an alternative implementation, the attribute information of the library bit may be determined by at least one of: the information input by the user, the position of the storage position, the attribute of the bin or the goods stored in the storage position history, and the attribute information of the shelf where the storage position is located.

The property information of the bin may be determined by at least one of: information entered by a user, the type of bin, attributes of goods historically stored by the bin, etc.

The property information of the bin or the bay may include at least one of: stored cargo attributes such as individual product storage, mix-and-mix, etc.; group order/mix order frequency, i.e. the frequency at which stored goods need to be grouped or mixed with other goods; frequency of use, such as the frequency of use of bins or the frequency of use of bins stored on a bay; a temperature range; a humidity range; and so on.

For example, a user may manually set a certain storage location or a certain bin may only store certain types of goods; for another example, the frequency of use of the bin may be determined according to the frequency of use of bins historically stored on the bin; for another example, the corresponding frequency of use may be determined according to the location of the library location, for example, the frequency of use may be lower for more remote library locations.

The closer the bin is to the bin position attribute information, the higher the matching degree. Through the mode, the matching performance of the material box and the storage position can be improved, and the storage effect is improved.

In another optional implementation manner, the matching degree of the bin position and the bin corresponding to the return task can be determined according to the matching degree of the attribute information of the bin stored around the bin position and the attribute information of the bin corresponding to the return task.

Specifically, the closer the property information of the bin corresponding to the goods returning task and the bin stored around the storage position is, the higher the matching degree of the bin corresponding to the goods returning task and the storage position is, so that the bins with the close properties can be placed together as much as possible, for example, the bins with the close storage temperature can be placed together, the bins of the stored same goods can be placed together, the management of the goods is facilitated, and the goods processing efficiency is improved.

In practical application, how to calculate the matching degree of the bin and the storage space can be determined according to the condition of the system, and the method is not limited to the above mode.

On the basis of the technical solutions provided by the foregoing embodiments, optionally, the urgency level corresponding to the reference task may also be determined according to at least one of the following items: the service type corresponding to the reference task; the deadline corresponding to the reference task; the remaining time corresponding to the reference task; state information of an operation platform corresponding to the reference task; and the user inputs the corresponding urgency degree of the reference task.

Optionally, the service type corresponding to the reference task may include but is not limited to: warehousing, ex-warehouse, sorting, replenishment, warehousing and the like. Different business types may correspond to different degrees of urgency, for example, in some warehousing systems, a reason bank is always not urgent, and then the task of the reason bank may be set to be non-urgent. Or different limiting time can be allocated to different service types to meet the requirements of different service types.

Optionally, the deadline corresponding to the reference task may be manually set or automatically generated by the system, for example, the deadline of the order task may be determined according to the order placing time or the deadline of the order, so as to provide a guarantee for smooth processing of the task.

Optionally, the remaining time corresponding to the reference task may be dynamically changed, so that the urgency level corresponding to the reference task may also be dynamically changed.

For example, the reference task may be a return task currently being performed, the urgency of the task is non-urgent, and the expected processing time is 180 seconds, so that the robot has enough time to select a more matching bin to place the bin. However, due to some special circumstances, for example, the robot is blocked by other robots, the task is not progressed as the remaining time is gradually reduced, and when the remaining time is reduced to a certain threshold, for example, 30 seconds, the urgency level of the task is raised to urgency, and the allocation strategy may be changed to the nearby allocation. The emergency degree can be dynamically adjusted through the residual time, so that the flexible change of the library position allocation strategy is realized, and the system error is reduced.

Optionally, the state information of the console corresponding to the reference task may also affect the urgency level of the task, and if the console is stuck, the urgency level of the corresponding reference task may be raised to be urgent. The operating platform may be blocked, that is, other robots are currently queued at the operating platform to wait for processing tasks, but the tasks that the other robots wait for processing need to be executed after the reference task is processed, and the robot that executes the reference task is not currently at the operating platform.

For example, the reference task may be a sorting task, i.e. the robot needs to complete the sorting of the goods at the operation table. Before the sorting task, the robot needs to execute a return task, and during the execution of the return task, a plurality of other robots are supposed to be queued at the operation table for processing tasks, but the tasks of the other robots need to be executed after the reference task. At this time, the emergency degree of the reference task can be set to be emergency, so that the robot can quickly complete the return task and go to the operation platform to execute the reference task, and smooth operation of the system is realized.

In addition, the user can input the corresponding urgency degree of the reference task. For example, some important tasks can be manually set to be urgent tasks, and personalized requirements of different tasks are met.

The method disclosed by the embodiment of the disclosure can be applied to any equipment with the storage space allocation capacity, and particularly can be applied to a server or a robot in a warehousing system.

Optionally, the method is applied to a server, and after allocating a bin position to the bin corresponding to the return task, the method further includes: sending indication information to a robot to indicate the robot to return the bin to a corresponding bin position; or, the method is applied to a robot, and after the bin position corresponding to the return task is allocated to the bin, the method further comprises the following steps: and returning the bin to the corresponding bin position.

In practical applications, the server may determine at least one task to be processed by the robot, and after determining at least one task to be processed, the server or the robot may allocate a bin position to a bin corresponding to the return task according to the method described in the foregoing embodiments, and complete the return task via the robot, that is, return the bin to the allocated bin position.

In the above embodiments, it may be set that the execution order of the tasks to be processed is fixed, and in the case of the fixed execution order, the bin position is allocated to the bin by the degree of urgency. Or the execution sequence of the tasks to be processed is not fixed, and not only can the stock positions be allocated to the bins through the emergency degree, but also the execution sequence of each task can be adjusted.

Optionally, after determining a plurality of tasks to be processed, various possible execution orders of the plurality of tasks and various possible selected bin positions corresponding to bins to be returned may be considered, and after traversing various possibilities, a plurality of possible implementation schemes may be obtained. And for each scheme, calculating the scores of the schemes according to the execution sequence of the tasks in the scheme and the corresponding stock positions of the bins to be returned. Optionally, the shorter the overall spent time of the scheme is, the higher the matching degree of the bin and the storage space is, the shorter the overall moving distance of the robot is, the higher the corresponding score can be, so that the optimal solution can be found out from each feasible scheme without being limited by a fixed execution sequence, and the processing effect of the task is improved.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a slot allocating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 7, the apparatus may include:

a determining module 701, configured to determine at least one task to be processed, where the task includes a return task for returning the bin;

the distribution module 702 is used for distributing the storage positions of the bins corresponding to the returning tasks according to the emergency degree of one or more reference tasks, so that the bins are returned to the corresponding storage positions by the robot; wherein the reference task is any task in the at least one task to be processed.

In an alternative embodiment, the reference task comprises the return task; the assignment module 702 is further configured to:

adjusting the position of the corresponding stock of the return task according to at least one of the following items: other tasks of the at least one task, newly added tasks assigned to the robot, tasks deleted from the at least one task. In an optional embodiment, the allocating module 702 is specifically configured to, when adjusting the stock location corresponding to the return task according to at least one of the following:

In an optional embodiment, when the allocation module 702 adjusts the stock location corresponding to the return task according to the state information of the operation console, it is specifically configured to:

In an optional embodiment, the allocating module 702 is specifically configured to perform at least one of the following:

In an optional embodiment, the allocating module 702 is further configured to:

In an optional embodiment, the allocating module 702 is specifically configured to:

In an optional embodiment, the allocating module 702, when allocating the bin position to the bin according to the limit time and/or the limit moving distance, is specifically configured to:

In an optional embodiment, when the allocating module 702 selects the bin allocated to the bin from the found bins, it is specifically configured to:

In an optional embodiment, the allocating module 702, when calculating the score corresponding to the bin position according to at least one of the matching degree between the bin position and the bin, the time required for returning the bin to the bin position, and the distance required for moving the bin to the bin position, is specifically configured to:

In an optional embodiment, the allocating module 702, when calculating the time fraction of the depot according to the time required to return the bin to the depot, is specifically configured to:

determining an expected processing time allocated to the return task;

determining a time fraction of the bin according to the absolute value;

In an optional embodiment, the allocating module 702 is further configured to:

the service type corresponding to the reference task;

the deadline corresponding to the reference task;

the remaining time corresponding to the reference task;

state information of an operation platform corresponding to the reference task;

and the user inputs the corresponding urgency degree of the reference task.

In an alternative embodiment, the apparatus is applied to a server, and the allocating module 702 is further configured to: after allocating a storage position for the bin corresponding to the returning task, sending indication information to the robot to indicate the robot to return the bin to the corresponding storage position; alternatively, the apparatus is applied to a robot, and the allocating module 702 is further configured to: and after allocating a storage position for the material box corresponding to the goods returning task, returning the material box to the corresponding storage position.

The apparatus provided in this embodiment may be used to implement the technical solutions of the foregoing method embodiments, and the implementation principles and technical effects are similar, which are not described herein again.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a slot allocating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 8, the control apparatus of the present embodiment may include:

a processor 801; and

a memory 802 communicatively coupled to the processor;

wherein the memory 802 stores instructions executable by the processor 801 to cause the bit allocation apparatus to perform a method according to any of the embodiments described above.

Alternatively, the memory 802 may be separate or integrated with the processor 801.

The embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a storage system, including: the system comprises a carrying robot, a server, a goods shelf and an operating platform, wherein the carrying robot is in communication connection with the server; the server or the robot executes the method of any of the above embodiments.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 9, the robot 80 includes a robot body 81, a base 83, a carrying device 84, an adjusting assembly 85, and a plurality of slots 82 provided on the robot body 81. The adjusting assembly 85 is used for driving the carrying device 84 to move up and down, so that the carrying device 84 is aligned with any one of the slots 82 on the robot body 81 or the corresponding storage position of the storage rack where the target object is located. The handling device 84 can be rotated about a vertical axis to adjust its orientation for alignment with the slot 82 or a storage location on a storage shelf. The handling device 84 is used to perform loading or unloading of the objects for handling the objects between the storage racks and the slots.

The robot 80 in the above embodiment may perform the method in any of the above embodiments to realize the goods transportation between the shelves and the operation platform.

Illustratively, the robot 80 receives the transport task sent by the server and determines a travel path according to the position of the target object in the transport task. For example, during traveling to the first object position, the second object is reached first and the transport task is executed, and then the first object is traveled to the first object position and the transport task is executed. The transportation task may be a pickup task or a return task.

For example, when the robot 80 performs the return task, the return position of the object may be an initial storage position of the object of the return task; or, the location of free library locations; or a storage location of the object of the pick-up task.

Illustratively, during the process of executing the picking task by the robot 80, the robot 80 moves to the storage position of the object of the picking task, and the object of the picking task is transferred from the storage position on the shelf to an idle slot position on the robot body 81 by the adjusting component 85 cooperating with the transfer device 84.

Illustratively, during the returning task performed by the robot 80, the robot 80 moves to the storage position corresponding to the returning position, and the adjusting assembly 85 cooperates with the carrying device 84 to carry the object from the slot position of the robot body 81 to the storage position on the shelf. It should be noted that the storage space on the shelf may be an initial storage position of the object or a free storage space.

For example, when the object does not need to be returned to the original storage location of the object, one way to improve efficiency is to: the object to be returned is taken down from the slot on the robot body 81, and then the handling device 84 is controlled by the adjusting component 85 to place the object to be returned on the vacant warehousing position when the picking task is completed, that is, the warehousing position corresponding to the picking task and the warehousing position corresponding to the returning task are the same. This may reduce the total distance traveled by the robot in performing the transfer task and reduce the total time it takes for the robot to perform the transfer task.

For the implementation principle and technical effect of the library position allocation device provided in this embodiment, reference may be made to the foregoing embodiments, and details are not described here.

The embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a storage system, including: a server and a robot; wherein the server is used for executing the method of any one of the preceding embodiments, and the robot is used for returning the bin to the corresponding storage position; alternatively, the server is configured to send at least one task to be processed to a robot, and the robot is configured to perform the method according to any of the foregoing embodiments.

In the warehousing system provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, specific working principles, processes, and beneficial effects of the server and the robot may refer to the foregoing embodiments, and are not described herein again.

The embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer executing instruction is stored, and when a processor executes the computer executing instruction, the method according to any one of the foregoing embodiments is implemented.

The present embodiment also provides a program product comprising a computer program stored in a readable storage medium. The processor of the server or the robot may read the computer program from the readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer program to cause the server or the robot to implement the method according to any of the embodiments described above.

In the several embodiments provided in the present disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described device embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the modules is only one logical division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of modules may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or modules, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The modules described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as modules may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to implement the solution of the present embodiment.

In addition, functional modules in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be integrated into one processing unit, or each module may exist alone physically, or two or more modules are integrated into one unit. The unit formed by the modules can be realized in a hardware form, and can also be realized in a form of hardware and a software functional unit.

The integrated module implemented in the form of a software functional module may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The software functional module is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to enable a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) or a processor to execute some steps of the methods according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

It should be understood that the Processor may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), other general purpose Processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), etc. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the present invention may be embodied directly in a hardware processor, or in a combination of the hardware and software modules within the processor.

The memory may comprise a high-speed RAM memory, and may further comprise a non-volatile storage NVM, such as at least one disk memory, and may also be a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory, a magnetic or optical disk, etc.

The bus may be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an Extended ISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture) bus, or the like. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, the buses in the figures of the present disclosure are not limited to only one bus or one type of bus.

The storage medium may be implemented by any type or combination of volatile or non-volatile memory devices, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic or optical disks. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium may also be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC). Of course, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in an electronic device or host device.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: all or a portion of the steps of implementing the above-described method embodiments may be performed by hardware associated with program instructions. The program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When executed, the program performs steps comprising the method embodiments described above; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as ROM, RAM, magnetic or optical disks.

Furthermore, the terms "comprises," "comprising," and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements expressly listed, but may include other steps or elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used for illustrating the technical solutions of the present disclosure, and not for limiting the same; while the present disclosure has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some or all of the technical features may be equivalently replaced; and such modifications or substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the corresponding technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for allocating a slot, comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more reference tasks comprise: the return task; and/or any one or more tasks subsequent to the return task.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference task comprises the return task; the method further comprises the following steps:

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the adjusting the stock location corresponding to the return task is based on at least one of: other tasks of the at least one task, newly added tasks assigned to the robot, tasks deleted from the at least one task, including:

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the adjusting the position of the corresponding stock of the return task according to the status information of the operation desk comprises:

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said allocating stock space to bins corresponding to said return assignments based on urgency of one or more reference assignments comprises at least one of:

7. A library site allocation apparatus, comprising:

8. A depot allocation apparatus, characterized in that the depot allocation apparatus comprises:

a processor; and

a memory communicatively coupled to the processor;

wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the processor to cause the library bit allocation apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 1-6.

9. A warehousing system, comprising: a server and a robot;

the server is used for executing the method of any one of claims 1-6, and the robot is used for returning the bin to the corresponding storage position; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the server is used to send at least one task to be processed to a robot, which is used to perform the method of any of claims 1-6.

10. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a processor, implement the method of any one of claims 1-6.