CN113371381A

CN113371381A - Shelf scheduling method, device, equipment, system, medium and program product

Info

Publication number: CN113371381A
Application number: CN202110714970.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 彭逸凡; 艾鑫; 喻润方
Original assignee: Shenzhen Kubo Software Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Kubo Software Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-06-25
Filing date: 2021-06-25
Publication date: 2021-09-10
Anticipated expiration: 2041-06-25
Also published as: CN113371381B

Abstract

The application provides a shelf scheduling method, device, equipment, system, medium and program product. The method comprises the steps of determining each to-be-selected moving path according to a first initial position of a target robot and a second initial position of a target moving shelf, determining a target roadway according to time overhead corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path, generating a shelf scheduling strategy according to the target roadway, indicating the moving shelf to move according to the shelf scheduling strategy to form the target roadway, enabling the target robot to move from the first initial position to the target roadway according to the corresponding moving path, and carrying out goods storage and taking operation on the target moving shelf. The automatic scheduling of the movable goods shelves is realized based on the moving strategy, so that the robot can efficiently finish the goods shelf picking and placing in the target goods shelf storing and taking task through the corresponding moving path, and meanwhile, the space utilization rate of the storage system is improved through the movable goods shelves which can be moved.

Description

Shelf scheduling method, device, equipment, system, medium and program product

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of smart storage technologies, and in particular, to a shelf scheduling method, apparatus, device, system, medium, and program product.

Background

With the rapid development of the logistics industry, in the field of warehousing systems, automated warehousing systems are widely applied, many warehousing operations carried by people are replaced by automated robots, and in modern warehousing systems, full automation, high efficiency and high density become the development targets of warehousing automation.

The warehousing system usually includes goods shelves and robot, in order to satisfy the operation demand of robot, generally need reserve sufficient space, the tunnel promptly between adjacent goods shelves to the robot can carry out warehousing operation through this tunnel, if get goods, put goods, patrol and examine etc..

However, in the prior art, a fixed and sufficient idle space is reserved between every two shelves, so that the space utilization rate of the warehouse of the warehousing system is low, and the shelves are all fixed shelves, so that the flexibility of the warehousing system is poor.

Disclosure of Invention

The shelf scheduling method comprises the steps of setting the mobile shelves in the storage system, and adaptively setting the scheduling method of each mobile shelf according to the position information of the container to be taken in the target container storing and taking task, so that the space utilization rate and the flexibility of the storage system are improved.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a shelf scheduling method, which is applied to a warehousing system, where the warehousing system includes a robot, a plurality of mobile shelves and at least one lane, the mobile shelves may move in two opposite set directions, and when a distance between adjacent mobile shelves is greater than or equal to a preset width, a lane exists between the adjacent mobile shelves, the method includes:

determining each movement path to be selected according to a first initial position of a target robot and a second initial position of a target moving shelf, wherein the movement path to be selected is used for guiding the target robot to move from the first initial position to a roadway capable of storing and taking goods for the target moving shelf, and the target robot is a robot for storing and taking goods;

determining a target roadway according to the time overhead corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path, and generating a shelf scheduling strategy according to the target roadway, wherein the shelf scheduling strategy is used for indicating the moving shelf to form the target roadway after moving.

In a possible design, the determining a target roadway according to the time overhead corresponding to each candidate moving path includes:

acquiring the distribution state of the target robot and a current tunnel relative to the target mobile shelf, wherein the current tunnel is a tunnel currently existing on one side of the target mobile shelf;

and determining a roadway selection strategy according to the time overhead corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path and the distribution state, and determining the target roadway from the roadway corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path according to the roadway selection strategy.

In a possible design, if the distribution state is that the target robot and the current lane are located on two sides of the target mobile shelf; determining the target roadway from the roadways corresponding to the to-be-selected moving paths according to the roadway selection strategy, wherein the determining the target roadway from the roadways corresponding to the to-be-selected moving paths comprises the following steps:

calculating a first time when the target robot moves from the first initial position to a to-be-opened roadway, a second time when the target moving shelf moves to a predetermined position to form the to-be-opened roadway, and a third time when the target robot moves from the first initial position to the current roadway, wherein the to-be-opened roadway is a roadway which can be opened on the other side of the target moving shelf;

determining the longer time of the first time and the second time as a pending time;

if the undetermined time is greater than or equal to the third time, determining that the current roadway is the target roadway; or if the waiting time is less than the third time, determining that the roadway to be opened is the target roadway.

In one possible design, if the distribution state is that the target robot and the current lane are located on the same side of the target moving rack; determining the target roadway from the roadways corresponding to the to-be-selected moving paths according to the roadway selection strategy, wherein the determining the target roadway from the roadways corresponding to the to-be-selected moving paths comprises the following steps:

and determining that the current roadway is the target roadway.

acquiring the distribution state of the target robot and a current tunnel relative to the target mobile shelf, wherein at least one mobile shelf is arranged between the current tunnel and the target mobile shelf;

calculating a first time at which the target robot moves from the first initial position to a first lane, a second time at which the target mobile shelf moves to a first predetermined position to form the first lane, a third time at which the target robot moves from the first initial position to a second lane, and a fourth time at which the target mobile shelf moves to a second predetermined position to form the second lane, the first initial position being located on the same side of the target mobile shelf as the first lane, the first initial position and the second lane being located on both sides of the target mobile shelf;

determining the longer time of the first time and the second time as a first waiting time, and determining the longer time of the third time and the fourth time as a second waiting time;

if the first waiting time is less than or equal to the second waiting time, determining that the first roadway is the target roadway; or, if the first waiting time is greater than the second waiting time, determining that the second roadway is the target roadway.

In one possible design, the target mobile shelf includes a first target mobile shelf and a second target mobile shelf that are adjacent; the determining the target roadway according to the time overhead corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path includes:

and determining a roadway which can be opened between the first target mobile shelf and the second target mobile shelf as the target roadway according to the time overhead corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path.

In one possible design, the target mobile racking is a double racking; the determining the target roadway according to the time overhead corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path includes:

and determining that a roadway which can be opened by a target side of the target mobile shelf is the target roadway according to the time overhead corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path, wherein the target side is one side of the target mobile shelf for storing and taking goods to be stored and taken.

In a possible design, if there are a plurality of to-be-processed goods access tasks and a plurality of to-be-assigned robots, before the determining the respective paths to be selected according to the first initial position of the target robot and the second initial position of the target moving rack, the method further includes:

and determining target robots respectively corresponding to the goods to be processed access tasks according to the position distribution state of the goods to be taken in each goods to be processed access task and the current driving path of each robot to be distributed, wherein the space direction of the goods to be taken in the goods to be processed access tasks relative to the corresponding target robots and the driving direction corresponding to the current driving path of the target robots meet preset conditions.

In one possible design, the number of available basket carriers of the target robot corresponding to the first to-be-processed goods access task is greater than or equal to the number of to-be-taken goods boxes, where the number of to-be-taken goods boxes is the total number of to-be-taken goods boxes in a first roadway, the first roadway is a roadway which can be opened at a target side of a moving rack where goods to be taken are located in the first to-be-processed goods access task, and the first to-be-processed goods access task is any one of a plurality of to-be-processed goods access tasks.

In one possible design, if there are multiple pending item access tasks, the method further includes:

and determining target goods access tasks according to the priorities of the multiple goods to be processed access tasks, wherein the target mobile shelf is a mobile shelf for storing and taking goods in the target goods access tasks.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a shelf scheduling apparatus, including:

the system comprises a candidate moving path determining module, a target moving shelf selecting module and a selecting module, wherein the candidate moving path determining module is used for determining each candidate moving path according to a first initial position of a target robot and a second initial position of the target moving shelf, the candidate moving paths are used for guiding the target robot to move from the first initial position to a roadway capable of storing and taking goods for the target moving shelf, and the target robot is a robot for storing and taking goods;

and the mobile shelf scheduling module is used for determining a target roadway according to the time overhead corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path and generating a shelf scheduling strategy according to the target roadway, wherein the shelf scheduling strategy is used for indicating the mobile shelf to form the target roadway after moving.

In one possible design, the mobile shelf scheduling module is specifically configured to:

In a possible design, if the distribution state is that the target robot and the current lane are located on two sides of the target mobile shelf; the mobile shelf scheduling module is specifically configured to:

In one possible design, if the distribution state is that the target robot and the current lane are located on the same side of the target moving rack; the mobile shelf scheduling module is specifically configured to:

and determining that the current roadway is the target roadway.

In a possible design, the mobile shelf scheduling module is further configured to determine target robots corresponding to the to-be-processed goods access tasks respectively according to the position distribution state of the to-be-processed goods in the to-be-processed goods access tasks and the current driving paths of the to-be-allocated robots, wherein the spatial direction of the to-be-processed goods in the to-be-processed goods access tasks relative to the corresponding target robot and the driving direction corresponding to the current driving paths of the target robots meet preset conditions.

In one possible design, if there are multiple pending item access tasks, the mobile shelf scheduling module is further configured to: and determining target goods access tasks according to the priorities of the multiple goods to be processed access tasks, wherein the target mobile shelf is a mobile shelf for storing and taking goods in the target goods access tasks.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a shelf scheduling apparatus, which includes a memory and at least one processor; the memory stores computer-executable instructions; the at least one processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored by the memory, so that the at least one processor performs the shelf scheduling method provided by any corresponding embodiment of the first aspect of the disclosure.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a warehousing system, where the warehousing system includes a robot, at least one roadway, a plurality of mobile shelves, and a shelf scheduling device provided in an embodiment corresponding to the third aspect of the present disclosure; the movable goods shelves can move along two opposite set directions, and when the distance between the adjacent movable goods shelves is larger than or equal to the preset width, a roadway exists between the adjacent movable goods shelves.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where a computer-executable instruction is stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when a processor executes the computer-executable instruction, the shelf scheduling method provided in any embodiment corresponding to the first aspect of the present disclosure is implemented.

In a sixth aspect, the disclosed embodiments further provide a computer program product, which includes a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor of a shelf scheduling apparatus, the shelf scheduling apparatus executes the shelf scheduling method provided in any embodiment corresponding to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

The shelf scheduling method, the device, the equipment, the system, the medium and the program product provided by the disclosure aim at a storage system comprising a plurality of mobile shelves, the mobile shelves can move along two opposite directions, when the distance between two adjacent mobile shelves is large enough, a tunnel through which a robot can pass exists between the two adjacent mobile shelves, the shelf scheduling method determines each to-be-selected moving path according to a first initial position of a target robot and a second initial position of a target mobile shelf, determines a target tunnel according to time spending corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path, and generates a shelf scheduling strategy according to the target tunnel, so that the target robot forms the target tunnel after indicating the mobile shelves to move according to the shelf scheduling strategy, so that the target robot moves from the first initial position to the target tunnel according to the corresponding moving path, thereby carrying out goods storing and taking operation on the target mobile shelf. The automatic scheduling of the movable goods shelves is realized based on the mobile strategy, so that the robot can efficiently finish picking and placing the goods shelves in a target goods shelf storing and taking task through the corresponding moving paths, meanwhile, the flexibility of the goods shelf positions of the warehousing system is improved through the movable goods shelves which can be moved, the space for walking of the robot is not required to be reserved between each adjacent goods shelves, so that more movable goods shelves can be arranged for storing goods, and the space utilization rate of the warehousing system is improved.

Drawings

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

Fig. 1 is an application scenario diagram of a shelf scheduling method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a shelf scheduling method provided by one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the robot in the embodiment of FIG. 2 according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the warehousing system of the embodiment of FIG. 2 of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a shelf scheduling method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a pickup strategy under a first operating condition according to the embodiment of FIG. 5 of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a pickup strategy under a second operating condition according to the embodiment of FIG. 5 of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a pickup strategy under a third operating condition according to the embodiment of the disclosure shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of a pick-up strategy in a fourth condition according to the embodiment of the disclosure shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a pickup strategy under a fifth operating condition according to the embodiment of FIG. 5;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a shelf scheduling device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a shelf scheduling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a warehousing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

With the above figures, there are shown specific embodiments of the present application, which will be described in more detail below. These drawings and written description are not intended to limit the scope of the inventive concepts in any manner, but rather to illustrate the inventive concepts to those skilled in the art by reference to specific embodiments.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, like numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise indicated. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with certain aspects of the present application, as detailed in the appended claims.

The following explains an application scenario of the embodiment of the present disclosure:

fig. 1 is an application scenario diagram of a shelf scheduling method according to an embodiment of the disclosure, as shown in fig. 1, a warehousing system 100 includes a scheduling device 110, a plurality of shelves 120, and a robot 130, where the scheduling device 110 is configured to receive orders and issue task instructions to the robot 130, and the robot 130 moves based on the task instructions so as to transport goods placed on the shelves 120 to an operation table for goods sorting or ex-warehouse, or transport goods to the shelves 120 for warehousing, or patrol the shelves 120 for sorting the goods positions on the shelves 120.

In the prior art, the shelves 120 are generally fixed shelves, that is, the shelves are fixedly disposed at various positions of the warehouse, and a fixed space is reserved between adjacent shelves 120, so that the robot 130 can shuttle between the shelves to perform corresponding tasks. In order to ensure the safety of the robot 130 during movement and operation, a large fixed space is usually reserved between adjacent shelves 120, which results in a small number of shelves 120 that can be set by the warehousing system, and a low space utilization rate of the warehousing system, resulting in a high warehousing cost.

In order to improve the space utilization rate of the warehousing system, the shelves in the warehousing system provided by the embodiment of the disclosure are mobile shelves, the distance between the mobile shelves can be as small as possible, even 0, the main concept of the shelf scheduling method provided by the embodiment is that for the warehousing system comprising a plurality of mobile shelves, the mobile shelves can move along two opposite directions, when the distance between two adjacent mobile shelves is large enough, a tunnel through which a robot can pass exists between the two adjacent mobile shelves, the shelf scheduling method determines each to-be-selected moving path according to a first initial position of a target robot and a second initial position of a target mobile shelf, determines a target tunnel according to the time overhead corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path, and generates a shelf scheduling strategy according to the target tunnel, thereby form the target tunnel after instructing the removal of mobile shelf according to the goods shelves scheduling strategy to make the target robot remove to the target tunnel from first initial position according to the movement path that corresponds, thereby carry out access goods operation to target mobile shelf. The automatic scheduling of the movable goods shelves is realized based on the mobile strategy, so that the robot can efficiently finish picking and placing the goods shelves in a target goods shelf storing and taking task through the corresponding moving paths, meanwhile, the flexibility of the goods shelf positions of the warehousing system is improved through the movable goods shelves which can be moved, the space for walking of the robot is not required to be reserved between each adjacent goods shelves, so that more movable goods shelves can be arranged for storing goods, and the space utilization rate of the warehousing system is improved.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a shelf scheduling method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and as shown in fig. 2, the shelf scheduling method is suitable for a warehousing system including a plurality of moving shelves and at least one lane, the moving shelves can move in two opposite directions, a distance between two adjacent moving shelves can be sufficiently small, even 0, and when the distance between two adjacent moving shelves is greater than or equal to a preset width, a lane exists between two adjacent moving shelves. The shelf scheduling method may be performed by a shelf scheduling device in the warehousing system, which may be in the form of a computer or server. The shelf scheduling method provided by the embodiment comprises the following steps:

s201, determining each to-be-selected moving path according to the first initial position of the target robot and the second initial position of the target moving shelf.

In this step, each candidate moving path may be determined according to the first initial position of the target robot and the second initial position of the target moving rack, where the candidate moving path is used to guide the target robot to move from the first initial position to a lane where goods can be accessed to the target moving rack, and the target robot is a robot for accessing goods.

It should be noted that the target robot may perform the goods storage and retrieval operation on the target moving rack in each of the candidate moving paths, and in this step, all possible lanes where the goods storage and retrieval operation may be performed on the target moving rack are determined, and then the candidate moving path corresponding to each lane is determined, so that a path with the highest goods storage and retrieval efficiency can be selected from each candidate moving path.

Exemplarily, fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of the robot in the embodiment shown in fig. 2 of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 3, the robot includes a support assembly 310, a moving chassis 320, a handling device 330, and a storage shelf 340, wherein the storage shelf 340, the handling device 330, and the support assembly 310 are all mounted to the moving chassis 320. The storage shelves 340 may be provided with a plurality of storage units for one or more items to be transported. The support assembly 310 is provided with a lifting assembly for driving the carrying device 330 to move up and down, so that the carrying device 330 is aligned with any one of the storage units on the storage shelves 340, or with the shelves and/or goods in the warehouse. The handling device 330 can be rotated about a vertical axis to adjust its orientation for alignment to a storage unit or for alignment with a rack and/or goods. The handling device 330 is used to perform loading or unloading of goods for handling the goods between the shelves and the storage units. The target robot is a single-depth robot, and can pick up goods only within the depth range of one row of racks in the direction in which the conveyance device 330 extends and retracts.

S202, determining a target roadway according to the time overhead corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path, and generating a goods shelf scheduling strategy according to the target roadway.

After each to-be-selected moving path is determined, a target roadway can be determined according to the time overhead corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path, and a shelf scheduling strategy is generated according to the target roadway, wherein the shelf scheduling strategy is used for indicating that the mobile shelf forms the target roadway after moving.

For example, fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the warehousing system in the embodiment shown in fig. 2 of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 4, the warehousing system 400 includes a plurality of movable moving racks and a robot 420, fig. 4 takes 5 moving racks as an example, i.e., a moving rack 411 to E moving rack 415, each moving rack can move along the moving direction in the figure, and can only move to the aisle or the adjacent lane corresponding to its adjacent moving rack at a time. Warehousing system 400 may instruct the mobile shelf to form a target roadway after movement according to the determined shelf scheduling policy. In fig. 4, the target lane generated by the warehousing system 400 according to the shelf scheduling policy is located between the B mobile shelf 412 and the C mobile shelf 413. The distance to the target roadway can be as small as possible, so that the warehousing system can be used for placing more movable shelves for warehousing goods, the space utilization rate of the warehousing system is improved, and the warehousing cost is reduced.

In some embodiments, the mobile shelving may include a mobile device, which may be an electric mobile device, or may be a directional wheel, such that the mobile shelving can move in two opposite set directions, such as forward and backward.

It can be appreciated that the target robot can access the container from the target mobile shelving in the target roadway. With continued reference to fig. 4, the robot 420 may access the containers on the B-mobile rack and the C-mobile rack, respectively, in the lanes opened in the figure.

The shelf scheduling method provided by the present disclosure is directed to a warehousing system including a plurality of moving shelves, the moving shelves can move in two opposite directions, when the distance between two adjacent moving shelves is large enough, the shelf scheduling method determines each movement path to be selected according to a first initial position of a target robot and a second initial position of a target mobile shelf, determines a target tunnel according to time spending corresponding to each movement path to be selected, and generates a shelf scheduling strategy according to the target tunnel, thereby form the target tunnel after instructing the removal of mobile shelf according to the goods shelves scheduling strategy to make the target robot remove to the target tunnel from first initial position according to the movement path that corresponds, thereby carry out access goods operation to target mobile shelf. The automatic scheduling of the movable goods shelves is realized based on the mobile strategy, so that the robot can efficiently finish picking and placing the goods shelves in a target goods shelf storing and taking task through the corresponding moving paths, meanwhile, the flexibility of the goods shelf positions of the warehousing system is improved through the movable goods shelves which can be moved, the space for walking of the robot is not required to be reserved between each adjacent goods shelves, so that more movable goods shelves can be arranged for storing goods, and the space utilization rate of the warehousing system is improved.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a shelf scheduling method according to another embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in fig. 5, the shelf scheduling method is suitable for a warehousing system including a plurality of mobile shelves and at least one lane, the mobile shelves can move in two opposite directions, the distance between two adjacent mobile shelves can be small enough, even 0, and when the distance between two adjacent mobile shelves is greater than or equal to a preset width, a lane exists between two adjacent mobile shelves. The shelf scheduling method may be performed by a shelf scheduling device in the warehousing system, which may be in the form of a computer or server. The shelf scheduling method provided by the embodiment comprises the following steps:

s501, determining each to-be-selected moving path according to the first initial position of the target robot and the second initial position of the target moving shelf.

S502, acquiring the distribution state of the target robot and the current roadway relative to the target moving shelf.

S503, determining a roadway selection strategy according to the time overhead and the distribution state corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path.

In this embodiment, the distribution state of the target robot and the current roadway relative to the target mobile shelf may be obtained first, then a roadway selection policy is determined according to the time overhead and the distribution state corresponding to each movement path to be selected, and a target roadway is determined from the roadways corresponding to each movement path to be selected according to the roadway selection policy.

Optionally, the distribution state of the target robot and the current roadway relative to the target mobile shelf is obtained, where the current roadway is a roadway currently existing on one side of the target mobile shelf.

In order to better explain the steps, the detailed explanation can be given by the following shelf scheduling strategy determination modes under specific working conditions:

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a pickup strategy under a first operating condition according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 6, the warehousing system includes: a first target moving rack 611, a second target moving rack 612, a third target moving rack 613, a fourth target moving rack 614, and a fifth target moving rack 615. The second target moving rack 612 is used for storing a second to-be-picked box 622, that is, the second target moving rack 612 is a target moving rack.

At this time, if the distribution state is that the target robot and the current lane are located on both sides of the target mobile shelf, that is, the target robot 630 and the current lane are located on both sides of the second target mobile shelf 612. Then, as for the determination of the shelf scheduling policy, specifically, a first time when the target robot moves from a first initial position to a to-be-opened tunnel, a second time when the target mobile shelf moves to a predetermined position to form the to-be-opened tunnel, a third time when the target robot moves from the first initial position to a current tunnel, and the to-be-opened tunnel is a tunnel which can be opened at the other side of the target mobile shelf is calculated, then, the longer time of the first time and the second time is determined to be a pending time, and if the pending time is greater than or equal to the third time, the current tunnel is determined to be the target tunnel; or if the waiting time is less than the third time, determining that the roadway to be opened is the target roadway.

As shown in fig. 6, the determination of the shelf scheduling policy may specifically be to calculate a first time when the target robot 630 moves from a first initial position to a lane to be opened (a lane corresponding to the a position), a second time when the second target mobile shelf 612 moves to a predetermined position to form a lane to be opened (a lane corresponding to the a position), and a third time when the target robot 630 moves from the first initial position to a current lane (a lane corresponding to the B position). Then, determining the longer time of the first time and the second time as a undetermined time, and if the undetermined time is greater than or equal to a third time, determining a current roadway (the roadway corresponding to the position B) as a target roadway; or if the waiting time is less than the third time, determining that the laneway to be opened (the laneway corresponding to the position A) is the target laneway.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a pickup strategy under a second operating condition according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5. As shown in fig. 7, the warehousing system includes: a first target moving rack 611, a second target moving rack 612, a third target moving rack 613, a fourth target moving rack 614, and a fifth target moving rack 615. The second target moving rack 612 is used for storing a second to-be-picked box 622, that is, the second target moving rack 612 is a target moving rack.

At this time, if the distribution state is that the target robot and the current lane are located on the same side of the target moving rack, that is, the target robot 630 and the current lane are located on the same side of the second target moving rack 612. Then the determination of the shelf scheduling policy may be to directly determine that the current lane is the target lane.

In another possible embodiment, at least one mobile shelf is arranged between the current tunnel and the target mobile shelf, and similarly, the distribution state of the target robot and the current tunnel relative to the target mobile shelf can be obtained, at least one mobile shelf is arranged between the current tunnel and the target mobile shelf, then, a tunnel selection strategy is determined according to the time overhead and the distribution state corresponding to each to-be-selected mobile path, and a target tunnel is determined from the tunnels corresponding to each to-be-selected mobile path according to the tunnel selection strategy.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a pickup strategy under a third operating condition according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 8, the warehousing system includes: a first target moving rack 611, a second target moving rack 612, a third target moving rack 613, a fourth target moving rack 614, and a fifth target moving rack 615. The second target moving rack 612 is used for storing a second to-be-picked box 622, that is, the second target moving rack 612 is a target moving rack.

At this time, if the distribution state is that the target robot and the current lane are located on both sides of the target mobile shelf, that is, the target robot 630 and the current lane are located on both sides of the second target mobile shelf 612. Then, for the determination of the shelf scheduling policy, specifically, a first time when the target robot moves from a first initial position to a first lane, a second time when the target mobile shelf moves to a first predetermined position to form the first lane, a third time when the target robot moves from the first initial position to a second lane, and a fourth time when the target mobile shelf moves to a second predetermined position to form the second lane may be calculated, wherein the first initial position and the first lane are located on the same side of the target mobile shelf, and the first initial position and the second lane are located on both sides of the target mobile shelf. And then, determining the longer time of the first time and the second time as a first waiting time, and determining the longer time of the third time and the fourth time as a second waiting time. If the first waiting time is less than or equal to the second waiting time, determining that the first roadway is the target roadway; or if the first waiting time is greater than the second waiting time, determining that the second roadway is the target roadway.

As shown in fig. 6, for the determination of the shelf scheduling policy, it may be specifically to calculate a first time when the target robot 630 moves from the first initial position to the first lane (lane corresponding to the a position), a second time when the second target moving shelf 612 moves to the first predetermined position to form the first lane (lane corresponding to the a position), a third time when the target robot 630 moves from the first initial position to the second lane (lane corresponding to the B position), and a fourth time when the second target moving shelf 612 moves to the second predetermined position to form the second lane (lane corresponding to the B position). And then, determining the longer time of the first time and the second time as a first waiting time, and determining the longer time of the third time and the fourth time as a second waiting time. If the first waiting time is less than or equal to the second waiting time, determining that the first roadway is the target roadway; or if the first waiting time is greater than the second waiting time, determining that the second roadway is the target roadway.

In another possible embodiment, the target moving shelf includes a first target moving shelf and a second target moving shelf which are adjacent to each other, and the lane which can be opened between the first target moving shelf and the second target moving shelf is determined as the target lane according to the time overhead corresponding to each movement path to be selected.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a pick-up strategy under a fourth condition according to the embodiment of the disclosure shown in FIG. 5. As shown in fig. 9, the warehousing system includes: a first target moving rack 611, a second target moving rack 612, a third target moving rack 613, a fourth target moving rack 614, and a fifth target moving rack 615. The second target moving rack 612 is used for storing the second to-be-picked box 622, and the third target moving rack 613 is used for storing the second to-be-picked box 623, that is, the second target moving rack 612 is a first target moving rack, and the third target moving rack 613 is a second target moving rack.

At this time, according to the time overhead corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path, determining that the roadway which can be opened between the first target moving shelf and the second target moving shelf is the target roadway. That is, the lane that can be opened between the second target moving rack 612 and the third target moving rack 613 is determined as the target lane.

In another possible embodiment, if the target mobile shelf is a double-row shelf, determining that a roadway which can be opened by a target side of the target mobile shelf is a target roadway according to the time overhead corresponding to each movement path to be selected, wherein the target side is a side of the target mobile shelf used for storing and taking goods to be stored and taken.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a pickup strategy under a fifth operating condition according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 10, the warehousing system includes: a first target moving rack 611, a second target moving rack 612, a third target moving rack 613, a fourth target moving rack 614, and a fifth target moving rack 615. The first target moving rack 611, the second target moving rack 612, the third target moving rack 613, the fourth target moving rack 614, and the fifth target moving rack 615 are all double rows. The second target moving rack 612 has one side for storing a to-be-picked boxes 622A and the other side for storing B to-be-picked boxes 622B. It may be determined that the roadway that can be opened on the target side of the second target moving shelf 612 is the target roadway, that is, if the goods to be stored and taken are the a to-be-taken box 622A, the roadway on the side of the a to-be-taken box 622A is opened as the target roadway, and if the goods to be stored and taken are the B to-be-taken box 622B, the roadway on the side of the B to-be-taken box 622B is opened as the target roadway.

In addition, if a plurality of goods to be processed access tasks and a plurality of robots to be allocated exist, before determining each moving path to be selected according to the first initial position of the target robot and the second initial position of the target moving shelf, the target robots respectively corresponding to the goods to be processed access tasks can be determined according to the position distribution state of the goods to be taken in each goods to be processed access task and the current driving path of each robot to be allocated, wherein the space direction of the goods to be taken in the goods to be processed access tasks relative to the corresponding target robot and the driving direction corresponding to the current driving path of the target robot meet preset conditions.

It can be understood that, the traveling direction that the space direction of waiting to get goods in the task of depositing and withdrawing goods to be processed for corresponding target robot corresponds with the current path of traveling of target robot accords with the preset condition, can be from the current position of target robot to the direction of the memory location of waiting to get goods and the traveling direction that the current path of traveling of target robot corresponds be same direction, wait to get goods promptly on the current path of traveling of target robot, thereby improve the efficiency of getting goods of target robot.

In addition, in order to further improve the goods taking efficiency of the target robot, the number of available baskets of the target robot corresponding to the first goods to be processed access task may be greater than or equal to the number of the goods boxes to be taken, where the number of the goods boxes to be taken is the total number of the goods boxes to be taken in the first lane, the first lane is a lane which can be opened at the target side of the mobile shelf where the goods to be taken are located in the first goods to be processed access task, and the first goods to be processed access task is any one of the plurality of goods to be processed access tasks. It is worth understanding, when the available basket carried quantity of the target robot that first goods access task that treat corresponds is greater than or equal to and waits to get cargo tank quantity, after the target robot got into first tunnel, can take out the whole packing boxes that need take out in this tunnel, need not to open this tunnel many times, and then improves the efficiency of getting cargo of target robot greatly.

In addition, on the basis of the above embodiment, if there are a plurality of containers to be processed access tasks, the target container access task may be determined according to the priorities of the containers to be processed access tasks, so as to preferentially process the target container access task with a higher priority, or the order of opening the lanes may be determined according to a scheme that minimizes the number of times the lanes are opened, so as to determine the corresponding container to be processed access task in the first opened lane as the target container access task.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a shelf scheduling device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 11, the shelf scheduling apparatus according to the present embodiment includes:

a candidate moving path determining module 1101, configured to determine, according to a first initial position of a target robot and a second initial position of a target moving rack, each candidate moving path, where the candidate moving path is used to guide the target robot to move from the first initial position to a roadway where goods can be accessed to the target moving rack, and the target robot is a robot used for goods access;

and the mobile shelf scheduling module 1102 is configured to determine a target lane according to the time overhead corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path, and generate a shelf scheduling policy according to the target lane, where the shelf scheduling policy is used to instruct the mobile shelf to form the target lane after moving.

In one possible design, the mobile shelf scheduling module 1102 is specifically configured to:

In a possible design, if the distribution state is that the target robot and the current lane are located on two sides of the target mobile shelf; the mobile shelf scheduling module 1102 is specifically configured to:

and determining that the current roadway is the target roadway.

In a possible design, the mobile shelf scheduling module 1102 is further configured to determine target robots respectively corresponding to the to-be-processed goods access tasks according to the position distribution state of the to-be-processed goods in the to-be-processed goods access tasks and the current driving paths of the to-be-allocated robots, where the spatial direction of the to-be-processed goods in the to-be-processed goods access tasks relative to the corresponding target robot and the driving direction corresponding to the current driving path of the target robot meet preset conditions.

The shelf scheduling device provided by the embodiment of the disclosure can execute the shelf scheduling method provided by any one of the above embodiments of the disclosure, and has the corresponding functional modules and beneficial effects of the execution method.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a shelf scheduling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 12, the shelf scheduling apparatus provided in this embodiment includes: memory 1210, processor 1220, and computer programs.

Among other things, computer programs are stored in the memory 1210 and configured to be executed by the processor 1220 to implement the shelf scheduling method provided by any of the embodiments corresponding to fig. 2-5 of the present disclosure.

Wherein the memory 1210 and the processor 1220 are connected by a bus 1230.

The related description may be understood by referring to the related description and effects corresponding to any of the above method embodiments, and will not be described in detail herein.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a warehousing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 13, the warehousing system includes: lanes 1310, mobile shelves 1320, shelf scheduling devices 1330, and robots 1340.

The shelf scheduling device 1330 in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 12 of the present disclosure is configured to generate a target scheduling policy to change the placement position of the mobile shelf 1320 of the warehousing system; the movable shelves 1320 can move in two opposite set directions, such as front and back or left and right, and the number of the movable shelves 1320 can be plural; when the distance between two adjacent moving shelves 1320 is greater than or equal to the preset width, a lane 1313 exists between the two adjacent moving shelves; robot 1340 may pass through the roadway.

In some embodiments, the warehousing system also includes components such as consoles, conveyor lines, and the like.

One embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program being executed by a processor to implement the shelf scheduling method provided in any one of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

The computer readable storage medium may be, among others, ROM, Random Access Memory (RAM), CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage device, and the like.

The present disclosure also provides a program product, which includes executable instructions stored in a readable storage medium, and at least one processor of a shelf scheduling apparatus or a warehousing system can read the executable instructions from the readable storage medium, and the at least one processor executes the executable instructions to cause a shelf scheduling apparatus to implement the shelf scheduling method provided in the above various embodiments.

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 achieve the purpose of 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 (english: 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 (enhanced 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.

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 shelf scheduling method is applied to a warehousing system, the warehousing system comprises a robot, a plurality of movable shelves and at least one roadway, the movable shelves can move along two opposite set directions, when the distance between adjacent movable shelves is larger than or equal to a preset width, one roadway exists between the adjacent movable shelves, and the method comprises the following steps:

2. The shelf scheduling method according to claim 1, wherein the determining a target lane according to the time overhead corresponding to each movement path to be selected comprises:

3. The shelf scheduling method according to claim 2, wherein if the distribution state is that the target robot and the current lane are located on both sides of the target mobile shelf; determining the target roadway from the roadways corresponding to the to-be-selected moving paths according to the roadway selection strategy, wherein the determining the target roadway from the roadways corresponding to the to-be-selected moving paths comprises the following steps:

4. The shelf scheduling method according to claim 2, wherein if the distribution state is that the target robot and the current lane are located on the same side of the target mobile shelf; determining the target roadway from the roadways corresponding to the to-be-selected moving paths according to the roadway selection strategy, wherein the determining the target roadway from the roadways corresponding to the to-be-selected moving paths comprises the following steps:

and determining that the current roadway is the target roadway.

5. The shelf scheduling method according to claim 1, wherein the determining a target lane according to the time overhead corresponding to each movement path to be selected comprises:

6. The shelf scheduling method according to claim 5, wherein if the distribution status is that the target robot and the current lane are located on both sides of the target mobile shelf; determining the target roadway from the roadways corresponding to the to-be-selected moving paths according to the roadway selection strategy, wherein the determining the target roadway from the roadways corresponding to the to-be-selected moving paths comprises the following steps:

7. The shelf scheduling method of claim 1, wherein the target mobile shelf comprises a first target mobile shelf and a second target mobile shelf that are adjacent; the determining the target roadway according to the time overhead corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path includes:

8. The shelf scheduling method of claim 1, wherein the target mobile shelf is a double row shelf; the determining the target roadway according to the time overhead corresponding to each to-be-selected moving path includes:

9. The shelf scheduling method according to claim 8, wherein if there are a plurality of to-be-processed goods access tasks and a plurality of to-be-assigned robots, before determining the respective paths to be selected based on the first initial position of the target robot and the second initial position of the target moving shelf, the method further comprises:

10. The shelf scheduling method according to claim 9, wherein the number of available baskets of the target robot corresponding to the first task is greater than or equal to the number of containers to be taken, wherein the number of containers to be taken is the total number of containers to be taken in a first lane, the first lane is a lane that can be opened on the target side of the mobile shelf where the object to be taken is located in the first task, and the first task is any one of the plurality of tasks.

11. The shelf scheduling method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein if there are a plurality of pending goods access tasks, the method further comprises:

12. A shelf scheduling apparatus, comprising:

13. A shelf scheduling apparatus, comprising: a memory and at least one processor;

the memory stores computer-executable instructions;

the at least one processor executing the memory-stored computer-executable instructions cause the at least one processor to perform the shelf scheduling method of any of claims 1-11.

14. A warehousing system, comprising: a robot, at least one lane, a plurality of mobile shelves, and the shelf scheduling device of claim 13;

the movable goods shelves can move along two opposite set directions, and when the distance between the adjacent movable goods shelves is larger than or equal to the preset width, a roadway exists between the adjacent movable goods shelves.

15. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a processor, implement the shelf scheduling method of any one of claims 1-11.

16. A computer program product comprising a computer program which, when executed by a processor, carries out the shelf scheduling method according to any one of claims 1-11.