CN115943403A

CN115943403A - Working method of self-moving equipment and self-moving equipment

Info

Publication number: CN115943403A
Application number: CN202280005604.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 何明明
Original assignee: Positec Power Tools Suzhou Co Ltd
Current assignee: Positec Power Tools Suzhou Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-08-03
Filing date: 2022-07-25
Publication date: 2023-04-07
Also published as: WO2023011229A1

Abstract

The application provides a working method of self-moving equipment and the self-moving equipment, wherein the method comprises the following steps: acquiring commodity information on a target shelf; determining whether the target shelf is out of stock according to the commodity information; and under the condition that the target shelf is out of stock, executing different replenishment strategies based on the passenger flow in the preset area of the shopping mall. The method in the embodiment of the application can reduce the potential safety hazard brought to customers by the self-moving equipment during working.

Description

Working method of self-moving equipment and self-moving equipment

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of electric tools, in particular to a working method of self-moving equipment and the self-moving equipment.

Background

With the development of social economy, the quality of life of people is continuously improved, the labor cost is also continuously improved, and machine automation is realized in more and more industries. Taking a supermarket as an example, at present, many supermarkets begin to use a replenishment robot to replenish cargos. However, when the replenishment robot performs the replenishment operation, a potential safety hazard may be brought to a customer who purchases in a supermarket.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, embodiments of the present application are directed to providing a method for operating a self-moving device and a self-moving device, so as to solve a problem that a potential safety hazard may be brought to a customer when the self-moving device operates in the prior art.

In a first aspect, a method for operating a self-moving device is provided, and the method includes: acquiring commodity information on a target shelf; determining whether the target shelf is out of stock according to the commodity information; and under the condition that the target shelf is out of stock, executing different replenishment strategies based on the passenger flow in the preset area of the shopping mall.

In the embodiment of the application, the self-moving equipment is used for executing different replenishment strategies based on the passenger flow in the preset area of a shopping mall under the condition that the target shelf is out of stock, so that the potential safety hazard brought to customers by the self-moving equipment during working can be effectively reduced.

Further, before executing different replenishment strategies based on the passenger flow volume in the preset area of the shopping mall, the method further includes: and going to a warehouse to pick up goods and returning to the target shelf.

Further, the replenishment strategy comprises: and performing replenishment operation on the target shelf, placing the goods to be replenished on a temporary shelf, and taking the self-moving equipment as the temporary shelf to stop beside the target shelf.

In the embodiment of the application, a proper strategy can be selected from the replenishment strategies according to the passenger flow in the preset area, so that the potential safety hazard is reduced, and meanwhile, the working efficiency of the self-moving equipment is improved.

Further, the executing different replenishment strategies based on the passenger flow in the preset area of the shopping mall includes: and under the condition that the preset area is in a large passenger flow scene, taking the self-moving equipment as a temporary shelf to stop beside the target shelf.

In this application embodiment, in the condition that the preset area is in the big passenger flow scene, will from mobile device self stops as interim goods shelves by target goods shelves, can reduce the potential safety hazard in, make the customer conveniently choose to purchase the commodity of carrying on the mobile device, thereby can improve from mobile device's work efficiency.

Further, the executing different replenishment strategies based on the passenger flow in the preset area of the shopping mall includes: and under the condition that the preset area is in a small passenger flow scene, executing replenishment operation on the target shelf.

In the embodiment of the application, under the condition that the preset area is in a small passenger flow scene, the target shelf is normally replenished, so that the working efficiency of the self-moving equipment can be improved under the condition that customers are not influenced (or the customers are not greatly influenced).

Further, the target shelf is one of multiple shelves in the store, the self-moving device is one of multiple self-moving devices, and the multiple self-moving devices respectively replenish the multiple shelves.

In this application embodiment, the types of the commodities placed on the multiple shelves in the shopping mall may be different, and at this time, multiple self-moving devices are used to replenish the multiple shelves respectively for the types of the commodities placed on the multiple shelves, so that the work efficiency of the self-moving devices can be improved.

Further, the method further comprises: and judging whether a current self-moving device is used for executing a replenishment strategy or not according to the commodity information on the target shelf, and if not, calling another self-moving device to execute the replenishment strategy.

Further, the self-moving equipment comprises a working module, a goods replenishing module and a goods selecting module, wherein the working module is used for executing goods replenishing operation; the method further comprises the following steps: and according to the commodity type information of the target shelf, performing replenishment operation by using different types of working modules.

Further, the market is provided with an information management system, and determining whether the target shelf is out of stock according to the commodity information includes: and under the condition that the information management system carries out-of-stock early warning on the target shelf, determining whether the target shelf is out of stock or not according to the commodity information.

In the embodiment of the application, the information management system is right under the condition that the target shelf is subjected to out-of-stock early warning, according to the commodity information, whether the target shelf is out-of-stock or not can be determined, the shelf out-of-stock in a market can be determined in time, and therefore the working efficiency of the self-moving equipment is improved.

Further, the self-moving device comprises a patrol camera, and the acquiring the commodity information on the target shelf comprises: and acquiring commodity information on a target shelf based on the patrol image shot by the patrol camera.

Further, the self-moving device comprises a patrol camera, and the method further comprises the following steps: and determining whether a human body exists within a preset distance according to the patrol image shot by the patrol camera, and if the human body exists, forbidding to execute goods replenishment operation on the target shelf.

Further, the self-moving device comprises a patrol camera, and the method further comprises the following steps: and planning a replenishment path according to the patrol image shot by the patrol camera.

Further, the self-moving device comprises a communication module, and the method further comprises: and sending the information of the shortage of the target shelf through the communication module, and/or receiving the passenger flow information of a preset area of the shopping mall.

Further, the passenger flow volume in the preset area is determined according to the monitoring image shot by the monitoring camera of the shopping mall.

In the embodiment of the application, the passenger flow volume in the preset area can be accurately determined according to the monitoring image shot by the monitoring camera of the shopping mall, and at the moment, different replenishment strategies are executed based on the passenger flow volume in the preset area, so that the potential safety hazard brought to customers by the mobile equipment during working can be effectively reduced.

In a second aspect, there is provided a self-moving device comprising: casing, mobile module and work module, remove and work from mobile device in the market, its characterized in that still includes from mobile device: the acquisition module is used for acquiring commodity information on the target shelf; the first determining module is used for determining whether the target shelf is out of stock according to the commodity information; and the execution module is used for executing different replenishment strategies based on the passenger flow in the preset area of the shopping mall under the condition that the target shelf is out of stock.

Further, the mobile module is also used for controlling the self-moving equipment to go to a warehouse for picking up goods and return to the target shelf.

Further, the execution module is specifically configured to: and under the condition that the preset area is in a large passenger flow scene, taking the self-moving equipment as a temporary shelf to stop beside the target shelf.

In the embodiment of the application, under the condition that the preset area is in a large passenger flow scene, the self-moving equipment is taken as a temporary shelf to stop beside the target shelf, so that potential safety hazards can be reduced, and meanwhile, customers can conveniently shop commodities carried on the self-moving equipment, and therefore the working efficiency of the self-moving equipment can be improved.

Further, the execution module is specifically configured to: and under the condition that the preset area is in a small passenger flow scene, replenishing goods for the target shelf.

Further, the self-moving device further comprises a second determining module for: and judging whether a current self-moving device is used for executing a replenishment strategy or not according to the commodity information on the target shelf, and if not, calling another self-moving device to execute the replenishment strategy.

Further, the work module is used for executing replenishment operation; the execution module is further to: and according to the commodity type information of the target shelf, performing replenishment operation by using different types of working modules.

Further, the mall is provided with an information management system, and the first determining module is specifically configured to: and under the condition that the information management system carries out-of-stock early warning on the target shelf, determining whether the target shelf is out of stock or not according to the commodity information.

Further, the mobile device further comprises a patrol camera, and the acquisition module is specifically configured to: and acquiring commodity information on a target shelf based on the patrol image shot by the patrol camera.

Further, the self-moving device further comprises a patrol camera, and the self-moving device further comprises a third determining module, configured to: and determining whether a human body exists in a preset distance according to the patrol image shot by the patrol camera, and if the human body exists, forbidding to execute a replenishment operation on the target shelf.

Further, the self-moving device further comprises a patrol camera, and the self-moving device further comprises a path planning module, configured to: and planning a replenishment path according to the patrol image shot by the patrol camera.

Further, the self-moving device further comprises a communication module for: and sending the information of the shortage of the target shelf and/or receiving the passenger flow information of the preset area of the market.

In the embodiment of the application, the passenger flow in the preset area can be accurately determined according to the monitoring image shot by the monitoring camera of the shopping mall, at the moment, different replenishment strategies are executed based on the passenger flow in the preset area, and the potential safety hazard brought to customers by the mobile equipment during working can be effectively reduced.

In a third aspect, a self-moving device is provided that includes a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The processor is configured to control the transceiver to transceive signals, the memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processor is configured to retrieve and execute the computer program from the memory, so that the self-moving device performs the method of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided an apparatus for controlling a self-moving device, the apparatus having the functions of the apparatus designed to implement the method of the first aspect. These functions may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above functions. Alternatively, the device may be a server or a controller or the like provided in a shopping mall.

In a fifth aspect, an apparatus for controlling a self-moving device is provided that includes a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The processor is configured to control the transceiver to transceive signals, the memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processor is configured to retrieve and execute the computer program from the memory, so that the apparatus performs the method of the first aspect. Alternatively, the device may be a server or a controller or the like provided in a shopping mall.

A sixth aspect provides a chip, where the chip includes a processor and a data interface, and the processor reads instructions stored in a memory through the data interface to execute the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

In a seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: computer program code which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of the first aspect or any of its possible implementations.

In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, which stores program code, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a replenishment system of a mall according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an operating method of a self-moving device in one embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a self-moving device in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a self-moving device in another embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments in the present application without making any creative effort belong to the protection scope of the present application.

With the development of social economy, the quality of life of people is continuously improved, the labor cost is continuously improved, and the machine automation is gradually realized in many industries, for example, a replenishment robot can be used in a market to replace manual replenishment operation. For example, the shelf out of stock may be determined using a replenishment robot, which may then also move to a warehouse to pick up the stock and return to the shelf out of stock to perform a replenishment operation. However, when customers are shopping in a store, the on-going replenishment robot may pose a safety hazard to the customers, especially when the customer traffic is large, and this risk may be higher.

Based on the technical problem, the embodiment of the application provides a working method of a self-moving device and the self-moving device, which can improve the safety of the self-moving device.

Referring to fig. 1, an embodiment of the present application provides a replenishment system 100 for a store, where the system 100 may include a warehouse 110, a store 120, and a self-moving device 130. Wherein, the warehouse 110 may include at least one rack (5 racks are taken as an example in fig. 1, i.e. rack 112-rack 116) and a transfer platform 111, the at least one rack may be used for storing goods, the transfer platform 111 may be used for placing goods to be delivered, for example, a warehouse manager may place the goods to be delivered on the transfer platform 111 to facilitate the goods to be removed from the warehouse 110 (at the transfer platform 111) by moving the mobile device 130; alternatively, the self-moving device 130 may retrieve goods directly from a warehouse.

Mall 120 may include at least one shelf (5 shelves are exemplified in fig. 1, i.e., shelf 121-shelf 125) that may be used to hold merchandise for sale and at least one surveillance camera (4 cameras are exemplified in fig. 1, i.e., camera 126-camera 129) that may include a communication module to facilitate communication with mobile device 130, server 140, and warehouse administrators. The warehouse administrator may communicate with the terminal device with a communication function carried by the warehouse administrator, the communication device provided at the transfer platform 111, or another communication device, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The self-moving device 130 may include a housing, a moving module, a working module, a communication module, a sensor, a battery, and other modules, and the self-moving device 130 may be an intelligent robot for performing a patrol and a replenishment operation in a shopping mall. The self-moving device 130 may include a plurality of self-moving devices, for example, fig. 1 shows a situation where the self-moving device 130a performs a replenishment operation in the mall 120, and the self-moving devices 130b, 130c, and 130d are located in the waiting area 150 for waiting. It should be noted that the self-moving devices 130a to 130d in fig. 1 are only examples and are not limited, and the number of the self-moving devices 130 in the embodiment of the present application is not limited.

The system 100 of fig. 1 may also include a docking station (not shown in fig. 1), wherein the docking station may be a charging station, for example, the self-moving device 130 may automatically return to the charging station for charging when it stops working or needs charging.

The self-moving device 130 may perform a patrol in the shopping mall 120, and during the patrol, information of goods on each shelf in the shopping mall 120 may be obtained through a sensor (for example, the sensor may be a patrol camera disposed on the self-moving device) to determine whether each shelf is out of stock; in the case of finding a target shelf out of stock, it may send out-of-stock information to the warehouse administrator to inform the target shelf out of stock, the goods out of stock, the number of the goods out of stock, etc.; after receiving the out-of-stock information, the warehouse manager may place the corresponding item on the transfer platform 111, move the mobile device to the transfer platform 111 to receive the item, and return the target shelf, so as to perform a replenishment operation on the target shelf. Optionally, during the process of the self-moving device 130 making a tour in the mall 120, the commodity with a wrong placement or position can be identified and corrected by the sensor.

The self-moving device 130 may communicate with a monitoring camera in the mall 120, obtain a monitoring image shot by the monitoring camera, determine a passenger flow volume of a preset area of the mall 120 according to the monitoring image, and execute different replenishment strategies based on the passenger flow volume in the preset area. The preset area may refer to the whole mall (i.e. the mall 120) or a part of the mall 120, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. In the embodiment of the application, the passenger flow in the preset area can be accurately determined according to the monitoring image shot by the monitoring camera of the shopping mall, at the moment, different replenishment strategies are executed based on the passenger flow in the preset area, and the potential safety hazard brought to customers by the mobile equipment during working can be effectively reduced.

The passenger flow volume of the preset area may include a large passenger flow scene and a small passenger flow scene, and the replenishment policy may include: and performing replenishment operation on the target shelf, placing the goods to be replenished on a temporary shelf, and taking the self-moving equipment as the temporary shelf to stop beside the target shelf. In the embodiment of the application, a proper strategy can be selected from the replenishment strategies according to the passenger flow in the preset area, so that the potential safety hazard is reduced, and meanwhile, the working efficiency of the self-moving equipment is improved.

For example, assuming that the shelf 123 is the target shelf, when the preset area is in a large passenger flow scene, the self-moving device 130 may stop itself as a temporary shelf beside the shelf 123 (i.e., the target shelf), so that the potential safety hazard may be reduced, and a customer may conveniently select and purchase goods carried on the self-moving device, thereby improving the working efficiency of the self-moving device; under the condition that the preset area is in a small passenger flow scene, the self-moving equipment can normally perform replenishment operation on the target shelf, so that the working efficiency of the self-moving equipment can be improved under the condition that a customer is not influenced (or the customer is not greatly influenced).

Or, assuming that the shelf 121 is a temporary shelf, in the case that the preset area is in a large passenger flow scene, the self-moving device 130 may also place the goods to be replenished on the shelf 121 (i.e., the temporary shelf); alternatively, the self-moving device 130 may also be directly stopped (i.e., temporarily stopping the replenishment operation), and when the passenger flow volume of the preset area becomes a small passenger flow volume, the replenishment operation is continuously performed on the target shelf.

It should be noted that the above replenishment policies are only examples and are not limited, and the self-moving device 130 may also execute other replenishment policies based on the passenger flow in the preset area, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The plurality of self-moving devices (e.g., self-moving devices 130a-130d of fig. 1) in system 100 may each be responsible for a plurality of different areas, the variety of items on the various shelves in the plurality of different areas may be different, and accordingly, the operating modules of the self-moving devices operating in the plurality of different areas may be different, or the self-moving devices operating in the plurality of different areas may be different. In this application embodiment, the kind of the commodity of putting on the multiple goods shelves in the market can be different, and this moment, to the kind of the commodity of putting on the multiple goods shelves uses multiple from mobile device do respectively multiple goods shelves carry out the replenishment, can improve from mobile device's work efficiency.

For example, as shown in fig. 1, the self-moving device 130b may work in a commodity area with a medium-small weight and a regular appearance, and the working module of the self-moving device 130b may include a clamping jaw, and the self-moving device in the area may use the clamping jaw to grab the commodity area with the medium-small weight and the regular appearance; the self-moving device 130c can work in a commodity area with medium and small weight and irregular appearance, the working module of the self-moving device 130c can include an adsorption module, and the self-moving device in the area can use the adsorption module to adsorb the commodity with medium and small weight and irregular appearance; the self-moving apparatus 130d may work in a heavy goods area, and the working module of the self-moving apparatus 130d may include a yoke, and the self-moving apparatus 130d may move through the guide rail, and the self-moving apparatus of the area may pick up the heavy goods using the yoke. It should be noted that, the foregoing embodiments are merely examples and are not limited, and the specific division manner and the specific structure of the multiple mobile devices may be set according to practical situations, and are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

Alternatively, in the system 100, the self-moving device 130a makes a tour through the mall 120 and determines whether there are shelves in the mall 120 that are out of stock. In the case of finding a target shelf out of stock, the self-moving device 130a may first determine whether a replenishment operation is performed by the current self-moving device (i.e., the self-moving device 130 a), and if so, the replenishment operation is performed by the self-moving device 130 a; otherwise, the self-moving device 130a may invoke other self-moving devices (e.g., the self-moving device 130b, 130c, or 130d in the waiting area 150) depending on the goods at which the target shelf is located.

For example, if the target shelf is located in a commodity area with a medium and small weight and a regular appearance, and the working module of the self-moving device 130b is a clamping jaw, the self-moving device 130a may call the self-moving device 130b to perform a replenishment operation on the target shelf; if the target shelf is located in a commodity area with a medium and small weight and an irregular appearance, and the working module of the self-moving device 130c is an adsorption module, the self-moving device 130a can call the self-moving device 130c to perform a replenishment operation on the target shelf; if the target shelf is located in the heavy goods area, the working module of the self-moving device 130d is a fork arm, and the self-moving device 130d moves through the guide rail, the self-moving device 130a may call the self-moving device 130d to perform a replenishment operation on the target shelf.

The commodities with medium and small weight and regular appearance can comprise bottled commodities, canned commodities, small box-packaged commodities and the like, the commodities with medium and small weight and irregular appearance can comprise small articles, plastic-packaged commodities, bulk commodities and the like, and the heavy commodities can comprise boxed beverages, bagged rice, medium and large electrical appliances and the like. Of course, the system 100 may also include other merchandise areas and other types of self-moving devices, which are not limited in this embodiment.

The system 100 in fig. 1 may further include a Management Information System (MIS), where the MIS system may determine the number of each item stored on each shelf in the store according to the shipment information of each item in the warehouse and the sales information of each item in the store, so as to determine a target shelf in short of the item, and issue warning information (for example, the warning information may indicate the target shelf in short of the item, various information of the short of the item, and the like), and a specific operation manner of the MIS system may refer to the prior art, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In this application embodiment, from mobile device can MIS system is right under the condition that the target goods shelves carry out the out-of-stock early warning, according to commodity information confirms whether the target goods shelves are out of stock, can in time confirm the goods shelves of out-of-stock in the market like this to help improving from mobile device's work efficiency.

The system 100 in fig. 1 may also include a server 140. The server 140 may control the mobile device 130 to perform a patrol in the shopping mall 120, and during the patrol, the mobile device 130 may be controlled to obtain the commodity information on each shelf in the shopping mall 120 by using the sensor, and may also receive the commodity information sent by the mobile device 130, and determine whether each shelf is out of stock according to the commodity information.

The server 140 may communicate with a monitoring camera in the mall 120 and a warehouse manager, and may transmit the out-of-stock information to the warehouse manager to inform the target shelf of the out-of-stock, the out-of-stock items, the number of the out-of-stock items, and the like when the target shelf of the out-of-stock is found.

The server 140 may further communicate with a monitoring camera in the mall 120 to obtain a monitoring image shot by the monitoring camera, determine a passenger flow volume of a preset area of the mall 120 according to the monitoring image, and control the mobile device 130 to execute different replenishment strategies based on the passenger flow volume in the preset area.

Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an operating method 200 of a self-moving device according to an embodiment of the present application. The method 200 may be performed by the self-moving device 130 in fig. 1, or may also be performed by the server 140 in fig. 1 to control the self-moving device 130, and for understanding, the following embodiments will be described by taking the self-moving device 130 to perform the method 200 as an example.

Fig. 2 shows that the method 200 includes steps 210, 220, and 230, but these steps or operations are only examples, and other operations or variations of the operations of the method 200 in fig. 2 may be performed by embodiments of the present application, or not all of the steps need to be performed, or the steps may be performed in other orders.

And S210, acquiring commodity information on the target shelf.

Alternatively, the self-moving device may include a housing, a moving module, a working module, a communication module, a sensor, a battery, and other modules, and the self-moving device may obtain commodity information on each shelf in the shopping mall through the sensor, where the commodity information may include a category of the commodity, a weight of the commodity, a storage location of the commodity in the warehouse (for example, a shelf position or a shelf number where the commodity is stored in the warehouse), and the like. The self-moving device may further include a work module for performing a restocking operation.

The sensor may be a camera (which may be used to identify a barcode or a two-dimensional code, etc.), a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader, or other sensor for sensing an object, and the commodity information may be determined by image information, a barcode, a two-dimensional code, or other sensing information (collected by other sensors for object sensing).

For example, the self-moving device may include a camera (such as a patrol camera), and during the patrol, the camera may capture patrol images to obtain information about the items on each shelf in the shopping mall so as to determine whether each shelf is out of stock.

Optionally, the self-moving device may have an environment recognition function.

For example, the self-moving device may determine whether a human body exists within a preset distance according to a tour image captured by the camera, and prohibit a replenishment operation on a target shelf if the human body exists.

For another example, the self-moving device may further determine whether there is a dropped article or an article with a risk of dropping in a mall according to the patrol image shot by the camera, and if so, may perform a drop warning.

For another example, the self-moving device may also perform obstacle avoidance according to the tour image captured by the camera, so as to avoid various obstacles (such as commodities, shelves, or other self-moving devices) during the tour. The self-moving device may further determine an obstacle avoidance policy according to the tour image captured by the camera, for example, the obstacle avoidance policy may include passing by an obstacle, or bypassing when passing by an obstacle.

Optionally, the self-moving device may perform path planning. For example, the self-moving device can plan a tour path or a replenishment path according to a tour image shot by the camera.

In some possible implementations, the target shelf is one of a plurality of shelves in the store, the self-moving device is one of a plurality of self-moving devices, and the plurality of self-moving devices replenish the plurality of shelves, respectively. In the embodiment of the application, aiming at the types of commodities placed on the various shelves, the various self-moving devices are used for replenishing the commodities on the various shelves respectively, so that the working efficiency of the self-moving devices can be improved.

For example, the mall may be divided into a plurality of different areas, the mall may be provided with a plurality of self-moving devices, the plurality of self-moving devices may be respectively responsible for a plurality of different areas, the types of the commodities placed on the various shelves in the plurality of different areas may be different, and accordingly, the self-moving devices working in the plurality of different areas may also be different.

Of course, the self-moving device may also use other methods (for example, image recognition (vision) technology) to obtain the merchandise information, or may also obtain the merchandise information through a monitoring camera of a shopping mall, which is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

And S220, determining whether the target shelf is out of stock according to the commodity information.

Further, the warehouse manager may communicate with the self-moving device through a terminal device with a communication function carried around, a communication device provided at the transit deck 111, or other communication devices.

For example, in the case where a target shelf out of stock is found, the self-moving apparatus may transmit out-of-stock information to a warehouse manager to inform the target shelf out of stock, the out-of-stock items, the number of the out-of-stock items, and the like; after receiving the information of lack of goods, the warehouse manager can place corresponding goods on the transfer platform so as to be convenient for the mobile device to move to the transfer platform to receive the goods and return to the target goods shelf to replenish the target goods shelf.

For another example, the self-moving device may also go to a warehouse to pick up goods and return to the target shelf to perform replenishment operations.

Optionally, the mall may be provided with a MIS system, and the MIS system may perform out-of-stock warning on the shelves in the mall. For example, the MIS system may send out warning information when the target shelf in the mall is out of stock, where the warning information may indicate the target shelf out of stock, various information of the out-of-stock goods, and the like. The MIS system may work in a specific manner according to the prior art, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

In some possible implementation manners, the self-moving device may acquire commodity information on the target shelf under the condition that the MIS system performs out-of-stock early warning on the target shelf, and determine whether the target shelf is out-of-stock according to the commodity information, so that a shelf out-of-stock in a shopping mall can be determined in time, and thus, the work efficiency of the self-moving device is improved.

Optionally, the self-moving device may further determine whether to use the current self-moving device to execute a replenishment strategy according to the commodity information on the target shelf, and if not, call another self-moving device to execute the replenishment strategy. Optionally, the self-moving device may perform replenishment operation using different kinds of work modules according to the commodity kind information of the target shelf.

And S230, under the condition that the target shelf is out of stock, executing different replenishment strategies based on the passenger flow in the preset area of the shopping mall.

In the embodiment of the application, the self-moving equipment executes different replenishment strategies based on the passenger flow in the preset area of the shopping mall under the condition that the target shelf is out of stock, so that the potential safety hazard brought to customers by the self-moving equipment during working can be effectively reduced.

The preset area may refer to the whole mall or a part of the area in the mall, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

Wherein the replenishment strategy may include: and performing replenishment operation on the target shelf, placing the goods to be replenished on a temporary shelf, and taking the self-moving equipment as the temporary shelf to stop beside the target shelf. In the embodiment of the application, the self-moving equipment selects a proper strategy from the replenishment strategies according to the passenger flow in the preset area, so that the potential safety hazard is reduced, and the working efficiency of the self-moving equipment is improved.

It should be noted that the above replenishment strategies are only examples and are not limited, and the self-moving device 130 may also execute other replenishment strategies based on the passenger flow volume in the preset area, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Optionally, the passenger flow in the preset area may be divided into a large passenger flow and a small passenger flow. For example, when the passenger flow volume in the preset area is greater than or equal to 20 people, the preset area may be considered to be in a large passenger flow scene; when the passenger flow volume in the preset area is less than or equal to 5 people, the preset area can be considered to be in a small passenger flow scene. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the manner of dividing the passenger flow volume in the preset area is only an example and is not limited thereto, and other manners may be used to divide the passenger flow volume in the preset area, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

In some possible implementation manners, under the condition that the preset area is in a large passenger flow scene, the self-moving device can stop itself as a temporary shelf beside the target shelf, so that potential safety hazards can be reduced, and meanwhile, a customer can conveniently shop for commodities carried on the self-moving device, and thus the working efficiency of the self-moving device can be improved.

Or, under the condition that the preset area is in a large passenger flow scene, the self-moving equipment can also place the goods to be replenished on a temporary shelf; or, the self-moving device may also be directly stopped in place, and when the passenger flow volume of the preset area becomes a small passenger flow volume, the replenishment operation is continuously performed on the target shelf.

In some possible implementations, in a case where the preset area is in a small passenger flow scene, the self-moving device may normally perform a replenishment operation on the target shelf, so that the working efficiency of the self-moving device may be improved without affecting (or causing too much influence on) the customer.

Optionally, the passenger flow volume in the preset area may be determined according to a monitoring image shot by a monitoring camera of the mall. Optionally, the self-moving device may further include a communication module, and the self-moving device may transmit the information that the target shelf is out of stock through the communication module. Optionally, the self-moving device may further receive passenger flow volume information of a preset area of the mall through the communication module.

For example, the self-moving device may further communicate with a monitoring camera in a mall through the communication module to obtain a monitoring image shot by the monitoring camera, determine a passenger flow volume of a preset area of the mall according to the monitoring image, and execute different replenishment strategies based on the passenger flow volume in the preset area; or, the self-moving device may also receive the passenger flow volume information of the preset area of the mall directly through the communication module.

Certainly, the self-moving device may also move to the warehouse to pick up the multiple goods to be replenished after determining the multiple goods to be replenished on the multiple target shelves, and return to the store to sequentially perform replenishment operations on the multiple target shelves, that is, the self-moving device may replenish the multiple target shelves only by moving to the warehouse once, so as to improve the working efficiency of the self-moving device.

Optionally, in the case that the goods to be replenished are goods with a shelf life, the self-moving device may perform replenishment operation on the target shelf according to a "first-in first-out" principle, so as to ensure that the customer can take the goods placed before the target shelf first.

Optionally, the self-moving device can adjust the height of the work module or the work module itself so that the work module can perform restocking operation on shelves at high and low positions.

Optionally, when the operation space is insufficient, the self-moving device can adopt a certain vacation strategy to execute replenishment operation. For example, the self-moving device may move the items around the target shelf or other items on the target shelf, and then replace the items around the target shelf or other items on the target shelf after completing the replenishment operation.

Optionally, the self-moving device can also be linked with an elevator in the process of taking goods from the warehouse and returning the goods to the target shelf. For example, in the case that the warehouse is located on the second floor and the target shelf is located on the first floor, the self-moving device may go to the warehouse on the second floor through the elevator to pick up goods after finding out the target shelf with a shortage, and then return to the target shelf through the elevator to perform a replenishment operation.

The method embodiment of the present application is described in detail above with reference to fig. 1 and 2, and the apparatus embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to fig. 3 and 4. It is to be understood that the description of the method embodiments corresponds to the description of the apparatus embodiments, and therefore reference may be made to the preceding method embodiments for parts not described in detail.

Fig. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a self-moving device 300 provided by an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the self-moving device 300 shown in fig. 3 is an example only, and the self-moving device 300 of the embodiments of the present application may further include other modules or units.

It should be understood that the mobile device 300 is capable of performing the various steps in the method of fig. 2 and will not be described in detail herein to avoid repetition.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, the self-moving device 300 includes: as shown in fig. 3, the self-moving device 300 further includes:

an obtaining module 310, configured to obtain commodity information on a target shelf;

a first determining module 320, configured to determine whether the target shelf is out of stock according to the commodity information;

the executing module 330 is configured to execute different replenishment strategies based on the passenger flow volume in the preset area of the shopping mall in the case that the target shelf is out of stock.

It should be appreciated that the self-moving device 300 herein is embodied in the form of functional modules. The term "module" herein may be implemented by software and/or hardware, and is not particularly limited thereto. For example, a "module" may be a software program, a hardware circuit, or a combination of both that implements the functionality described above. The hardware circuitry may include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (e.g., a shared processor, a dedicated processor, or a group of processors) and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that support the described functionality.

As an example, the self-moving device 300 provided in the embodiment of the present application may include a processor or a chip to perform the method described in the embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a self-moving device 400 of one embodiment of the present application. The self-moving device 400 shown in fig. 4 includes a memory 401, a processor 402, a communication interface 403, and a bus 404. The memory 401, the processor 402 and the communication interface 403 are connected to each other by a bus 404.

The memory 401 may be a Read Only Memory (ROM), a static memory device, a dynamic memory device, or a Random Access Memory (RAM). The memory 401 may store a program and the processor 402 is configured to perform the steps of the method of the embodiments of the application when the program stored in the memory 401 is executed by the processor 402, for example, the steps of the embodiment shown in fig. 2 may be performed.

The processor 402 may be a general-purpose Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits, and is configured to execute related programs to implement the methods of the embodiments of the present application.

The processor 402 may also be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. In implementation, the steps of the method of the embodiment of the present application may be implemented by integrated logic circuits of hardware in the processor 402 or instructions in the form of software.

The processor 402 may also be a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an off-the-shelf programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, or discrete hardware components. The various methods, steps, and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented or performed. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

The steps of the method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules may be located in ram, flash, rom, prom, or eprom, registers, etc. as is well known in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory 401, and the processor 402 reads the information in the memory 401, and performs the functions required to be performed by the unit included in the self-mobile device in the embodiment of the present application in combination with the hardware of the processor, or performs the method of the embodiment of the method of the present application, for example, may perform the steps/functions of the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

The communication interface 403 may use transceiver means, such as, but not limited to, a transceiver, to enable communication between the apparatus 400 and other devices or communication networks.

Bus 404 may include a path that conveys information between various components (e.g., memory 401, processor 402, communication interface 403) of mobile device 400.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the processor may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), and the processor may also be other general-purpose processors, digital Signal Processors (DSPs), application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, and the like. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

It should be understood that the term "and/or" herein is only one kind of association relationship describing the association object, and means that there may be three kinds of relationships, for example, a and/or B, and may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, the "/" in this document generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship, but may also indicate an "and/or" relationship, which may be understood with particular reference to the former and latter text.

In this application, "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. "at least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of the singular or plural items. For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c, may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or multiple.

It should be understood that, in the various embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined by its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components 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 units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, cause the processes or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the application to occur, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be read by a computer or a data storage device including one or more available media integrated servers, data centers, and the like. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily think of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and shall be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

An operating method of a self-moving device, comprising:

acquiring commodity information on a target shelf;

determining whether the target shelf is out of stock according to the commodity information;

and under the condition that the target shelf is out of stock, executing different replenishment strategies based on the passenger flow in the preset area of the shopping mall.
The method of claim 1, wherein before performing different replenishment strategies based on the volume of passengers in the predetermined area of the mall, further comprising: and going to a warehouse to pick up goods and returning to the target shelf.
The method of claim 1, wherein the replenishment strategy comprises: and performing replenishment operation on the target shelf, placing the goods to be replenished on a temporary shelf, and taking the self-moving equipment as the temporary shelf to stop beside the target shelf.
The method of claim 3, wherein the performing different replenishment strategies based on the volume of passengers in the predetermined area of the mall comprises:

and under the condition that the preset area is in a large passenger flow scene, taking the self-moving equipment as a temporary shelf to stop beside the target shelf.
The method of claim 3, wherein the performing different replenishment strategies based on the volume of passengers in the predetermined area of the mall comprises:

and under the condition that the preset area is in a small passenger flow scene, executing replenishment operation on the target shelf.
The method of claim 1, wherein the target shelf is one of a plurality of shelves in the mall, and the self-moving device is one of a plurality of self-moving devices that respectively restock the plurality of shelves.
The method of claim 6, further comprising: and judging whether a current self-moving equipment is used for executing a replenishment strategy or not according to the commodity information on the target shelf, and if not, calling another self-moving equipment to execute the replenishment strategy.
The method of claim 1, wherein the self-moving device comprises a work module for performing replenishment operations; the method further comprises the following steps: and according to the commodity type information of the target shelf, performing replenishment operation by using different types of working modules.
The method of claim 1, wherein the mall is provided with an information management system, and the determining whether the target shelf is out of stock according to the commodity information comprises:

and under the condition that the information management system carries out-of-stock early warning on the target shelf, determining whether the target shelf is out of stock or not according to the commodity information.
The method of claim 1, wherein the self-moving device comprises a patrol camera, and wherein the obtaining the commodity information on the target shelf comprises: and acquiring commodity information on a target shelf based on the patrol image shot by the patrol camera.
The method of claim 1, wherein the self-moving device comprises a patrol camera, and wherein the method further comprises: and determining whether a human body exists in a preset distance according to the patrol image shot by the patrol camera, and if the human body exists, forbidding to execute a replenishment operation on the target shelf.
The method of claim 1, wherein the self-moving device comprises a patrol camera, and wherein the method further comprises: and planning a replenishment path according to the patrol image shot by the patrol camera.
The method of claim 1, wherein the self-moving device comprises a communication module, and wherein the method further comprises: and sending the information of the shortage of the target shelf through the communication module, and/or receiving the passenger flow information of a preset area of the shopping mall.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the passenger flow in the preset area is determined from a monitoring image taken by a monitoring camera of the mall.
An autonomous mobile device comprising: casing, mobile module and work module, remove in the market and work from the mobile device, its characterized in that still includes from the mobile device:

the acquisition module is used for acquiring commodity information on the target shelf;

the first determining module is used for determining whether the target shelf is out of stock according to the commodity information;

and the execution module is used for executing different replenishment strategies based on the passenger flow in the preset area of the shopping mall under the condition that the target shelf is out of stock.
The self-moving apparatus of claim 15, wherein the moving module is further configured to control the self-moving apparatus to go to a warehouse for picking and return to the target shelf.
The self-moving device of claim 15, wherein the replenishment strategy comprises: and performing replenishment operation on the target shelf, placing the goods to be replenished on a temporary shelf, and taking the self-moving equipment as the temporary shelf to stop beside the target shelf.
The self-moving device of claim 17, wherein the execution module is specifically configured to:

and under the condition that the preset area is in a large passenger flow scene, taking the self-moving equipment as a temporary shelf to stop beside the target shelf.
The self-moving device of claim 17, wherein the execution module is specifically configured to:

and under the condition that the preset area is in a small passenger flow scene, executing replenishment operation on the target shelf.
The self-moving apparatus of claim 15, wherein the target shelf is one of a plurality of shelves in the mall, and the self-moving apparatus is one of a plurality of self-moving apparatuses that respectively restock the plurality of shelves.
The self-moving device according to claim 20, further comprising a second determining module configured to: and judging whether a current self-moving device is used for executing a replenishment strategy or not according to the commodity information on the target shelf, and if not, calling another self-moving device to execute the replenishment strategy.
The self-moving apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the work module is configured to perform a restocking operation; the execution module is further to: and according to the commodity type information of the target shelf, performing replenishment operation by using different types of working modules.
The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the mall is provided with an information management system, and the first determining module is specifically configured to:

and under the condition that the information management system carries out-of-stock early warning on the target shelf, determining whether the target shelf is out of stock or not according to the commodity information.
The self-moving device according to claim 15, wherein the self-moving device further comprises a patrol camera, and the obtaining module is specifically configured to: and acquiring commodity information on a target shelf based on the patrol image shot by the patrol camera.
The self-moving device according to claim 15, further comprising a patrol camera, and further comprising a third determining module configured to: and determining whether a human body exists within a preset distance according to the patrol image shot by the patrol camera, and if the human body exists, forbidding to execute goods replenishment operation on the target shelf.
The self-moving device according to claim 15, further comprising a patrol camera, further comprising a path planning module for: and planning a replenishment path according to the patrol image shot by the patrol camera.
The self-moving device according to claim 15, further comprising a communication module for: and sending the information of the shortage of the target shelf, and/or receiving the passenger flow information of the preset area of the shopping mall.
The self-moving device according to any one of claims 15 to 27, wherein the passenger flow volume in the preset area is determined according to a monitoring image taken by a monitoring camera of the shopping mall.