阅读说明：本技术 出库定位方法、装置和系统 (Warehouse-out positioning method, device and system ) 是由 张淑敏 于 2019-03-28 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明实施例公开了一种出库定位方法,用于在多个货架提供的多个托盘中定位待出库货物,每个货架的至少一层空间中包括多个通道,每个通道中依次排列有多个托盘,其中,该出库定位方法包括：获取订单信息,订单信息包括待出库货物的种类和数量以及超缺标识；从多个托盘中提取与待出库货物对应的有效托盘集合；根据预设的组合策略从有效托盘集合中提取与订单信息匹配的配货子集；以及根据配货子集定位待出库货物,有利于实时调整出库的托盘集合,选取使得出库成本最小的托盘的进行出库,可最大限度满足订单需求以及灵活调整仓库资源,提高出库效率。本发明实施例同时公开了一种出库定位装置和系统。(The embodiment of the invention discloses a warehouse-out positioning method, which is used for positioning goods to be warehoused in a plurality of trays provided by a plurality of shelves, at least one layer of space of each shelf comprises a plurality of channels, and a plurality of trays are sequentially arranged in each channel, wherein the warehouse-out positioning method comprises the following steps: acquiring order information, wherein the order information comprises the type and the quantity of goods to be delivered out of a warehouse and an excess mark; extracting an effective tray set corresponding to goods to be delivered from a warehouse from a plurality of trays; extracting a distribution subset matched with the order information from the effective tray set according to a preset combination strategy; and positioning the goods to be delivered according to the goods distribution subsets, which is beneficial to adjusting the tray set delivered from the warehouse in real time, selecting the tray which ensures the least delivery cost for delivering from the warehouse, meeting the order requirement to the maximum extent, flexibly adjusting warehouse resources and improving the delivery efficiency. The embodiment of the invention also discloses a warehouse-out positioning device and a warehouse-out positioning system.)

1. A warehouse-out positioning method is used for positioning goods to be warehoused in a plurality of trays provided by a plurality of shelves, at least one layer of space of each shelf comprises a plurality of channels, and a plurality of trays are sequentially arranged in each channel, and the warehouse-out positioning method is characterized by comprising the following steps:

acquiring order information, wherein the order information comprises the type and the quantity of the goods to be delivered and the vacancy-exceeding identification;

extracting a valid tray set corresponding to the goods to be delivered from the warehouse from the plurality of trays;

extracting a distribution subset matched with the order information from the effective tray set according to a preset combination strategy; and

and positioning the goods to be delivered according to the distribution subset.

2. The ex-warehouse location method according to claim 1, wherein the extracting the shipment subset from the valid pallet set according to a preset combination strategy comprises:

selecting at least one tray from the effective tray set as a tray subset according to a preset combination strategy;

judging whether the quantity of the goods to be delivered from the warehouse, which is provided by the tray subset, is matched with the order information, if not, updating the tray subset according to the default identification until the tray subset is matched with the order information; and

determining the subset of pallets that match the order information as the shipment subset.

3. The out-of-warehouse location method of claim 2, wherein the pallets located in the same aisle store the same kind of goods.

4. The ex-warehouse location method of claim 2, wherein the super-default identifier comprises at least one of the following three types:

the excess allowance identifier is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods allowed to be delivered out of the warehouse is larger than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information;

the allowable shortage mark is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods allowed to be delivered from the warehouse is smaller than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information; and

and the non-allowable excess and shortage mark is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods which are not allowed to be delivered is inconsistent with the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information.

5. The ex-warehouse location method of claim 2, wherein the updating the subset of trays according to the super-default identity comprises: and selecting at least one tray from the effective tray set according to a preset ex-warehouse sequence and adding the tray into the tray subset.

6. The ex-warehouse location method according to claim 5, wherein when the excess/lack identifier is an excess/lack disallowed identifier, the extracting the shipment subset from the valid tray set according to a preset combination strategy further comprises:

and when the quantity of the goods of the pallet subset is larger than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information, ending the positioning and returning positioning failure.

7. The ex-warehouse location method according to claim 5, wherein when the excess/shortage identifier is an excess/shortage allowed identifier, the extracting the shipment subset from the valid pallet set according to a preset combination strategy further comprises:

and when the quantity of the goods of the pallet subset is larger than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information, removing the pallet selected at last, and determining the pallet subset as the distribution subset.

8. The ex-warehouse location method of claim 1, wherein the combination strategy comprises at least one of the following three:

the number of trays in the distribution subset is minimized, the trays are preferentially extracted from the lane with the least number of trays, and the handling cost of each tray in the distribution subset to reach the designated location is minimized.

9. The ex-warehouse positioning method according to claim 5, wherein the preset ex-warehouse sequence comprises a plurality of trays in the same channel ex-warehouse in a first-in-last-out sequence.

10. An ex-warehouse positioning device, which is used for positioning goods to be ex-warehouse in a plurality of trays provided by a plurality of shelves, wherein at least one layer of space of each shelf comprises a plurality of channels, and a plurality of trays are sequentially arranged in each channel, the ex-warehouse positioning device is characterized by comprising:

the acquiring unit is used for acquiring order information, and the order information comprises the type and the quantity of the goods to be delivered and the vacancy-exceeding identification;

the first extraction unit is used for extracting an effective tray set corresponding to the goods to be delivered from the warehouse from the plurality of trays;

and the second extraction unit is used for extracting a distribution subset matched with the order information from the effective tray set according to a preset combination strategy and positioning the goods to be delivered according to the distribution subset.

11. The ex-warehouse positioning device according to claim 10, wherein the second extraction unit comprises:

the extraction module is used for selecting at least one tray from the effective tray set as a tray subset according to a preset combination strategy;

the updating module is used for judging whether the quantity of the goods to be delivered from the warehouse, which is provided by the tray subset, is matched with the order information, and if not, updating the tray subset according to the default identifier until the tray subset is matched with the order information; and

a determining module, configured to determine the pallet subset matched with the order information as the shipment subset.

12. The out-of-warehouse positioning device of claim 11, wherein the pallets located in the same aisle store the same kind of goods.

13. The ex-warehouse locating device of claim 11, wherein the super-default logo comprises at least one of the following three types:

the excess allowance identifier is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods allowed to be delivered out of the warehouse is larger than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information;

the allowable shortage mark is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods allowed to be delivered from the warehouse is smaller than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information; and

and the non-allowable excess and shortage mark is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods which are not allowed to be delivered is inconsistent with the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information.

14. The location apparatus of claim 11, wherein when the quantity of the goods to be delivered provided by the tray subset does not match the order information, the update module selects at least one tray from the valid tray set according to a preset delivery sequence to be added to the tray subset.

15. The ex-warehouse location device of claim 11, wherein when the overruns mark is a non-allowable overruns mark,

the updating module is further used for ending positioning and returning positioning failure when the number of the goods of the pallet subset is larger than the number of the goods corresponding to the order information.

16. The ex-warehouse location device of claim 11, wherein when the over-limit mark is an allowed over-limit mark or an allowed under-limit mark,

the updating module is further used for removing the last selected tray when the number of the goods in the tray subset is larger than the number of the goods corresponding to the order information.

17. The ex-warehouse locating device of claim 10, wherein the combination strategy comprises at least one of the following three:

the number of trays in the distribution subset is minimized, the trays are preferentially extracted from the lane with the least number of trays, and the handling cost of each tray in the distribution subset to reach the designated location is minimized.

18. The out-of-warehouse positioning device of claim 11, wherein the predetermined out-of-warehouse sequence comprises an in-first-out-of-warehouse sequence of the trays located in the same lane.

19. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions which, when executed, implement the ex-warehouse location method of any of claims 1-9.

20. A warehouse-out locating system, comprising:

a memory for storing computer instructions;

a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to perform implementing the ex-warehouse location method of any of claims 1-9 based on computer instructions stored by the memory.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of warehouse logistics, in particular to a warehouse-out positioning method, device and system.

Background

With the rapid development of the fields of e-commerce and the like in the modern society, the requirement on distribution is higher and higher, so that the improvement of the sorting efficiency of the automatic warehouse is more and more important. In the existing Automated warehouse, goods on a storage location are transported to a picking station by a transport line or a transfer robot (such as AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle), a shuttle car, a stacker, etc.), and then picked by a human or a picking robot to complete order delivery.

In order to improve the storage capacity of the warehouse, most of the existing automatic warehouses adopt a multi-depth shelf, and each channel of the shelf comprises a plurality of storage positions arranged along the depth direction. Since the ex-warehouse location is limited by the location and frequent warehouse movement is required, the ex-warehouse location method in the prior art is used for multiple deep shelves, so that the ex-warehouse efficiency and the order processing efficiency of goods are reduced.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, the present invention is directed to providing a method, an apparatus, and a system for ex-warehouse positioning, which solve the problem of optimization of ex-warehouse tray positioning in a multi-depth automatic warehouse and improve ex-warehouse efficiency.

According to a first aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a warehouse-out positioning method for positioning goods to be warehoused in a plurality of pallets provided by a plurality of shelves, at least one layer of space of each shelf includes a plurality of channels, and a plurality of pallets are sequentially arranged in each channel, wherein the warehouse-out positioning method includes: acquiring order information, wherein the order information comprises the type and the quantity of the goods to be delivered and the vacancy-exceeding identification; extracting a valid tray set corresponding to the goods to be delivered from the warehouse from the plurality of trays; extracting a distribution subset matched with the order information from the effective tray set according to a preset combination strategy; and positioning the goods to be delivered according to the distribution subset.

Preferably, the extracting the distribution subset from the valid tray set according to the preset combination strategy comprises: selecting at least one tray from the effective tray set as a tray subset according to a preset combination strategy; judging whether the quantity of the goods to be delivered from the warehouse, which is provided by the tray subset, is matched with the order information, if not, updating the tray subset according to the default identification until the tray subset is matched with the order information; and determining the pallet subset matching the order information as the shipment subset.

Preferably, the pallets located in the same aisle store the same kind of goods.

Preferably, the super-defect mark comprises at least one of the following three types: the excess allowance identifier is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods allowed to be delivered out of the warehouse is larger than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information; the allowable shortage mark is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods allowed to be delivered from the warehouse is smaller than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information; and the non-allowable excess and shortage quantity identifier is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods which are not allowed to be delivered is inconsistent with the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information.

Preferably, the updating the subset of trays according to the super-gap identifier includes: and selecting at least one tray from the effective tray set according to a preset ex-warehouse sequence and adding the tray into the tray subset.

Preferably, when the excess/deficiency flag is a no-allowance excess/deficiency flag, the extracting the shipment subset from the valid tray set according to a preset combination policy further includes: and when the quantity of the goods of the pallet subset is larger than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information, ending the positioning and returning positioning failure.

Preferably, when the excess/deficiency flag is a permissible excess flag or a permissible deficiency flag, the extracting the distribution subset from the valid tray set according to a preset combination policy further includes: and when the quantity of the goods of the pallet subset is larger than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information, removing the pallet selected at last, and determining the pallet subset as the distribution subset.

Preferably, the combination strategy comprises at least one of the following three: the number of trays in the distribution subset is minimized, the trays are preferentially extracted from the lane with the least number of trays, and the handling cost of each tray in the distribution subset to reach the designated location is minimized.

Preferably, the preset delivery sequence includes delivering a plurality of trays located in the same channel in a first-in last-out sequence.

According to a second aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided an ex-warehouse positioning device for positioning goods to be ex-warehouse in a plurality of trays provided by a plurality of shelves, at least one layer of space of each shelf includes a plurality of channels, and a plurality of trays are sequentially arranged in each channel, wherein the ex-warehouse positioning device includes: the acquiring unit is used for acquiring order information, and the order information comprises the type and the quantity of the goods to be delivered and the vacancy-exceeding identification; the first extraction unit is used for extracting an effective tray set corresponding to the goods to be delivered from the warehouse from the plurality of trays; and the second extraction unit is used for extracting a distribution subset matched with the order information from the effective tray set according to a preset combination strategy and positioning the goods to be delivered according to the distribution subset.

Preferably, the second extraction unit includes: the extraction module is used for selecting at least one tray from the effective tray set as a tray subset according to a preset combination strategy; the updating module is used for judging whether the quantity of the goods to be delivered from the warehouse, which is provided by the tray subset, is matched with the order information, and if not, updating the tray subset according to the default identifier until the tray subset is matched with the order information; and the determining module is used for determining the pallet subset matched with the order information as the distribution subset.

Preferably, the pallets located in the same aisle store the same kind of goods.

Preferably, the super-defect mark comprises at least one of the following three types: the excess allowance identifier is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods allowed to be delivered out of the warehouse is larger than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information; the allowable shortage mark is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods allowed to be delivered from the warehouse is smaller than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information; and the non-allowable excess and shortage quantity identifier is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods which are not allowed to be delivered is inconsistent with the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information.

Preferably, when the quantity of the goods to be delivered provided by the tray subset does not match the order information, the updating module selects at least one tray from the effective tray set according to a preset delivery sequence and adds the tray into the tray subset.

Preferably, when the excess/deficiency flag is a non-allowable excess/deficiency flag, the updating module is further configured to end positioning and return positioning failure when the quantity of the goods in the pallet subset is greater than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information.

Preferably, when the excess/deficiency flag is an excess/deficiency-allowed flag, the updating module is further configured to remove the last selected pallet when the quantity of the pallet subset is greater than the quantity of the pallet corresponding to the order information.

Preferably, the combination strategy comprises at least one of the following three: the number of trays in the distribution subset is minimized, the trays are preferentially extracted from the lane with the least number of trays, and the handling cost of each tray in the distribution subset to reach the designated location is minimized.

Preferably, the preset delivery sequence includes that the trays located in the same channel are delivered in a first-in last-out sequence.

According to a third aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and the computer instructions, when executed, implement the ex-warehouse location method as described above.

According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a warehouse exit positioning system, including: a memory for storing computer instructions; a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to perform an out-of-library localization method implemented as described above based on computer instructions stored by the memory.

The embodiment of the invention has the following advantages or beneficial effects: the warehouse-out positioning method of the embodiment is used for positioning goods to be warehoused in a plurality of trays provided by a plurality of shelves, at least one layer of space of each shelf comprises a plurality of channels, and a plurality of trays are sequentially arranged in each channel. The delivery positioning method comprises the steps of extracting a distribution subset matched with order information from an effective tray set according to a preset combination strategy, and positioning goods to be delivered according to the distribution subset. The pallets meeting the order information are positioned in the plurality of pallets of the goods shelf in a circulating positioning mode to be delivered, so that the real-time adjustment of the delivered pallet set is facilitated, the pallets with the minimum delivery cost are selected to be delivered, the order requirements can be met to the maximum extent, warehouse resources can be flexibly adjusted, and the delivery efficiency is improved.

In an optional embodiment, the ex-warehouse positioning method further combines the limitation of ex-warehouse flow to select trays for ex-warehouse, and different ex-warehouse strategies are provided for the situations that excessive ex-warehouse is allowed, deficient ex-warehouse is allowed, excessive/deficient ex-warehouse is not allowed, and the like, so that the flexibility of cargo ex-warehouse positioning is improved.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing embodiments of the present invention with reference to the following drawings, in which:

fig. 1 shows an exemplary system architecture to which the ex-warehouse location method or the ex-warehouse location apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a ex-warehouse location method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 shows a flowchart of a method for extracting a shipment subset matching order information from a set of active pallets, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic structural diagram of a multi-depth shelf according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 to fig. 7 are schematic flow diagrams respectively illustrating a ex-warehouse location method under different default identifiers according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a warehouse-out positioning device according to another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 9 shows a schematic structural diagram of the second extraction unit in fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a warehouse-out positioning system according to another embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described below based on examples, but the present invention is not limited to only these examples. In the following detailed description of the present invention, certain specific details are set forth. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. Well-known methods, procedures, and procedures have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention. The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.

Fig. 1 shows an exemplary system architecture 100 to which the ex-warehouse location method or the ex-warehouse location apparatus of the embodiment of the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system architecture 100 may include a terminal device 101, a server 102, and an automation repository 103. The connections between the terminal devices 101 and the server 102 and between the server 102 and the automation warehouse 103 are via a network, which may include various connection types, such as wired, wireless communication links, or fiber optic cables, among others.

A user may use terminal device 101 to interact with server 102 over a network to receive or send messages and the like. Various communication client applications, such as a web browser, a shopping application, a search application, an instant messaging tool, a mailbox client, social platform software, etc., may be installed on the terminal device 101.

The server 102 may be an order processing server that performs order processing, and the order may be an order generated by a user purchasing an item using a shopping application on the terminal device 101. And the order processing server sends the types and the quantity of the goods to be delivered and the vacancy-exceeding identification to the automatic warehouse 103 according to the order information. The automated warehouse 103 includes a multi-depth rack including a plurality of lanes, each lane including a plurality of trays stored in a depth direction. The automatic warehouse 103 positions the ex-warehouse trays according to the types and the quantity of the goods to be ex-warehouse and the excess and deficient identification, and uploads the positioning result to the server 102. The server 102 instructs the shuttle and the workbar to pick the order according to the positioning result, and updates the logistics state of the order after the picking is finished so as to be inquired by the terminal device 101.

It should be noted that the warehouse-out positioning method provided by the embodiment of the present invention is generally executed by the control center of the automated warehouse 103, and accordingly, the warehouse-out positioning apparatus is generally disposed in the control center of the automated warehouse 103.

With continued reference to fig. 2, fig. 2 shows a flow chart of the ex-warehouse location method according to the embodiment of the invention. The ex-warehouse positioning method comprises steps S201 to S203.

In step S201, order information is obtained, where the order information includes the type and quantity of the goods to be delivered and the default identifier.

In this embodiment, the electronic device (e.g., the control center of the automated warehouse shown in fig. 1) on which the ex-warehouse location method operates may obtain the order information from a local database (or memory space) or from a server through a wired or wireless connection. The order information records the type and quantity of goods to be delivered and the excess mark, for example, one piece of goods a to be delivered, two pieces of goods B, the allowable excess and the like.

Each tray distributes on the goods shelves of at least one tunnel both sides, and every tunnel is connected with the transfer chain, and the shuttle moves in the passageway in order to carry the tray from goods shelves to the transfer chain on, the transfer chain is used for carrying the tray on the workstation. The rack is, for example, a multi-depth rack, comprising a plurality of lanes, each lane comprising at least one storage location arranged in the depth direction, on which the trays are placed. The position information of the pallet can be determined by shelf number, floor number, lane number, etc., and a series of numbers can be used to represent the position information of the pallet.

The types of goods carried in the tray and the types of goods to be delivered from the warehouse in the order information are classified according to the same rule. The same kind of goods can be carried in the trays in different lanes, but SKUs (Stock Keeping units) of different trays in the same lane are the same, that is, the types, kinds, specifications, colors, and the like of the goods carried in different trays in the same lane are the same.

For example, the local database of the automated warehouse stores the position information of the pallets and the type and quantity information of the goods carried in the pallets, and the control center may obtain the position information of each pallet and the type and quantity of the goods carried in each pallet by searching the local database.

In step S202, a valid pallet set corresponding to the goods to be delivered is extracted from the plurality of pallets.

In this embodiment, the local database of the automated warehouse stores the kind of goods carried in each pallet and the position information of the pallet. Generally, each kind of goods is stored in a plurality of trays, so the automatic warehouse can search the position information corresponding to all the trays bearing the goods according to the kind of the goods, and then obtain the effective tray set corresponding to the goods to be delivered.

In step S203, a distribution subset matched with the order information is extracted from the valid pallet set according to a preset combination strategy, and the goods to be delivered are positioned according to the distribution subset.

In this embodiment, after obtaining the valid tray set, the electronic device may preset a plurality of targets to be achieved by the algorithm. After setting a plurality of targets, using the position information of the trays as a parameter of an algorithm, combining at least one tray in the effective tray set through calculation, selecting a plurality of trays meeting order information, and obtaining a distribution subset according to the plurality of trays.

In this embodiment, different pallets are stored in different storage positions of the multi-depth shelf, and a transportation lane for articles is provided between adjacent shelves on the same floor. Further, the preset combination policy includes one of: the number of trays in the distribution subset is minimized, the trays are preferentially extracted from the lane with the least number of trays, and the handling cost of each tray in the distribution subset to reach the designated location is minimized.

In this embodiment, a plurality of shelves are placed in the warehouse, each shelf is provided with a plurality of layers in the vertical direction, and each layer comprises a plurality of storage positions. The trays correspond to the storage positions, and different trays are stored in different storage positions. And a tunnel for transporting goods is arranged between every two adjacent goods shelves on the same layer, and the transporting device moves on the tunnel to transport the goods.

Under the condition of transporting equivalent goods, the warehouse-out trays which are as few as possible are transported, the warehouse-out time can be reduced, and the warehouse-out efficiency is improved. Meanwhile, under the condition that the quantity of the goods stored in each tray is the same, an emptying channel is optimized, and the warehousing and ex-warehouse efficiency of the warehouse can be improved. And the carrying cost of each delivery tray reaching the designated position is minimized, so that the efficiency and the speed of delivering the goods can be directly improved.

In a preferred embodiment, the plurality of combination policies may be set with weights for operation through a preset algorithm, and different priorities may be set for the plurality of policies, so that an optimal combination of at least one tray may be implemented according to specific situations. The operation method belongs to the common technical means of those skilled in the art, and is not described herein again.

It should be noted that all three preset combination strategies described above may be used as preset combination strategies, a combination of any two strategies may be used as one strategy, and other combination strategies may be added on the basis of the three combination strategies.

Fig. 3 shows a flowchart of a method for extracting a shipment subset matching order information from a set of active pallets, according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 3, the method for selecting a tray meeting the requirement of the number of goods to be delivered and the default identifier as a delivery tray along the depth direction of the passage for delivery according to the preset combination strategy in this embodiment includes steps S301 to S303.

In step S301, at least one tray is selected from the valid tray set as a tray subset according to a preset combination policy. At least one tray is selected from the active set of trays to join the subset of trays, for example, according to the predetermined combination strategy described above (minimizing the number of trays in the distribution subset, preferentially picking trays from the lane with the least number of trays, and minimizing the handling cost of each tray in the distribution subset to reach the designated location).

In step S302, it is determined whether the number of goods to be delivered provided by the pallet subset matches the order information. If not, go to step S303; if so, go to step S304.

In this embodiment, the super-default identifier includes at least one of the following three types: the excess allowance identifier is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods allowed to be delivered out of the warehouse is larger than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information; the allowable shortage mark is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods allowed to be delivered from the warehouse is smaller than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information; and the non-allowable excess and shortage quantity identifier is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods which are not allowed to be delivered is inconsistent with the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information.

For example, the order processing server may send an excess/lack identifier indicating whether to allow excess delivery or lack delivery to the automated warehouse according to the type of the goods, and the automated warehouse may perform delivery tray positioning according to the order information and the excess/lack identifier.

In step S303, the pallet subset is updated according to the super-defect flag. For example, when the number of goods to be delivered from the warehouse of the pallet subset is smaller than the number of goods in the order information, the positioning is restarted, the pallet with the deep depth behind the channel is added into the pallet subset, whether the new pallet subset is matched with the order information or not is judged, and the steps are repeated until the pallet subset is matched with the order information.

For example, when the quantity of goods to be delivered provided by the tray subset does not match the quantity requirement of the order information, at least one tray is selected from the effective tray set according to a preset delivery sequence and added into the tray subset.

Referring to fig. 4, in this embodiment the pallets are distributed on racks 12 on both sides of at least one lane 11, each lane 11 being connected to a conveyor line (not shown) in which the shuttle moves to transfer the pallets from the racks onto the conveyor line for transporting the pallets to the work bench. The rack 12 is, for example, a multi-depth rack, and includes a plurality of lanes, each lane including at least one storage location provided in a depth direction, on which the tray is placed. The same item may be located on different floors of the rack 12, on different pallets on different aisles, but the pallets located on the same aisle store the same item, and the pallets located on the same rack in the same aisle are delivered in first-in-last-out order. For example, taking a cargo a as an example, a certain channel for storing the cargo a includes pallets 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, and it is preferred to select the pallet 1 according to a preset combination strategy and add the pallet to the pallet subset, at this time, the pallet 2 located deep behind the pallet 1 becomes a positionable pallet, and it is determined whether the pallet subset meets the quantity requirement of the cargo to be delivered from the warehouse in the order information (the excess mark is an allowable excess mark). If the quantity of the goods to be delivered from the pallet subset is less than the quantity requirement of the goods of the order information, the pallet 2 is added into the pallet subset, and similarly, the pallet 3 positioned at the back of the pallet 2 becomes a positioning pallet. And continuously judging whether the quantity of the goods to be delivered from the warehouse of the pallet subset meets the quantity requirement of the order information, if the quantity of the goods of the pallet subset is still less than the quantity requirement of the order information, adding the pallet 3 into the pallet subset, and so on until the quantity of the goods of the pallet subset is more than or equal to the quantity requirement of the order information.

In step S304, the positioning is ended, and the pallet subset matching the order information is determined as the shipment subset. And when the quantity of the goods of the pallet subset is larger than or equal to the quantity requirement of the order information, stopping positioning, and determining the pallet subset as a goods distribution subset.

Fig. 5 to 7 respectively show a flowchart of the ex-warehouse location method under different default identifiers according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the ex-warehouse location method according to the embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to fig. 5 to 7.

Fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of the ex-warehouse location method when the excess/deficiency flag is a non-allowable excess/deficiency flag according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 5, the ex-warehouse location method includes steps S401 to S408.

In step S401, order information is obtained, where the order information includes the type and quantity of goods to be delivered and the default identifier.

As described in the above embodiments, the electronic device (e.g., the control center of the automated warehouse shown in fig. 1) on which the ex-warehouse location method operates may obtain the order information from a local database (or memory space) or from a server through a wired or wireless connection. The order information records the type and quantity of goods to be delivered and the excess mark, for example, one piece of goods a to be delivered, two pieces of goods B, the allowable excess and the like.

Each tray distributes on the goods shelves of at least one tunnel both sides, and every tunnel is connected with the transfer chain, and the shuttle moves in the passageway in order to carry the tray from goods shelves to the transfer chain on, the transfer chain is used for carrying the tray on the workstation. The rack is, for example, a multi-depth rack, comprising a plurality of lanes, each lane comprising at least one storage location arranged in the depth direction, on which the trays are placed. The position information of the pallet can be determined by shelf number, floor number, lane number, etc., and a series of numbers can be used to represent the position information of the pallet.

The kind of goods carried in the pallet and the kind in the order information are classified according to the same rule. The same kind of goods can be loaded in the trays in different aisles, but SKUs (stock keeping Unit) of different trays in the same aisle, that is, the types, kinds, specifications, colors, and the like of the goods loaded in different trays in the same aisle are the same.

The position information of the trays and the type and quantity information of goods carried in the trays are stored in the local database of the automatic warehouse, and the control center can obtain the position information of each tray and the type and quantity of the goods carried in each tray by searching the local database.

In step S402, a valid pallet set corresponding to the goods to be delivered is extracted from the plurality of pallets.

Illustratively, the local database of the automated warehouse stores the type of goods carried in each pallet and the location information of the pallet. Generally, each kind of goods is stored in a plurality of trays, so that the automatic warehouse can find the corresponding position information of all the trays storing the goods according to the kind of the goods.

In step S403, at least one tray is selected from the valid tray set as a tray subset according to a preset combination policy.

For example, the tray is selected from at least one tray and added into the ex-warehouse tray set according to the preset combination strategy (the number of ex-warehouse trays is minimized, the priority emptying channel and the carrying cost of each ex-warehouse tray to reach the designated position are minimized).

In step S404, it is determined whether the number of the goods to be delivered provided by the pallet subset is smaller than the number of the goods of the order information. If yes, go to step S405; if not, step S406 is performed.

In step S405, repositioning, adding the tray deep behind the aisle to the tray subset, and returning to step S404.

In step S406, it is determined whether the number of the goods to be delivered provided by the pallet subset is equal to the number of the goods of the order information. If yes, go to step S407; if not, step S408 is performed.

In step S407, the positioning is ended, and the pallet subset is determined as the shipment subset.

In step S408, the positioning is ended, and a positioning failure is returned to the server.

Fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart of the ex-warehouse location method when the excess mark is allowed to be the excess mark according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 6, the ex-warehouse location method includes steps S501 to S506. Steps S501 to S504 are the same as steps S401 to S404 shown in fig. 5, and are not described again here.

In step S505, when the quantity of the goods to be delivered provided by the pallet subset is smaller than the quantity of the goods of the order information, repositioning, adding the pallet entering deep behind the channel into the pallet subset until the quantity of the goods to be delivered provided by the pallet subset is larger than the quantity of the goods of the order information, removing the last added pallet, and determining the remaining pallets in the pallet subset as the distribution subset.

In step S506, when the number of the goods to be delivered provided by the pallet subset is greater than/equal to the number of the goods of the order information (in the case of allowing the excessive delivery, the number of the goods to be delivered of the pallet subset may be greater than the goods number requirement of the order information), the positioning is ended and the pallet subset is determined as the order subset.

Fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of the ex-warehouse locating method in the case of allowing the shortage ex-warehouse according to the embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 7, the ex-warehouse positioning method includes steps S601 to S608.

The warehouse-out positioning method of the present embodiment is different from the warehouse-out positioning method shown in fig. 5 in that, in step S607, when the number of goods to be warehouse-out provided by the pallet subset is greater than the number requirement of the order information, the last selected pallet is removed from the pallet subset, and the remaining pallets in the pallet subset are taken as the distribution subset to be warehouse-out.

In addition, steps S601 to S605 and step S608 of the present embodiment are the same as steps S401 to S408 shown in fig. 5, and are not repeated herein.

The warehouse-out positioning method is used for positioning goods to be warehoused in a plurality of trays provided by a plurality of shelves, at least one layer of space of each shelf comprises a plurality of channels, and a plurality of trays are sequentially arranged in each channel. The delivery positioning method comprises the steps of extracting a distribution subset matched with order information from an effective tray set according to a preset combination strategy, and positioning goods to be delivered according to the distribution subset. The pallets meeting the order information are positioned in the plurality of pallets of the goods shelf in a circulating positioning mode to be delivered, so that the real-time adjustment of the delivered pallet set is facilitated, the pallets with the minimum delivery cost are selected to be delivered, the order requirements can be met to the maximum extent, warehouse resources can be flexibly adjusted, and the delivery efficiency is improved.

In an optional embodiment, the ex-warehouse positioning method further combines the limitation of ex-warehouse flow to select trays for ex-warehouse, and different ex-warehouse strategies are provided for the situations that excessive ex-warehouse is allowed, deficient ex-warehouse is allowed, excessive/deficient ex-warehouse is not allowed, and the like, so that the flexibility of cargo ex-warehouse positioning is improved.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a warehouse-out positioning device according to another embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 8, the ex-warehouse positioning device includes an acquisition unit 501, a first extraction unit 502, and a second extraction unit 503.

The obtaining unit 501 is configured to obtain order information, where the order information includes the type and quantity of the goods to be delivered and the default identifier.

In this embodiment, the electronic device (e.g., the control center of the automated warehouse shown in fig. 1) on which the ex-warehouse positioning device is installed may obtain the order information from a local database (or memory space) or from a server through a wired or wireless connection. The order information records the type and quantity of goods to be delivered and the excess identification, for example, one piece of goods a to be delivered, two pieces of goods B, the allowable excess and the like.

Each tray distributes on the goods shelves of at least one tunnel both sides, and every tunnel is connected with the transfer chain, and the shuttle moves in the passageway in order to carry the tray from goods shelves to the transfer chain on, the transfer chain is used for carrying the tray on the workstation. The rack is, for example, a multi-depth rack, comprising a plurality of lanes, each lane comprising at least one storage location arranged in the depth direction, on which the trays are placed. The position information of the pallet can be determined by shelf number, floor number, lane number, etc., and a series of numbers can be used to represent the position information of the pallet.

The kind of goods carried in the pallet and the kind in the order information are classified according to the same rule. The same kind of goods can be loaded in the trays in different aisles, but SKUs (stock keeping Unit) of different trays in the same aisle, that is, the types, kinds, specifications, colors, and the like of the goods loaded in different trays in the same aisle are the same.

For example, the local database of the automated warehouse stores the position information of the pallets and the type and quantity information of the goods carried in the pallets, and the control center may obtain the position information of each pallet and the type and quantity of the goods carried in each pallet by searching the local database.

The first determining unit 502 is configured to extract a valid pallet set corresponding to the goods to be delivered from the plurality of pallets.

In this embodiment, the local database of the automated warehouse stores the kind of goods carried in each pallet and the position information of the pallet. Generally, each kind of goods is stored in a plurality of trays, so that the automatic warehouse can find the corresponding position information of all the trays bearing the goods according to the kind of the goods.

The second determining unit 503 is configured to extract a distribution subset matched with the order information from the valid tray set according to a preset combination strategy, and position the goods to be delivered according to the distribution subset.

In this embodiment, after obtaining the position information of at least one tray, the electronic device may preset a plurality of targets to be achieved by the algorithm. After a plurality of targets are set, the position information of the trays is used as a parameter of an algorithm, at least one tray is combined through calculation, the tray meeting the requirement of the quantity of goods to be delivered and the excess mark is selected, and an optimal delivery tray set is obtained.

In this embodiment, different pallets are stored in different storage positions of the multi-depth shelf, and a transportation lane for articles is provided between adjacent shelves on the same floor. Further, the preset combination policy includes one of: the number of the delivery trays is minimized, the priority emptying passage and the carrying cost of each delivery tray to the designated position are minimized.

In this embodiment, a plurality of shelves are placed in the warehouse, each shelf is provided with a plurality of layers in the vertical direction, and each layer comprises a plurality of storage positions. The trays correspond to the storage positions, and different trays are stored in different storage positions. And a tunnel for transporting goods is arranged between every two adjacent goods shelves on the same layer, and the transporting device moves on the tunnel to transport the goods.

Under the condition of transporting equivalent goods, the warehouse-out trays which are as few as possible are transported, the warehouse-out time can be reduced, and the warehouse-out efficiency is improved. Meanwhile, under the condition that the quantity of the goods stored in each tray is the same, an emptying channel is optimized, and the warehousing and ex-warehouse efficiency of the warehouse can be improved. And the carrying cost of each delivery tray reaching the designated position is minimized, so that the efficiency and the speed of delivering the goods can be directly improved.

In a preferred embodiment, the plurality of combination policies may be set with weights for operation through a preset algorithm, and different priorities may be set for the plurality of policies, so that an optimal combination of at least one tray may be implemented according to specific situations. The operation method belongs to the common technical means of those skilled in the art, and is not described herein again.

Fig. 9 shows a schematic structural diagram of the second extraction unit in fig. 8.

Illustratively, the second extraction unit 503 includes an extraction module 531, an update module 532, and a determination module 533. The extracting module 531 is configured to select at least one tray from the valid tray set according to a preset combination policy to serve as a tray subset. The updating module 532 is configured to determine whether the quantity of the goods to be delivered from the warehouse provided by the tray subset matches the order information, and if not, update the tray subset according to the default identifier until the tray subset matches the order information. The determining module 533 is configured to determine the pallet subset matching the order information as the shipment subset.

In this embodiment, the super-default identifier at least includes one of the following three types: the excess allowance identifier is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods allowed to be delivered out of the warehouse is larger than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information; the allowable shortage mark is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods allowed to be delivered from the warehouse is smaller than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information; and the non-allowable excess and shortage quantity identifier is used for indicating that the quantity of the goods which are not allowed to be delivered is inconsistent with the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information.

For example, when the quantity of the goods to be delivered provided by the tray subset does not match the order information, the updating module 532 selects at least one tray from the valid tray set according to a preset delivery sequence to join the tray subset.

In this embodiment, a plurality of pallets located in the same aisle on the same shelf are delivered in an order of first-in and last-out.

For example, when the out-of-stock flag is a no-allowance out-of-stock flag, the updating module 532 is further configured to end the positioning and return a positioning failure when the quantity of the goods in the pallet subset is greater than the quantity of the goods corresponding to the order information.

For example, when the excess/deficiency flag is an excess/deficiency-allowed flag, the updating module 532 is further configured to remove the last selected pallet when the quantity of the pallet subset is greater than the quantity of the pallet corresponding to the order information.

According to the warehouse-out positioning device, the trays meeting the requirement of the quantity of goods to be warehoused and the excess marks are selected as warehouse-out trays in a circulating positioning mode along the depth direction of the channel of the multi-depth goods shelf according to a preset combination strategy to be warehoused out, the warehouse-out tray set is adjusted in real time, the optimal combination of the warehouse-out trays is obtained, the order requirement can be met to the maximum extent, the resource adjustment of a warehouse is improved, and the warehouse-out efficiency is improved.

Fig. 10 is a block diagram of a ex-warehouse location system according to another embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus shown in fig. 10 is only an example and should not be used to limit the scope of the invention.

Referring to fig. 10, the ex-warehouse location system includes a processor 601, a memory 602, and an input-output device 603 connected by a bus. The memory 602 includes a Read Only Memory (ROM) and a Random Access Memory (RAM), and various computer instructions and data required to perform system functions are stored in the memory 602 and read by the processor 601 from the memory 602 to perform various appropriate actions and processes. The input and output device 603 includes an input portion of a keyboard, a mouse, and the like; an output section including a display such as a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), and the like, and a speaker; a storage section including a hard disk and the like; and a communication section including a network interface card such as a LAN card, a modem, or the like. The memory 602 also stores the following computer instructions to perform the operations specified by the ex-warehouse location method of the embodiment of the invention: acquiring order information, wherein the order information comprises the type and the quantity of the goods to be delivered and the vacancy-exceeding identification; extracting a valid tray set corresponding to the goods to be delivered from the warehouse from the plurality of trays; extracting a distribution subset matched with the order information from the effective tray set according to a preset combination strategy; and positioning the goods to be delivered according to the distribution subset.

Accordingly, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer instructions that, when executed, implement the operations specified in the above-mentioned ex-warehouse location method.

Some block diagrams and/or flow diagrams are shown in the figures. It will be understood that some of the methods in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, or combinations thereof, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the block diagrams and/or flowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented in hardware and/or software (including firmware, microcode, etc.). Furthermore, the techniques of this disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system (e.g., one or more processors). In the context of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the instructions. For example, the computer readable medium can include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. Specific examples of the computer readable medium include: magnetic storage devices, such as magnetic tape or Hard Disk Drives (HDDs); optical storage devices, such as compact disks (CD-ROMs); a memory, such as a Random Access Memory (RAM) or a flash memory; and/or wired/wireless communication links.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth numerous embodiments of the outbound positioning method of the present invention through the use of schematics, flowcharts, and/or examples. Insofar as one or more functions and/or operations are included in such diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples, it will be understood by those within the art that each function and/or operation within such diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of structures, hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one embodiment, portions of the subject matter described in the disclosed embodiments of the invention may be implemented by Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), or other integrated devices. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and/or firmware would be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light of this disclosure. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the subject matter disclosed are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described herein applies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of signal bearing media include, but are not limited to: recordable type media such as floppy disks, hard disk drives, Compact Disks (CDs), Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs), digital tape, computer memory, etc.; and a transmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analog communication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wired communications link, a wireless communication link, etc.).

It should be understood that the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention, and that various modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.