阅读说明：本技术 悬挂链系统及悬挂链控制方法、装置及系统 (Suspension chain system and suspension chain control method, device and system ) 是由 唐红兵 于 2018-07-13 设计创作，主要内容包括：本申请实施例公开了悬挂链系统及悬挂链控制方法、装置及系统,所述系统包括：扫码器,用于对即将送入其中一条支线的拣货结果容器进行扫码,并将扫码结果提交到服务器,所述扫码结果中包括容器标识；服务器,用于根据进入同一支线的拣货结果容器的先后顺序,生成容器标识序列；所述容器来源识别器,用于对主环线上目标容器正在接近的事件进行检测,以便判断所述目标容器是否来自关联的支线；所述读卡器,用于对进入其可读范围的目标连杆的电子识别芯片的信息进行读取,以获得目标连杆标识；所述服务器还用于,将所述容器标识与所述目标连杆标识进行绑定。通过本申请实施例,能够使得悬挂链系统更适合于在新零售模式的门店中应用,并节省成本。(The embodiment of the application discloses a suspension chain system and a suspension chain control method, device and system, wherein the system comprises: the code scanning device is used for scanning the code of the goods picking result container to be sent into one branch line and submitting the code scanning result to the server, wherein the code scanning result comprises a container identifier; the server is used for generating a container identification sequence according to the sequence of the picking result containers entering the same branch line; the container source identifier is used for detecting an approaching event of a target container on a main loop so as to judge whether the target container comes from an associated branch line; the card reader is used for reading the information of the electronic identification chip of the target connecting rod entering the readable range of the card reader so as to obtain the target connecting rod identification; the server is further configured to bind the container identifier with the target link identifier. By the aid of the hanging chain system, the hanging chain system can be more suitable for being applied to stores in a new retail mode, and cost is saved.)

1. A suspension chain control system is characterized in that,

the suspension chain comprises a main loop line and a plurality of branch lines; the branch line is used for conveying the goods picking result of the corresponding goods picking area to the main loop line; the main loop line comprises a plurality of connecting rods, each connecting rod is internally provided with an electronic identification chip, and a connecting rod mark is recorded in each chip;

the system comprises:

the system comprises a server, a code scanner, a container source identifier and a card reader, wherein the container source identifier and the card reader are arranged at the confluence of each branch line and the main loop line;

the code scanner is used for scanning the code of the goods picking result container to be sent into one branch line and submitting the code scanning result to the server, and the code scanning result comprises a container identifier;

the server is used for generating a container identification sequence according to the sequence of the picking result containers entering the same branch line;

the container source identifier is used for detecting an approaching event of a target container on a main loop so as to judge whether the target container comes from an associated branch line;

the card reader is used for reading the information of the electronic identification chip of the target connecting rod entering the readable range of the target container under the condition that the target container is determined to be from the associated branch line so as to obtain the target connecting rod identification and submit the target connecting rod identification to the server;

the server is further used for binding the first container identifier in the container identifier queue corresponding to the target branch line associated with the card reader with the target connecting rod identifier.

2. The system of claim 1,

a lifting machine is arranged between the goods picking area and the inlet of the branch line and is used for lifting the goods picking result to the branch line;

the code scanner is arranged at the lower end of the lifting machine so as to scan the code of the picking result container when the code scanning result container is placed on the lifting machine.

3. The system of claim 1,

the container source identifier is also used for providing the detection result to the associated card reader;

the card reader is specifically configured to determine whether the target container is from an associated branch line according to the detection result.

4. The system of claim 1,

the container source identifier is further used for providing the detection result to the server;

and the server is also used for judging whether the target container comes from the associated branch line according to the detection result, and if so, providing the target container for the card reader associated with the branch line.

5. The system of claim 1,

the container source identifier comprises a first fiber optic trigger distributed before the confluence and a second fiber optic trigger distributed after the confluence; if the second fiber optic trigger detects that a target container is approaching and the first fiber optic trigger does not, then the target container is determined to be from the associated target branch line.

6. The system of claim 1,

the server is specifically configured to sort the container identifiers according to the order in which the containers enter the branch line, where the container identifier that enters the branch line first is arranged at the head of the queue.

7. The system of claim 6,

the server is further configured to delete the target container identifier from the container identifier queue of the branch line after the target container identifier is bound to the target link identifier.

8. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 7,

the main loop is also connected with a plurality of slideways, and the slideways are used for sliding the goods picking results conveyed on the main loop into the corresponding packing road junction; each slideway is correspondingly provided with a slideway valve and a slideway controller; card readers are also arranged at the slide valves;

the server is further used for providing the binding relationship information between the container identifier and the target connecting rod identifier to the chute controller;

and the slideway controller is used for reading the target connecting rod identification entering a readable range through an associated card reader, and controlling the slideway valve according to the binding relationship and a pre-known container identification set to be slid into the corresponding slideway so that the target container is conveniently slid into the corresponding slideway.

9. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 7,

the server is located in a local device of a store where the suspension chain is located;

the server is further configured to obtain a correspondence between the container identifier and the batch identifier from a service server deployed at the cloud, allocate a chute to the batch identifier, and provide information of each container identifier corresponding to the batch identifier to a chute controller corresponding to the chute.

10. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 7,

the server is located at the cloud end;

the server is also used for receiving the corresponding relation between the container identifier and the picking task identifier and determining the batch identifier corresponding to the container identifier according to the batch identifier corresponding to the picking task identifier; and distributing the slide ways for the batch identification according to the state information of each slide way in the corresponding store, and providing the information of each container identification corresponding to the batch identification to the slide way controller corresponding to the slide way.

11. A suspension chain system, characterized in that,

the suspension chain comprises a main loop line and a plurality of branch lines; the branch line is used for conveying the goods picking result of the corresponding goods picking area to the main loop line; the main loop line comprises a plurality of connecting rods, each connecting rod is internally provided with an electronic identification chip, and a connecting rod mark is recorded in each chip;

the system also comprises a code scanning device which is used for scanning the code of the goods picking result container to be sent into one branch line and submitting the code scanning result to the server, wherein the code scanning result comprises a container identifier;

the confluence of each branch line and the main loop line is arranged in a container source identifier and a card reader;

the container source identifier is used for detecting an approaching event of a target container so as to judge whether the target container comes from an associated branch line;

and the card reader is used for reading the information of the electronic identification chip of the target connecting rod entering the readable range of the target container under the condition that the target container is determined to be from the associated branch line so as to obtain the target connecting rod identification, and submitting the target connecting rod identification to the server, so that the server can establish a binding relationship between the container identification and the connecting rod identification.

12. The suspension chain system of claim 11,

a lifting machine is arranged between the goods picking area and the inlet of the branch line and is used for lifting the goods picking result to the branch line;

the code scanner is arranged at the lower end of the lifting machine so as to scan the code of the picking result container when the code scanning result container is placed on the lifting machine.

13. The suspension chain system of claim 11,

the container source identifier includes a first fiber optic trigger distributed before the confluence, and a second fiber optic trigger distributed after the confluence.

14. The suspension chain system of claim 11,

the main loop is also connected with a plurality of slideways, and the slideways are used for conveying the goods picking results on the main loop to slide into the corresponding packing road junction; each slideway is correspondingly provided with a slideway valve and a slideway controller; card readers are also arranged at the slide valves;

the binding relationship information is used for being provided for the slideway controller;

and the slideway controller is used for reading the target connecting rod identification entering a readable range through an associated card reader, and controlling the slideway valve according to the binding relationship and a pre-known container identification set to be slid into the corresponding slideway so that the target container is conveniently slid into the corresponding slideway.

15. A method for controlling a suspension chain is characterized in that,

the suspension chain comprises a main loop line and a plurality of branch lines; the branch line is used for conveying the goods picking result of the corresponding goods picking area to the main loop line; the main loop line comprises a plurality of connecting rods, each connecting rod is internally provided with an electronic identification chip, and a connecting rod mark is recorded in each chip; a container source identifier and a card reader are arranged at the confluence of each branch line and the main loop line;

the method comprises the following steps:

receiving code scanning result information for scanning the goods picking result container to be sent into one of the branch lines, wherein the code scanning result comprises a container identifier;

generating a container identification sequence according to the sequence of the picking result containers entering the same branch line;

receiving a target connecting rod identification submitted by the card reader; the card reader reads information of an electronic identification chip of a target connecting rod entering a readable range of the target connecting rod to obtain target connecting rod identification information under the condition that the target container is determined to come from an associated branch line according to a detection result of the container source identifier on an approaching event of the target container;

and determining a target branch line associated with the card reader, and binding a first container identifier in a container identifier queue corresponding to the target branch line with the target connecting rod identifier.

16. The method of claim 15,

the generating of the container identification sequence according to the sequence of the picking result containers entering the same branch line comprises the following steps:

and sequencing the container identifications according to the sequence of the containers entering the branch line, wherein the container identification entering the branch line firstly is arranged at the head of the queue.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

and after the target container identification is bound with the target connecting rod identification, deleting the target container identification from the container identification queue of the branch line.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

the main loop is also connected with a plurality of slideways, and the slideways are used for conveying the goods picking results on the main loop to slide into the corresponding packing road junction; each slideway is correspondingly provided with a slideway valve and a slideway controller; card readers are also arranged at the slide valves;

the method further comprises the following steps:

and providing the binding relationship information between the container identifier and the target connecting rod identifier for the slideway controller so that the sliding controller can control the slideway valve according to the binding relationship information and a pre-obtained container identifier set to be slid into a corresponding slideway.

19. A suspension chain control device is characterized in that,

the suspension chain comprises a main loop line and a plurality of branch lines; the branch line is used for conveying the goods picking result of the corresponding goods picking area to the main loop line; the main loop line comprises a plurality of connecting rods, each connecting rod is internally provided with an electronic identification chip, and a connecting rod mark is recorded in each chip; a container source identifier and a card reader are arranged at the confluence of each branch line and the main loop line;

the device comprises:

the code scanning result receiving unit is used for receiving code scanning result information for scanning the goods picking result containers to be sent into one branch line, and the code scanning result comprises container identifiers;

the container identification sequence determining unit is used for generating a container identification sequence according to the sequence of the picking result containers entering the same branch line;

the connecting rod identification receiving unit is used for receiving the target connecting rod identification submitted by the card reader; the card reader reads information of an electronic identification chip of a target connecting rod entering a readable range of the target connecting rod to obtain target connecting rod identification information under the condition that the target container is determined to come from an associated branch line according to a detection result of the container source identifier on an approaching event of the target container;

and the binding unit is used for determining a target branch line associated with the card reader and binding a first container identifier in a container identifier queue corresponding to the target branch line with the target connecting rod identifier.

20. A suspension chain control system is characterized in that,

the suspension chain comprises a main loop line and a plurality of branch lines, and the main loop line is also connected with a plurality of slideways; the branch line is used for conveying the goods picking result of the corresponding goods picking area to the main loop line; the slideway is used for conveying the goods picking result on the main loop to a corresponding packing road junction; the main loop line comprises a plurality of connecting rods, each connecting rod is internally provided with an electronic identification chip, and a connecting rod mark is recorded in each chip;

the system comprises:

the system comprises a server, camera equipment and a card reader, wherein the camera equipment and the card reader are arranged behind a confluence point of a last branch line and a main loop line and in front of a connection point of a first slideway and the main loop line, and the sampling time of the camera equipment is less than a preset threshold value;

the camera equipment is used for photographing the graphic code on the approaching target container on the main loop and submitting the photographing result to the server;

the card reader is used for reading the electronic identification chip in the connecting rod which enters the readable range, obtaining the connecting rod identification and submitting the connecting rod identification to the server;

and the server is used for analyzing the photographing result, identifying the container identifier and binding the container identifier with the target connecting rod identifier read by the associated card reader.

21. The system of claim 20,

an optical fiber trigger is further arranged at the position where the camera equipment is located;

the optical fiber trigger is used for detecting an event that a container approaches and triggering the camera device to take a picture of the container.

22. The system of claim 20,

and a light supplementing device is also arranged at the position of the camera device.

23. The system of claim 20,

the distance between the positions of the camera device and the card reader and the first slideway is determined according to the average time required for analyzing the photographing result and identifying the graphic code and the running speed of the main loop line.

24. A suspension chain system, characterized in that,

the suspension chain comprises a main loop line and a plurality of branch lines, and the main loop line is also connected with a plurality of slideways; the branch line is used for conveying the goods picking result of the corresponding goods picking area to the main loop line; the slideway is used for conveying the goods picking result on the main loop to a corresponding packing road junction; the main loop line comprises a plurality of connecting rods, each connecting rod is internally provided with an electronic identification chip, and a connecting rod mark is recorded in each chip;

the system also comprises:

the system comprises camera equipment and a card reader which are deployed behind the confluence of the last branch line and the main loop line and in front of the connection of the first slideway and the main loop line, wherein the sampling time of the camera equipment is less than a preset threshold value;

the camera equipment is used for photographing the graphic code on the approaching target container on the main loop and submitting the photographing result to the server;

the card reader is used for reading the electronic identification chip in the connecting rod which enters the readable range, obtaining the connecting rod identification and submitting the connecting rod identification to the server so that the server can establish a binding relationship between the container identification and the connecting rod identification.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to suspension chain control technologies, and in particular, to a suspension chain system and a suspension chain control method, device and system.

Background

The 'new retail' is driven by information technology (big data, internet of things, AI and the like), and based on consumer experience (shopping scenes meeting various requirements of consumers), three elements of online and offline people, goods and places are reconstructed to form a brand-new business form of 'commodity circulation, member circulation and payment circulation'. In the form, online and offline seamless connection can be realized, online orders are actively distributed to nearby stores for delivery, and efficient delivery service such as '30-minute delivery' is provided for users.

In the store in the "new retail" mode, the specific sold goods may include fresh goods, fruits, food, etc., so that, for the order of the user, the operator in the store first needs to perform multiple links of weighing, picking, packaging, etc., and then can be delivered by the deliverer. Therefore, the time requirement from the step of receiving the order of the user from the store to the steps of picking up goods, packing, distributing and the like is very high, and delay in each step may result in failure of performing on time.

On the other hand, unlike a warehouse which is conventionally used only for shipping, in this "new retail" model store, in addition to being able to accept online orders, the user can directly enter the store for shopping, eating, etc., and therefore, the store can be generally divided into two different areas, a front area and a back area, wherein the customer can enter the front area of the store and cannot enter the back area. The front yard area may also be used for deploying some picking areas, in which workers for picking work may be specifically performed, and the back yard area may be mainly used for performing packing and other operations, in which workers for packing work may be included. After the on-line order is received, the goods picking operation is completed in the front field area, the goods picking result is sent to the packing area of the back field to be packed, and then the goods are delivered by a delivery person. In the process, if the picking is completed manually, operators for sending picking results to a back field area need to be configured, the workload of the operators is very large, the operators need to go back and forth between a front field and a back field, in addition, the automation degree is not high, a lot of information needs to be memorized manually, and errors are easy to occur.

In order to solve the above problems, some automated tools or systems may be introduced into the store, for example, a robot is included, or a conveying line is arranged between a front place and a back place, but since the number of people in the front place area of the store is large and complicated, and a walking route of a customer in the store cannot be controlled or predicted, the robot may collide with the people frequently during the conveying process. In the conveying line mode, devices such as a conveyor belt need to be laid on the ground, so that the space in a store is occupied, and the influence on the layout of the store is large.

In response to the above, the suspension chain system becomes an alternative for communicating on-site and back-end delivery of pick results in a store. Generally, the suspension chain system can adopt ball bearing as the chain travelling wheel, can turn at will, climb, adapt to various geographical environmental conditions, consequently, can realize the aerial transport of picking up the goods result through the ceiling of setting up a shop etc. department to when replacing artifical letter sorting confluence, utilization space resource that can be better can not lead to the fact the influence to ground facility's overall arrangement and pedestrian.

However, the existing suspension chain system is generally applied to the clothing industry, and when the system is applied to a store in a new retail mode, a lot of improvements are needed to make the system more suitable for the application scene of the new retail store.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a suspension chain system and a suspension chain control method, device and system, which can enable the suspension chain system to be more suitable for being applied to stores in a new retail mode and save cost.

The application provides the following scheme:

a suspension chain control system is provided, which comprises a suspension chain,

the suspension chain comprises a main loop line and a plurality of branch lines; the branch line is used for conveying the goods picking result of the corresponding goods picking area to the main loop line; the main loop line comprises a plurality of connecting rods, each connecting rod is internally provided with an electronic identification chip, and a connecting rod mark is recorded in each chip;

the system comprises:

the system comprises a server, a code scanner, a container source identifier and a card reader, wherein the container source identifier and the card reader are arranged at the confluence of each branch line and the main loop line;

the code scanner is used for scanning the code of the goods picking result container to be sent into one branch line and submitting the code scanning result to the server, and the code scanning result comprises a container identifier;

the server is used for generating a container identification sequence according to the sequence of the picking result containers entering the same branch line;

the container source identifier is used for detecting an approaching event of a target container on a main loop so as to judge whether the target container comes from an associated branch line;

the card reader is used for reading the information of the electronic identification chip of the target connecting rod entering the readable range of the target container under the condition that the target container is determined to be from the associated branch line so as to obtain the target connecting rod identification and submit the target connecting rod identification to the server;

the server is further used for binding the first container identifier in the container identifier queue corresponding to the target branch line associated with the card reader with the target connecting rod identifier.

A suspension chain system is provided, which comprises a suspension chain,

the suspension chain comprises a main loop line and a plurality of branch lines; the branch line is used for conveying the goods picking result of the corresponding goods picking area to the main loop line; the main loop line comprises a plurality of connecting rods, each connecting rod is internally provided with an electronic identification chip, and a connecting rod mark is recorded in each chip;

the system also comprises a code scanning device which is used for scanning the code of the goods picking result container to be sent into one branch line and submitting the code scanning result to the server, wherein the code scanning result comprises a container identifier;

the confluence of each branch line and the main loop line is arranged in a container source identifier and a card reader;

the container source identifier is used for detecting an approaching event of a target container so as to judge whether the target container comes from an associated branch line;

and the card reader is used for reading the information of the electronic identification chip of the target connecting rod entering the readable range of the target container under the condition that the target container is determined to be from the associated branch line so as to obtain the target connecting rod identification, and submitting the target connecting rod identification to the server, so that the server can establish a binding relationship between the container identification and the connecting rod identification.

A method for controlling a suspension chain is provided,

the suspension chain comprises a main loop line and a plurality of branch lines; the branch line is used for conveying the goods picking result of the corresponding goods picking area to the main loop line; the main loop line comprises a plurality of connecting rods, each connecting rod is internally provided with an electronic identification chip, and a connecting rod mark is recorded in each chip; a container source identifier and a card reader are arranged at the confluence of each branch line and the main loop line;

the method comprises the following steps:

receiving code scanning result information for scanning the goods picking result container to be sent into one of the branch lines, wherein the code scanning result comprises a container identifier;

generating a container identification sequence according to the sequence of the picking result containers entering the same branch line;

receiving a target connecting rod identification submitted by the card reader; the card reader reads information of an electronic identification chip of a target connecting rod entering a readable range of the target connecting rod to obtain target connecting rod identification information under the condition that the target container is determined to come from an associated branch line according to a detection result of the container source identifier on an approaching event of the target container;

and determining a target branch line associated with the card reader, and binding a first container identifier in a container identifier queue corresponding to the target branch line with the target connecting rod identifier.

A suspension chain control device is provided with a suspension chain,

the suspension chain comprises a main loop line and a plurality of branch lines; the branch line is used for conveying the goods picking result of the corresponding goods picking area to the main loop line; the main loop line comprises a plurality of connecting rods, each connecting rod is internally provided with an electronic identification chip, and a connecting rod mark is recorded in each chip; a container source identifier and a card reader are arranged at the confluence of each branch line and the main loop line;

the device comprises:

the code scanning result receiving unit is used for receiving code scanning result information for scanning the goods picking result containers to be sent into one branch line, and the code scanning result comprises container identifiers;

the container identification sequence determining unit is used for generating a container identification sequence according to the sequence of the picking result containers entering the same branch line;

the connecting rod identification receiving unit is used for receiving the target connecting rod identification submitted by the card reader; the card reader reads information of an electronic identification chip of a target connecting rod entering a readable range of the target connecting rod to obtain target connecting rod identification information under the condition that the target container is determined to come from an associated branch line according to a detection result of the container source identifier on an approaching event of the target container;

and the binding unit is used for determining a target branch line associated with the card reader and binding a first container identifier in a container identifier queue corresponding to the target branch line with the target connecting rod identifier.

A suspension chain control system is provided, which comprises a suspension chain,

the suspension chain comprises a main loop line and a plurality of branch lines, and the main loop line is also connected with a plurality of slideways; the branch line is used for conveying the goods picking result of the corresponding goods picking area to the main loop line; the slideway is used for conveying the goods picking result on the main loop to a corresponding packing road junction; the main loop line comprises a plurality of connecting rods, each connecting rod is internally provided with an electronic identification chip, and a connecting rod mark is recorded in each chip;

the system comprises:

the system comprises a server, camera equipment and a card reader, wherein the camera equipment and the card reader are arranged behind a confluence point of a last branch line and a main loop line and in front of a connection point of a first slideway and the main loop line, and the sampling time of the camera equipment is less than a preset threshold value;

the camera equipment is used for photographing the graphic code on the approaching target container on the main loop and submitting the photographing result to the server;

the card reader is used for reading the electronic identification chip in the connecting rod which enters the readable range, obtaining the connecting rod identification and submitting the connecting rod identification to the server;

and the server is used for analyzing the photographing result, identifying the container identifier and binding the container identifier with the target connecting rod identifier read by the associated card reader.

A suspension chain system is provided, which comprises a suspension chain,

the suspension chain comprises a main loop line and a plurality of branch lines, and the main loop line is also connected with a plurality of slideways; the branch line is used for conveying the goods picking result of the corresponding goods picking area to the main loop line; the slideway is used for conveying the goods picking result on the main loop to a corresponding packing road junction; the main loop line comprises a plurality of connecting rods, each connecting rod is internally provided with an electronic identification chip, and a connecting rod mark is recorded in each chip;

the system also comprises:

the system comprises camera equipment and a card reader which are deployed behind the confluence of the last branch line and the main loop line and in front of the connection of the first slideway and the main loop line, wherein the sampling time of the camera equipment is less than a preset threshold value;

the camera equipment is used for photographing the graphic code on the approaching target container on the main loop and submitting the photographing result to the server;

the card reader is used for reading the electronic identification chip in the connecting rod which enters the readable range, obtaining the connecting rod identification and submitting the connecting rod identification to the server so that the server can establish a binding relationship between the container identification and the connecting rod identification.

According to the specific embodiments provided herein, the present application discloses the following technical effects:

through the embodiment of the application, the container identification and the connecting rod identification can be bound by providing the container source identifier and the low-frequency card reader at the confluence of each branch line and the main loop line without providing the electronic identification chip for the container and the high-frequency card reader on the suspension chain, and only by reserving the electronic identification chip in each connecting rod of the main loop line and providing the code scanner for each branch line. Specifically, a code scanner may scan a container to be sent to a branch line, and submit the container to a server, and the server records a container identifier queue waiting for merging into the main loop line on a specific branch line; when a container is merged from a branch line and a main loop line, whether the container comes from the branch line or not can be determined according to the detection result of the container source identifier, and if so, a low-frequency card reader at the junction of the branch line and the main loop line can be triggered to read the connecting rod identification passing through the junction and submit the connecting rod identification to a server. Then, the server can establish a binding relationship between the target container identifier at the head of the queue in the container identifier queue corresponding to the branch line and the link identifier submitted by the low-frequency card reader. It can be seen that in this solution, there is no need to provide a high frequency card reader on the suspension chain, and the cost of multiple low frequency card readers, container source identifiers, bar code scanners, etc. is generally lower than that of one high frequency card reader, so that the cost can be reduced and the method is more suitable for being applied to stores in new retail mode.

In another implementation manner, a camera device and a card reader may be deployed after the confluence of the last branch line and the main loop line and before the junction of the first slideway and the main loop line, and the sampling time of the camera device meets a certain requirement, so that the container graphic code may be photographed by the camera device, the card reader reads the connection rod identifier, and a binding relationship is established between the container identifier and the connection rod identifier. Therefore, the specific container does not need to be provided with an electronic identification chip, and the hanging chain does not need a high-frequency card reader, so that the cost can be saved to a certain extent.

Of course, it is not necessary for any product to achieve all of the above-described advantages at the same time for the practice of the present application.

Drawings

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a prior art system architecture;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of another prior art system configuration;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a suspension chain control system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

4-1, 4-2 are enlarged partial schematic views of a suspension chain control system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of an apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of another suspension chain system provided by an 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 that can be derived from the embodiments given herein by a person of ordinary skill in the art are intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

The inventor of the application discovers that a plurality of picking areas can be generally deployed in the store on the basis of business characteristics in the store, the picking areas can be respectively used for storing different types of goods (for example, fruit picking areas, seafood picking areas and the like), and a plurality of different packaging road junctions exist in the backyard so as to realize parallel packaging operation and improve the operation efficiency. Furthermore, the goods in each goods picking area can be conveyed to any packing crossing. This is because, in practical applications, the number of received orders may be very large, and in order to improve the delivery efficiency, a plurality of orders having close locations and close required delivery times may be combined into the same batch for delivery. However, the types of the specific goods included in the orders may be many and distributed in different picking areas, so that the server can generate a plurality of picking tasks according to the different types of the specific goods included in the same batch, and the picking tasks are respectively sent to different picking areas, and each picking area respectively completes the respective picking task. However, since the orders of the same batch need to be merged and delivered, the picking results obtained by the picking tasks divided in the same batch need to be sent to the same packing road junction, so that the packing workers can pack the goods of the same batch and deliver the packed goods to the delivery workers for delivery. Therefore, although the server splits the same batch into multiple picking tasks, in the process of conveying through the suspension chain, the picking results corresponding to the multiple picking tasks of the same batch need to be conveyed to the same packing road junction, that is, the picking results corresponding to the picking tasks need to be merged. That is, for the same batch, during the picking process in the front field, a plurality of picking tasks are split, and picking is completed in different picking areas respectively; after being conveyed to the packing area, the materials need to be combined at the same packing passage for uniform packing. For different batches, the split picking tasks are determined according to actual conditions and do not have a fixed corresponding relation, wherein the picking tasks correspond to the picking areas, and are particularly distributed to the packing road junctions for packing. This, in turn, results in the need for a transfer channel between each picking area and each packing gate to ensure that the picking results from each picking area can be delivered to each packing gate.

Of course, in order to achieve the above purpose, the simplest way is to provide a suspension chain between each picking area and each packing crossing, but this results in a large number of suspension chains, which may cross each other, and also requires a certain space for suspending a specific container, etc., which in any case requires more space. For example, assuming there are 5 pick-up gates and 8 pack gates, a total of 5 × 8 — 40 suspension chains is required, which is obviously not reasonable and corresponds to each track being dedicated, thus causing a lot of waste.

For this reason, a specific suspension chain is specially designed for the case where there are a plurality of picking areas and a plurality of packing gates. Specifically, as shown in fig. 1, the suspension chain may include a main loop, a plurality of conveying lines, and a plurality of slide ways, wherein the main loop is provided with a plurality of connection points for connecting with the conveying lines and the slide ways, respectively; each conveying line corresponds to each goods picking area, and each slideway corresponds to different packing road junctions. Because the suspension chain can be usually erected in the mid-air, a lifting machine can be arranged between the goods picking area and the conveying line, so that an operator in the goods picking area can lift the corresponding container to the conveying line through the lifting machine after finishing a goods picking task, and then the container is hung on the suspension chain main loop line through the conveying line. At the back side, the main loop can be respectively connected with a plurality of slideways for sliding the containers into the corresponding packing road junction through the slideways. Thus, each goods picking area and each packing crossing are provided with a passage without mutual crossing.

However, as described above, the picking results corresponding to the picking tasks of the same batch need to be conveyed to the same packing road junction, and for this reason, graphic codes such as bar codes and two-dimensional codes can be arranged outside the containers for loading the picking results, and the graphic codes are used for carrying the unique identification information of the containers; when a picking task is executed by a picking operator, a container is selected at first, codes are scanned on the container, then a code scanning result and a corresponding picking task identifier are submitted to the cloud, and therefore the cloud can establish association between the batch identifier and the container identifier. In addition, a suspension chain control system (WCS) may be further disposed in the store, and the WCS may pull the association relationship between the batch identifier and the container identifier from the cloud according to a certain period (e.g., 1S), and may allocate a road junction to the container according to the batch identifier corresponding to the container identifier. For example, for a first-appearing batch identifier, a crossing may be allocated to the batch according to the busy/idle status of each crossing, and correspondingly, all container identifiers corresponding to the batch may be allocated to the crossing. In addition, a chute controller can be arranged at the junction of the main loop and each chute, and after a certain container identifier is allocated to a chute, the WCS can send the identifier of the container to the chute controller of the chute. Thus, as long as the container is conveyed to the position near the slide way, the specific container identifier can be identified by the slide way controller, and the slide way valve can be controlled, so that the container can slide into the corresponding packaging channel opening from the slide way.

Although the container is provided with the graphic code on the slide way controller, the sliding controller is not easy to identify the container identifier by being provided with the scanner, because the container is in a moving state on the suspension chain, and the scanner scans the graphic code in the moving state with the scanner with the success rate and accuracy of identification. It can be seen that a key problem is how to enable the chute controller to accurately identify the identity of a container conveyed in particular by a hanging chain.

In order to solve the above problems, the following solutions are provided in the prior art: each container is respectively provided with an electronic identification (radio frequency identification RFID and the like) chip which is used for carrying the identification of the container (consistent with the identification carried in the graphic code); and each slideway is provided with a card reader, so that when the container is conveyed to a slideway valve along with the main loop, the card reader can identify an electronic identification chip of the container and judge whether the container needs to slide into the road junction or not through a corresponding slideway controller, and if so, the slideway valve can be controlled to enable the container to slide into the road junction. However, since a specific container is suspended from the suspension chain of the main loop by the spreader, the length of the spreader cannot be set too short, for example, about 15CM, and the container may swing during motion, which makes the distance between the container and the suspension chain not less than 15 CM. However, the card reader at the gate of the chute is located near the chain of the suspension chain, and the distance from the container to be read is also relatively large. For card readers with chips such as RFID, the performance of a common low-frequency card reader is poor, and usually, only information of electronic identification chips within a distance of 5CM can be read, so that only a high-frequency card reader can be provided in the above-mentioned scenario. That is, each chute needs to be equipped with a high frequency card reader separately. However, the price of high frequency card readers is usually high, and the number of slideways in a large store is usually 30 to 50, or even more. Therefore, in the case of separately providing each slideway with a high-frequency card reader, 30 to 50 or even more card readers are required to be provided in the whole system, which will certainly increase the cost of the whole system.

In view of the above, an improved solution has been proposed in the prior art, in which the main loop of the suspension chain is usually formed by connecting a plurality of links end to end, each link having a length of about 25CM, each link carrying a spreader for suspending a container. That is, after a particular container is transferred to the main loop, it is suspended from one of the links, so that the containers are in one-to-one correspondence with the links. Therefore, as long as the binding relationship between the connecting rod identifier and the container identifier can be established in advance, for the chute controller, the corresponding container identifier can be determined only by identifying the identifier of the connecting rod, and then whether the chute valve needs to be opened or not and the container slides into the corresponding road junction is determined.

Therefore, in the improved scheme, an electronic identification (for example, RFID and the like) chip is added to each connecting rod on the main loop of the suspension chain, and a card reader can be respectively arranged at each slide valve, so that when the connecting rod is about to pass through each slide valve, a specific electronic identification can be read. Because the connecting rod on the main loop line cannot shake in the operation process and can be closer to the card reader of the slide valve, the slide valve only needs to be provided with a low-frequency card reader, and the cost can be reduced.

In addition, in order to establish a binding relationship between the connection rod identifier and the container identifier, as shown in fig. 2, a high-frequency card reader and a low-frequency card reader may be provided after the last on-line conversion port and before the first slide connection point (the front-back relationship is determined according to the movement direction of the main loop), so that when the connection rod, on which the container is specifically suspended, approaches, the high-frequency card reader may read the electronic identification of the container, the low-frequency card reader may read the electronic identification of the connection rod, and the read result may be established by the WCS or the like and provided to each slide controller. Therefore, each slide channel controller can know the binding relationship between the connecting rod identifier and the container identifier. Alternatively, since the container identifier has a corresponding relationship with the crossing, a binding relationship may be provided only to the chute controller of the corresponding crossing, and so on. In a word, the slideway controller can obtain the binding relationship between the container identifier and the slide bar identifier, and further, the slide bar identifier can be read by using the low-frequency card reader, so that the corresponding container identifier can be determined, and whether the container needs to slide into the corresponding slideway or not is determined.

Therefore, in the improved scheme, only one high-frequency card reader and N +1 low-frequency card readers are needed to be arranged, and the specific conveyed container in the suspension chain can be accurately slid into the target slideway. Wherein N is the total number of the slideways. Of course, compared with the scheme adopting N high-frequency card readers, the electronic identification chip corresponding to each connecting rod is also added, but because the price of the electronic identification chip is relatively low, the electronic identification chip can be even ignored compared with the high-frequency card readers, and therefore, the hardware cost of the system can be reduced.

Then, in the above-described modified solution, there is still a high-frequency card reader and it is necessary to equip each container with an electronic identification chip. In the scheme, an electronic identification chip is not required to be added to the container, binding between the container identifier and the connecting rod identifier on the main loop can be achieved only through a bar code or a two-dimensional code on the container, and then the chute controller still only needs to identify the connecting rod identifier, the corresponding container identifier can be determined according to the binding relation, and then the chute allocated for the container identifier is known from the server before, so that whether the corresponding container needs to be slid into the associated chute or not can be determined. Therefore, the whole system does not need to be provided with a high-frequency card reader, and meanwhile, the container does not need to be provided with an electronic identification chip, so that the cost can be reduced.

Specific implementations are described in detail below.