EP-4741316-A1 - LOGISTICS SYSTEM, LOGISTICS SYSTEM CONTROL METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

EP4741316A1EP 4741316 A1EP4741316 A1EP 4741316A1EP-4741316-A1

Abstract

This application provides a logistics system, a logistics system control method, and a storage medium. The logistics system provided in this application includes a warehousing apparatus, a picking apparatus, and a carrying apparatus. The warehousing apparatus includes a plurality of racks, there is an aisle between adjacent racks, each rack includes a warehousing layer and a temporary storage layer, the warehousing layer is configured to place a storage container, and the temporary storage layer is configured to place an order container. The picking apparatus includes a retrieving or placing mechanism and a picking mechanism, the retrieving or placing mechanism is configured to retrieve or place any one of the storage container and the order container, and the picking mechanism is configured to pick goods in the storage container at a bearing location into the order container. The rack has a first movement channel for movement of the carrying apparatus, and the carrying apparatus is configured to take out a post-picking order container from the temporary storage layer or place a vacant order container at the temporary storage layer, to improve space utilization and logistics efficiency, and avoid congestion during goods outbound.

Inventors

CHEN, KAI
LI, XIAOLONG
YE, Yihua
ZHANG, Feiyue

Assignees

Hai Robotics Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20240730

Claims (17)

A logistics system, comprising: a warehousing apparatus, a picking apparatus, and a carrying apparatus, wherein the warehousing apparatus comprises a plurality of racks disposed at intervals, there is an aisle between adjacent racks, each rack comprises a warehousing layer and a temporary storage layer, the warehousing layer is configured to place a storage container, and the temporary storage layer is configured to place an order container; wherein the picking apparatus is configured to move along the aisle, wherein the picking apparatus comprises a retrieving or placing mechanism and a picking mechanism, the retrieving or placing mechanism is configured to retrieve or place any one of the storage container and the order container, the retrieving or placing mechanism has at least two bearing locations, the at least two bearing locations are respectively configured to bear the storage container and the order container, and the picking mechanism is configured to pick goods in the storage container into the order container; and wherein the rack has a first movement channel for movement of the carrying apparatus, and the carrying apparatus is configured to take out a post-picking order container from the temporary storage layer or place a vacant order container at the temporary storage layer.
The logistics system according to claim 1, wherein the warehousing layer and the temporary storage layer are arranged in a height direction of the rack, the temporary storage layer is located at the bottom of the rack, and the first movement channel is located on a side of the temporary storage layer.
The logistics system according to claim 1, wherein the temporary storage layer has a first retrieving or placing opening and a second retrieving or placing opening, the first retrieving or placing opening faces the aisle, and the picking apparatus is configured to retrieve or place the order container from the first retrieving or placing opening; and the second retrieving or placing opening faces the first movement channel, and the carrying apparatus is configured to retrieve or place the order container from the second retrieving or placing opening.
The logistics system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the retrieving or placing mechanism comprises a first retrieving or placing mechanism and a second retrieving or placing mechanism, and the first retrieving or placing mechanism and the second retrieving or placing mechanism are disposed in parallel in an extension direction of the aisle; and the first retrieving or placing mechanism is configured to retrieve or place one of the storage container and the order container, and the second retrieving or placing mechanism is configured to retrieve or place the other of the storage container and the order container.
The logistics system according to claim 4, wherein the picking apparatus further comprises a movable base and an apparatus body, the apparatus body is vertically disposed at the movable base, and the first retrieving or placing mechanism, the second retrieving or placing mechanism, and the picking mechanism are all connected to the apparatus body and movably disposed in a height direction of the apparatus body; and the picking mechanism is located above the first retrieving or placing mechanism and the second retrieving or placing mechanism.
The logistics system according to claim 5, wherein the picking apparatus further comprises a detection mechanism, the detection mechanism is disposed in a height direction of the apparatus body in a lifting or lowing manner, and the detection mechanism is configured to identify information about goods in the storage container on the first retrieving or placing mechanism.
The logistics system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rack comprises a storage plate, a temporary storage plate, and a plurality of columns, the storage plate is connected to the columns to form the warehousing layer, and the temporary storage plate is connected to the columns to form the temporary storage layer; and one end of the temporary storage plate facing the first movement channel has an avoidance notch, the carrying apparatus comprises a lifting mechanism, and at least part of the lifting mechanism is capable of passing through the avoidance notch from an area below the temporary storage plate and lifting the order container.
The logistics system according to claim 7, wherein the first movement channel is located below the storage plate; and a height of the first movement channel is greater than or equal to a height of the carrying apparatus when being loaded with the order container.
The logistics system according to claim 7, wherein the rack has a second movement channel, and the second movement channel is located below the temporary storage plate; and a height of the second movement channel is greater than or equal to a height of the carrying apparatus in a no-load state.
The logistics system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the temporary storage layer has a plurality of temporary storage locations in a length direction of the rack, there is a third movement channel between at least some adjacent temporary storage locations, and the third movement channel communicates the first movement channel with the aisle.
The logistics system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a packing apparatus, wherein the packing apparatus is located at a periphery of the warehousing apparatus, and the packing apparatus is configured to pack the goods; and the carrying apparatus is configured to transport the order container between the temporary storage layer and the packing apparatus.
The logistics system according to claim 11, wherein the packing apparatus comprises a packing platform and a buffer mechanism, and the packing platform is opposite to the buffer mechanism; and the carrying apparatus is capable of being docked with the buffer mechanism, wherein the carrying apparatus is capable of taking out the vacant order container from the buffer mechanism, or the carrying apparatus is capable of placing the order container loaded with the picked goods into the buffer mechanism.
A logistics system control method, wherein the method comprises: determining, by a picking apparatus of a logistics system, a target storage location on a rack based on order information, wherein the target storage location comprises a target warehousing layer storage location at which a storage container for storing target goods is located, and a target temporary storage layer storage location at which a vacant order container is located; retrieving, by a retrieving or placing mechanism of the picking apparatus, the storage container from the target warehousing layer storage location and the order container from the target temporary storage layer storage location, and placing the storage container and the order container to two bearing locations respectively; picking, by a picking mechanism of the picking apparatus, the target goods in the storage container into the order container; placing, by the retrieving or placing mechanism of the picking apparatus, the order container loaded with the target goods at a temporary storage layer; and taking out, by a carrying apparatus of the logistics system, the order container loaded with the target goods from the temporary storage layer, and moving out of the rack through a first movement channel.
The logistics system control method according to claim 13, wherein the picking, by the picking mechanism of the picking apparatus, the target goods in the storage container into the order container specifically comprises: acquiring, by a detection mechanism of the picking apparatus, information about goods in the storage container; and determining, by the picking mechanism of the picking apparatus, a position of the target goods in the storage container based on the information about goods, taking out the target goods from the storage container and placing the target goods into the order container.
The logistics system control method according to claim 14, wherein before the taking out, by the picking mechanism of the picking apparatus, the target goods from the storage container, the method further comprises: determining, by the detection mechanism, whether the target goods are pickable by the picking mechanism; and taking out, by the picking mechanism, all goods in the storage container from the storage container and placing the all goods into the order container if the target goods are not pickable.
The logistics system control method according to claim 13, wherein after the taking out, by a carrying apparatus of the logistics system, the order container loaded with the target goods from the temporary storage layer, the method further comprises: transferring, by the carrying apparatus, the order container loaded with the target goods to a packing apparatus, to cause the packing apparatus to take out the target goods from the order container; and transporting, by the carrying apparatus, the vacant order container to the temporary storage layer of the rack.
A storage medium, wherein the storage medium stores computer executable instructions, and the computer executable instructions, when executed, are used for performing the logistics system control method according to any one of claims 13 to 16.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202311060284.9, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on August 21, 2023 and entitled "LOGISTICS SYSTEM, LOGISTICS SYSTEM CONTROL METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM", which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD This application relates to the field of warehousing logistics technologies, and in particular, to a logistics system, a logistics system control method, and a storage medium. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Storage manners of a three-dimensional warehouse are widely applied to the field of warehousing logistics because of a large storage capacity of the three-dimensional warehouse. In addition, with the development of artificial intelligence and automation technologies, the degree of automation of a logistics system is increasingly high. The three-dimensional warehouse can be docked with an external device through an automation apparatus, to automatically retrieve or place goods. In related technologies, the three-dimensional warehouse usually consists of a plurality of racks, and a robot configured to retrieve or place goods can move between the racks. During goods outbound, the robot usually retrieves a material container loaded with the goods from a corresponding storage location, and transports the material container along a preset track path to a sorting workbench for sorting, and the sorted goods are packed for outbound. However, a current robot for retrieving or placing goods occupies large space when moving. As a result, space utilization in logistics warehouses is low, and congestion is prone to occur during operation. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This application provides a logistics system, a logistics system control method, and a storage medium, to resolve the technical problem that a current robot for retrieving or placing goods occupies large space when moving. As a result, space utilization in logistics warehouses is low, and congestion is prone to occur during operation. According to a first aspect, this application provides a logistics system. The logistics system includes a warehousing apparatus, a picking apparatus, and a carrying apparatus. The warehousing apparatus includes a plurality of racks disposed at intervals, there is an aisle between adjacent racks, each rack includes at least one warehousing layer and at least one temporary storage layer, the warehousing layer is configured to place a storage container, and the temporary storage layer is configured to place an order container. The picking apparatus is configured to move along the aisle, the picking apparatus includes a retrieving or placing mechanism and a picking mechanism, the retrieving or placing mechanism is configured to retrieve or place any one of the storage container and the order container, the retrieving or placing mechanism has at least two bearing locations, the at least two bearing locations are respectively configured to bear the storage container and the order container, and the picking mechanism is configured to pick goods in the storage container on the bearing location into the order container. The rack has a first movement channel for movement of the carrying apparatus, and the carrying apparatus is configured to take out a post-picking order container from the temporary storage layer or place a vacant order container at the temporary storage layer. The logistics system provided in this embodiment of this application performs a retrieving or placing operation with the picking apparatus by setting the picking apparatus and the carrying apparatus to cooperate, and completes a goods picking operation on the picking apparatus upon goods are shipped, thereby improving the outbound efficiency. In addition, the carrying apparatus is used to transport a post-picking order container. In this way, a large picking mechanism does not need to drive out of the aisle, thereby reducing area occupation of space outside the rack, improving space utilization, and avoiding apparatus congestion. In some embodiments, the warehousing layer and the temporary storage layer are arranged in a height direction of the rack, the temporary storage layer is located at the bottom of the rack, and the first movement channel is located on a side of the temporary storage layer. In this way, space under the rack can be fully utilized, so that the carrying apparatus does not need to occupy aisle space when moving, thereby improving convenience of an order container entering and exiting from a warehouse. In some embodiments, the temporary storage layer has a first retrieving or placing opening and a second retrieving or placing opening, the first retrieving or placing opening may face the aisle, and the picking apparatus is configured to retrieve or place the order container from the first retrieving or placing opening; and the second retrieving or placing opening may face the first movement channel, and the ca