CN110342176A - Goods automatic distribution system and automatic distribution method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses an automatic goods distribution system and an automatic distribution method, wherein the goods automatic distribution system includes a distribution wall, a carrying unit and a track system, and the distribution wall has a plurality of loading units arranged in an array; the carrying unit It is used to carry and transport goods, and deliver goods to the storage unit; a loading position is set on the track system, and the delivery unit can move along the track system to any position of the storage unit s position. The automatic distributing system and method of the present invention set up a distributing wall with multiple loading units and a carrying unit that moves relative to the distributing wall, and allocate cargo units for task items, so that the carrying units will belong to The goods of a certain task item are delivered to the corresponding stocking unit. Through the above-mentioned process similar to seeding, the summary of the goods contained in each task item can be completed without manual participation, with high efficiency and low error rate.

Description

Goods automatic distribution system and automatic distribution method

technical field

The invention relates to the technical field of warehousing and logistics, in particular to an automatic goods distribution system and an automatic distribution method.

Background technique

At present, in the field of warehousing and logistics, many warehouses are equipped with sorting systems. The sorting system can efficiently sort out the goods involved in the task list such as orders and bills of materials, thereby reducing labor costs and shortening the delivery time of stored items. Improve storage and sorting efficiency. However, the sorting system can only complete a series of tasks during the period from the shelf to the completion of the sorting of the goods. The sorted goods are in a scattered state. In the future, the goods involved still need to be collected according to the task list before they can be packaged and sent out. Currently, according to the task list The work of summarizing the sorted goods still requires manual participation, which is slow in efficiency and has a high error rate.

Contents of the invention

Purpose of the invention: In order to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention provides an automatic goods distribution system and an automatic distribution method without manual intervention, high efficiency, and low error rate.

Technical solution: In order to achieve the above purpose, the automatic goods distribution system of the present invention includes:

A put wall with multiple stocking units arranged in an array;

a carrying unit, which is used to carry and transport goods, and can deliver the goods to the storage unit; and

The track system is provided with a loading position; the carrying unit can move along the track system to any position where the loading unit is located.

Further, the array on the distribution wall is provided with several storage positions, and all the storage units are dispersedly arranged at each storage position, and each storage position is equipped with at least one storage unit.

Further, the storage space is divided into multiple groups, and the track system includes:

the main track on which the loading position is located; and

The branch track, the multiple branch tracks respectively lead to each group of storage positions, and each branch track is connected with the main track.

Further, all the storage positions are arranged in a square array;

The main track includes a collection track and a scattered track arranged in parallel, and a transition track is arranged between the summary track and the scattered track;

All said branch tracks are arranged in parallel between the collective track and the divergent track.

Further, the carrying unit includes:

a walking base that is actively movable along said track system; and

The transmission component can carry goods in a static state, and deliver the carried goods to the storage unit in a running state.

Further, there are two distribution walls, the track system is arranged between the two distribution walls, and the carrying unit can move between the two distribution walls.

The method for automatically distributing goods is based on the above-mentioned automatic distributing system for goods, and is applied to a control unit, and the control unit communicates with all the carrying units; the method includes:

Controlling the empty carrying unit to the loading position to accept the goods;

Obtaining the category data of the goods, and judging the number of the stocking unit corresponding to the goods according to the category data;

Controlling the carrying unit to move to the corresponding numbered storage unit, and enabling the carrying unit to deliver the loaded goods to the storage unit.

Further, the method also includes:

Receive the list of unprocessed task items, assign unprocessed task items to the stocking units that are in the idle state, and update the state of the corresponding stocking units to the assigned state;

Move the task item of the assigned delivery unit to the list of processing task items;

Update the status of each task item in the processing task item list according to the distribution of goods of the carrying unit;

Judging whether there is a task item in the list of task items being processed has been completed, and if so, updating the status of the stocking unit to the status of broadcast completion.

Further, after updating the state of the placement unit to the state of completion of distribution, it also includes:

Judging whether the goods in the stocking unit in the distribution completion state have been taken away;

If yes, update the status of the corresponding storage unit to the idle status.

Further, the movement trajectory of each distribution operation performed by the carrying unit is a clockwise or counterclockwise circular trajectory.

Beneficial effects: the automatic distributing system and method of the present invention set the distributing wall with multiple loading units and the carrying unit that moves relative to the distributing wall, and distribute the cargo units for the task items, so that the carrying The unit delivers the goods belonging to a certain task item to the corresponding delivery unit. Through the above-mentioned process similar to seeding, the summary of the goods contained in each task item can be completed without manual participation, high efficiency and low error rate.

Description of drawings

Accompanying drawing 1 is the three-dimensional view of goods automatic distributing system;

Accompanying drawing 2 is the front view of goods automatic distributing system;

Accompanying drawing 3 is the side view of goods automatic distributing system;

Accompanying drawing 4 is the structure diagram of the first perspective of the carrying unit;

Accompanying drawing 5 is the structure diagram of the second perspective of the carrying unit;

Accompanying drawing 6 is the stereogram that comprises the goods automatic distribution system of two distribution walls;

Accompanying drawing 7 is the schematic flow chart of goods automatic distributing system.

The parts and components indicated by the reference signs in the accompanying drawings are as follows:

1-distribution wall; 11-cargo unit; 2-carrying unit; 21-walking seat body; 211-seat body body; 212-first telescopic seat; 213-horizontal travel wheel; 216-second push rod; 217-vertical travel wheel; 218-driven wheel; 219-first motor; 22-transmission assembly; 3-track system; 31-main track; 311-summary track ; 312-distributed track; 313-transition track; 32-branch track; 4-cargo holding unit; 5-transportation device.

Detailed ways

The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The automatic goods distribution system shown in accompanying drawings 1 and 2 includes a distribution wall 1 , a carrying unit 2 and a track system 3 . The carrying unit 2 is used to carry and transport goods, it can move along the rail system 3 to achieve movement relative to the distribution wall 1 , and deliver the goods to the corresponding storage unit 11 on the distribution wall 1 . When performing split broadcasting, the system assigns each stocking unit 11 to different task items, and each task item contains a variety of different goods, and the system judges which task item the goods belong to according to the type of goods and compares the contents of each task item, and then assigns The goods are delivered to the corresponding storage unit 11. The task item mentioned here can be a complete order, or a partial order split from a complete order, or it can also be in the form of a bill of materials within the enterprise.

Among them, the distribution wall 1 is erected as a whole, and there are a plurality of storage positions arranged in a square array on it. In this embodiment, all storage positions are arranged in a square array on the vertical plane, so that the distribution wall 1 is mainly arranged in the height direction. Extending upwards, the overall footprint is small; the form of the storage space can be a storage compartment and other forms.

Each storage position is equipped with at least one storage unit 11 .

If there is only one stocking unit 11 at a single stocking position, then the stocking unit 11 and the stocking position are in one-to-one correspondence, and the stocking units 11 are also arranged in a square array. The distribution wall 1 has only one layer of stocking units 11, and the total number of stocking units 11 is relatively small. Accompanying drawing 1 is the situation that there is only one storage unit 11 at a single storage position.

If there are multiple stocking units 11 at a single stocking position, then the total number of stocking units 11 on the distribution wall 1 increases significantly, and can simultaneously undertake the multi-broadcasting work of more task items. In one embodiment, The stocking units 11 at the same stocking position can be arranged in a straight line in the thickness direction of the distribution wall 1, so that all the stocking units 11 are arranged in a three-dimensional square array, and each stocking unit 11 can receive goods respectively. Under the above circumstances, a rotation device can be set at the storage position to manage the storage unit 11, so that the storage unit 11 that needs to accept the goods moves to the designated position of the storage position, so that the delivery unit 2 can deliver the goods to the specified position. Cargo unit 11. Or all the storage units 11 are fixedly arranged, and the carrying unit 2 includes a robot arm so that the goods can be delivered to different storage units 11 at the same storage position conveniently.

It should be noted that the stocking unit 11 involved in the present invention does not necessarily exist in a physical form, a specific area on a certain layer on the distribution wall 1 can be used as a stocking unit 11, and goods can be placed in a specific area The operation of delivering the goods to the specific storage unit 11 is completed within the system.

In addition, in order to facilitate subsequent unification of all the collected goods from the storage unit 11, the storage unit 11 can be provided with a cargo storage unit 4, which can be in the form of a cargo box, a tray, or the like.

In order to improve the distribution efficiency, multiple carrying units 2 can be set for the same distribution wall 1, and the multiple carrying units 2 can move independently relative to the distribution wall 1, and in order to enable the carrying units 2 to move in an orderly manner, the distribution The system also includes a track system 3, all carrying units 2 move along the track system 3, and the track system 3 is provided with a loading position, and the carrying unit 2 can move along the track system 3 to The stocking unit 11 to which the goods should be delivered and the goods are delivered to the stocking unit 11 , the carrying unit 2 can move from the loading position to any position of the stocking unit 11 .

Preferably, the storage space 11 is divided into multiple groups. In order to make the track system 3 reasonably adapt to the layout of the above-mentioned storage space 11, the track system 3 includes a main track 31 and a branch track 32. The above-mentioned loading position is set On the main track 31; the multi-way branch tracks 32 lead to the cargo positions of each group respectively, that is, each branch track 32 leads to different groups of stock positions, and each branch track 32 is connected to the main track 31 connected.

Specifically in this embodiment, all of the storage positions are arranged in a square array, and each column of storage positions is a group, wherein the main track 31 includes a collection track 311 and a scattered track 312 arranged in parallel, and the collection track 311 There is a transition track 313 between the diverging track 312; all the branch tracks 32 are arranged in parallel between the collecting track 311 and the diverging track 312, and the branch track 32 is arranged vertically to the collecting track 311. Through the above-mentioned layout of the track system 3, after the carrier unit 2 receives the goods on the main track 31, it is dispersed from the scattered track 312 to each branch track 32 to perform the operation of delivering the goods. After the operation of delivering the goods is completed, The carrying unit 2 returns to the collection track 311, and continues to return to the loading position to accept the goods for the next distribution operation; when there are many carrying units 2, the empty carrying units 2 can be arranged on the collection track 311 and wait for execution For goods, the carrying units 2 loaded with goods can be arranged on the diverging track 312 or on the transition track 313 and wait to enter different branch tracks 32 in turn. The movement trajectory of each carrier unit 2 each time it executes a distribution task is a one-way (such as clockwise or counterclockwise) circular movement trajectory, which can ensure the orderly operation of the system and the simplicity of scheduling the carrier unit 2 .

In order to prevent each carrier unit 2 from colliding with each other, detection sensors can be installed on each carrier unit 2 to detect each other. When a carrier unit 2 detects that there are other carrier units 2 in front of the moving direction, the control unit can control the carrier unit 2 to slow down or Stop exercising.

Preferably, each of the placement positions on the distribution wall 1 is open on both sides, and the carrying unit 2 moves on one side of the carrying unit 2, and workers or robots for picking up goods, etc. The equipment can remove all the goods of the completed task items from the put wall 1 from the other side of the put wall 1, and the layout is reasonable.

In addition, there can be two distribution walls 1, as shown in Figure 6, the track system 3 is arranged between the two distribution walls 1, and the carrying unit 2 can be placed between the two distribution walls. 11, so that a set of track system 3 and carrying unit 2 can carry out distribution operations on two distribution walls 1, which can save hardware costs and make the layout of the distribution system more compact.

Further, the carrying unit 2 includes a walking base 21 and a transmission assembly 22, wherein the walking base 21 can actively move along the track system 3; the transmission assembly 22 can carry goods in a static state, and can move The loaded goods are delivered to the storage unit 11. In this embodiment, the transmission component 22 is a conveyor belt or a transmission roller. When it is stationary, the goods can be placed on its upper side. When it reaches the corresponding storage position of the goods, the conveyor belt Or the conveying roller runs so that the goods fall out of its upper side and fall on the cargo unit 11 or fall into the cargo holding unit placed on the cargo unit 11 .

In one embodiment, as shown in accompanying drawing 3, the track system 3 includes two sets of vertically arranged track frames, and the carrying unit 2 moves between the two sets of track frames, as shown in accompanying drawings 4 and 5 The walking base 21 of the carrying unit 2 includes a base body 211, two sets of horizontal walking components are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the base body 211, and four sets of vertical walking components are symmetrically arranged at four corners of the base body 211. Each group of horizontal travel components includes a first telescopic seat 212, on which three horizontal travel wheels 213 are installed, and the three horizontal travel wheels 213 are connected by a synchronous belt for synchronous rotation movement, wherein one horizontal travel wheel 213 The rotation is directly driven by the first motor 219 ; the first telescoping seat 212 can be driven by the first push rod 214 to perform translational movement relative to the seat body 211 . Each group of vertical walking components includes a second telescopic seat 215, which can be driven by a second push rod 216 to move in translation relative to the seat body 211, and a vertical traveling wheel 217 and a vertical travel wheel 217 are installed on the second telescopic seat 215. The driven wheels 218 have parallel shafts, and the vertical traveling wheels 217 have their own power, which can be hub motors or driven by peripheral motors. The track frame body is provided with a horizontal running trough and a vertical running trough for the walking components to walk in, and the running trough is U-shaped. When the carrying unit 2 needs to move along the horizontal walking groove, the second telescopic seat 215 is in a retracted state, that is, the vertical traveling wheel 217 and the driven wheel 218 are separated from the walking groove, the first telescopic seat 212 is in an extended state, and the horizontal traveling wheel 213 Place it in the running trough, so that when the horizontal running wheel 213 rotates, the carrying unit 2 can move in the horizontal running trough. Since there are three horizontal running wheels 213, it will not affect the crossing of the horizontal running trough and the vertical running trough. The carrier unit 2 advances. When the carrying unit 2 needs to move along the vertical walking groove at the intersection of the horizontal walking groove and the vertical walking groove, the second telescopic seat 215 is in an extended state, that is, the vertical walking wheel 217 and the driven wheel 218 are placed in the vertical walking groove. In the groove, and the bottom of the vertical traveling wheel 217 is tight against the traveling groove, relying on friction so that the carrying unit 2 will not fall due to gravity, the first telescopic seat 212 is in a retracted state, and the horizontal traveling wheel 213 breaks away from the traveling groove, so that the vertical When straight travel wheel 217 rotates, carrying unit 2 can move in vertical travel groove motion, because there are two point contacts between the vertical travel wheel 217 of each group of vertical travel assembly and driven wheel 218 and vertical travel groove, so carry Unit 2 does not tilt when walking vertically. Since there are four sets of vertical running components arranged in two rows, each branch track 32 actually includes two vertical running grooves, and in order to make the layout compact, two adjacent branch rails 32 share one vertical running groove, namely Among the three vertical running grooves, the first two vertical running grooves form the first branch track 32 , and the rear two vertical running grooves form the second branch track 32 .

The present invention also provides a method for automatically distributing goods, which is based on the above-mentioned automatic distributing system for goods, and the method is applied to a control unit, the control unit is the execution subject, and the control unit and all the carrying units 2 communication connection. It should be noted that the control unit here is a general term. In one embodiment, the control unit may be a general control system, which uniformly schedules each carrier unit 2, and all actions performed by the carrier unit 2 are Controlled by the master control system; in another embodiment, the control unit can include a control center and several sub-control units, which is a general term for all control centers and sub-control units, and each carrier unit 2 is equipped with a sub-control unit , and each sub-control unit is connected to the control center by communication, the control center is only responsible for all the carrying units 2 to assign tasks, the sub-control unit of the carrying unit 2 itself is responsible for the movement of the carrying unit 2 itself (such as the movement of the walking base 21 motion, running or stopping of the walking seat body 21) to control.

As shown in Figure 7, the method for automatically distributing goods includes the following steps S401-S403:

Step S401, control the empty carrying unit 2 to the loading position to accept the goods;

In this step, the goods sorted by the sorting system are sequentially transported to the loading position by the transport device 5, and the goods can be completed by cooperating with the transport unit 22 of the transport unit 2 itself through the transport device 5. For example, the transport device 5 is a conveyor belt assembly , the conveying assembly 22 on the carrying unit 2 is also a conveyor belt assembly, and both of them can realize the transfer of goods from the conveying device 5 to the conveying assembly 22 through synchronous operation. Put it on the conveying component 22 of the carrier unit 2 .

Step S402, acquiring the category data of the goods, and judging the number of the stocking unit 11 corresponding to the goods according to the category data;

In this step, the category data of the goods can be obtained from information outside the receiving system, or the identifiable codes on the goods themselves or the goods pallet (if the goods are delivered on the goods pallet) can be scanned by setting up a code scanning device to obtain the goods’ information. Category data: According to the category data of the goods, the task item where the goods are located can be queried, and according to the mapping relationship between the task item and the stocking unit 11, the serial number of the stocking unit 11 to which the goods should be delivered can be known.

Step S403 , controlling the carrying unit 2 to move to the corresponding numbered stocking unit 11 , and making the carrying unit 2 deliver the loaded goods to the stocking unit 11 .

It can be understood that the flow charts and step numbers in the embodiments of the present invention are not used to limit the order of execution steps, and those skilled in the art can add steps, reduce steps, exchange the order between steps or use The specific step details of multiple steps are executed in a cross-mixed manner. For example, the execution order of the above two steps of step S401 and step S402 can be reversed, performed synchronously or interleaved, and these changes should be considered as falling within the protection scope of the present invention.

Furthermore, since the task items that need to be distributed are generally continuous, it is necessary to effectively manage the state of the stocking unit 11. The states of the stocking unit 11 can be divided into three types, namely: idle state, assigned state and In the state of broadcast completion, in the idle state, the control unit has not assigned it to any task item, and there is no goods at the stocking unit 11; in the assigned state, the control unit has assigned it to a task item and the task item The goods are not complete yet; when the split broadcasting is completed, the control unit has assigned it to a certain task item and the goods contained in the task item are complete, and the goods in the stocking unit 11 are waiting to be taken away by humans or robots. Based on this, the above method also includes the following steps S501-S504:

Step S501, receiving a list of unprocessed task items, assigning an idle stocking unit 11 to the unprocessed task item, and updating the state of the corresponding stocking unit 11 to the assigned state;

In this step, when there is no distributable stocking unit 11 in an idle state, the control unit waits for the stocking unit 11 to be released into an idle state before continuing to allocate, and unprocessed task items are queued up to wait for the control unit to allocate stock for it. Unit 11.

Step S502, moving the task item that has been allocated to the allocation unit 11 to the list of task items in process;

In this step, there is a one-to-one mapping between the task items in the processing task item list and the numbers of the stocking units 11 .

Step S503, updating the status of each task item in the processing task item list according to the distribution of goods of the carrying unit 2;

In this step, since each task item generally includes multiple goods, it is necessary to make statistics on the distributing status. Every time the distributing work of a goods is completed, the status of the task item corresponding to the stocking unit 11 needs to be updated once. , to confirm the situation of the goods that have been in place and the goods that have not been in place. The control unit makes separate statistics on the goods arrival situation of the task item corresponding to each stocking unit 11 .

In step S504, it is judged whether there is any task item in the list of task items being processed that has been processed, and if yes, the status of the ordering unit 11 is updated to the status of broadcast completion.

In this step, when a stocking unit 11 is in the state of split broadcasting completion, the control unit outputs a prompt signal to the staff or outputs a trigger signal to the robot in charge of placing the goods, and the staff receives the prompt signal to the corresponding stocking unit 11. The goods can be unloaded, or the robot can unload the goods on the corresponding storage unit 11 after receiving the trigger signal. After unloading, all the goods included in the same task item can be packaged and shipped in the subsequent processing flow.

In step S504, after updating the state of the stocking unit 11 to the state of completion of distribution, it also includes the following steps: judging whether the goods in the stocking unit 11 in the state of completion of distribution have been taken away; The status of the stocking unit 11 is updated to the idle status. At this time, the control unit can allocate the just-released stocking unit 11 to other task items, and continue the cargo collection work of other task items.

The automatic distributing system and method of the present invention set the distributing wall with multiple loading units and the carrying units that move relative to the distributing wall, and allocate the cargo units for the task items, so that the carrying units will belong to The goods of a certain task item are delivered to the corresponding stocking unit. Through the above-mentioned process similar to sowing, the summary of the goods contained in each task item can be completed without manual participation, with high efficiency and low error rate.

The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it should be pointed out that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the principle of the present invention, some improvements and modifications can also be made. It should be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. cargo divides the system of broadcasting automatically characterized by comprising

Divide and broadcast wall, there are the multiple of array setting to set manifest member thereon；

Carrier unit is used to carry and transport cargo, and can be delivered to cargo and described set manifest member；And

Rail system which is provided with position of getting in stocks；The carrier unit can be moved to along the rail system any described sets goods Position where unit.

2. dividing the system of broadcasting automatically by cargo described in claim 1, which is characterized in that described point broadcast array on wall be provided with it is several Set goods yard, it is all it is described set manifest member scattering device and respectively setting at goods yard, each set and be equipped at least one at goods yard and set goods Unit.

3. dividing the system of broadcasting automatically by cargo as claimed in claim 2, which is characterized in that the goods yard of setting is divided into multiple groups setting, institute Stating rail system includes:

Main orbit, the position of getting in stocks are disposed thereon；And

Branch's track, branch's track described in multichannel respectively leads to each group and sets goods yard, and each branch's track connects with the main orbit It is logical.

4. dividing the system of broadcasting automatically by cargo as claimed in claim 3, which is characterized in that all goods yards of setting are square array Setting；

The main orbit include it is disposed in parallel summarize track and dispersion track, summarize track and dispersion track between be equipped with transition Track；

All branch's parallel track settings are summarizing between track and dispersion track.

5. dividing the system of broadcasting automatically by cargo described in claim 1, which is characterized in that the carrier unit includes:

Walking pedestal can be moved actively along the rail system；And

Transfer assembly, under static state can bearing goods, the cargo of carrying can be delivered under operation described Set manifest member.

6. dividing the system of broadcasting automatically by cargo described in claim 1, which is characterized in that described point is broadcast there are two walls, the track System is set to two point and broadcasts between wall, and the carrier unit can divide to broadcast described in two to be moved between wall.

7. cargo divides broadcasting method automatically, divide the system of broadcasting automatically based on cargo as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, feature exists In applied to control unit, described control unit and all carrier units are communicated to connect；The described method includes:

It controls unloaded carrier unit to the position of getting in stocks and accepts cargo；

The category data for obtaining cargo, the number that manifest member is set corresponding to cargo is judged according to the category data；

Control that the carrier unit moves to reference numeral sets manifest member, and is delivered to the carrier unit by contained cargo It is described to set manifest member.

8. dividing broadcasting method automatically by cargo as claimed in claim 7, which is characterized in that the method also includes:

The list of untreated task items is received, sets manifest member in idle state for the distribution of untreated task items, and will The state for accordingly setting manifest member is updated to the state of having distributed；

The task items for setting manifest member will have been distributed and moved to task items list in processing；

Situation is broadcast according to the cargo of the carrier unit point, to the state of each task items in task items list in the processing It is updated；

Judge whether there is task items processing to complete in the processing in task items list, be, the state of manifest member is set described in update Completion status is broadcast for point.

9. dividing broadcasting method automatically by cargo according to any one of claims 8, which is characterized in that set the state of manifest member described in the update After point broadcasting completion status further include:

Judgement is in whether point cargo set in manifest member for broadcasting completion status is removed；

It is that the state for setting manifest member accordingly is updated to idle state.

10. dividing broadcasting method automatically by cargo as claimed in claim 7, which is characterized in that the carrier unit execution divides each time The motion profile for broadcasting operation is an annular trace clockwise or counterclockwise.