WO2024007716A1 - Warehousing system and robot dispatching method - Google Patents

Abstract

A warehousing system and a robot dispatching method. The warehousing system comprises a traveling region (9), at least two robots and a controller. The traveling region is segmented into several cells (6). The at least two robots are configured to travel along the traveling region, and each robot occupies one cell. The controller is configured to control, when a preset condition is met, carrying mechanisms (2) of two robots located in two adjacent cells to be disposed in a vertically staggered manner, wherein the carrying mechanisms are constructed for the placement of goods. When the preset condition is met, the system controls the carrying mechanisms of two robots located in two adjacent grid units to be disposed in a vertically staggered manner, so as to compensate for positional interference caused by the carrying mechanisms of the two adjacent robots executing corresponding actions at the same height position, such that the area of a cell occupied by each robot can be rationally reduced, and more robots can thus be arranged in a traveling region with the same area, thereby improving the space utilization rate of the traveling region.

Description

Warehousing system and robot scheduling method

This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on July 8, 2022, with the application number 202210801089.6 and the invention title "Warehouse System and Robot Scheduling Method", the entire content of which is incorporated into this application by reference.

Technical field

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of warehousing and logistics, and in particular to a warehousing system and a robot scheduling method.

Background technique

With the rapid development of science and technology, the level of automation in the logistics field has made rapid progress. The work of sorting and moving goods that was originally done manually should be replaced by corresponding robots.

Robots that perform the same or different tasks are driving in the storage area. Sometimes these robots form a queue and travel sequentially. In order to make full use of the horizontal space in the storage area, it is usually desirable to arrange the robots closely.

Under normal circumstances, the traveling area of the robot is divided into several cells of the same size. One robot occupies exactly one cell. When setting the cell size, the overall size of the robot and the space it occupies when turning are considered. , in order to reserve enough space between two adjacent robots to avoid position interference during travel.

With the continuous improvement of the level of logistics intelligence, more and more tasks that were previously done by humans are replaced by robots. This is followed by an increase in the number of robots in the traveling area. How to arrange these robots reasonably to meet their needs? On the basis of basic functional requirements, it is also a technical problem that those skilled in the art need to solve urgently to increase the number of robots that can pass in the traveling area.

Contents of the invention

In order to solve the technical problems existing in the prior art, the present disclosure provides a warehousing system and a robot scheduling method.

In a first aspect, the warehousing system of the present disclosure includes:

The marching area is divided into several cells;

At least two robots configured to travel along the travel area, with each robot occupying one of the cells;

The controller is configured to, when a preset condition is met, control the vertical staggered arrangement of the loading mechanisms of the two robots located in two adjacent cells, wherein the loading mechanisms are configured to place goods. .

In one embodiment, when the robot turns in the traveling area and the overall structure of the robot does not need to rotate relative to the traveling area, the controller controls the two vertically staggered loading mechanisms to overlap in the projected part of the traveling area. .

In one embodiment, the robot includes:

running gear configured to travel in the travel zone;

A load carrying mechanism configured to carry cargo;

A lifting mechanism configured to connect the load-carrying mechanism and the running mechanism, and drive the load-carrying mechanism to rise or fall relative to the running mechanism;

The controller is configured to control the lifting mechanism so that the loading mechanism of the corresponding robot reaches a preset height position, and then based on the height scheduling of the loading mechanism of the robot, at least two cells located in two adjacent columns are The load-carrying mechanisms of a group of robot queues are vertically staggered, and the load-carrying mechanisms of two adjacent units in the same group of robot queues are vertically staggered or located at the same height. Each group of robot queues includes at least two robot.

In one embodiment, the robot includes:

The walking mechanism is configured to travel in the traveling area and rotate to drive the robot to turn;

A load carrying mechanism configured to carry cargo;

A lifting mechanism configured to connect the load-carrying mechanism and the running mechanism, and drive the load-carrying mechanism to rise or fall relative to the running mechanism;

The projections of the first rotation trajectory circles of the loading mechanisms of the two robots located in two adjacent cells on the traveling area partially overlap, and the first rotation trajectory circle of the loading mechanism of one robot overlaps with that of the other robot. The projections of the second rotation trajectory circle of the lifting mechanism on the traveling area do not coincide with each other.

In one embodiment, the first rotation trajectory circle of the loading mechanism of one robot located in two adjacent cells is tangent to the second rotation trajectory circle of the lifting mechanism of the other robot.

In one embodiment, when the robot needs to turn, the controller is configured to control the load carrying mechanism of one robot located in two adjacent cells to rise or fall a preset distance relative to the load carrying mechanism of the other robot, so that the time The two load-carrying mechanisms are arranged vertically at staggered levels.

In one embodiment, the warehouse includes at least two groups of robot queues, and the controller is configured to control the vertical staggered arrangement of the loading mechanisms of the robots in the two groups of robot queues located in two adjacent columns of cells, and in the same group of robot queues The robot's load-carrying mechanism is at the same height;

The robot queue refers to a group of robots that line up in sequence and travel in the same direction along the same straight path.

In one embodiment, when a turn is required, the controller is configured to control the loading mechanisms of two robots located in two adjacent cells of the same group of robots to be arranged vertically at staggered levels, and to follow the same straight path after turning. A new robot queue is composed of a team of robots traveling in the same direction, and then the load-carrying mechanisms of the two groups of robot queues located in two adjacent columns of cells are set up in staggered layers, and the load-carrying mechanisms of the robots in the new same group of robot queues are controlled. The institutions are located at the same height.

In the second aspect, the robot scheduling method of the present disclosure is suitable for the warehousing system as described in any one of the above. The robot scheduling method includes the following steps:

When the preset conditions are met, the loading mechanisms of the two robots located in two adjacent cells are controlled to be vertically staggered.

In one embodiment, the step "when preset conditions are met, control the vertical staggered setting of the loading mechanisms of two robots located in two adjacent cells" includes:

When the robot turns in the traveling area, and the overall structure of the robot does not need to rotate relative to the traveling area, the two load-carrying mechanisms that control the vertical staggering partially overlap in the projection of the traveling area.

In one embodiment, the step "when preset conditions are met, control the vertical staggered setting of the loading mechanisms of two robots located in two adjacent cells" includes:

When the robot turns in the traveling area, the overall structure of the robot itself needs to rotate relative to the traveling area;

When the robot needs to turn, the load-carrying mechanism of one robot located in two adjacent cells is controlled to rise or fall a preset distance relative to the load-carrying mechanism of the other robot, so that the two load-carrying mechanisms are vertically staggered. .

In one embodiment, the step "when preset conditions are met, control the vertical staggered setting of the loading mechanisms of two robots located in two adjacent cells" includes:

When the warehousing system includes at least two groups of robot queues, and when the robots turn in the traveling area, the overall structure of the robot itself needs to rotate relative to the traveling area;

The load-carrying mechanisms of the robots in two groups of robot queues located in two adjacent columns of cells are controlled to be vertically staggered, and the load-carrying mechanisms of the robots in the same group of robot queues are located at the same height;

When it is necessary to turn, the load-carrying mechanisms of the two robots located in two adjacent cells that control the same group of robots are arranged vertically at staggered levels. After the turn, a new team of robots traveling in the same direction along the same straight path becomes a new group of robots. The robot queue then controls the staggered placement of the load-carrying mechanisms of the two new robot queues located in two adjacent columns of cells, and makes the load-carrying mechanisms of the new robots in the same group of robot queues located at the same height;

Wherein, the robot queue refers to a group of robots that line up in sequence and travel in the same direction along the same straight path.

One of the beneficial effects of the warehousing system of the present disclosure is that when the preset conditions are met, the warehousing system of the present disclosure controls the vertical staggered setting of the loading mechanisms of the two robots located in two adjacent cells to compensate for the vertical staggering of the loading mechanisms of the two adjacent cells. The positional interference caused by the robot's load-carrying mechanism performing corresponding actions at the same height position can reasonably reduce the area of cells occupied by each robot, and more numbers can be arranged in the same area of travel area. Robots improve space utilization in the traveling area.

It should be noted that the robot scheduling method of the present disclosure is executed by the controller of the above-mentioned warehousing system, has the same technical features as the warehousing system, and therefore also has the same technical effects, and will not be described again here.

Description of the drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a robot of the present disclosure in one embodiment;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of two adjacent robots in Figure 1 before staggered level installation;

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of two adjacent robots in Figure 1 after staggered level arrangement;

Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of the storage system when the crane rail robot is working after staggered level arrangement;

Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a robot of the present disclosure in one embodiment;

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of two adjacent robots in Figure 5 after staggered level arrangement;

Figures 7 and 8 are respectively the front and top structural schematic diagrams of the two adjacent robots in Figure 5 arranged in a traditional way;

Figures 9 and 10 are respectively a front view and a top view structural schematic diagram of two adjacent robots in Figure 5 arranged according to the present disclosure;

Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the cells in the traveling area when multiple robots are scheduled;

Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the staggered arrangement of multiple groups of robot queues in the traveling area shown in Figure 11 before turning;

Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of the staggered arrangement of multiple groups of robot queues in the traveling area shown in Figure 11 after turning.

The one-to-one correspondence between the names and reference signs of each component in Figures 1 to 13 is as follows:
1. Traveling mechanism, 2. Loading mechanism, 3. Support mechanism, 4. Cargo, 5. Lifting mechanism, 6. Cells, 7. First rotation trajectory circle, 8. Second rotation trajectory circle, 9. Travel area.

Detailed ways

Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the relative arrangement of components and steps, numerical expressions, and numerical values set forth in these examples do not limit the scope of the disclosure unless otherwise specifically stated.

The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure, its application or uses.

Techniques, methods and equipment known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, the techniques, methods and equipment described are Techniques, methods and equipment should be considered part of the instructions.

In all examples shown and discussed herein, any specific values are to be construed as illustrative only and not as limiting. Accordingly, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values.

It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters refer to similar items in the following figures, so that once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need further discussion in subsequent figures.

As mentioned in the background art, in the field of warehousing and logistics, the traveling area of the robot is usually divided into several cells of the same size. One robot occupies exactly one cell. When setting the cell size, the overall size of the robot must be considered. And the space it occupies when turning, so as to reserve enough space between two adjacent robots to avoid positional interference during travel. With the continuous improvement of the level of logistics intelligence, more and more tasks that were previously done by humans are replaced by robots. With this, the number of robots in the traveling area increases. How to arrange these robots reasonably to meet their needs? On the basis of basic functional requirements, it is also a technical problem that those skilled in the art need to solve urgently to increase the number of robots that can pass in the traveling area.

It should be noted that, generally, the shape of the cell is rectangular or square. Of course, based on the specific layout of the traveling area and the specific mechanism and working principle of the robot, the cell can also be in other shapes such as ellipse or circle. This paper Those skilled in the art can select the best-shaped cells based on actual scenarios, which is no longer limited here.

To this end, the present disclosure provides a warehousing system including a traveling area, at least two robots, and a controller. Among them, the traveling area is divided into several cells, and at least two robots are configured to travel along the traveling area, and each robot occupies one cell; the controller is configured to control two adjacent cells when the preset conditions are met. The load-carrying mechanisms of the two robots of each unit are vertically staggered, wherein the load-carrying mechanisms are configured to place goods.

Obviously, the warehousing system of the present disclosure controls the vertical staggered arrangement of the load-carrying mechanisms of two robots located in two adjacent cells when the preset conditions are met to compensate for the execution of the load-carrying mechanisms of the two adjacent robots at the same height position. The corresponding actions will cause positional interference, which can reasonably reduce the area of cells occupied by each robot, and then more robots can be arranged in the same area of the traveling area, improving the space utilization of the traveling area.

In order to facilitate better understanding, the specific structure and working principle of the warehousing system of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 13 in conjunction with several embodiments.

Embodiment 1

When the robot turns in the traveling area, the robot itself does not need to rotate relative to the traveling area.

It should be noted that the marching area refers to the area divided on the working surface of the warehouse for the robot to walk. Normally, the marching area is divided into several crisscrossing cells, and the robot's outer dimensions can be accommodated in one unit. In a cell, that is to say, the robot occupies a cell and the robot moves along these cells in the traveling area to form an array.

Referring to Figure 1, the robot includes a walking mechanism 1, a carrying mechanism 2 and a supporting mechanism 3; among them, the walking mechanism 1 is configured to travel in the traveling area of the traveling area, and it can be a four-way vehicle, that is, the mobile platform includes a vehicle body and two A set of wheel mechanisms, one set of wheel mechanisms drives the vehicle body to travel in the first direction, and the other set of wheel mechanisms drives the vehicle body to travel in the second direction. The running mechanism also includes a switching mechanism. The switching mechanism is configured to select one of the wheel mechanisms to drive the vehicle body to move in order to switch the direction of the vehicle body. During the switching process, the vehicle body, the load-carrying mechanism and the support mechanism No relative motion occurs with respect to the travel zone. The loading mechanism 2 is configured to carry cargo 4, which may be a pallet or the like.

For this kind of robot, the positional relationship between the loading mechanism 2 platforms of the two robots located in two adjacent cells before and after the staggered setting is shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3. Obviously, after the staggered setting, the platforms are located in the two adjacent units. The projections of the load-carrying mechanisms of the two robots on the moving area partially overlap, and the area occupied by the moving area occupied by the two adjacent robots becomes smaller. The smaller area is compensated by the staggered height size, which can be reduced accordingly. The area of the cells in the traveling area is increased, so that a larger number of robots can be arranged in the traveling area of the same area, and the utilization rate of the traveling area is greatly improved.

It can be understood that the traveling area where the traveling area is located can be the floor of the warehouse, a platform or a track built above the ground independently of the ground.

Based on different types of traveling areas, the robot can be a hanging rail robot. See Figure 4. The hanging rail robot travels above the construction floor or suspended on the track on the top of the warehouse. The traveling mechanism of the hanging rail robot is located along the track and carries its load. The cargo mechanism is suspended below the running mechanism by a suspension rope assembly, and the cargo of the cargo carrying mechanism is vertically staggered and partially overlapped in the projection on the traveling area.

It should be noted that based on the number and arrangement of robot queues, the steering function does not need to be rotated by the load-carrying mechanism. For robots, two groups of robot queues located in two adjacent columns of cells are set up in vertical staggered levels. The controller controls that the load-carrying mechanisms of the robots in one group of robot queues are higher or lower than those of the robots in the adjacent group of robot queues. The load-carrying mechanisms of two robots located in two adjacent cells in the same robot queue can be set up at vertical staggered levels or kept at the same height.

However, there are two ways to achieve vertical staggering of the load-carrying mechanisms of two robots located in two adjacent cells:

First, select two different types of robots in the traveling area. The load-carrying mechanisms of the two robots are located at different heights. When lining up to form a robot queue, the controller arranges and combines the two robot queues to form at least two adjacent rows. The robots in the two groups of robot queues in the cell can be vertically staggered.

Second, the structure of the robot traveling in the traveling area is shown in Figure 5. In addition to the walking mechanism 1 and the load-carrying mechanism 2, the robot also includes a lifting mechanism 5. The lifting mechanism 5 connects the walking mechanism 1 and the load-carrying mechanism 2 and is configured In order to drive the load carrying mechanism 2 to rise and fall relative to the traveling mechanism 1 a preset distance.

The lifting mechanism 5 can be a piston rod of a cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder. The cylinder is fixed on the traveling mechanism, and the load-carrying mechanism is fixed on the free end of the piston rod. As the hydraulic oil or gas enters and exits the respective cylinder, the piston rod drives the The loading mechanism lifts and lowers to lift the container.

The lifting mechanism can also be a telescopic linkage mechanism carried by a hinged combination of several rods.

Of course, the lifting mechanism can also include a bracket, a motor and a power transmission mechanism. The function of the power transmission mechanism is to convert the rotation of the motor into a linear motion transmission mechanism, such as a rack and pinion transmission mechanism, a belt transmission mechanism, a chain transmission mechanism, etc.

In detail, when the lifting mechanism adopts a rack and pinion transmission mechanism, the rack extends in the vertical direction and is fixedly connected to the bracket, and the gear meshing with the rack is rotatably arranged on the load-carrying mechanism.

After the motor is started, its driving gear drives the load carrying mechanism to rise and fall along the extending direction of the rack.

When the lifting mechanism adopts a belt transmission mechanism, its two transmission wheels are vertically spaced and rotatably arranged on the bracket, the transmission belt is tensioned on the two transmission wheels, and the load-carrying mechanism is fixed on the transmission belt.

After the motor is started, it drives one of the transmission wheels to rotate, and then the transmission belt drives the loading mechanism to rise and fall.

When the lifting mechanism adopts a chain transmission mechanism, its two sprockets are vertically spaced and rotatably arranged on the bracket, the chain is tensioned on the two sprockets, and the load-carrying mechanism is fixed on the chain.

After the motor is started, it drives one of the sprockets to rotate, and then the chain drives the load-carrying mechanism to rise and fall.

Referring to Figure 6, based on the number and arrangement of the robot queue, the controller first controls the lifting mechanism to make the load-carrying mechanism of the corresponding robot reach the preset height position, and then based on the height scheduling of the load-carrying mechanism of these robots, at least make it at the corresponding height position. The load-carrying mechanisms of the two robot queues adjacent to two columns of cells are set up at staggered levels vertically. Of course, the controller can also make the load-carrying mechanisms of two robots located in two adjacent cells in the same group of robot queues vertically staggered. The specific arrangement will be predetermined by those skilled in the art based on factors such as the area of the traveling area, the number of robots, etc. Just set it up.

In one embodiment, for robots such as four-way vehicles that do not need to turn themselves, see Figures 11 and 12. When the warehousing system includes at least two groups of robot queues, the controller controls two robots located in two adjacent columns of cells. The load-carrying mechanisms of robots in a group of robot queues are arranged vertically at staggered levels, and the load-carrying mechanisms of robots in the same group of robot queues are located at the same height. It should be noted that the "robot queue" mentioned in this article refers to a group of robots that queue up in sequence and travel in the same direction along the same straight path, or just two robots that are paused on two adjacent cells. , the driving directions of the two robots can be the same or different.

Referring to Figure 13, the controller controls the loading mechanisms of two robots located in two adjacent cells of the same robot queue to be arranged vertically at staggered levels. After turning, a new team of robots traveling in the same direction along the same straight path forms a new robot queue. The controller then controls the robot loading mechanism in the new robot queue to be at the same height.

In this way, when the cell area is reduced, the scheduling problem of multiple robots in staggered settings can be cleverly solved.

Embodiment 2

When the robot turns in the traveling area, the overall structure of the robot itself needs to rotate relative to the traveling area.

Similarly, continuing to refer to Figure 5, the robot includes a walking mechanism 1, a load-carrying mechanism 2 and a lifting mechanism 5. The lifting mechanism 5 connects the walking mechanism 1 and the load-carrying mechanism 2, and is configured to drive the load-carrying mechanism 2 to rise relative to the walking mechanism 1. or descending, the traveling mechanism 1 is configured to travel along the traveling area of the traveling area, travel along the target path from the current position to the target position based on the instructions issued by the controller, and execute picking up and placing goods from the bin. items, or tasks such as picking and placing boxes of materials from shelves.

The running mechanism is similar to a car. When turning, the entire structure rotates at an angle relative to the traveling area, such as rotating at a right angle to achieve vertical steering.

Referring to Figures 7 and 8, the dotted line in Figure 7 represents the first rotation trajectory circle 7 of the loading mechanism 2 when the robot turns. Normally, the first rotation trajectory circle 7 of the loading mechanism 2 is larger than the first rotation trajectory circle 7 of the lifting mechanism and the walking mechanism. Two rotating trajectory circles.

In order to ensure the normal steering of two robots located in two adjacent cells, the minimum traveling area product of the cell occupied by each robot is the circumscribed quadrilateral of the rotation trajectory circle. If there are several robots in the robot queue, the robot queue uses horizontal The space is relatively large, and the number of robots arranged per unit area is limited.

To this end, referring to Figures 9 and 10, in the warehousing system of the present disclosure, the projections of the first rotation trajectory circles 7 of the loading mechanisms 2 of the two robots located in two adjacent cells on the traveling area partially overlap, as long as one It is sufficient that the projections of the first rotation trajectory circle 7 of the robot's loading mechanism 2 and the second rotation trajectory circle of the lifting mechanism 5 and walking mechanism of another robot on the traveling area do not overlap or interfere with each other.

Obviously, compared with the traditional cells shown in Figures 7 and 8, the area of the cells 6 in the traveling area of the warehousing system of the present disclosure has been significantly reduced, so that more cells can be divided into the traveling area of the same area. With more cells 6, more robots can be arranged, which can improve the space utilization of the traveling area.

When the robot needs to turn, the controller controls the load-carrying mechanism of one of the two robots located in two adjacent cells to rise or fall a preset distance relative to the load-carrying mechanism of the other robot, so that the two load-carrying mechanisms Vertically split-level setting. In this way, when two robots located in two adjacent cells turn, their respective loading mechanisms are at different heights, thus avoiding positional interference.

For example, taking a QR code navigation robot as an example, assume that the diameter of the first rotation trajectory circle of the robot's loading mechanism is approximately 800mm; and the diameter of the second rotation trajectory circle of the robot's lifting mechanism is approximately 600mm.

If the traditional deployment plan is followed, each robot needs to occupy a cell with an area of 800mm*800mm.

In the warehousing system of the present disclosure, the projections of the first rotation trajectory circles of the loading mechanisms of the two robots located in two adjacent cells on the traveling area partially overlap, and the first rotation trajectory circle of the loading mechanism of one robot overlaps. The projection of the second rotation trajectory circle of the lifting mechanism and walking mechanism of another robot on the traveling area does not overlap. Each robot needs to occupy a cell with an area of 700mm*700mm.

Continuing to refer to Figure 10, the first rotation trajectory circle 7 of the load carrying mechanism 2 of one of the two robots located in two adjacent cells is the same as the second rotation of the lifting mechanism 5 of the other robot or the larger of the lifting mechanisms. The trajectory circles are tangent.

In this way, the gap between the two robots located in two adjacent cells when they turn can be more fully utilized, so that the robots can be arranged more closely on the basis of realizing the turning function, thereby further reducing the The cell area that each robot needs to occupy.

For robots that need to turn themselves, see Figure 11 and Figure 12. When the warehousing system includes at least two groups of robot queues, the controller controls the vertical staggering of the loading mechanisms of the robots in the two groups of robot queues located in two adjacent columns of cells. Layer setting, and the loading mechanisms of the robots in the same robot queue are at the same height. It should be noted that the "robot queue" mentioned in this article refers to a group of robots that queue up in sequence and travel in the same direction along the same straight path, or just two robots that are paused on two adjacent cells. , the driving directions of the two robots can be the same or different.

When turning is required, see Figure 13. The controller controls the loading mechanisms of the two robots located in two adjacent cells of the same group of robots to be arranged vertically at staggered levels. After turning, the robots traveling in the same direction along the same straight path A new robot queue is formed by a team of robots, and the controller then controls the robot loading mechanism in the new robot queue to be located at the same height.

In this way, when the cell area is reduced, the scheduling problem of multiple robots in staggered settings can be cleverly solved.

In addition to the above warehousing system, the present disclosure also provides a robot scheduling method suitable for the above warehousing system, which method is executed by a controller of the warehousing system.

It should be noted that the specific structure and working principle of the warehousing system have been described in detail in the previous article. In order to keep the text concise, only the specific steps of the robot operating method of the present disclosure will be described in detail below, and the specific structure of the warehousing system will not be described again. .

The robot scheduling method of the present disclosure includes the following steps: when preset conditions are met, controlling the vertical staggered arrangement of the load-carrying mechanisms of two robots located in two adjacent cells.

Among them, meeting the preset conditions is mainly distinguished from whether the robot's steering requires the overall structure to rotate relative to the traveling area where the traveling area is located.

Embodiment 1

When the robot turns in the traveling area and the overall structure of the robot does not need to rotate relative to the traveling area, the controller controls the two vertically staggered loading mechanisms to overlap in the projection part of the traveling area. The structure of the robot in this case has been described previously and will not be described again here.

It should be noted that based on the number and arrangement of robot queues, for this kind of robot that does not need to rotate the load mechanism to achieve the steering function, the two groups of robot queues located in two adjacent columns of cells are set up in vertical staggered layers, and the control The controller controls the load-carrying mechanisms of the robots in a group of robot queues to be higher or lower than the load-carrying mechanisms of the robots in the adjacent group of robot queues, while the load-carrying mechanisms of the two robots in two adjacent cells in the same group of robot queues The mechanism can be set up vertically at staggered levels or kept at the same height.

However, there are two ways to achieve vertical staggering of the load-carrying mechanisms of two robots located in two adjacent cells:

First, select two different types of robots in the traveling area. The load-carrying mechanisms of the two robots are located at different heights. When lining up to form a robot queue, the controller arranges and combines the two robot queues to form at least two adjacent rows. The robots in the two groups of robot queues in the cell can be vertically staggered.

Second, based on the number and arrangement of the robot queue, the controller first controls the lifting mechanism to make the load-carrying mechanism of the corresponding robot reach the preset height position, and then schedules the load-carrying mechanism of these robots based on the height, at least to ensure that the load-carrying mechanism of the corresponding robots reaches the preset height position. The loading mechanisms of the two groups of robot queues in two columns of cells are set up in vertical staggered layers. Of course, the controller can also vertically stagger the loading mechanisms of two robots located in two adjacent cells in the same group of robot queues. The specific arrangement can be preset by those skilled in the art based on factors such as the area of the traveling area and the number of robots.

Embodiment 2

When the robot turns in the traveling area, the overall structure of the robot itself needs to rotate relative to the traveling area;

When the robot needs to turn, the load-carrying mechanism of one of the two robots located in two adjacent cells is controlled to rise or fall a preset distance relative to the load-carrying mechanism of the other robot, so that the two load-carrying mechanisms are vertically staggered. Layer settings.

Embodiment 3

When the warehousing system includes at least two groups of robot queues, and when the robots turn in the traveling area, the overall structure of the robot itself needs to rotate relative to the traveling area;

The load-carrying mechanisms of the robots in two groups of robot queues located in two adjacent columns of cells are controlled to be vertically staggered, and the load-carrying mechanisms of the robots in the same group of robot queues are located at the same height;

When it is necessary to turn, the load-carrying mechanisms of the two robots located in two adjacent cells that control the same group of robots are arranged vertically at staggered levels. After the turn, a new team of robots traveling in the same direction along the same straight path becomes a new group of robots. The robot queue then controls the staggered placement of the load-carrying mechanisms of the two new robot queues located in two adjacent columns of cells, and makes the load-carrying mechanisms of the new robots in the same group of robot queues located at the same height;

Among them, the robot queue refers to a group of robots that queue up in sequence and travel in the same direction along the same straight path, or just two robots suspended on two adjacent cells. The driving direction of the two robots can The same can also be different.

The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above. The above description is illustrative, not exhaustive, and is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein is chosen to best explain the principles, practical applications, or technical improvements in the market of the embodiments, or to enable other persons of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein. The scope of the disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

Claims (12)

A warehousing system, the warehousing system includes: The marching area (9) is divided into several cells (6); At least two robots are configured to travel along the travel area (9), and each robot occupies one of the cells (6); The controller is configured to control the vertical staggered arrangement of the load-carrying mechanisms (2) of the two robots located in the two adjacent cells (6) when the preset conditions are met, wherein the load-carrying mechanisms (2) 2) Constructed for placement of cargo (4). According to the warehousing system of claim 1, when the robot turns in the traveling area (9) and the overall structure of the robot does not need to rotate relative to the traveling area (9), the controller controls two vertically staggered The projection of the load carrying mechanism (2) partially overlaps the traveling area (9). The warehousing system according to claim 2, the robot includes: A running mechanism (1) configured to travel in the travel area (9); a load carrying mechanism (2) configured to carry cargo (4); A lifting mechanism (5) is configured to connect the load-carrying mechanism (2) and the running mechanism (1), and drive the load-carrying mechanism (2) to rise or fall relative to the running mechanism (1); The controller is configured to control the lifting mechanism (5) to make the corresponding robot's load-carrying mechanism (2) reach a preset height position, and then based on the height scheduling of the robot's load-carrying mechanism (2), at least make it located at the corresponding height position. The load-carrying mechanisms (2) of the two groups of robot queues in the two adjacent columns of cells (6) are vertically staggered, and the load-carrying mechanisms of the two robots in the same group of robot queues located in the two adjacent cells (6) are arranged vertically in staggered layers. (2) Vertically staggered positions or at the same height, each robot queue includes at least two robots. The warehousing system according to claim 1, the robot includes: The walking mechanism (1) is configured to travel in the traveling area and rotate to drive the robot to turn; a load carrying mechanism (2) configured to carry cargo (4); A lifting mechanism (5) is configured to connect the load-carrying mechanism (2) and the running mechanism (1), and drive the load-carrying mechanism (2) to rise or fall relative to the running mechanism (1); The projections of the first rotation trajectory circles (7) of the load-carrying mechanisms (2) of two robots located in two adjacent cells (6) on the traveling area partially overlap, and the projections of the load-carrying mechanism (2) of one robot overlap The first rotation trajectory circle (7) does not coincide with the projection of the second rotation trajectory circle (8) of the lifting mechanism (5) of another robot on the traveling area. According to the storage system of claim 4, the first rotation trajectory circle (7) of the loading mechanism (2) of one robot located in two adjacent cells (6) is in contact with the lifting mechanism (5) of the other robot. ) is tangent to the second rotation trajectory circle (8). The storage system according to claim 4 or 5, the controller is configured to control the loading mechanism (2) of one robot located in two adjacent cells (6) relative to the loading mechanism (2) of another robot. The preset distance is raised or lowered so that the two loading mechanisms (2) are vertically staggered. According to the warehousing system of claim 4 or 5, the controller is configured to control the loading mechanisms (2) of the robots in the two groups of robot queues located in two adjacent columns of cells (6), which are vertically staggered and arranged in the same group. The loading mechanisms (2) of the robots in the robot queue are located at the same height; The robot queue refers to a group of robots that line up in sequence and travel in the same direction along the same straight path. According to the warehousing system of claim 7, when diversion is required, the controller is configured to control the vertical loading mechanisms (2) of two robots located in two adjacent cells (6) of the same group of robots. Staggered level setting, after turning, a team of robots traveling in the same direction along the same straight path will form a new robot queue, and then control the load of the new two robot queues located in the cells (6) in two adjacent columns. The mechanism (2) is arranged at staggered levels, and the load-carrying mechanisms (2) of the new robots in the same group of robot queues are located at the same height. A robot scheduling method, suitable for the warehousing system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the robot scheduling method includes the following steps: When the preset conditions are met, the loading mechanisms (2) of the two robots located in two adjacent cells (6) are controlled to be arranged in vertical staggered layers. According to the robot scheduling method according to claim 9, the step "when the preset conditions are met, controlling the vertical staggered setting of the load-carrying mechanisms (2) of the two robots located in two adjacent cells (6)" includes: When the robot turns in the traveling area, and the overall structure of the robot does not need to rotate relative to the traveling area, the two load-carrying mechanisms (2) that control vertical staggering overlap in the projected portion of the traveling area. According to the robot scheduling method according to claim 9, the step "when the preset conditions are met, controlling the vertical staggered setting of the load-carrying mechanisms (2) of the two robots located in two adjacent cells (6)" includes: When the robot turns in the traveling area, the overall structure of the robot itself needs to rotate relative to the traveling area; When the robot needs to turn, the load carrying mechanism (2) of one robot located in two adjacent cells (6) is controlled to rise or fall a preset distance relative to the load carrying mechanism (2) of the other robot, so that the two The load-carrying mechanism (2) is arranged in vertical staggered layers. According to the robot scheduling method according to claim 9, the step "when the preset conditions are met, controlling the vertical staggered setting of the load-carrying mechanisms (2) of the two robots located in two adjacent cells (6)" includes: When the warehousing system includes at least two groups of robot queues, and when the robots turn in the traveling area, the overall structure of the robot itself needs to rotate relative to the traveling area; Control the load-carrying mechanisms (2) of the robots in the two groups of robot queues located in two adjacent rows of cells (6) to be arranged vertically at staggered levels, and the load-carrying mechanisms (2) of the robots in the same group of robot queues are located at the same height; When it is necessary to turn, the load-carrying mechanisms (2) of the two robots located in two adjacent cells (6) that control the same group of robots are arranged vertically at staggered levels. Create a new robot queue composed of a team of robots, and then control the new loading mechanism (2) of the two groups of robot queues located in two adjacent columns of cells (6) in a staggered setting, and make the new robots in the same group of robot queues The loading mechanism (2) is located at the same height; Wherein, the robot queue refers to a group of robots that line up in sequence and travel in the same direction along the same straight path.