JP7022157B2 - Robot queue operation in order execution operation - Google Patents

Description

This application is a partial continuation of US Patent Application No. 15 / 628,751 filed on June 21, 2017, which is a continuation of US Patent Application No. 15 / 081,124 filed on March 25, 2016. Claimed the priority of US Patent Application No. 15 / 697,759 filed September 7, 2017, issued as US Pat. No. 9,776,324 on October 3, 2017, which is the application. The contents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The present invention relates to a robot-assisted product order fulfillment system and method, and more particularly to a robot queue operation toward a common place using one or more queue groups.

Ordering products over the Internet for home delivery is a very popular shopping method. Performing such orders in a timely, accurate and efficient manner poses a logistics challenge, to say the least. Click the "Account" button in the virtual shopping cart to create an "Order". The order contains a list of goods to be shipped to a particular address. The process of "execution" involves physically removing these items from a large warehouse, i.e., "taking out the items", packing them, and shipping them to a designated address. Therefore, an important goal of the order fulfillment process is to ship as many goods as possible in the shortest possible time.

The order fulfillment process is typically carried out in a large warehouse containing many products, including those listed in the order. Therefore, the task of fulfilling an order includes the task of traversing a warehouse to find and collect the various items listed in the order. In addition, the products that are finally shipped need to be first brought into the warehouse and then stored or "placed" in the storage in an orderly manner throughout the warehouse so that they can be easily pulled out for shipment. There is.

In a large warehouse, the delivered goods and the ordered goods can be stored in the warehouse at a great distance from each other and dispersed among many other goods. Order fulfillment processes that employ only human operators to place and retrieve goods require operators to walk lengthy, which can be inefficient and time consuming. Since the efficiency of the execution process is a function of the number of goods shipped per unit time, the efficiency decreases with increasing time.

To increase efficiency, robots can be used to perform human functions or can be used to supplement human roles. For example, a robot may be assigned to "place" a large number of articles in various locations distributed throughout a warehouse, or to "remove" articles from various locations for packing and shipping. Retraction and placement can be performed by the robot alone or with the assistance of a human operator. For example, in the case of a take-out operation, the human operator removes the article from the shelf and places it on the robot, or in the case of the placement operation, the human operator removes the article from the robot and places it on the shelf.

When a large number of robots navigate through space, the robots are likely and likely to attempt to navigate to a location occupied by another robot, causing a competitive situation. Competitive conditions are when two robots become processor bound as they attempt to reach the same location and try to reconcile with the changing external environment. Competitive conditions are highly undesirable and may prevent the robot from performing further movements until the condition is resolved.

In one aspect, the invention features a method for queuing a waiting robot towards one or more target locations in an environment. The method comprises determining whether a plurality of robots heading for one or more target locations have invaded a pre-defined target area near the one or more target locations. The method also includes assigning each robot to its target location or to one of a plurality of queue locations based on the assigned priority. Multiple queue locations are grouped into one or more queue groups.

Other aspects of the invention may include one or more of the following features: The environment can be a warehouse space that houses goods for fulfilling a customer's order. The priority to be assigned can be determined by the order of entry of each of the plurality of robots into the target area, and the highest priority is assigned to the first robot invading the target area. The priority assigned may be determined by the order of entry of each of the robots into the target area and one or both of the priorities of the orders associated with the customer's order to be processed by each of the robots. The priority of an order that may be related to a customer's order to be processed by each of the plurality of robots is determined by one or more of a shipping priority, a type of goods, a type of customer, or a retail store. Multiple queue locations can be grouped into at least two queues that are spaced apart from each other in the environment. The first group may include a first plurality of queue locations and a second queue group may include a second plurality of queue locations, the first plurality of wait locations within the first group. The queue location and the second plurality of queue locations within the second queue group are all related to one target location. Multiple queue locations can be grouped into one queue group, and multiple queue locations can be associated with multiple target locations. The first plurality of queue locations in the first group and the second plurality of queue locations in the second queue group may be associated with a plurality of target locations. One or more target locations and multiple queue locations can each be defined by the posture in which the robot can navigate.

In yet another aspect, the invention features a robot capable of navigating to a predetermined location in an environment accommodating a plurality of other robots. The robot and several other robots can interact with the management system. The robot includes a mobile base and a communication device capable of communicating between the robot and the management system. There are processors configured to respond to communication with the management system and navigate the robot to a target location in the environment. The processor is also configured to determine if at least one of the other robots occupies the target location. If at least one of the other robots determines that it occupies the target location, the processor determines if the robot has entered a predefined target area near the target location. If it determines that it has entered a predetermined target area, the processor is configured to assign the robot to one of a plurality of queue locations based on the assigned priority. Multiple queue locations are grouped into one or more queue groups.

Further aspects of the invention may include one or more of the following features: The environment can be a warehouse space that houses goods for fulfilling a customer's order. The priority assigned may be determined by the order of entry of each of the multiple robots into the target area. The first robot that invades the target area may be assigned the highest priority. The priority assigned may be determined by the order of entry of each of the robots into the target area and one or both of the priorities of the orders associated with the customer's order to be processed by each of the robots. The priority of the order associated with the customer's order to be processed by each of the plurality of robots may be determined by one or more of the shipping priority, the type of goods, the type of customer, or the retail store. Multiple queue locations can be grouped into at least two queue groups that are spaced apart from each other in the environment. There may be a first plurality of queue locations in the first group and a second plurality of queue locations in the second queue group, the first plurality of queue locations in the first group. The location and the second plurality of queue locations within the second queue group can all be associated with one target location. Multiple queue locations can be grouped into one queue group, and multiple queue locations can be associated with multiple target locations. The first plurality of queue locations in the first group and the second plurality of queue locations in the second queue group may be associated with a plurality of target locations. One or more target locations and multiple queue locations can each be defined by the posture in which the robot can navigate.

These and other features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

It is a top plan view of the order fulfillment warehouse. It is a perspective view of the base of one of the robots used in the warehouse shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the robot of FIG. 2 mounted on an armature parked in front of the shelf shown in FIG. 1. It is a partial map of the warehouse of FIG. 1 created by using the laser radar on the robot. It is a flow chart which shows the process for identifying the position of the place-aligning sign distributed in a warehouse, and memorizing the posture of the place-aligning sign. It is a table of the place matching ID for performing mapping. It is a table of the location of the containment for the mapping of the location matching ID. It is a flow chart which shows the product SKU for performing a mapping process. It is a schematic diagram of the target place and the queue place used in the queue operation process by one aspect of this invention. It is a flow chart which shows the queue operation process of a robot by one aspect of this invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a target location and a queue location in which a robot is directed to a designated queue location based on an assigned priority according to another aspect of the invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a target location and a queue location in another aspect of the queue operation process according to the invention in which a shared queue is used. FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a target location and a queue location in another aspect of the queue operation process according to the invention in which both shared and split queues are used.

Details of the present disclosure and its various features and advantages are described and / or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and more fully described with reference to non-limiting examples and examples detailed in the following description. Will be done. The features shown in the drawings are not necessarily in accordance with scale and, unless otherwise stated herein, the features of one embodiment may be used in other embodiments as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art. Please note. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques may be omitted as they do not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the present disclosure. The examples used herein are intended to merely facilitate an understanding of how the present disclosure may be practiced, and further enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the embodiments of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the examples and examples herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure. Further, it can be seen that similar reference numerals represent similar parts throughout some drawings.

The present invention relates to a system and a method for queuing up robots heading for a common target location. Without being limited to any particular robotic application, one suitable application in which the present invention may be used is order fulfillment. The use of robots in this application is described to provide context for systems and methods for queuing robots, but is not limited to that application.

Referring to FIG. 1, a typical order fulfillment warehouse 10 includes shelves 12 filled with various articles that may be included in order 16. During operation, the order 16 from the warehouse management server 15 arrives at the order server 14. The order server 14 communicates the order 16 with a robot 18 selected from a plurality of robots moving around the warehouse 10.

In a preferred embodiment, the robot 18 shown in FIG. 2 includes a self-supporting wheel base 20 with a laser radar 22. The base 20 also includes a transceiver 24 and a camera 26 that allow the robot 18 to receive commands from the order server 14. The base 20 also collaborates to perform various tasks related to navigation within the warehouse 10, as well as a laser radar 22 navigating to the alignment indicator 30 located on the shelf 12, as shown in FIG. It includes a processor 32 that receives data from, a camera 26 that captures information representing the environment of the robot, and a memory 34. The location sign 30 (eg, a two-dimensional bar code) corresponds to the container / location of the ordered article. The navigation method of the present invention is described in detail below in relation to FIGS. 4-8.

Although the first description provided herein focuses on removing goods from the location of a container in a warehouse to fulfill an order for shipment to a customer, this system allows for later recovery. It is also applicable to store or place the goods in the warehouse at the place of the container in the warehouse for shipping to the customer or the customer. The present invention is also applicable to inventory control operations related to such warehouse systems, such as product aggregation, counting, verification, inspection and cleaning.

As will be described in more detail below, the robot 18 can be used to execute a plurality of tasks of different types of tasks in an interleaved manner. This means that the robot 18 can perform goods retrieval, goods placement, and inventory management operations while moving through the entire warehouse 10 while executing a single order. This type of interleaving business method can significantly improve efficiency and performance.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the top surface 36 of the base 20 comprises a fitting 38, one of which engages with any one of the plurality of replaceable armatures 40 shown in FIG. The particular armature 40 of FIG. 3 includes a tote holder 42 for transporting the tote 44 that receives the article and a tablet holder 46 for supporting the tablet 48. In some embodiments, the armature 40 supports one or more totes for transporting the article. In another embodiment, the base 20 supports one or more totes for transporting the received article. As used herein, the term "tote" refers to cargo holders, containers, cages, shelves, rods that can hang goods, cans, crates, racks, stands, stands, containers, boxes, canisters, etc. Includes, but is not limited to, tanks and repositories.

The robot 18 is excellent in moving around the warehouse 10 using the current robot technology, but since the technology for handling the object of the robot is difficult, the article is quickly and efficiently taken out from the shelf and put into the tote 44. Not very good at arranging. A more efficient way to retrieve the article is to use a local operator 50, typically a person, to physically retrieve the ordered article from the shelf 12 and remove it into a robot 18 such as a tote 44. It is to execute the work to be placed. The robot 18 conveys the order to the local operator 50 via a tablet 48 readable by the local operator 50 or by transmitting the order to a mobile device used by the local operator 50.

Upon receiving the order 16 from the order server 14, the robot 18 proceeds to, for example, the location of the first warehouse shown in FIG. This is stored in memory 34 and is executed based on the navigation software executed by the processor 32. The navigation software identifies the environmental data collected by the laser radar 22 and the location identifier (“ID”) of the location indicator 30 corresponding to the location in the warehouse 10 where the specific article can be found 34. It depends on the internal table inside and the camera 26 for navigating.

Upon reaching the correct location, the robot 18 stops in front of the shelf 12 where the article is stored and waits for the local operator 50 to retrieve the article from the shelf 12 and place it in the tote 44. If there are other items to be collected by the robot 18, the robot 18 proceeds to those places. The articles recovered by the robot 18 are then delivered to the packaging station 100 of FIG. 1, where they are packaged and shipped.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that each robot can fulfill one or more orders, and each order can consist of one or more articles. Typically, some form of route optimization software may be included to increase efficiency, but that is beyond the scope of the invention and is not described herein.

For simplification of the description of the present invention, a single robot 18 and an operator 50 will be described. However, as is clear from FIG. 1, a typical execution task involves many robots and operators working with each other in a warehouse to perform a continuous flow of orders.

The navigation method of the present invention and the semantic mapping of the SKU of the article to be collected to the location ID / posture associated with the location sign in the warehouse where the article is placed are shown below in relation to FIGS. 4-8. It will be explained in detail.

When using one or more robots 18, a map of the warehouse 10 must be created and the locations of the various alignment signs distributed throughout the warehouse must be determined. For this reason, one of the robots 18 navigates the warehouse and maps using the laser radar 22 and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), as shown in FIG. Building 10a, SLAM is a computational problem of map configuration or update of unknown environments. Common SLAM approximations include particle filters and extended Kalman filters. The SLAM G mapping method is the preferred method, but any suitable SLAM method can be used.

The robot 18 navigates the entire space, identifying other stationary obstacles such as open space 112, walls 114, objects 116, and shelves 12 in space, based on the reflections received by the laser radar as it scans the environment. When moving, the laser radar 22 is used to generate the map 10a of the warehouse 10.

During, or after building the map 10a, one or more robots 18 place alignment signs distributed throughout the warehouse on shelves near the containment, such as 32, 34 in FIG. 3, where goods are stored. The warehouse 10 is navigated while using the camera 26 to scan the environment so as to identify the location of the two-dimensional bar code). The robot 18 uses a known starting point, i.e., a reference origin, such as the origin 110. When the location alignment signs 30 such as the location alignment signs 30 of FIGS. 3 and 4 are arranged by the robot 18 using the camera 26, the location in the warehouse with respect to the origin 110 is determined.

By using the wheel encoder and the heading sensor, the location of the robot in the vector 120 and the warehouse 10 can be determined. Using the captured image of the place-aligning sign / two-dimensional bar code and its known size, the robot 18 can determine the orientation and distance of the place-aligning sign / two-dimensional bar code with respect to the robot, that is, the vector 130. The known vectors 120 and 130 allow the vector 140 between the origin 110 and the alignment marker 30 to be determined. From the determined orientation of the location indicator / two-dimensional bar code for the vector 140 and the robot 18, the posture (position and orientation) defined by the quaternion (x, y, z, ω) for the location indicator 30 is determined. can.

The flow chart 200 of FIG. 5 for explaining the position process of the place-aligning sign will be described. This is done in the initial mapping mode when the robot 18 encounters a new alignment sign in the warehouse while performing retrieval, placement, and / or other tasks. In step 202, the robot 18 captures an image using the camera 26, and in step 204, the robot 18 searches for a location alignment sign in the captured image. When the location alignment sign is found in the image in step 206 (step 204), it is determined whether or not the location alignment sign is already stored in the location alignment table 300 of FIG. 6 arranged in the memory 34 of the robot 18. Ru. If the location alignment information is already stored in memory, the flow chart returns to step 202 to capture another image. If not stored in memory, the posture is determined according to the process described above, added to the alignment in step 208, and presented to the look-up table 300.

The look-up table 300, which can be stored in the memory of each robot, has a posture for each location sign, such as location IDs 1, 2, 3, etc., and a position for the location sign / barcode associated with each location ID. included. The attitude is composed of x, y, z coordinates in the warehouse along with the orientation or quaternion (x, y, z, ω).

Another lookup table 400 of FIG. 7 is also stored in the memory of each robot and is housed in a warehouse 10 associated with a particular location ID 404, eg, the number "11". It is a list of the place of a vessel (for example, 402a-f). In this example, the containment location consists of 7 alphanumerical characters. The first six letters (eg, L01001) relate to the location of the shelves in the warehouse, and the last letters (eg, AF) identify a particular container at the location of the shelves. In this example, there are six different containment locations associated with location matching ID "11". There may be one or more enclosures associated with each location ID / sign.

The location of the alphanumerical container is understandable to humans as corresponding to a physical location in the warehouse 10 where the goods are stored, such as the operator 50 in FIG. However, they have no meaning to the robot 18. By mapping the location to the location ID, the robot 18 uses the information in Table 300 of FIG. 6 to determine the posture of the location ID and navigates to the posture described herein. The gate can operate.

The order fulfillment process according to the present invention is shown in the flow chart 500 of FIG. In step 502, the warehouse management system 15 of FIG. 1 acquires an order that may consist of one or more articles to be collected. In step 504, the SKU number of the article is determined by the warehouse management system 15, and in step 506, the location of the container is determined from the SKU number. A list of containment locations for the order is then transmitted to the robot 18. In step 508, the robot 18 associates the location of the container with the location alignment ID, and in step 510, the robot 18 acquires the posture of each location alignment ID from the location alignment ID. In step 512, the robot 18 navigates to the posture shown in FIG. 3, where the operator can remove the article to be recovered from the appropriate container and place it on the robot.

Specific information on the goods, such as the SKU number and the location of the containment, acquired by the warehouse management system 15 can be transmitted to Table 48 on the robot 18, which results in the robot arriving at each location marking location. At that time, the operator 50 can be notified about the specific article to be collected.

By knowing the SLAM map and the pose of the location ID, the robot 18 can easily navigate to any one of the location IDs using various robot navigation techniques. A preferred method comprises setting an initial route to an informed location sign posture of the open space 112 and walls 114, shelves (such as shelves 12) and other obstacles 116 in the warehouse 10. When the robot begins to traverse the warehouse using its laser radar 26, there are some obstacles in its path, whether static or dynamic, such as other robots 18 and / or operators 50. Determines if and repeatedly updates its path to the pose of the alignment marker. The robot constantly searches for the most efficient and effective route, avoiding obstacles, and replans that route approximately every 50 milliseconds.

With the product SKU / location ID for the alignment posture mapping technique, both combined with the SLAM navigation techniques described herein, the robot 18 includes a grid line and an intermediate alignment sign in the warehouse. It is possible to navigate the warehouse space very efficiently and effectively without having to use more complicated navigation methods than those typically used to determine the location.

As mentioned above, a problem that can occur with multiple robots navigating through space is called a "competitive state", in which one or more robots navigate into a space occupied by another robot. This can happen if you try. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention, an alternative destination for the robot is generated, the robot is placed in a queue, and the occurrence of a competitive state is avoided. This process is shown in FIG. 9, where the robot 600 is shown located at the target location / attitude 602. Posture 602 may correspond to any location in the warehouse space, for example near a packaging or unloading station or a particular container. When other robots, such as robots 604, 606, and 608, attempt to navigate to posture 602 (as indicated by the dotted line ending in posture 602 from the robot), they are located or queue slots 610, 612, And are directed to temporary holding locations such as 614.

The queue slots or queue locations 610, 612, and 614 are offset from posture 612. In this example, the queue slot 610 is offset from attitude 602 by distance x, and the distance can be, for example, 1 meter. The queue slot 612 is offset from the queue slot 610 by an additional distance x, and the queue slot 614 is offset from the queue slot 612 by another distance x. In this example, the distances are evenly spaced along a straight line exiting posture 602, which is not a requirement of the present invention. The location of the queue slots may be non-uniform and may vary depending on the dynamic environment of the warehouse. The queue slot can be offset according to the underlying global map as well as the queue manipulation algorithm that follows the constraints of existing obstacles and local maps. The queuing algorithm can also avoid traffic blockage, interference with other locations, and the creation of new obstacles, taking into account the practical limits of queuing in a space close to the target location / attitude. ..

In addition, the robot's proper queue slot placement in the queue must be managed. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the robot having the first priority occupying the posture 602 is queue-operated in the first queue slot 610, while the other robots are based on their respective priorities. A queue operation is performed in another queue slot. The priority is determined by the order in which the robot enters the area 618 near the posture 602. In this case, the area 618 is defined by a radius R around the attitude 602, which in this case is about 3 meters (ie 3x). In this case, at 604, the first robot invading this area has the highest priority and is assigned the first queue slot, ie queue slot 610. Assuming that the robot 600 is still in posture 602 when the robot 606, which is closer to the area 618 than the robot 608, enters the area 618, the robot 604 is placed in the queue slot 610 and has the next highest priority. And therefore is assigned to queue slot 612. Next, assuming that when robot 608 enters area 618, robot 600 is still in posture 602 and robots 604 and 606 are still located in queue slots 610 and 612, respectively, robot 608 It is assigned to queue slot 614.

When the robot 600 moves from the posture 602 (target place), the robot 604 moves from the queue slot 610 to the posture 602. Robots 606 and 608 move to queue slot locations 610 and 612, respectively. The next robot invading area 618 is located within location 614 of the queue slot. It goes without saying that it can accommodate expected traffic flows, including additional numbers for queue slot locations.

The method by which the robot navigates to the queue slot and finally to the target location is accomplished by temporarily directing the robot from the posture of the target location to the posture of the queue slot. In other words, when the robot determines that it must be placed in the queue slot, its target posture is temporarily adjusted to the posture corresponding to the location of the queue slot to which the robot is assigned. When the posture moves to a location in the queue, the posture is reset to the original target posture. The posture is the posture of the queue slot with the next highest priority until the original target location can be reached. It will be temporarily adjusted again.

The flow chart 700 of FIG. 10 shows a robot queue operation process embodied by WMS15 for a specific posture (target posture) in the warehouse. At step 702, it is determined whether the target posture is occupied by the robot. If not occupied, the process returns to step 702 until there is a robot that occupies the target pose. If the robot occupies the target posture, the process determines in step 704 whether another robot is in the target area or in one or more of the queue slots. judge. If it is determined that there are no robots in the target area or in one or more queue slots, the process returns to step 702. If it is determined that there is a robot occupying the target posture or the queue slot is occupied, then in step 706 the robot is assigned to the appropriate queue slot.

If there is a robot in the target area but no robot in the queue slot, the robot in the target area is directed to occupy the first queue slot, ie, the queue slot 610 of FIG. Be done. If there are robots in the target area and there are robots (or multiple robots in the queue slot), the robots in the target area are placed in the next available queue slot, as described above. If there are no robots in the target area, but there are robots in the queue slot, the robots in the slots will stay in the same place. If it is determined in step 708 that the target posture is not occupied, the robot in the queue slot goes to the next location, that is, from the queue slot 610 to the target posture, and from the queue slot 612 to the queue slot. Moved to 610 and so on. If the target posture is still occupied, the process returns to 704.

In FIG. 9, the queue locations 610, 612, and 614 are in a row and adjacent to each other. This is acceptable for many situations, but is "divided" in areas within the warehouse environment where space is limited, traffic is congested, or many queues are required. It may be desirable to use a queue. An example of this is shown in FIG. Here, the station 800 having the target location 802 is shown. Station 800 is a guidance station where the robot is assigned to fill the customer's order and is accompanied by an operator equipped with a tote to carry the order, or the robot is the customer's order for packaging and shipping by the operator. It may be a packaging station that is unloading. The target location does not have to be associated with the station, but is a typical situation where multiple robots may be competing for a common target location at the same time.

Referring again to FIG. 11, queue locations 804, 806 and 808 are part of the first queue group 810 and are shown spaced apart from the target location 802. In this example, additional queue locations are required, but space is limited because the queue group 810 is adjacent to the traffic congestion route that the robot crosses, such as the robot 814 and the operator. To overcome this challenge, a second queue 816 is formed across the route 812, physically spaced from the queue 810, including additional queue locations 818, 820, and 822. The queue locations within the two queue groups 810 and 816 together form a single queue to the target location 802, even if they are physically separated. It is noted that although each of the two queues has three queue locations, any number of queue locations with any number of queue locations can be used in accordance with the present disclosure herein. sea bream.

Similar to FIG. 9, in the example of FIG. 11, the target location 802 (labeled “T”) is pre-defined by a dotted line, assuming it is occupied by a robot working at station 802. Robots that invade the designated target area 803 are assigned to queue locations based on the priorities assigned to the robots by the system. The queue location 804 labeled "1" is the highest priority queue location. Queue locations 806-822 have lower / lower priority levels, as indicated by their labels "2"-"6". Therefore, the robot with the first or highest priority occupying the target location 802 is directed to the queue location 804 if the target location 802 is available, while the other robots are based on their respective priorities. Is queued to another queue slot. The priority may be determined by the order in which the robot enters the predetermined target area. In other words, the faster you enter the target area, the higher the priority, and therefore the lower the queue number, will be assigned to the robot.

The assigned priority can be established in other ways. For example, instead of, or in combination with, the time to enter the target area, priorities may be assigned based on the customer's order to be processed by the robot. Customer orders for each robot can be assigned priorities based on, for example, one or more of criteria such as transport priority, goods type, customer type, or retail store. An urgent delivery customer order or a preferred customer order may be assigned a higher priority and may therefore be placed in a higher priority queue location to ensure faster processing. Similarly, a given product or retail store may be given priority based on a contractual relationship. Using priorities in combination with priorities based on the customer's order alone, or the time to enter the target area, the priority, and therefore the waiting place for the robot's competition for a common target location. Can be assigned.

Continued reference to FIG. 11 shows two robots 824 and 826 invading the predetermined target area 803. The robot 824 is assigned the priority of (1, B), and the robot 826 is assigned the priority of (2, A). In this example, the first priority criterion is a number, indicating that the robot has entered the target area 803, i.e., the robot 824 has entered first and the robot 826 has entered second. If intrusion order is the only criterion, robot 824 will be assigned to queue location 804 and robot 826 will be assigned to queue location 806. However, in this example, there is a second criterion related to the customer's order, such as transport priority, goods type, customer type, or retail store. Robot 824 was assigned a priority of "B" for its customer's order, while Robot 826 was assigned a priority of "A". In this example, the robot 824 is directed to queue location 806 (location "2") and the robot 826 is directed to the queue location 806 (location "2"), as shown by lines 825 and 827, where the customer's order priority wins in the order of entry into the target area. , Is directed to queue location 804 (location "1").

The above example is merely an example of one priority assignment, and any suitable method of assigning priorities is the standard queue shown in FIG. 9, the divided queue of FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 below. And can be used with the present invention using the shared / divided queues described in FIG.

In another embodiment shown in FIG. 12, another aspect of the present disclosure will be described. Here, a "shared" queue 830 can be used. What is meant by "sharing" in this context is that queue groups 830 are associated with stations 838, 840, and 842, respectively, and of multiple target locations, such as target locations 832, 834, and 836 near them. To be shared within. Robots heading to any of the target locations 832, 834, or 836 are directed to one of the queue locations 850 to 858, each having a priority of 1 to 9. This is the queue location 850 (priority "1") where the robot with the highest priority is placed regardless of the target location to which the robot is heading, and the queue location 9 (priority "9"). ) Means that it is the queue place where the robot with the lowest priority will be directed.

Stations 838 (“A”), 840 (“B”), and 842 (“C”) may be configured to perform the same or different functions. For example, all may be configured as a guidance station or a packaging station, or they may be configured as a combination of a guidance station and a packaging station. In addition, any number of stations and any number of queue locations within the queue group 830 may be used. In one example, stations 838, 840, and 842 may be configured to allow any robot in the queue location to advance to any target location / station. In that case, as shown by the solid line 864, the robot located at the queue location 850 advances to the first available target location, which is the target location 832 in this example. Target locations 834 and 836 are shown to be occupied by robots 860 and 862, respectively. Robots in other queue locations will all move to the next highest priority queue location.

Alternatively, for various reasons, some robots may only be able to advance to a given station / target location. An example of this is shown by dotted line 866 in FIG. 12, where a robot at queue location 851 (priority "2") is at a vacant target location 832 in place of a robot at queue location 850 (priority "1"). Indicates to proceed. This may be due to the robot at queue location 850 not being able to work at station 838 (eg, the robot needs to be guided, but station 838 is specialized in packaging / delivery, etc.). As indicated by the dotted line 868, when the robot 860 departs from the target location 834 (assuming the robot 860 departs before the robot 862), the robot in the queue location 850 arrives at the target location 834 working at station 840. move on.

In yet another embodiment, FIG. 13 shows the shared queue 830 of FIG. 12 divided into divided queues having queue groups 830a and 830b. This shared queue operates in the same way as the shared queue 830 of FIG. 12, but is divided into two queue groups due to the proximity of the path 870 crossed by operators such as robot 872 and the robot. Will be done. The first queue group 830a has queue locations 850-855 on one side of route 870, and the second queue group 830b has queue locations 856-858 on the opposite side of route 870. The queue locations within the two queue groups 830a and 830b together form a single queue to target locations 832, 834, and 836, even if they are physically separated.

Although the above description of the present invention allows one of ordinary skill in the art to create and use what is currently considered to be the best form, one of ordinary skill in the art will modify and combine certain embodiments and examples herein. , And will understand and recognize the existence of equivalents. The above embodiments of the present invention are intended only as an example. Modifications, modifications and variations may be brought to a particular embodiment by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined solely by the claims herein. Therefore, the invention is not limited by the examples and examples described above.

Although the present invention and preferred embodiments thereof have been described, those newly claimed and guaranteed by the patent text are described in the claims.

Claims (18)

A method for queuing up robots heading to one or more occupied target locations in a warehouse space .
Determines if a plurality of robots moving towards one or more occupied target locations in the warehouse space have invaded a pre-defined target area near the one or more target locations. Steps and
A step of moving and occupying each of the plurality of robots to one of a plurality of queue locations in the warehouse space based on the assigned priority. Is determined by one or both of the order of entry of each of the plurality of robots into the target area and the priority of the order related to the customer's order to be processed by each of the plurality of robots. , Steps and, including
A method in which the plurality of queue locations are grouped into one or more queue groups spaced apart from the one or more occupied target locations in the warehouse space . The method of claim 1, wherein the warehouse space accommodates goods for fulfilling a customer's order. The first aspect of claim 1, wherein the assigned priority is determined by the invasion order of each of the plurality of robots into the target area, and the highest priority is assigned to the first robot invading the target area. the method of. The priority of the order associated with the customer's order to be processed by each of the plurality of robots is determined by one or more of the shipping priority, the type of goods, the type of customer, or the retail store. The method according to claim 1 . The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of queue locations are grouped into at least two queue groups spaced apart from each other in the warehouse space . The first group includes the first plurality of queue locations and the second queue group contains the second plurality of queue locations, and the first plurality of queue locations in the first group. And the method of claim 5 , wherein the second plurality of queue locations within the second queue group are all related to one target location. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of queue locations are grouped into one queue group, and the plurality of queue locations are associated with a plurality of target locations. The first group includes the first plurality of queue locations and the second queue group contains the second plurality of queue locations, and the first plurality of queue locations in the first group. And the method of claim 5 , wherein the second plurality of queue locations within the second queue group are associated with a plurality of target locations. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more target locations and the plurality of queue locations are each defined by a posture in which the robot can navigate. A robot capable of navigating to a predetermined location in a warehouse space accommodating a plurality of other robots, wherein the robot and the plurality of other robots can interact with the management system. ,
With a mobile base,
A communication device that enables communication between the robot and the management system,
A processor that responds to communication with the management system.
Navigate the robot to the target location in the warehouse space and
Determining if at least one of the plurality of other robots occupies the target location,
When it is determined that at least one of the plurality of other robots occupies the target location, it is determined whether or not the robot has invaded a predetermined target area near the target location.
When it is determined that the robot has invaded the predetermined target area, each of the plurality of robots is moved to a plurality of queue locations in the warehouse space based on the assigned priority. The assigned priority is the order of entry of each of the plurality of robots into the target location and the priority of the order related to the customer's order to be processed by each of the plurality of robots. Determined by one or both of them
A processor configured in such a manner, wherein the plurality of queue locations are spaced apart from the one or more occupied target locations in the warehouse space. Robots that are grouped into groups. The robot according to claim 10 , wherein the warehouse space houses an article for fulfilling a customer's order. The tenth aspect of the present invention, wherein the assigned priority is determined by the invasion order of each of the plurality of robots into the target area, and the first robot invading the target area is assigned the highest priority. Robot. The priority of the order associated with the customer's order to be processed by each of the plurality of robots is determined by one or more of the shipping priority, the type of goods, the type of customer, or the retail store. The robot according to claim 10 . 10. The robot of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of queue locations are grouped into at least two queue groups spaced apart from each other in the warehouse space . The first group includes the first plurality of queue locations and the second queue group contains the second plurality of queue locations, and the first plurality of queue locations in the first group. And the robot according to claim 14 , wherein the second plurality of queue locations in the second queue group are all related to one target location. The robot according to claim 10 , wherein the plurality of queue locations are grouped into one queue group, and the plurality of queue locations are related to a plurality of target locations. The first group includes the first plurality of queue locations and the second queue group contains the second plurality of queue locations, and the first plurality of queue locations in the first group. And the robot according to claim 14 , wherein the second plurality of queue locations in the second queue group are associated with the plurality of target locations. 10. The robot of claim 10 , wherein the one or more target locations and the plurality of queue locations are each defined by a posture in which the robot can navigate.

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