METHOD FOR HANDLING GOODS, AND HANDLING SYSTEM, IN PARTICULAR ORDER-PICKING SYSTEM

Abstract

Method for handling goods and handling system for order-picking goods with an order-picking system, wherein goods are removed from a storage facility and positioned on a target load carrier. The goods are moved from the storage facility onto the target load carrier using a robot and/or a conveying system. Properties of the goods, in particular strength, rigidity, weight, surface composition, and/or center of gravity, are captured and, based on data regarding errors during movements of the goods. During operation of the handling system, boundary conditions up to which a functioning of the robot and/or of the conveying system depending on properties of the goods is ensured are determined, after which operation of the handling system is adapted depending on captured properties of the goods, namely through the adaptation of forces and/or accelerations that are applied to the goods by the robot and/or the conveying system.

Claims

1. A method for handling goods with a handling system, in particular for order-picking goods with an order-picking system, wherein goods are removed from a storage facility and positioned on a target load carrier, wherein the goods are moved from the storage facility onto the target load carrier using a robot and/or a conveying system, wherein properties of the goods, in particular a strength, a rigidity, a weight, a surface composition, and/or a center of gravity, are captured and, based on data regarding errors during movements of the goods, during operation of the handling system, boundary conditions up to which a functioning of the robot and/or of the conveying system depending on properties of the goods is ensured are determined, after which operation of the handling system is adapted depending on captured properties of the goods, namely through the adaptation of forces and/or accelerations that are applied to the goods by the robot and/or the conveying system.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a conveying system is provided and properties of the goods are captured by applying defined accelerations using the conveying system and capturing deformations and/or deflections of the goods.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein boundary conditions of devices of the handling system, which in particular is embodied as an order-picking system, specifically boundary conditions of the robot and/or of the conveying system, are determined in that data regarding permissible operating conditions and impermissible operating conditions are ascertained from error-free and error-associated movements of goods from the storage facility onto the target load carrier.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the goods are captured optically, in particular by means of a 3D camera, an infrared camera, and/or a UV camera, during a movement on the conveying system and/or with the robot, wherein in particular deformations of the goods can be determined depending on accelerations of the goods.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein properties of the goods are assigned to an optical feature of the goods, in particular to a bar code and/or a packaging of the goods, and are stored in a database.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein a conveying system is provided and mechanical properties of the goods are captured at positions in the conveying system at which a change in speed of the goods occurs, in particular at positions at which the goods are decelerated in a first direction and accelerated in a second direction, wherein the second direction is approximately perpendicular to the first direction.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein magnetic properties of the goods are captured during a movement of the goods from the storage facility onto the target load carrier.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein properties of the goods, in particular dimensions, are captured using a radar, in particular during a movement of the goods from the storage facility onto the target load carrier.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein properties of the goods are manually determined with the use of a list of questions.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein properties of the goods which pertain to an interaction of the goods with other goods are determined.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein properties of the goods and ascertained boundary conditions up to which a functioning of the robot and/or of the conveying system depending on properties of the goods is ensured are stored in a central database that is connected to multiple order-picking systems.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein operation of a second handling system is adapted depending on properties of the goods captured in the second handling system and on boundary conditions acquired in a first handling system, in particular in order to maximize an order-picking performance.

13. A handling system, in particular an order-picking system, with which goods can be moved from a storage facility onto a target load carrier with a conveying system and/or a robot, wherein the handling system is configured to capture properties of the goods such as a strength, a rigidity, a weight, and the like, as well as to determine boundary conditions up to which a functioning of the robot and/or of the conveying system depending on properties of the goods is ensured, wherein the handling system is furthermore configured to adapt operation of the handling system depending on properties of the goods, namely through the adaptation of forces and/or accelerations that are applied to the goods by the robot and/or the conveying system, in particular to carry out a method according to claim 1.

14. The handling system according to claim 13, wherein a conveying system is provided and a camera, in particular a 3D camera, an infrared camera, and/or a UV camera, is provided with which a movement of the goods can be captured during a movement of the goods on the conveying system.

15. The handling system according to claim 13, wherein a conveying system is provided and the conveying system comprises a direction-changing device, in particular a belt transfer unit, with which a defined acceleration can be applied in different directions to the goods transported on the conveying system, wherein a camera is preferably arranged at the direction-changing device to capture deformations and/or deflections of the goods.

16. The handling system according to claim 13, wherein a radar is provided for capturing dimensions of the goods.

17. A set, comprising at least two handling systems according to claim 13, wherein a data processing device is provided which is connected to all handling systems, so that operation of one handling system can be adapted based on properties of the goods captured using said handling system and on boundary conditions of the robot and/or of the conveying system acquired using another handling system.

Description

[0050] Additional features, advantages, and effects of the invention follow from the exemplary embodiment described below. In the drawings which are thereby referenced:

[0051] FIGS. 1 and 2 show a detail of a handling system according to the invention in different views;

[0052] FIG. 3 shows an interaction of multiple handling systems with a central data storage.

[0053] FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a conveying system of a handling system according to the invention, which handling system is embodied as an order-picking system 1. As can be seen in this case, an article is conveyed from a storage facility to an order-picking space via a conveying section 3 of a conveying system, wherein a movement direction of the goods 2 is changed by 90 degrees at a belt transfer unit 4. Accordingly, there respectively occurs at the belt transfer unit 4 a delay of the goods 2 in a first spatial direction in an acceleration of the goods 2 in a second spatial direction arranged perpendicularly to the first spatial direction. At said belt transfer units 4, cameras 5 that can capture deformations of the goods 2 are arranged. Two cameras 5 are provided in the exemplary embodiment shown. It shall be understood that more than two cameras 5 can also be provided. Furthermore, it is also possible to capture data using only a single camera, which can be embodied as a 3D camera for example. Via the deformations of the goods 2, it is possible to deduce mechanical properties of the goods 2, in particular a rigidity, a weight, and the like, which properties of the goods 2 can then, for example, be assigned to the individual elements of the conveying system as permissible boundary conditions if the goods 2 are successfully positioned on the target load carrier, which is typically also captured in an automated manner.

[0054] It can be provided that a speed of the conveying equipment is increased until individual goods 2 can no longer be successfully moved to the target load carrier, for example because the goods 2 fall and/or tip off the conveying system. In this case, an operating state of the conveying system would thus be determined, which operating state is no longer permissible for the corresponding properties of the goods 2, so that a boundary condition for the conveying system is determined by functional and no longer functional movements from the storage facility to the target load carrier.

[0055] Alternatively or additionally, it can also be provided that, by means of the camera 5, known accelerations that act on the goods 2 at the belt transfer unit 4, and possibly other devices with which mechanical, electrical, and/or magnetic properties of the goods 2 are captured, a mechanical, electrical and/or magnetic model of the goods 2 is created in an automated manner, which model is used to ascertain, on the basis of known physical principles, the boundary conditions up to which devices of the order-picking system 1, such as robots and a conveying system, can be actuated without errors occurring during order picking.

[0056] A measuring device 6 is also illustrated. Said measuring device 6 can be used to capture one or more mechanical, optical, magnetic, and/or electrical properties of the goods 2, in order to be able to use said properties in particular for a model creation and ascertainment of boundary conditions of the devices of the order-picking system.

[0057] FIG. 2 shows a side view of the order-picking system 1 from FIG. 1. As can be seen in this case, multiple cameras 5 can be arranged at the belt transfer unit 4 in order to establish a most accurate possible 3D image of the goods 2. Additionally, other active or passive sensors, such as radar sensors or infrared cameras, for example, can of course be provided in order to determine a most accurate possible model of the individual goods 2.

[0058] FIG. 3 shows an interaction of multiple handling systems embodied as order-picking systems 1 with a central data processing unit that comprises a data storage 7. The individual order-picking systems 1 are connected to the data storage 7, for example a cloud storage, via data connections 8, so that data regarding properties of the goods 2 can be exchanged between the order-picking systems 1 via the data storage 7. Thus, if a manufacturer of a certain good 2 changes dimensions or packaging material of a good 2, for example, this can be captured using an order-picking system 1 and transmitted to the other order-picking systems 1 via the central data storage 7, so that errors due to handling parameters that are matched to the old properties of the goods 2 can already be avoided in these order-picking systems 1. Thus, a regular synchronization of the data that is captured using the individual order-picking systems 1 with regard to properties of the goods 2 takes place with the central data storage 7 via the data connections 8.

[0059] With a method according to the invention and a corresponding order-picking system 1, a particularly high efficiency during the order-picking of goods 2 from a storage facility onto a target load carrier can be achieved, since the individual goods 2 can be individually measured and, at the same time, devices of the order-picking system 1 can be actuated such that they are matched to the properties of the goods 2. The order-picking system 1 is thus not actuated according to an object that is the most inconvenient to transport, as is often typical with order-picking systems 1 from the prior art; rather, an optimal speed can be attained in each case.