CN110422540B - Automatic guide transport vechicle and storage system - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses an automatic guide transport vehicle and a storage system. In this automatic guide transport vechicle: the transmission unit is arranged on the gantry and used for transporting the target object into the shelf and taking the target object out of the shelf; the gantry is fixedly connected above the chassis; the auxiliary wheel is arranged on the side surface of the chassis; when the automatic guided transport vehicle runs on the main road relatively far away from the goods shelf, the auxiliary wheel retracts into the chassis; when the transmission unit carries the object into the goods shelf and when the transmission unit takes the object out of the goods shelf, the auxiliary wheels extend out of the chassis and extend into the bottom space of the goods shelf. The invention can improve the stability of the automatic guide transport vehicle and can provide the volume utilization rate of the storage system.

Description

Automatic guide transport vechicle and storage system

The present application claims priority from the chinese patent application with application number 201910852573.X entitled "an automated guided vehicle and a storage system" filed by the chinese patent office at 10/09/2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of automatic warehousing and storage logistics, in particular to an automatic guide transport vehicle and a warehousing system.

Background

The storage logistics mainly refers to the storage, the keeping, the loading, the unloading, the transportation and the delivery of goods by utilizing self-built or leased storehouses and yards.

In the recent large environment of rapid development of electronic commerce, the robot freight technology in the field of modern warehouse logistics has become a hot spot. Among them, robots for automatic shipment are automatic guided vehicles (AGV for short) in english translation.

Compared with the traditional goods transportation mode, the AGV has the advantages of high automation degree, flexible application, safety, reliability, high efficiency and the like, and the advantages enable the robot goods transportation technology to become an important technology in the modern logistics storage system.

In the prior art, the chassis width of the AGV must be less than the distance between adjacent shelves (i.e., aisle width) or it cannot walk between shelves. It can be seen that the chassis size of an AGV is limited by the width of the aisle between adjacent shelves.

In the actual work in-process, in order to guarantee higher warehouse volume utilization, the passageway width generally can not be done too big, and this also makes AGV chassis size can not be done too big to, when AGV transmission packing box, appear rocking easily, empty the unstable risk of transportation such as. If the chassis area is large and the lateral length is long in order to improve the stability of the AGV, the distance between adjacent shelves needs to be correspondingly large (i.e., the aisle width is large), which results in a low warehouse volume utilization rate.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, the present invention provides an automatic guided vehicle and a storage system, so as to improve the stability of the automatic guided vehicle and improve the utilization rate of the storage volume.

In order to achieve the purpose, the invention provides the following technical scheme:

an automated guided vehicle comprising a mast, a transfer unit, a chassis, and auxiliary wheels, wherein:

the conveying unit is arranged on the gantry and used for conveying the target objects into the shelf and taking the target objects out of the shelf;

the gantry is fixedly connected above the chassis;

the auxiliary wheel is arranged on the side surface of the chassis;

when the automatic guided vehicle is in a first working state, the auxiliary wheels retract into the chassis, and the first working state is as follows: when the automated guided vehicle is traveling on a arterial road relatively far from the rack;

when the automatic guided transporting vehicle is in a second working state, the auxiliary wheels extend out of the chassis and extend into the bottom space of the goods shelf, and the second working state is as follows: when the transfer unit carries the object into the shelf, and when the transfer unit takes the object out of the shelf.

Preferably, in the above automatic guided vehicle, the auxiliary wheel is retracted into the chassis when the automatic guided vehicle is in a third operating state, where the third operating state is: when the automatically guided transport vehicle is traveling in the aisle defined by the adjacent racks and the object is not being handled and removed.

Preferably, in the above automatic guided vehicle, the chassis is provided with the auxiliary wheels on opposite sides thereof, respectively;

or, the auxiliary wheel is arranged on only one side of the chassis.

Preferably, in the above automatic guided vehicle, a plurality of layers of storage units are provided on the rack;

the transfer unit can be lifted and lowered along the longitudinal beam of the gantry and stopped at different height positions so as to convey the target objects to or take the target objects out of the storage units at different height positions.

Preferably, in the above automatic guided vehicle, a hooking mechanism is provided at an outlet of the transport unit, the hooking mechanism being configured to transport the object into the rack and to take out the object from the rack;

or an outlet of the transmission unit is provided with a telescopic fork, and the telescopic fork is used for transporting the target object into the goods shelf and taking the target object out of the goods shelf;

or an outlet of the transmission unit is provided with a clamping and holding mechanism, and the clamping and holding mechanism is used for transporting the target object into the goods shelf and taking the target object out of the goods shelf;

or, an outlet of the conveying unit is provided with a mechanical arm, and the mechanical arm is used for conveying the target object into the shelf and taking the target object out of the shelf.

Preferably, in above-mentioned automatic guided transporting vehicle, the transmission unit includes can follow the longeron of portal goes up and down and stops the crane and the setting of in the high position of difference are in collude on the crane and draw the mechanism, collude and draw the mechanism and include the fixed plate, be provided with the first expansion plate of telescopic on the fixed plate, be provided with the telescopic second expansion plate on the first expansion plate, the second expansion plate is located one end in the fixed plate is provided with the push pedal, and the other end is provided with the rotatable driving lever in order to get the put target thing.

Preferably, in the automated guided vehicle, the gantry is provided with a plurality of fixed trays for storing the objects, the transfer unit is capable of transferring the objects on the plurality of fixed trays into the racks, respectively, and the transfer unit is capable of taking out and placing the objects in the racks on the fixed trays, respectively.

Preferably, in the above automatic guided vehicle, a plurality of the fixed pallets are sequentially fixedly connected to the gantry in a longitudinal direction.

A storage system comprising an automated guided vehicle and a rack, the automated guided vehicle being as hereinbefore described.

Preferably, in the storage system, a bottom space is provided at the bottom of the shelf, and the auxiliary wheel can extend into the bottom space of the shelf when extending out of the chassis.

According to the technical scheme, in the automatic guide transport vehicle and the storage system, in order to increase the stability of the automatic guide transport vehicle, the telescopic auxiliary wheels are additionally arranged on the side face of the chassis, and when the conveying unit executes a carrying task, the auxiliary wheels stretch out, so that the transverse supporting width of the chassis is further widened, the stability of the chassis is improved, and the risk of unstable transportation such as shaking, toppling and the like of the automatic guide transport vehicle is avoided.

Moreover, in the automatic guided transporting vehicle and the warehousing system provided by the invention:

(1) the stability of the chassis is improved, so that the portal frame of the automatic guided transport vehicle can be set higher, the height of the goods shelf is set higher, the number of layers of the storage units for storing the target objects is set higher, and the purpose of increasing the utilization rate of the warehouse in the height direction can be achieved;

(2) because the auxiliary wheels can be retracted, the transverse supporting width of the bottom plate does not need to be widened, so that the main channel does not need to be widened, and the width of the main channel is smaller, so that the utilization rate of the warehouse in the horizontal direction is increased;

(3) because the auxiliary wheel can stretch into the bottom space of the goods shelf, the width of a passageway between two adjacent goods shelves can be set to be smaller and slightly larger than the width of the door frame and the transmission unit, and the utilization rate of the warehouse in the horizontal direction can be increased by reducing the width of the passageway between the goods shelves.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of an automated guided vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural view of a hooking mechanism provided in a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of an automated guided vehicle according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural view of a hooking mechanism provided in a second embodiment of the invention;

fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of automatically guiding the transportation vehicle to pick and place the target object according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a basic structure of a warehousing system provided in a fourth embodiment of the invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic overall structure diagram of a warehousing system provided in a fourth embodiment of the invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic overall structure diagram of a warehousing system provided in a fifth embodiment of the invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural view of a shelf according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Wherein:

1-automatic guided vehicle (i.e., AGV), 2-rack, 3-target,

11-gantry, 12-transmission unit, 13-chassis, 14-auxiliary wheel,

21-a support leg which is provided with a support leg,

110-a fixed tray, which is fixed on the tray,

120-a deflector rod, 121-a lifting frame, 122-a second expansion plate,

123-first expansion plate, 124-fixed plate, 125-push plate.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

First embodiment

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an automatic guided vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention; fig. 2 is a schematic structural view of a hooking mechanism provided in the first embodiment of the present invention.

The first embodiment of the present invention provides an automatic guided vehicle including a gantry 11, a transfer unit 12, a chassis 13, and auxiliary wheels 14. Wherein: the conveying unit 12 is arranged on the gantry 11, and is used for conveying the target 3 into the shelf 2 and taking out the target 3 from the shelf 2; the gantry 11 is fixedly connected above the chassis 13; auxiliary wheels 14 are provided on the sides of the chassis 13.

Specifically, if the pallet 2 is of the structure shown in fig. 6 (on two adjacent pallets 2, only the support legs 21 are provided on the outer side, and neither support leg 21 is provided on the inner side), there are two options for the control scheme of the auxiliary wheel 14 in the automatic guided vehicle:

(a) the first control scheme is as follows:

the auxiliary wheel 14 is extended only when the transfer unit 12 performs the transport task, and the auxiliary wheel 14 is retracted when the transfer unit 12 has performed the transport task. The specific process is as follows:

the auxiliary wheels 14 are retracted into the chassis 13 when the self-guided vehicle is in a first operating condition, i.e. when the self-guided vehicle is travelling on a arterial road relatively far from the pallet 2, i.e. "first operating condition";

when the automatic guided vehicle is in the second operating state, in which the auxiliary wheels 14 extend out of the chassis 13 and into the bottom space of the shelves 2 (see fig. 6), the second operating state is the "second operating state" both when the transport unit 12 carries the object 3 into the shelves 2 and when the transport unit 12 takes the object 3 out of the shelves 2 (at this time, the automatic guided vehicle is located in the aisle formed by the adjacent shelves 2 and stops at a fixed position);

the auxiliary wheels 14 are retracted into the chassis 13 when the automated guided vehicle is in a third operating state when the automated guided vehicle is traveling in the aisle defined by the adjacent racks 2 and the object 3 is not being carried and taken out (i.e., when the automated guided vehicle is traveling in the aisle defined by the adjacent racks 2 and the carrying task is not being performed).

(b) The second control scheme is as follows:

when the transport vehicle is automatically guided to enter the passageway formed by the adjacent goods shelves 2, the auxiliary wheels 14 extend out of the chassis 13; when the transfer unit 12 in the automated guided vehicle performs the task of carrying the object 3 and is about to return to the main passage, the auxiliary wheels 14 are retracted into the chassis 13. The term "main aisle" as used herein refers to a main aisle of the warehousing system away from the shelves 2 for automatically guiding the transportation vehicles, as shown by the large arrows in fig. 7 and 8.

That is, in the second control scheme (b), the auxiliary wheels 14 are retracted into the chassis 13 only in the first operating state; when the transport carriage is automatically guided into the aisle formed by adjacent shelves 2, in either the second operating position or the third operating position, the auxiliary wheels 14 extend all the way out of the chassis 13. (when the second control scheme (b) is adopted, as shown in figures 6 to 8, the inner sides of the shelves 2 at both sides of the aisle are not provided with supporting legs 21.)

It can be seen from the above technical solutions that, in the automatic guided vehicle provided in the first embodiment of the present invention, in order to increase the stability of the automatic guided vehicle, the retractable auxiliary wheels 14 are additionally disposed on the side surfaces of the chassis 13, and when the conveying unit 12 executes a carrying task, the auxiliary wheels 14 extend out, so as to further widen the lateral support width of the chassis 13, improve the stability of the chassis 13, and avoid the risk of unstable transportation, such as shaking, toppling, etc., of the automatic guided vehicle.

Furthermore, a first embodiment of the present invention provides an automated guided vehicle, wherein:

(1) the stability of the chassis 13 is improved, so that the portal 11 of the automatic guided transport vehicle can be set higher, the height of the shelf 2 is set higher, and the number of layers of the storage units for storing the target 3 is set higher, so that the purpose of increasing the utilization rate of the warehouse in the height direction can be achieved;

(2) since the auxiliary wheels 14 can be retracted, it is not necessary to widen the lateral support width of the bottom plate 13, and therefore it is not necessary to widen the main aisle, which is smaller in width, which is advantageous to increase the utilization of the warehouse in the horizontal direction;

(3) because the auxiliary wheels 14 can extend into the bottom space of the shelves 2, the width of the passageway between two adjacent shelves 2 can be set to be smaller and slightly larger than the width of the portal 11 and the width of the transmission unit 12, and the utilization rate of the warehouse in the horizontal direction can be increased by reducing the width of the passageway between the shelves 2.

Specifically, the object 3 referred to herein is a container or other transported item.

Specifically, the auxiliary wheel 14 can be driven by a motor to extend and retract, and the driving direction and start and stop of the motor are controlled by a sensor and a controller.

Specifically, the chassis 13 is provided with auxiliary wheels 14 on opposite sides thereof, respectively.

Specifically, the exit of the transport unit 12 is provided with a pick-and-place mechanism for carrying the object 3 into the rack 2 and for taking the object 3 out of the rack 2. The pick-and-place mechanism is a hook-pull mechanism, a telescopic fork, a clamping mechanism, a mechanical arm and the like.

Specifically, a plurality of layers of storage units are arranged on the shelf 2; the transfer unit 12 can be lifted and lowered along the longitudinal beams of the gantry 11 and stopped at different height positions to carry the object 3 to and take out the object 3 from the storage units located at different height positions.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 1, one transfer unit 12 is provided in the gantry 11, and one object 3 can be carried at a time.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 1, the transfer unit 12 is arranged on the lifting frame 121 and can lift up and down along the longitudinal beam of the gantry 11 along with the lifting frame 121; the transfer unit 12 can be extended and contracted on the crane 121 by a driving device so as to pick and place the target 3 on the shelf 2.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 2, the transfer unit 12 takes and places the object 3 by a hook mechanism. The hooking mechanism includes a fixing plate 124, a first expansion plate 123, a second expansion plate 122, a shift lever 120, and a push plate 125.

When the transfer unit 12 is required to take out and transport one target object 3 in the shelf 2 to a destination, the operation process of the transfer unit 12 is as follows:

firstly, automatically guiding the transport vehicle to move to the position of the target object 3;

then, the conveying unit 12 is lifted or lowered along the gantry 11 to the height of the target object 3, and the inlet end of the conveying unit 12 is aligned with the target object 3;

finally, the first expansion plate 123 and the second expansion plate 122 synchronously extend out of the fixed plate 124 and reach two sides of the target object 3, after the shift lever 120 rotates to block the target object 3, the first expansion plate 123 and the second expansion plate 122 synchronously retract into the fixed plate 124, so that the target object 3 is taken and placed into the transmission unit 12, and then is transported to a target site along with an automatic guided transport vehicle.

When the object 3 needs to be placed back on the shelf 2 by the transferring unit 12, the operation of the transferring unit 12 is just reversed, specifically:

firstly, automatically guiding the transport vehicle to move to the vicinity of the shelf 2 with the object 3 and move to the position of a storage unit (namely, an object storage unit) where the object 3 needs to be placed;

then, the transfer unit 12 is raised or lowered to a corresponding height along the gantry 11, and the entrance end of the transfer unit 12 is aligned with the target storage unit;

then, the first expansion plate 123 and the second expansion plate 122 synchronously extend out of the fixing plate 124, and at this time, the target object is pushed into the target storage unit by 3 times through the push plate 125;

finally, the lever 120 is rotated away to the vertical position, and the first retractable plate 123 and the second retractable plate 122 are retracted into the fixed plate 124 synchronously, thereby completing the task of placing the object 3 back into the shelf 2.

When the automatic guided vehicle carries the object 3, since the lateral support width of the chassis 13 is widened by the auxiliary wheels 14, even if the number of storage units on the rack 2 is large and the gantry 11 is high, the automatic guided vehicle does not have unstable risks such as shaking and toppling.

Second embodiment

Referring to fig. 3 to 5, fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an automatic guided vehicle according to a second embodiment of the present invention; fig. 4 is a schematic structural view of a hooking mechanism provided in a second embodiment of the invention; fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a work procedure of automatically guiding a transport cart to pick and place a target object according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In a second embodiment of the invention, an automated guided vehicle is provided which differs from the automated guided vehicle provided in the first embodiment of the invention only in that: the gantry 11 is provided with a plurality of fixed trays 110 for storing the objects 3, the transfer unit 12 can transfer the objects 3 on the fixed trays 110 into the rack 2, respectively, and the transfer unit 12 can take out the objects 3 in the rack 2 and place them on the fixed trays 110, respectively.

Specifically, a plurality of fixed trays 110 are fixedly coupled to the gantry 11 in sequence in the longitudinal direction.

Specifically, the fixed tray 110 and the transmission unit 12 are respectively positioned at two sides of the gantry 11, and the transmission unit 12 is arranged on the lifting frame 121 and can lift up and down along the longitudinal beam of the gantry 11 along with the lifting frame 121; and, the transfer unit 12 can be rotated and extended and contracted on the crane 121 by a driving means to facilitate the transfer and pick-and-place of the target 3 between the fixed tray 10 and the shelf 2.

Preferably, the transmission unit 12 is arranged on the lifting frame 121 and can lift up and down along the longitudinal beam of the gantry 11 along with the lifting frame 121; and, the transfer unit 12 can be rotated and extended and contracted on the crane 121 by a driving means to facilitate the transfer and pick-and-place of the target 3 between the fixed tray 10 and the shelf 2.

Specifically, referring to fig. 3 to 5, when the transmission unit 12 is required to take out the first object and the second object in the shelf 2 in sequence and transport the objects to the destinations respectively:

firstly, automatically guiding the transport vehicle to move to the position of a first target object, ascending or descending the transmission unit 12 to the height of the first target object along the gantry 11, and aligning the inlet end of the transmission unit 12 with the first target object; (see the first step of FIG. 5, attached figure a)

Then, the first expansion plate 123 and the second expansion plate 122 synchronously extend out of the fixed plate 124 to reach two sides of the first object; (see the second step of FIG. 5, b)

Then, after the driving lever 120 rotates to block the first object, the first retractable plate 123 and the second retractable plate 122 retract into the fixed plate 124 synchronously again, and thus the first object is taken and placed into the transmission unit 12; (see the third step of fig. 5, fig. c)

Then, the transmission unit 12 rotates by 90 degrees and even moves up and down, so that the inlet end of the transmission unit 12 is aligned with a vacant fixed tray 10; the first retractable plate 123 and the second retractable plate 122 synchronously extend out of the fixing plate 124, and at this time, the first target object can be pushed onto the fixing tray 10 by the pushing plate 125; (see the fourth step in FIG. 5, drawing d)

Then, the transfer unit 12 is translated and retracted onto the crane 121; (see the fifth step in FIG. 5, fig. e)

Then, automatically guiding the transport vehicle to move to the position of the second object, and transporting the second object to another empty fixed tray 10, wherein the transporting process is the same as the above;

finally, the piece is placed by a carrying action opposite to the above-mentioned piece taking process.

When one or more objects 3 need to be taken or put, the working process can be analogized according to the above process, and the description is omitted.

In summary, as shown in fig. 3, in the automated guided vehicle provided in the second embodiment of the present invention, the gantry 11 may carry a single target 3, or may carry a plurality of targets 3, and may carry one or more targets 3 at a time.

In addition, the control scheme of the auxiliary wheel 14 in the automated guided vehicle provided in the second embodiment of the present invention is the same as the first control scheme (a) and the second control scheme (b) provided in the first embodiment of the present invention.

Third embodiment

In a third embodiment of the invention there is provided an automated guided vehicle similar to that provided in the first embodiment of the invention (or similar to that provided in the second embodiment of the invention) except that: the chassis 13 is provided with auxiliary wheels 14 only on one side in the conveying direction. (see, for example, FIG. 1. the automated guided vehicle may have only auxiliary wheels 14 provided therein as shown, and may have no auxiliary wheels 14 provided on the opposite side.)

Since the automatic guided vehicle is most likely to topple in the direction of the object 3 to be conveyed and rarely topples in the reverse direction when conveying goods, the auxiliary wheels 14 are provided only on the side to prevent toppling and shaking.

Fourth embodiment

Referring to fig. 6 and 7, fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a basic unit of a warehousing system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; fig. 7 is a schematic overall structure diagram of a warehousing system provided in a fourth embodiment of the invention.

The fourth embodiment of the present invention provides a warehousing system, which includes an automatic guided vehicle 1 and a shelf 2, where the automatic guided vehicle 1 is the automatic guided vehicle provided in the first embodiment. Moreover, the bottom of the shelf 2 is provided with a bottom space, and the auxiliary wheel 14 can extend into the bottom space of the shelf 2 when extending out of the chassis 13.

Specifically, referring to fig. 6 and 7, the shelves 2 on both sides of the aisle have no support legs 21 at the bottom of the inner sides thereof, or the support legs 21 on the inner sides thereof are completely cut off; and, between two shelves 2 that are located the both sides of passageway, support through the top crossbeam. (in the shelf 2, the side close to the aisle is the inner side, and the side far away from the aisle is the outer side)

Thus, not only the aisle width can be minimized (only slightly larger than the container width), but also automatically guided vehicles with chassis widths larger than the aisle width can be passed through.

It can be seen that the warehousing system provided by the fourth embodiment of the invention comprises:

(1) to improve AGV stability, the chassis is designed to be of a variable configuration. A telescopic auxiliary wheel 14 is added on the chassis 13 of the AGV, when the transmission unit 12 works, the auxiliary wheel 14 extends out, the chassis 13 is further widened, and the stability of the chassis 13 is improved;

(2) in order to improve the utilization rate of the warehouse volume, the structure of the goods shelves 2 is changed, the width of the passage between the adjacent goods shelves 2 is reduced, and the supporting legs 21 at the inner sides (close to the two sides of the passage) of the goods shelves 2 are cancelled, so that the goods shelves can still pass through the passage under the conditions that the chassis is widened and the auxiliary wheels are extended out;

(3) the bottom of the rack 2 is provided with a space for the chassis 13 to pass through, so that the AGV can pass through smoothly even if the aisle width is smaller than the width of the chassis 13 after the auxiliary wheels 14 extend out.

The fourth embodiment of the present invention provides a warehousing system in which the control scheme of the auxiliary wheels 14 in the automated guided vehicles is the same as the first control scheme (a) and the second control scheme (b) provided in the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fifth embodiment

Referring to fig. 8, fig. 8 is a schematic view of an overall structure of a warehousing system according to a fifth embodiment of the invention.

A fifth embodiment of the present invention provides a warehousing system, which is different from the warehousing system provided by the fourth embodiment of the present invention only in that: the automated guided vehicle 1 in the warehousing system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention is the automated guided vehicle provided in the second embodiment.

Sixth embodiment

A sixth embodiment of the present invention provides a warehousing system, which is different from the warehousing system provided by the fourth embodiment of the present invention only in that: the automated guided vehicle 1 in the warehousing system according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention is the automated guided vehicle according to the third embodiment.

Seventh embodiment

A seventh embodiment of the present invention provides a warehousing system similar to the warehousing system provided in the fourth embodiment, the fifth embodiment or the sixth embodiment of the present invention, except that in the warehousing system provided in the seventh embodiment of the present invention:

a plurality of supporting legs 21 (see fig. 9) are arranged on the inner side and the outer side of the bottom of each shelf 2; when the auxiliary wheel 14 extends out (at this time, the transport vehicle is automatically guided to stop, the transmission unit 12 conveys the target object 3 into the shelf 2 or takes out the target object 3 from the shelf 2), the support leg 21 is not arranged at the corresponding position of the bottom of the shelf 2;

the control scheme of the auxiliary wheels 14 in the automated guided vehicle can adopt only the first control scheme (a) described in the first embodiment of the present invention, that is, the auxiliary wheels 14 are extended only when the transfer unit 12 performs the carrying task, and the auxiliary wheels 14 are retracted when the transfer unit 12 has performed the carrying task. For a specific process, reference may be made to the first specific embodiment of the present invention, which is not described herein again.

Finally, it should also be noted that, herein, relational terms such as first and second, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Also, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

The embodiments in the present description are described in a progressive manner, each embodiment focuses on differences from other embodiments, and the same and similar parts among the embodiments are referred to each other.

The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims (4)

1. An automated guided vehicle, characterized in that it comprises a mast (11), a transfer unit (12), a chassis (13) and auxiliary wheels (14), wherein:

the conveying unit (12) is arranged on the gantry (11) and is used for conveying the target object (3) into the shelf (2) and taking the target object (3) out of the shelf (2);

the gantry (11) is fixedly connected above the chassis (13);

the auxiliary wheels (14) are respectively arranged on two opposite sides of the chassis (13);

when the automatic guided vehicle is in a first working state, the auxiliary wheels (14) are retracted into the chassis (13), and the first working state is as follows: when the automated guided vehicle is travelling on a arterial road relatively far from the pallet (2);

when the automatic guided vehicle is in a second working state, the auxiliary wheels (14) extend out of the chassis (13) and extend into the bottom space of the goods shelf (2), and the second working state is as follows: when the transfer unit (12) transports the object (3) into the rack (2), and when the transfer unit (12) takes the object (3) out of the rack (2);

when the automatic guided vehicle is in a third working state, the auxiliary wheels (14) are retracted into the chassis (13), and the third working state is that: when the automated guided vehicle is traveling in the aisle formed by the adjacent racks (2) and the object (3) is not being handled and removed;

a plurality of layers of storage units are arranged on the goods shelf (2);

the conveying unit (12) can be lifted along the longitudinal beam of the gantry (11) and stopped at different height positions so as to convey the target object (3) to the storage units at different height positions or take the target object (3) out of the storage units at different height positions;

a hooking and pulling mechanism is arranged at an outlet of the transmission unit (12), and is used for transporting the target object (3) into the shelf (2) and taking the target object (3) out of the shelf (2);

the conveying unit (12) comprises a lifting frame (121) which can lift along a longitudinal beam of the gantry (11) and stop at different height positions, and a hooking mechanism arranged on the lifting frame (121), wherein the hooking mechanism comprises a fixed plate (124), a first telescopic plate (123) which is telescopic is arranged on the fixed plate (124), a second telescopic plate (122) which is telescopic is arranged on the first telescopic plate (123), one end, positioned in the fixed plate (124), of the second telescopic plate (122) is provided with a push plate (125), and the other end of the second telescopic plate is provided with a shifting lever (120) which can rotate to take and place the target object (3);

the first expansion plate (123) and the second expansion plate (122) synchronously extend out of the fixed plate (124), and after reaching the two sides of the target object (3), the deflector rod (120) rotates to block the target object (3) so as to pull out the target object (3);

after the shifting lever (120) is rotated and moved away to the vertical position, the first expansion plate (123) and the second expansion plate (122) synchronously retract into the fixed plate (124) so as to put the target object (3) back into the shelf (2).

2. The automated guided vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of fixed trays (110) for storing the objects (3) are provided on the gantry (11), the transport unit (12) can transport the objects (3) on the plurality of fixed trays (110) into the rack (2), respectively, and the transport unit (12) can take out and place the objects (3) in the rack (2) on the fixed trays (110), respectively.

3. The automated guided vehicle according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of fixed pallets (110) are secured longitudinally in succession to the gantry (11).

4. A storage system comprising an automated guided vehicle (1) and a pallet (2), characterized in that the automated guided vehicle (1) is an automated guided vehicle according to any of claims 1 to 3, the bottom of the pallet (2) is provided with a bottom space, and the auxiliary wheels (14) can extend into the bottom space of the pallet (2) when extending out of the chassis (13).

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