CN112249187A - Sorting system and robot - Google Patents

Sorting system and robot Download PDF

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Publication number
CN112249187A
CN112249187A CN201910663203.1A CN201910663203A CN112249187A CN 112249187 A CN112249187 A CN 112249187A CN 201910663203 A CN201910663203 A CN 201910663203A CN 112249187 A CN112249187 A CN 112249187A
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China
Prior art keywords
delivery
robot
delivered
item
target
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Granted
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CN201910663203.1A
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Chinese (zh)
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CN112249187B (en
Inventor
刘凯
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Beijing Geekplus Technology Co Ltd
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Beijing Geekplus Technology Co Ltd
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Priority to CN201910663203.1A priority Critical patent/CN112249187B/en
Priority to PCT/CN2020/078975 priority patent/WO2021012687A1/en
Publication of CN112249187A publication Critical patent/CN112249187A/en
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Publication of CN112249187B publication Critical patent/CN112249187B/en
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
    • B62D—MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS
    • B62D57/00—Vehicles characterised by having other propulsion or other ground- engaging means than wheels or endless track, alone or in addition to wheels or endless track
    • B62D57/02—Vehicles characterised by having other propulsion or other ground- engaging means than wheels or endless track, alone or in addition to wheels or endless track with ground-engaging propulsion means, e.g. walking members
    • B62D57/028—Vehicles characterised by having other propulsion or other ground- engaging means than wheels or endless track, alone or in addition to wheels or endless track with ground-engaging propulsion means, e.g. walking members having wheels and mechanical legs
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
    • B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
    • B07C3/00—Sorting according to destination
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
    • B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
    • B07C3/00—Sorting according to destination
    • B07C3/02—Apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
    • B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
    • B07C5/00—Sorting according to a characteristic or feature of the articles or material being sorted, e.g. by control effected by devices which detect or measure such characteristic or feature; Sorting by manually actuated devices, e.g. switches
    • B07C5/36—Sorting apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
    • B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
    • B07C5/00—Sorting according to a characteristic or feature of the articles or material being sorted, e.g. by control effected by devices which detect or measure such characteristic or feature; Sorting by manually actuated devices, e.g. switches
    • B07C5/36—Sorting apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution
    • B07C5/361—Processing or control devices therefor, e.g. escort memory
    • B07C5/362—Separating or distributor mechanisms
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
    • G05D1/00—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots
    • G05D1/02—Control of position or course in two dimensions
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
    • G05D1/00—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots
    • G05D1/02—Control of position or course in two dimensions
    • G05D1/021—Control of position or course in two dimensions specially adapted to land vehicles
    • G05D1/0212—Control of position or course in two dimensions specially adapted to land vehicles with means for defining a desired trajectory
    • G05D1/0225—Control of position or course in two dimensions specially adapted to land vehicles with means for defining a desired trajectory involving docking at a fixed facility, e.g. base station or loading bay
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
    • G05D1/00—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots
    • G05D1/02—Control of position or course in two dimensions
    • G05D1/021—Control of position or course in two dimensions specially adapted to land vehicles
    • G05D1/0268—Control of position or course in two dimensions specially adapted to land vehicles using internal positioning means
    • G05D1/0274—Control of position or course in two dimensions specially adapted to land vehicles using internal positioning means using mapping information stored in a memory device
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
    • G05D1/00—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots
    • G05D1/02—Control of position or course in two dimensions
    • G05D1/021—Control of position or course in two dimensions specially adapted to land vehicles
    • G05D1/0287—Control of position or course in two dimensions specially adapted to land vehicles involving a plurality of land vehicles, e.g. fleet or convoy travelling
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P90/00—Enabling technologies with a potential contribution to greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions mitigation
    • Y02P90/02—Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Radar, Positioning & Navigation (AREA)
  • Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
  • Remote Sensing (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Transportation (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Warehouses Or Storage Devices (AREA)

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a sorting system and a robot. The sorting system comprises: the system comprises a control server, a plurality of robots deployed in a delivery area and a plurality of delivery ports, wherein the control server is configured to plan a delivery path for a robot delivering an item to be delivered at least according to the path information of the item to be delivered and send the delivery path to the robot delivering the item to be delivered; the location of at least a portion of the plurality of delivery openings is on the delivery path; the robot is configured to drive to a target delivery port matched with the route information of the item to be delivered according to the delivery route; and when the robot drives to the target delivery port and the target delivery port is positioned below the delivery mechanism of the robot, controlling the delivery mechanism to deliver the item to be delivered positioned on the delivery mechanism to the target delivery port from the upper part of the target delivery port. By adopting the scheme, barrier-free delivery operation of the robot can be realized, delivery blocking frequency in the delivery process is reduced, and delivery efficiency of the delivery robot is improved.

Description

Sorting system and robot
Technical Field
The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of logistics storage, in particular to a sorting system and a robot.
Background
With the rapid development of the warehouse logistics industry, automation technology is gradually introduced to various links of the warehouse logistics industry, such as a sorting and delivering link, so as to realize intelligent and automatic sorting and delivering operations.
Currently, in the existing sorting system, a plurality of delivery ports (for example, the delivery ports may be a grid of a steel platform erected on the ground or a container port of a container arranged on the ground or the like) are arranged in an array, a longitudinal channel and a transverse channel are formed between the delivery ports for a robot to travel, the robot travels along at least one of the longitudinal channel and the transverse channel with a certain item (for example, a parcel express) and stops at one side of one of the delivery ports, and the item is delivered to the side of the delivery port.
However, the delivery port is an obstacle in the map on which the robot travels, and the influence of the obstacle needs to be considered when planning the path for the robot, so that the flexibility of the travel path of the robot is hindered, and the overall performance and efficiency of the sorting system are influenced. Moreover, each robot can only carry and deliver one item once, and for a plurality of items, the robot must repeatedly take the items from the goods supply table and then deliver the items, so that the process of repeatedly taking the items by the robot also increases the total delivery path of the robot to some extent, and the overall performance and efficiency of the sorting system are influenced.
Therefore, there is a pressing need for improvements to existing sorting schemes.
Disclosure of Invention
The embodiment of the invention provides a sorting system and a robot, which at least partially solve the problems of low overall performance and poor efficiency of the sorting system.
In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an article delivery system, including: the system comprises a control server, a plurality of robots deployed in a delivery area and a plurality of delivery ports, wherein the control server is in wireless communication with the plurality of robots; wherein,
the control server is configured to plan a delivery path for a robot delivering the item to be delivered at least according to the route information of the item to be delivered, and send the delivery path to the robot delivering the item to be delivered; the location of at least a portion of the plurality of delivery ports is on the delivery path;
the robot is configured to drive to a target delivery port matched with the route information of the item to be delivered according to the delivery route; and when the robot travels to the target delivery port and the target delivery port is positioned below a delivery mechanism of the robot, controlling the delivery mechanism to deliver the item to be delivered positioned on the delivery mechanism to the target delivery port from the upper part of the target delivery port.
In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a robot for delivering an item to be delivered, including a driving mechanism, a traveling mechanism, a delivery mechanism, a communication unit and a control unit, where the control unit is electrically connected to the communication unit and the driving mechanism, respectively, and the item to be delivered is located on the delivery mechanism;
the communication unit is configured to receive a delivery path, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of delivery openings in the sorting area are located on the delivery path;
the control unit is configured to control the driving mechanism to drive the traveling mechanism to travel to a target delivery port matched with the route information of the item to be delivered according to the delivery route, and when the traveling is to the target delivery port and the target delivery port is positioned below the delivery mechanism, the delivery mechanism is controlled to deliver the item to be delivered to the target delivery port from the upper part of the target delivery port.
The embodiment of the invention provides a sorting scheme, when a control server plans a delivery path for a robot, a delivery port can be positioned on the delivery path, namely the position of the delivery port can be used as a part of the delivery path and can not be used as a barrier when the delivery path is planned, and the position of the delivery port does not need to be bypassed, a walking mechanism of the robot can drive to the delivery port, a delivery mechanism can pass through the delivery port from the upper part, and a project can be directly delivered downwards vertically to enter a target delivery port. By adopting the scheme of the embodiment, the position of the delivery port in the delivery area is no longer an obstacle in the map, and the position of the delivery port can be completely planned to be a part of the delivery path, so that the flexibility of the delivery path of the robot is improved, the shortest or most appropriate delivery path can be planned when the delivery path is planned for the robot, and the influence of the position of the delivery port is avoided.
The above summary of the present invention is merely an overview of the technical solutions of the present invention, and the present invention can be implemented in accordance with the content of the description in order to make the technical means of the present invention more clearly understood, and the above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood.
Drawings
Other features, objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments thereof, made with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. Also, like reference numerals are used to refer to like parts throughout the drawings. In the drawings:
fig. 1 is a block diagram of a sorting system provided in an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 2 is a schematic view of a scene structure of a sorting system provided in an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a chassis driving mechanism of a robot in the sorting system provided in the embodiment of the invention;
fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of another robot in the sorting system provided in the embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another robot in the sorting system provided in the embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 6 is a schematic view of a scene structure of another sorting system provided in the embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 7 is a schematic view of a scene between a robot and a robot running track provided in an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 8 is a block diagram of a robot located in a sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show exemplary embodiments of the invention, however, it should be understood that the exemplary embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not limiting thereof. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In addition, it should be noted that, for convenience of description, only a part of structures related to the present invention, not all of the structures, are shown in the drawings.
The following embodiments and alternatives thereof will be described in detail with respect to the article delivery system and the robot provided in the embodiments of the present invention.
Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the technical solution of this embodiment is applicable to item delivery in a sorting scenario, and is applicable to item delivery in a floor type sorting scenario or in a steel platform sorting scenario, where a robot runs on the ground, a cargo container (e.g., a cage) is also disposed on the ground, and a delivery mechanism of the robot is higher than the cargo container or both so as to ensure that the robot delivers a package on the delivery mechanism into the cargo container. As shown in fig. 1, the sorting system 100 provided in the embodiment of the present invention specifically includes: a control server 110, at least one robot 120 deployed in a delivery area, and a plurality of delivery portals 130; and, the control server 110 communicates wirelessly with a plurality of robots 120 deployed in the delivery area; wherein the control server 110 is configured to plan a delivery path for a robot delivering an item to be delivered at least according to the route information of the item to be delivered and to send the delivery path for the item to be delivered to a robot 120 for delivering the item to be delivered contained in the delivery area; the location of at least a portion of the plurality of delivery ports is on the delivery path;
the robot 120 is configured to travel to the destination delivery opening 130 matched with the route information of the item to be delivered, depending on the delivery route; and, when driving to the target delivery opening 130 and the target delivery opening 130 is located below the delivery mechanism of the robot 120, controlling the delivery mechanism to deliver items to be delivered located on the delivery mechanism vertically downward into the target delivery opening 130.
The items can be express packages in logistics sorting scenes, and also can be objects to be sorted in other sorting scenes.
It is understood that in the floor-type sorting scenario, the delivery openings are container openings of the cargo containers, and in the steel platform sorting scenario, the delivery openings are grid openings arranged on the steel platform.
In this embodiment, fig. 2 is a schematic view of a scene structure of a sorting system provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 2, the control server 110 may establish a wireless communication connection with robots 120 deployed in a delivery area for enabling control and scheduling of the robots 120. Wherein the robot 120 may specifically be a delivery robot located within a delivery area for delivering items. Alternatively, the control server 110 refers to a software and/or hardware system having data information storage and data information processing capabilities, which may be communicatively coupled to each robot 120 and other hardware devices or software systems in the sorting system 100 in a wireless manner. Alternatively, the control server 110 may send delivery tasks to the robot 120 in the sorting system 100 and other hardware devices or software systems in the sorting system, count delivery of items, detect the operating status of the sorting system, transmit information to workers, issue control commands to various types of robots in the sorting system 100, and the like.
In the present embodiment, referring to fig. 2, taking the robot 120 as a delivery robot as an example, a plurality of delivery robots 120 and a plurality of delivery ports 130 are deployed in a delivery area. Optionally, the plurality of delivery ports 130 are disposed in an array in the delivery area with array gaps between the plurality of delivery ports 130. It should be noted that if the array has a large gap to accommodate the robot 120 or the worker, a longitudinal channel and a transverse channel for the robot 120 or the worker to walk may be formed; and if the array spacing is small, it cannot accommodate the robot 120 or staff.
In this embodiment, the items to be delivered refer to each type of item that needs to be delivered into a delivery opening that is pre-deployed in the delivery area. The item to be delivered is not limited to a particular form, and may be an item in the form of a package, or may be a particular piece of goods that is not packaged. When delivery is made, items to be delivered need to be delivered from the delivery opening into a cargo container associated with the delivery opening. Optionally, in a floor-type delivery scenario, the delivery port may refer to a container port of each cargo container disposed in the delivery area in an array; in the delivery scene of the steel platform, the delivery port can be a lattice port on the steel platform, and the lattice port on the steel platform and the cargo containers below the steel platform are arranged and deployed in a one-to-one correspondence manner.
In this embodiment, the cargo container may be a common container for receiving items to be delivered, such as a movable cargo box, a cage car, or the like. Alternatively, the same container may only be allowed to hold a plurality of items to be delivered with similar or identical attribute information, and the attribute information of the items to be delivered may include route information of the items to be delivered, such as the addresses of the items to be delivered. The attribute information of the item to be delivered may also include the type of the item to be delivered and its own attribute information, such as weight, volume, etc.
In the present embodiment, the detailed operation of the sorting system 100 will be described in detail below with reference to the schematic view of the sorting system shown in fig. 2. Referring to fig. 2, when a delivery area delivers an item to be delivered, control server 110 in sortation system 100 needs to send a planned one of the available delivery paths to robots 120 that are pre-deployed at the delivery area. In particular, the control server may plan a delivery path for the robot 120 for delivering the item to be delivered according to the route information of the item to be delivered. As can be seen from fig. 2, the control server 110 includes at least one specific position in the delivery path planned for the robot 120 delivering the item to be delivered, which specific position is a position of at least a part of the plurality of delivery openings located in the delivery area, so that it is ensured that the planned delivery path will pass through the position of the delivery opening 130 in the delivery area. It can be seen that the control server 110 does not choose to avoid the location of the delivery openings in the delivery area for path planning when planning a delivery path for the robot 120 for delivering the item to be delivered, but instead takes the location of the delivery openings in the delivery area as part of the delivery path.
In an optional manner of this embodiment, before the control server 110 sends the delivery route of the item to be delivered to the robot 120 for delivering the item to be delivered, the control server 110 needs to select an appropriate robot from the plurality of robots as the robot 120 for delivering the item to be delivered according to the operating conditions of each robot 120 deployed in the delivery area, and then control the robot 120 for delivering the item to be delivered to travel to the initial position of the item to be delivered and carry the item to be delivered. Meanwhile, the control server 110 may plan a delivery path for the robot 120 for delivering the item to be delivered according to the route information of the item to be delivered and transmit the delivery path to the robot 120 for delivering the item to be delivered.
Optionally, the operating conditions of the robot 120 include which specific location of the delivery zone the robot 120 is currently located at, and whether the robot 120 is in an idle state. Optionally, the control server 110 selects a robot which is nearest to the initial position of the item to be delivered and is in an idle state from the plurality of robots 120 according to the operation condition of each robot 120 as the selected appropriate robot 120 for delivering the item to be delivered. Wherein the initial position of the item to be delivered refers to a placement position before the item to be delivered is delivered, and the item to be delivered is generally placed near the delivery station before the item to be delivered is delivered.
In this embodiment, the target delivery port is a delivery port which is deployed in advance and is used for receiving items to be delivered by the robot, the items to be delivered with different attributes are delivered to different cargo containers from different target delivery ports, and then the items to be delivered with a certain attribute can be delivered to the cargo container corresponding to the target delivery port from a certain target delivery port. With continued reference to fig. 2, after the robot 120 deployed in the delivery area in advance receives the item delivery path for the item to be delivered sent by the control server 110, the robot 120 will travel to the target delivery port with the matched route information of the item to be delivered according to the travel route indicated by the received delivery path. And, the robot 120 for delivering the item to be delivered may pass through the position of at least a part of the plurality of delivery openings located in the delivery area while traveling along the delivery route, i.e., the robot 120 for delivering the item to be delivered may not avoid the position of at least a part of the plurality of delivery openings while traveling.
In the present embodiment, when the robot 120 for delivering the to-be-delivered items travels to the target delivery opening 130 to perform the operation of delivering the to-be-delivered items, delivery is not performed from the side of the cargo container corresponding to the target delivery opening 130 in a conventional delivery manner, and delivery is selected from above the target delivery opening 130 so that the to-be-delivered items are delivered to the cargo container from above the target delivery opening 130.
Based on the delivery mode, when the robot 120 for delivering the to-be-delivered items performs the delivery operation at the position of the target delivery opening 130, the delivery of the to-be-delivered items from the top of the target delivery opening 130 can be realized only if the to-be-delivered items carried by the robot 120 for delivering the to-be-delivered items need to be located above the target delivery opening 130. To this end, a delivery mechanism is required on the robot 120 for delivering the items to be delivered, by which the items to be delivered can be carried. The delivery robot 120 may carry the item to be delivered by the delivery facility and travel along the travel route indicated by the delivery path to the target delivery opening 130. When the robot 120 for delivering the to-be-delivered items drives to a position where the robot can enable the delivery mechanism to be located above the target delivery opening and to be aligned with the target delivery opening, at this time, the robot 120 for delivering the to-be-delivered items can control the delivery mechanism to directly deliver the to-be-delivered items carried by the robot to the cargo collection container corresponding to the target delivery opening from above the target delivery opening, so as to complete the delivery operation of the to-be-delivered items.
In this embodiment, optionally, a robot for transporting the container corresponding to the delivery opening is further included in the sorting system 100, and is referred to as a transport robot. The transfer robot may have an intelligent system, and may communicate with the control server 110 to receive a transfer command transmitted from the control server 110. The handling instructions at least comprise: location of the target delivery port 130 and route guidance information. And the carrying machine responds to the carrying instruction of the goods collection container corresponding to each target delivery opening 130, and carries the goods collection container corresponding to the target delivery opening 130 containing the items to be delivered to the corresponding goods collection station from the current position of the target delivery opening 130 according to the path navigation information of the carrying machine.
In addition, after the transfer robot carries away the container containing the item to be delivered, in order to prevent the subsequent item to be delivered from falling to the ground, the control server 110 simultaneously allocates another transfer robot to transfer an empty container to the corresponding destination delivery port. Alternatively, when the control server 110 allocates a transfer robot to an empty cargo container, it may plan a travel path for the transfer robot according to the current position of the empty cargo container and the position of the original target delivery port, generate a transfer instruction corresponding to the empty cargo container, and then send the transfer instruction to another transfer robot, where the transfer instruction includes the travel path of another transfer robot, so as to control another transfer robot to transfer the empty cargo container to the position of the corresponding target delivery port.
According to the sorting scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, a plurality of position points can be directly selected from any position points of the delivery area to plan the delivery path for the item to be delivered, so that the position of the delivery port in the delivery area is no longer a barrier in a map, the control server is more flexible in planning the delivery path without considering the problem that the delivery port in the delivery area can become a barrier, the delivery blocking frequency in the delivery process is reduced, the position of the delivery port can be completely planned as one part of the delivery path, the shortest delivery path can be planned when the delivery area plans the path for the delivery robot, the delivery efficiency of the delivery robot is further improved, the overall performance of the sorting system can be improved, and the overall sorting efficiency of the sorting system is greatly improved.
In an alternative to this embodiment, this embodiment may be combined with each of the alternatives in one or more of the embodiments described above. Referring to fig. 2, in the item sorting system according to the embodiment of the present invention, a to-be-delivered item carries a preset item identifier; wherein:
the control server 110 is configured to determine a target delivery port 130 corresponding to the item to be delivered according to an item identifier carried by the item to be delivered; and generating a delivery path for the item to be delivered in dependence of the position of the target delivery opening 130 disposed in the delivery area and the position of at least a part of the plurality of delivery openings.
In the embodiment, each item to be delivered carries a corresponding and matched item identifier, and the item identifier records the attribute information of the corresponding item to be delivered, so that the attribute information of the item to be delivered carrying the item identifier can be obtained through the item identifier; wherein the attribute information of the item to be delivered includes the route information of the item to be delivered, which can be referred to the foregoing description.
In the present embodiment, optionally, referring to fig. 2, at least one delivery station 140 is provided at a preset position of the delivery area, and an item identification reader is provided at a preset position of each delivery station 140. When a worker or robot at the delivery station 140 places an item to be delivered that needs to be delivered into the delivery mechanism of the delivery robot 120, the item identification reader may quickly read the item identification information carried on the item to be delivered. Meanwhile, the item identifier reader may send the scanned item identifier information to the control server 110 in a wireless or wired manner, so that the control server 110 may know the route information of the item to be delivered according to the item identifier information. Optionally, the item identification reader is embodied as a code scanning camera.
Illustratively, taking the item identifier as a barcode as an example, when the robot 120 travels to a preset position of the delivery station 140 and puts the item to be delivered into the delivery mechanism of the delivery robot 120, the item identifier reader located at the preset position of the delivery station 140 can quickly read the barcode carried on the item to be delivered. Furthermore, the item identifier reader located at the preset position of the delivery station 140 may send the scanned and read barcode information carried on the item to be delivered to the control server 110, so that the control server 110 knows the route information of the item to be delivered according to the barcode information.
In this embodiment, optionally, the control server 110 may store in advance a correspondence between the route information of the item to be delivered and the delivery port. After the corresponding relation between the route information of the items to be delivered and the delivery port is set, only the items to be delivered of the route information indicated by the target delivery port are allowed to be released at the target delivery port, and the items to be delivered of other route information are not allowed to be released, so that the items to be delivered are guaranteed to be delivered orderly in a grouping and classifying manner, and the items to be delivered are not delivered randomly and disorderly. Based on the above situation, the items to be delivered allowed to be contained in the container corresponding to the delivery port are related to the route information. And if the route information of the item to be delivered is the same as the route information associated with a certain container, the item to be delivered is considered to be contained in the container. The route information of the item to be delivered comprises a receiving address of the item to be delivered. After knowing the route information of the item to be delivered, the control server 110 may determine, according to the pre-stored correspondence, a delivery port corresponding to the route information of the item to be delivered, as a target delivery port matched with the route information of the item to be delivered, so as to subsequently deliver the item to be delivered from the target delivery port.
In this embodiment, optionally, the control server 110 may use the position of the target delivery port 130 in the delivery area as a delivery destination, use the initial position of the item to be delivered in the delivery area before delivery as a delivery start, select the position of at least a part of the delivery ports in the delivery area as an intermediate passing position, and plan at least one feasible delivery path, and then select a path with the minimum congestion degree and the shortest path from the at least one feasible delivery path as the delivery path of the item to be delivered according to the operation condition of the robot in the delivery area.
By adopting the mode, the following robot can be ensured to pass through the position of at least one delivery port in the delivery area according to the driving route indicated by the delivery path, so that the position of the delivery port in the delivery area is no longer an obstacle in a map, the position of the delivery port is completely planned to be one part of the delivery path, and the flexibility of the delivery path of the robot is improved.
Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a robot in a sorting system provided in an embodiment of the present invention. In an alternative to this embodiment, this embodiment may be combined with each of the alternatives in one or more of the embodiments described above. Referring to fig. 2 and 3, in the sorting system according to the embodiment of the present invention, a robot 120 for delivering items to be delivered in a delivery area is provided with a traveling mechanism 1201, and the traveling mechanism 1201 of the robot 120 is provided with a supporting component 1201a, where for convenience of description, the robot 120 for delivering items to be delivered is referred to as a delivery robot 120; wherein:
the support assembly 1201a is capable of supporting the delivery robot 120 in the delivery zone and enabling the delivery mechanisms 1202 of the delivery robot 120 in the delivery zone to travel over the delivery openings 130;
the delivery robot 120 is configured such that, when traveling to the position of the target delivery port 130 whose route information matches the item to be delivered and passing through the position of any one of the delivery ports indicated by the delivery route, the travel means 1201 of the delivery robot 120 itself passes across the any one of the delivery ports, and it is ensured that the delivery means 1202 itself is located above the any one of the delivery ports.
In this embodiment, the delivery robot 120 is provided with a traveling mechanism 1201, and the traveling mechanism 1201 of the robot 120 is provided with a supporting component 1201a, the delivery robot 120 can be supported by the supporting component 1201a, and simultaneously, the height of the lower surface of the delivery mechanism 1202 supporting the delivery robot 120 by the supporting component 1201a from the ground is greater than the height of the upper surface of each delivery port 130 in the delivery area from the ground, so as to ensure that the delivery robot 120 can cross any delivery port, and the delivery mechanism 1202 on the delivery robot 120 can run above the delivery port 130 without being blocked by the delivery port 130. Optionally, each delivery port 130 deployed in the floor-based sorting scenario in the delivery area is specifically a container port of each cargo container deployed in the delivery area.
In the present embodiment, referring to fig. 2 and 3, since the delivery path planned by the control server 110 includes at least the positions of at least some of the plurality of delivery ports deployed in the delivery area, when the delivery robot 120 travels along the travel route indicated by the delivery path, the delivery robot 120 necessarily needs to pass through the positions of at least some of the plurality of delivery ports indicated by the delivery path. At this time, when the delivery robot 120 passes through the position of at least some of the plurality of delivery openings, the delivery robot 120 may be supported by the support assembly 1201a in its own traveling mechanism 1201, the traveling mechanisms 1201 which can support the delivery robot 120 by the support assembly 1201a straddle the ground on both sides of the delivery opening 130, and it is ensured that its own delivery mechanism 1202 can travel above the delivery opening 130.
In an alternative way of this embodiment, referring to fig. 3, a driving mechanism is provided at a preset position of the delivery robot 120, and a driving wheel 1201b is provided at a preset position of the walking mechanism 1201 of the delivery robot 120 close to the ground, by which the driving mechanism is provided to drive the driving wheel 1201b in the walking mechanism 1201 of the delivery robot 120 to run straight and turn on the ground.
In an alternative example, the driving mechanism provided on the delivery robot 120 adopts a chassis driving mode which is a two-wheel differential driving mode. The two-wheel differential driving method is to use two driving motors when the driving mechanism on the delivery robot 120 drives the driving wheels 1201b on the left and right sides. The direction of the driving wheel 1201b in the walking mechanism 1201 can be changed through the differential driving of the left and right motors of the driving mechanism, and further the driving direction of the delivery robot 120 can be changed. Alternatively, the control server 110 may adjust the differential speed of the driving wheels 1201b on both sides in the travelling mechanism 1201 of the delivery robot 120 according to the size of the delivery zone, the volume of the delivery robot 120 and the turning radius of the delivery robot 120 to achieve the adjustment of the traveling direction of the delivery robot 120. Wherein the turning radius range of the delivery robot 120 in the delivery zone may be determined according to the spacing between the individual delivery openings in the delivery zone.
In this embodiment, the specific driving process of the delivery robot 120 is as follows: when the delivery robot 120 runs on a running route indicated by a delivery path sent by the control server 110 and encounters a straight running route, the delivery robot 120 can control a driving wheel 1201b in the running mechanism 1201 to keep running straight through a driving mechanism in a mode of mainly inertial navigation and secondarily visual navigation; when the delivery robot 120 travels on a travel route according to the delivery path indication and meets an arc travel route, the delivery robot 120 can drive the driving wheel 1201b of the traveling mechanism 1201 to turn by using a driving mechanism in a two-wheel differential driving mode. The arc driving route means that the delivery robot drives by adopting an arc path when turning, so that the delivery robot does not stop when turning, and the running time of the delivery robot is saved.
In the present embodiment, when the delivery route instructs the delivery robot 120 to turn between the delivery openings 130, the distance between the delivery openings needs to be set to meet the turning radius of the delivery robot to ensure that the delivery robot 120 can turn between the delivery openings 130. When the delivery path indicates that the delivery robot 120 does not need to turn between the delivery opening 130 spacings, but turns in a set open area, the spacings between the delivery openings need not meet the turning radius of the delivery robot. At this time, because the delivery robot 120 does not need to turn between the delivery slots 130, the delivery buckles 130 can be made as tight as possible, but it is necessary to ensure that the spacing between the delivery slots 130 can accommodate the support members 1201a and the drive wheels 1201b in the travelling mechanism 1201 of the delivery robot 120 to ensure that the travelling mechanism 1201 of the delivery robot can straddle the ground on both sides of the delivery slot 130 below its own delivery mechanism 1202.
In this embodiment, optionally, the position of the driving mechanism is not shown in fig. 3, but does not affect the function of the driving mechanism, and the driving mechanism may include a first driving component, by which the driving wheel 1201b in the walking mechanism 1201 of the delivery robot 120 may be driven to run. Further, the drive mechanism may comprise a second drive assembly by which the delivery mechanism 1202 of the delivery robot 120 may be controlled to effect delivery of the item to be delivered.
In another alternative example, fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a chassis driving mechanism of another delivery robot provided in the embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 4, the delivery robot of fig. 4, similar to the delivery robot of fig. 3, may also include a walking mechanism 1201, a delivery mechanism disposed on the chassis table, and a drive mechanism. The driving mechanism in fig. 4 is different from the driving mechanism in fig. 3 in that the driving mechanism of the delivery robot in fig. 4 adopts a chassis driving method, which is a mecanum wheel driving method. The driving wheels 1201b in the traveling mechanism 1201 can be driven by the driving mechanism, i.e., the driving of the four mecanum wheels can change the traveling direction of the delivery robot 120. When the delivery robot 120 adopts the Mecanum wheel driving mode without turning, the four Mecanum wheels in the walking mechanism 1201 are driven by the driving mechanism to realize omnibearing movement on the ground. In addition, the support assembly 1201a of the delivery robot in fig. 4 may be raised and lowered to support the delivery robot 120 and enable the delivery mechanisms 1202 of the delivery robot to travel over the delivery opening. Alternatively, for the delivery mechanism 1202, a delivery mechanism 1203 of a flap structure similar to that shown in FIG. 3 may be employed.
In this embodiment, although the mecanum wheel driving mode is adopted, the delivery robot 120 can realize omnidirectional movement without turning, in the process of omnidirectional movement, it still needs to be ensured that the distance between the delivery ports 130 can accommodate the supporting component 1201a and the driving wheel 1201b in the travelling mechanism 1201 of the delivery robot 120, so as to ensure that the travelling mechanism 1201 of the delivery robot can straddle the ground on both sides of the delivery port 130 below the delivery mechanism 1202 and the delivery mechanism 1202 runs above the delivery port 130.
In this embodiment, referring to figures 2 and 3, the location of a target delivery opening 130 in a delivery zone is both the location of one of the delivery openings in the delivery zone and the location of the end point when an item to be delivered is delivered. When the delivery robot 120 travels to the target delivery port 130 through the traveling mechanism 1201 and the target delivery port 130 is located below the delivery mechanism 1202 of the delivery robot 120 itself, that is, the delivery robot 120 reaches the position of the target cargo container 130 as shown in fig. 3 and ensures that the delivery mechanism 1202 is above the target delivery port 130, the item to be delivered carried by the delivery mechanism 1202 is directly delivered into the cargo container corresponding to the target delivery port 130 from above the target delivery port 130.
In an alternative manner of this embodiment, taking the delivery robot shown in fig. 3 as an example, only one delivery mechanism is disposed on the delivery robot, and a first partition and a second partition that are mirror images of each other are disposed on the lower surface of the delivery mechanism 1202 of the delivery robot itself, and the first partition and the second partition can be switched between an open state and a closed state. For example, the first and second partitions refer to two flaps turned vertically downward for carrying items to be delivered, the two flaps being switchable between an open state and a closed state.
In this embodiment, optionally, the first and second barriers of the delivery mechanism receive items to be delivered when in a closed state and drop into the target delivery opening when in an open state. Specifically, when the delivery robot 120 travels to a position where the target delivery port is located below the delivery mechanism 1202 of the robot itself, the delivery robot 120 may control the first and second barriers provided on the lower surface of the delivery mechanism 1202 to switch from the closed state to the open state. At the moment, when the first clapboard and the second clapboard of the delivery mechanism are switched from a closed state to an open state, the items to be delivered, which are carried by the first clapboard and the second clapboard, fall into the lower goods collecting container from the target delivery opening. Optionally, after the delivery robot finishes delivering the to-be-delivered items, the delivery robot further controls the first partition board and the second partition board to be in a closed state, and then subsequently loads the to-be-delivered items of the next round.
In another alternative of this embodiment, at least one of the plurality of robots 120 deployed in the delivery area includes at least two delivery mechanisms 1202 disposed on the robot 120 in a vertical orientation. To more intuitively describe the above scenario, the inclusion of two delivery mechanisms 1202 in the robot 120 is described in detail below.
In this embodiment, fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another delivery robot provided in the embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 5, the delivery robot shown in fig. 5 differs from the delivery robot shown in fig. 3 in that the delivery robot shown in fig. 3 comprises only one delivery mechanism 1202, whereas the delivery robot shown in fig. 5 comprises two delivery mechanisms 1202. The delivery robot in figure 3 can only deliver the to-be-delivered items corresponding to the same container once, but can not transport and deliver a plurality of different to-be-delivered items simultaneously, figure 5 includes two delivery mechanisms, the to-be-delivered items can be placed in the two delivery mechanisms, a plurality of different to-be-delivered items can be delivered once, the problem that the delivery robot must repeatedly take the items from a supply platform and deliver the items is avoided, and then the route of repeatedly taking the items during walking is reduced, and the total delivery route of the robot is greatly reduced.
In this embodiment, referring to FIG. 5, each delivery mechanism 1202 in the delivery robot 120 includes first and second dividers that are mirror images of each other and that are switchable between an open state and a closed state. When the delivery robot 120 travels to a position where the target delivery port is located below the delivery mechanism 1202 of the robot, the delivery robot 120 may control the first and second barriers provided on the lower surface of the delivery mechanism 1202 of the next floor to switch from a closed state to an open state. At this time, when the first and second dividers of the next-tier delivery mechanism 1202 are switched from the closed state to the open state, items to be delivered, which are carried by the first and second dividers of the next-tier delivery mechanism 1202, fall from the target delivery opening into the lower cargo container. When the first and second dividers of the next level of delivery mechanisms 1202 are switched from the open position to the closed position, the delivery robot 120 is further configured to control the first and second dividers of the delivery mechanism of the previous level to be in the open position for dropping items to be delivered on the delivery mechanism of the previous level onto the next level for the next delivery.
In this embodiment, optionally, the two flaps of the delivery mechanism may be controlled by a second drive component of the drive mechanism on the delivery robot to be switchable between an open state and a closed state, although the specific position of the drive mechanism is not shown in fig. 3 and 5, but does not affect the function of the drive mechanism.
According to the article delivery scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, a plurality of position points can be directly selected from any position points of the delivery area to select and plan the delivery path, so that the position of a delivery port in the delivery area is no longer a barrier in a map, and a control server is more flexible in planning the delivery path; meanwhile, the special travelling mechanism of the delivery robot can ensure that the delivery robot directly crosses the delivery port from the top and passes through the delivery port without bypassing the delivery port and travelling along the delivery path planned by the control server in strict sense, and the position of the delivery port in the delivery area does not need to be considered as the position of a barrier, so that the position of the delivery port can be planned to be a part of the delivery path completely, and the shortest delivery path can be planned when the delivery area plans the path for the delivery robot.
Fig. 6 is a schematic view of a scene structure of another sorting system provided in the embodiment of the present invention, and the embodiment is optimized based on the above embodiment. This embodiment may be combined with each of the alternatives in one or more of the embodiments described above. The sorting scheme of the embodiment is mainly applicable to a sorting scenario with a steel platform structure, and referring to fig. 6, the optimized tray sorting system further includes: gridding robot running tracks 150 are arranged in the delivery areas, one grid corresponds to one delivery port, and a corresponding goods collecting container is arranged below each delivery port of the robot running tracks 150; wherein:
in the sorting system 100, a robot 120 for delivering items to be delivered (denoted as delivery robot 120) may run on a robot running track 150, ensuring that the delivery robot 120's own delivery mechanism can be located above any one delivery opening.
The delivery robot 120 is configured to travel on the robot running track 150 to a target delivery port 130 corresponding to the item to be delivered according to the delivery route sent by the control server, and to pass through the position of at least a part of the delivery ports indicated by the delivery route during the operation of the robot running track 150.
In this embodiment, fig. 7 is a schematic view of a scene between a delivery robot and a robot running track provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Similar to the previously described delivery pattern of the items to be delivered with respect to the item delivery system of fig. 2, fig. 7 differs from the delivery pattern of fig. 2 in that fig. 2 shows the delivery robot straddling over the various delivery openings of the delivery area, i.e. the delivery robot straddling over the ground; and the delivery robots shown in fig. 6 and 7 directly run on the robot running tracks to realize the process of running delivery above the delivery ports corresponding to the grids of the robot running tracks in the delivery areas. The delivery port may be each grid on the robot running track 150, or may be a container port of a container placed below the grid of the robot running track 150.
Referring to fig. 6 and 7, the control server 110 plans a delivery path for a robot delivering an item to be delivered according to at least the route information of the item to be delivered, and transmits the delivery path for the item to be delivered to the delivery robot 120 located on the robot running track, wherein the delivery path includes the positions of at least a part of the delivery openings among the plurality of delivery openings. Then, the delivery robot 120 travels on the robot running track 150 to the target delivery port 130 matched with the route information of the item to be delivered according to the planned delivery route. When the delivery robot 120 runs on the robot track 150 and travels to a target delivery opening below the delivery mechanism of the robot itself, the delivery mechanism is controlled to deliver the item to be delivered located on the delivery mechanism to the target delivery opening from above the target delivery opening.
On the basis of the above embodiment, optionally, referring to fig. 6, the control server 110 may determine, according to item identification information carried by the item to be delivered, a target delivery port 130 matched with the route information of the item to be delivered; and generating a delivery path for the item to be delivered in dependence of the position of the target delivery opening 130 disposed in the delivery area and the position of at least a part of the plurality of delivery openings.
On the basis of the above embodiment, optionally, referring to fig. 6, a delivery station is provided at a preset position of the delivery area, an item identifier reader is provided at the preset position of the delivery station, and a transfer robot 160 is further provided between the delivery station and the robot running track 150; wherein: when the delivery station places the item to be delivered on the transfer robot 160, item identification information of the item to be delivered is read, and the read item identification information is sent to the control server 110. At the same time, the transfer robot 160 may transfer the item to be delivered at the delivery station into the delivery robot 120 located on the robot running track 150. When the transfer robot 160 transfers the item to be delivered into the delivery robot 120 located on the robot running track 150, the control server 110 sends the planned delivery path for the item to be delivered to the delivery robot 120.
On the basis of the above described embodiments, the delivery robot in fig. 7 may also optionally have a similar delivery mechanism as in fig. 3 and 5, see fig. 3 and 5. Optionally, at least one of the plurality of delivery robots 120 running on the robot running track 150 includes at least two delivery mechanisms thereon, and the at least two delivery mechanisms are disposed on the robot in a vertical orientation.
On the basis of the above embodiment, optionally, the delivery mechanism of the delivery robot 120 running on the robot running track 150 comprises a first partition and a second partition which are mirror images of each other, and the first partition and the second partition can be switched between an open state and a closed state. Optionally, the first and second barriers are switched from the closed state to the open state when the robot travels to a position where the target delivery opening is located below the delivery mechanism.
On the basis of the above embodiments, optionally, the first and second barriers receive items to be delivered when in the closed position and fall into the targeted delivery opening or onto the next level of delivery mechanisms when in the open position. Optionally, the delivery robot 120 is further configured to control the first and second barriers of the delivery mechanism of the previous floor to be in an open state when it is determined that the first and second barriers of the delivery mechanism of the next floor are in a closed state, for dropping the item to be delivered on the delivery mechanism of the previous floor onto the next floor for the next delivery.
It should be noted that the delivery robot 120 operating on the robot track performs the same process of delivering the to-be-delivered item using the delivery mechanism, and the specific process is not specifically described here, and the specific process can be referred to the foregoing.
According to the article delivery scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, a plurality of position points can be directly selected from any position points of the delivery area to select and plan the delivery path, so that the position of a delivery port in the delivery area is no longer a barrier in a map, and a control server is more flexible in planning the delivery path; meanwhile, the delivery robot drives on the robot running track to deliver, and can directly drive above the delivery port when passing through the position of the delivery port without driving around the position of the delivery port, and strictly drives along the delivery path planned by the control server without considering the problem that the position of the delivery port in the delivery area can become a barrier, and the position of the delivery port can be completely planned to be a part of the delivery path, so that the shortest delivery path can be planned when the delivery area plans the path for the delivery robot.
Fig. 8 is a structural block diagram of a robot located in a sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the technical solution of the present embodiment is applicable to a delivery sorting scenario in a sorting process, and is particularly applicable to a floor type sorting scenario or a delivery sorting situation in a steel platform sorting scenario. The sorting robot of the embodiment of the invention can execute at least part of the process in the sorting system provided in any embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 8, the robot provided in the embodiment of the present invention specifically includes: the system comprises a driving mechanism, a traveling mechanism, a delivery mechanism, a communication unit and a control unit, wherein the control unit is respectively electrically connected with the communication unit and the driving mechanism, and items to be delivered are positioned on the delivery mechanism; the control unit may control the delivery mechanism and the travelling mechanism indirectly connected to the drive mechanism by directly controlling the drive mechanism;
the communication unit is configured to receive a delivery path, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of delivery openings in the sorting area are located on the delivery path;
the control unit is configured to control the driving mechanism to drive the traveling mechanism to travel to a target delivery port matched with the route information of the item to be delivered according to the delivery route, and when the traveling to the target delivery port is located below the delivery mechanism, the control unit controls the delivery mechanism to deliver the item to be delivered to the target delivery port from the upper part of the target delivery port.
On the basis of an alternative to the above embodiment, optionally, the delivery mechanism is configured to cross the delivery opening and the delivery mechanism is located above the delivery opening when the robot passes the position of the delivery opening indicated by the delivery path in the delivery area.
On the basis of the alternatives of the above embodiment, optionally, a support assembly is arranged in the walking mechanism of the robot; the support assembly is used for supporting the delivery mechanism and enabling the height of the delivery mechanism to be higher than that of any delivery opening.
On the basis of the alternative of the above embodiment, optionally, grid-like robot running tracks are arranged in the delivery area, one grid corresponding to each delivery port;
the walking mechanism of the robot is configured to run on a gridded track.
On the basis of the alternatives of the above embodiments, optionally, at least one of the plurality of robots comprises at least two delivery mechanisms thereon, the at least two delivery mechanisms being arranged on the robot in a vertical direction.
On the basis of an alternative to the above described embodiment, optionally, the delivery mechanism comprises a first and a second partition being mirror images of each other, and the first and second partitions are switchable between an open state and a closed state.
On the basis of the alternatives of the above embodiments, optionally, the first and second barriers are switched from the closed state to the open state when the robot travels to a position where the target delivery opening is located below the delivery mechanism.
On the basis of an alternative to the above embodiments, optionally, the first and second barriers receive the item to be delivered when in the closed position and fall into the target delivery opening or onto the next floor of delivery facilities when in the open position.
On the basis of an alternative to the above embodiment, optionally, the delivery mechanisms of the robot are further configured to, when it is determined that the first and second barriers of the delivery mechanism of the next lower floor are in the closed state, control the first and second barriers of the delivery mechanism of the previous floor to be in the open state for dropping the item to be delivered on the delivery mechanism of the previous floor onto the next floor for the next delivery.
The sorting system provided in the embodiment of the present invention may be applied to the robot provided in any embodiment of the present invention, and has corresponding functions and advantages of the robot, and specific reference may be made to the sorting system provided in any embodiment of the present invention without detailed technical details described in the embodiment above.
Further, the invention also discloses the following contents:
a1, a sorting system, comprising: the system comprises a control server, a plurality of robots deployed in a delivery area and a plurality of delivery ports, wherein the control server is in wireless communication with the plurality of robots; wherein,
the control server is configured to plan a delivery path for a robot delivering the item to be delivered at least according to the route information of the item to be delivered, and send the delivery path to the robot delivering the item to be delivered; the location of at least a portion of the plurality of delivery ports is on the delivery path;
the robot is configured to drive to a target delivery port matched with the route information of the item to be delivered according to the delivery route; and when the robot travels to the target delivery port and the target delivery port is positioned under a delivery mechanism of the robot, controlling the delivery mechanism to vertically and downwards deliver the items to be delivered positioned on the delivery mechanism to the target delivery port.
a2, the system of a1, the robot being configured such that, when passing the position of any one delivery opening on the delivery path in a delivery area, the travel gear of the robot passes across and over the any one delivery opening and the delivery mechanism is located above the any one delivery opening.
a3, the system according to a2, wherein a support component is arranged in a walking mechanism of the robot; the support assembly is used for supporting the delivery mechanism of the robot, and the height of the delivery mechanism of the robot is higher than that of any delivery opening.
a4, according to the system a1, gridded robot running tracks are arranged in the delivery area, and one grid corresponds to one delivery port;
the robot is configured to operate on a gridded track.
a5, according to the system of a1, at least one of the plurality of robots includes at least two delivery mechanisms thereon, and the at least two delivery mechanisms are vertically arranged on the robot.
a6, the system of a1 or a5, the delivery mechanism comprising a first and a second partition that are mirror images of each other and that are switchable between an open state and a closed state.
a7, the system of a6, the first and second barriers being switched from a closed state to an open state when the robot travels to the target delivery opening and the target delivery opening is located directly below the delivery facility.
a8, the system according to a6, the first and second compartments receiving the items to be delivered when in a closed position; when in the open state, the item to be delivered falls into the target delivery opening or onto the next floor of delivery facilities.
a9, the system according to a8, the robot being further configured to, when it is determined that the first and second barriers of the delivery mechanism of the next level are in a closed state, control the first and second barriers of the delivery mechanism of the previous level to be in an open state for dropping the item to be delivered on the delivery mechanism of the previous level onto the next level for the next delivery.
a10, a robot for delivering items to be delivered, comprising a driving mechanism, a walking mechanism, a delivery mechanism, a communication unit and a control unit, wherein the control unit is respectively electrically connected with the communication unit and the driving mechanism, and the items to be delivered are positioned on the delivery mechanism;
the communication unit is configured to receive a delivery path, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of delivery openings in the sorting area are located on the delivery path;
the control unit is configured to control the driving mechanism to drive the traveling mechanism to travel to a target delivery port matched with the route information of the item to be delivered according to the delivery route, and when the traveling is carried out to the target delivery port and the target delivery port is located under the delivery mechanism, the delivery mechanism is controlled to vertically and downwards deliver the item to be delivered to the target delivery port.
a11, the robot of a10, the walking mechanism being configured to cross the row through any one of the delivery openings and the delivery mechanism being located above said any one of the delivery openings when the robot passes the location of said any one of the delivery openings on the delivery path in a delivery area.
a12, the robot according to a11, wherein a support component is arranged in a walking mechanism of the robot; the support assembly is used for supporting the delivery mechanism and enabling the height of the delivery mechanism to be higher than that of any delivery opening.
a13, the robot according to a10, wherein grid-shaped robot running tracks are arranged in the delivery area, and one grid corresponds to one delivery port;
the walking mechanism of the robot is configured to run on a gridded track.
a14, the robot according to a10, wherein at least one of the robots comprises at least two delivery mechanisms, and the at least two delivery mechanisms are arranged on the robot in a vertical direction.
a15, the robot of a10 or a14, the delivery mechanism comprising a first and a second partition being mirror images of each other, and the control unit being further configured to control the first and second partitions to switch between an open and a closed state.
a16, the robot of a15, the control unit further configured to control the first and second barriers to switch from a closed state to an open state when the robot travels to the target delivery opening and the target delivery opening is located directly below the delivery mechanism.
a17, the robot of a15, the first and second barriers receiving the item to be delivered when in a closed state; when in the open state, the item to be delivered falls into the target delivery opening or onto the next floor of delivery facilities.
a18, the robot of a17, the control unit of the robot further being configured to, when it is determined that the first and second barriers of the delivery mechanism of the next floor are in the closed state, control the first and second barriers of the delivery mechanism of the previous floor to be in the open state for dropping the item to be delivered on the delivery mechanism of the previous floor onto the delivery mechanism of the next floor for the next delivery.
It is to be noted that the foregoing is only illustrative of the preferred embodiments of the present invention and the technical principles employed. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described herein, but is capable of various obvious changes, rearrangements and substitutions as will now become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, although the present invention has been described in greater detail by the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and may include other equivalent embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is determined by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. A sorting system, comprising: the system comprises a control server, a plurality of robots deployed in a delivery area and a plurality of delivery ports, wherein the control server is in wireless communication with the plurality of robots; wherein,
the control server is configured to plan a delivery path for a robot delivering the item to be delivered at least according to the route information of the item to be delivered, and send the delivery path to the robot delivering the item to be delivered; the location of at least a portion of the plurality of delivery ports is on the delivery path;
the robot is configured to drive to a target delivery port matched with the route information of the item to be delivered according to the delivery route; and when the robot travels to the target delivery port and the target delivery port is positioned under a delivery mechanism of the robot, controlling the delivery mechanism to vertically and downwards deliver the items to be delivered positioned on the delivery mechanism to the target delivery port.
2. The system of claim 1,
the robot is configured such that when passing a position of any one of the delivery openings on the delivery path in the delivery area, the travel mechanism of the robot passes across the any one of the delivery openings and the delivery mechanism is located above the any one of the delivery openings.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein a support assembly is disposed in the walking mechanism of the robot; the support assembly is used for supporting the delivery mechanism of the robot, and the height of the delivery mechanism of the robot is higher than that of any delivery opening.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the delivery area is provided with gridded robot running tracks, one grid corresponding to each delivery port;
the robot is configured to operate on a gridded track.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of robots includes at least two delivery mechanisms thereon, the at least two delivery mechanisms being vertically disposed on the robot.
6. The system of claim 1 or 5, wherein the delivery mechanism comprises a first and second partition that are mirror images of each other, and the first and second partitions are switchable between an open state and a closed state.
7. The system of claim 6, wherein the first and second barriers switch from a closed state to an open state when the robot travels to the target delivery opening and the target delivery opening is located directly below the delivery mechanism.
8. The system of claim 6, wherein the first and second compartments receive the items to be delivered when in the closed position; when in the open state, the item to be delivered falls into the target delivery opening or onto the next floor of delivery facilities.
9. The system of claim 8,
the robot is further configured to control the first and second barriers of a delivery mechanism of a previous floor to be in an open state for dropping items to be delivered on a delivery mechanism of the previous floor onto a next floor for a next delivery when it is determined that the first and second barriers of the delivery mechanism of the next floor are in a closed state.
10. A robot is used for delivering items to be delivered and is characterized by comprising a driving mechanism, a traveling mechanism, a delivery mechanism, a communication unit and a control unit, wherein the control unit is respectively and electrically connected with the communication unit and the driving mechanism, and the items to be delivered are positioned on the delivery mechanism;
the communication unit is configured to receive a delivery path, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of delivery openings in the sorting area are located on the delivery path;
the control unit is configured to control the driving mechanism to drive the traveling mechanism to travel to a target delivery port matched with the route information of the item to be delivered according to the delivery route, and when the traveling is carried out to the target delivery port and the target delivery port is located under the delivery mechanism, the delivery mechanism is controlled to vertically and downwards deliver the item to be delivered to the target delivery port.
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