CN112758588A

CN112758588A - Container carrying system, robot and container carrying method

Info

Publication number: CN112758588A
Application number: CN202110118466.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李晓伟; 刘凯; 白易欣; 肖玉辉
Original assignee: Beijing Jizhijia Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Jizhijia Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-01-28
Filing date: 2021-01-28
Publication date: 2021-05-07

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a container handling system, robot and container handling method, wherein the system includes containers having a plurality of container sizes, a controller and a robot; the robot comprises a telescopic fork mechanism, and the box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism is adjustable; the controller is configured to generate and send container handling instructions to the robot in response to a container handling request; the robot is configured to adjust the box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism to match a target container size in response to the container handling instruction, and acquire and handle the target container by using the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism. In the storage operation scene, through adjusting getting the case size of the flexible fork mechanism of goods and being used for carrying the packing box that has multiple packing box size, distribution packing box parking position that can be more reasonable improves packing box storage space's rate of utilization.

Description

Container carrying system, robot and container carrying method

Technical Field

The disclosure relates to the field of robot task scheduling, in particular to a container carrying system, a robot and a container carrying method.

Background

In the storage operation scene, in order to can access this operation requirement of the packing box of different dimensions, often design the flexible fork mechanism of robot into the fixed dimension that can access the packing box of maximum dimensions, such fixed dimension's flexible fork mechanism adaptability is relatively poor, simultaneously, because this inherent size's flexible fork mechanism is when getting the packing box, flexible fork mechanism size is great, consequently leads to packing box storage space extravagant, packing box storage space usage is low. How to use the same flexible fork mechanism to satisfy the access demand of different size specification packing boxes in the storehouse is one of the key problems that engineering application faces.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the disclosure at least provides a container carrying system, a robot and a container carrying method, which are used for solving the defect of low utilization rate of container storage space in a warehousing operation scene.

In a first aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a container handling system comprising containers having a plurality of container sizes, a controller, and a robot; the robot comprises a telescopic fork mechanism, and the box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism is adjustable;

the controller is configured to generate and send container handling instructions to the robot in response to a container handling request;

the robot is configured to adjust the box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism to match a target container size in response to the container handling instruction, and acquire and handle the target container by using the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism.

In one possible embodiment, the telescopic fork mechanism comprises a holding fork assembly and an adjusting mechanism; the holding fork assembly comprises a first telescopic fork and a second telescopic fork which can be telescopic along a first direction;

the adjustment mechanism is used for adjusting the interval of first telescopic fork and second telescopic fork along the second direction, adjustment mechanism includes: a first guide rail assembly and a first drive unit; the length direction of the first guide rail assembly is a second direction, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction;

the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork are slidably assembled on the first guide rail assembly; the first driving unit is used for driving the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork to move in an opposite direction or in a reverse direction so as to adjust the box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism.

In one possible embodiment, the first driving unit includes a driving motor and a first timing belt assembly; the first synchronous belt assembly comprises a belt and a belt wheel;

the belt is divided into a first part of belt and a second part of belt by the belt wheel, the first telescopic fork is fixedly assembled on the first part of belt, and the second telescopic fork is fixedly assembled on the second part of belt;

the first synchronous belt assembly is driven by the driving motor to drive the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork to move on the first guide rail assembly in the opposite direction or in the opposite direction along the second direction so as to adjust the box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism.

In one possible embodiment, the telescopic fork mechanism further comprises a base, a second guide rail assembly, a second driving unit, a follow-up frame and a rear shifting finger;

the second guide rail assembly is fixed on the base, and the length direction of the second guide rail assembly is parallel to the first direction;

the rear shifting fingers are fixedly connected with the first telescopic forks and the second telescopic forks in a one-to-one corresponding mode;

the follow-up frame is connected with the second guide rail assembly in a sliding mode;

the second driving unit is used for pulling the follow-up frame to extend out of the base along the first direction when the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork extend out; the rear shifting finger is used for pushing the follow-up frame to retract to the position of the follow-up frame under the condition that the telescopic fork mechanism does not work when the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork retract.

In one possible embodiment, the robot is configured to adjust the pick size of the telescopic fork mechanism to match the target container size in response to the container handling instruction and based on the target container size in the container handling instruction, and acquire and handle the target container using the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism.

In one possible embodiment, the telescopic fork mechanism further comprises a first sensor assembly; the first sensor assembly is used for acquiring the size of a container of the container to be carried so as to adjust the container taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism based on the size of the container;

the robot is configured to adjust the box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism to be matched with the size of a target container based on the size of the target container collected by the first sensor assembly after the robot runs to the box taking position of the target container to be carried, and acquire and carry the target container by using the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism.

In one possible embodiment, the first sensor assembly is further configured to acquire an actual position of the target container to be handled, so as to adjust a container pick-up position of the robot based on the actual position.

In one possible embodiment, the telescopic fork mechanism further comprises a second sensor assembly;

the second sensor assembly is used for detecting the position of the rear shifting finger so as to determine whether the follow-up frame is retracted to the position of the follow-up frame under the condition that the telescopic fork mechanism does not work or not based on the position of the rear shifting finger.

In one possible embodiment, the telescopic fork mechanism further comprises a ball spline assembly; the ball spline assembly includes a first nut member, a second nut member, and a spline shaft; the holding fork assembly further comprises a first driving belt wheel and a second driving belt wheel; the first telescopic fork is fixedly connected with the first driving belt wheel; the second telescopic fork is fixedly connected with the second driving belt wheel; the first nut piece and the second nut piece are sleeved on the spline shaft; the first nut member is fixedly connected with the first driving belt wheel; the second nut member is fixedly connected with the second driving belt wheel.

In a possible embodiment, the telescopic fork mechanism further comprises a third drive unit;

the third driving unit drives the spline shaft to rotate, the spline shaft drives the first nut piece and the second nut piece to rotate, and the first nut piece drives the first telescopic fork to complete telescopic action through the first driving belt wheel; the second nut component drives the second telescopic fork to complete telescopic action through the second driving belt wheel.

In one possible embodiment, the telescopic fork mechanism further comprises a second timing belt assembly and a third timing belt assembly; the second synchronous belt assembly is respectively connected with the third driving unit and the ball spline assembly; the third synchronous belt assembly is respectively connected with the ball spline assembly and the holding fork assembly;

the third driving unit drives the second synchronous belt assembly to drive the ball spline assembly to rotate, the ball spline assembly rotates to drive the third synchronous belt assembly to rotate, and the third synchronous belt assembly rotates to drive the holding fork assembly to move in a telescopic mode.

In a possible embodiment, the robot further comprises a robot body, a gantry, a lifting mechanism and a temporary storage mechanism; the gantry includes a third rail assembly; the lifting mechanism comprises a driving element;

the robot body comprises wheels; the robot body is used for bearing at least part of components arranged on the robot; the wheels are used for supporting the robot body so as to complete at least partial movement of the robot;

the gantry is vertically arranged on the robot body; the temporary storage mechanism is arranged on one side of the portal frame, which is far away from the telescopic fork mechanism, and is used for storing the target container;

the lifting mechanism is connected with the third guide rail assembly in a sliding manner and is connected with the telescopic fork mechanism through a slewing bearing assembly in the telescopic fork mechanism; the lifting mechanism is driven by the driving element to move on a third guide rail assembly in the door frame.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a robot including the robot described in the first aspect.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a container handling method, applied to the robot in the second aspect, including:

and responding to a container carrying instruction received from a controller, adjusting the container taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism to be matched with the target container size, and acquiring and carrying the target container by using the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism.

In one possible embodiment, the telescopic fork mechanism comprises a holding fork assembly and an adjusting mechanism; the holding fork assembly comprises a first telescopic fork and a second telescopic fork which can be telescopic along a first direction; the adjusting mechanism comprises a first guide rail assembly and a first driving unit; the length direction of the first guide rail assembly is a second direction, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction;

the adjustment of the box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism is matched with the size of the target container, and the adjustment comprises the following steps:

based on the target container size, controlling the first driving unit to drive the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork to move in the first guide rail assembly in the opposite direction or in the opposite direction along the second direction, so that the container taking size between the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork is matched with the target container size.

In one possible embodiment, the first driving unit includes a driving motor and a first timing belt assembly;

controlling the drive motor to drive the first timing belt assembly based on the target container size;

the first synchronous belt assembly drives the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork to move in the first guide rail assembly in the opposite direction or in the opposite direction along the second direction, so that the box taking size between the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork is matched with the target container size.

In a possible embodiment, the telescopic fork mechanism further comprises a second guide rail assembly, a second driving unit, a follow-up frame, a front shifting finger and a rear shifting finger;

after adjusting the box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism to match with the target container size, the method further comprises the following steps:

after the container is moved to the container taking position of a target container to be carried, the fork assembly is controlled to extend to a position where the target container can be hooked, and the follow-up frame moves to a position limited by a fixing element on the second guide rail assembly along the extending direction of the fork assembly under the action of the pulling force provided by the second driving unit so as to obtain the target container.

In one possible embodiment, the robot includes a staging mechanism and a slewing bearing assembly;

after the fork assembly is extended to the position where the target container can be hooked, the method further comprises the following steps:

controlling the front shifting finger to rotate to a preset state, and hooking the target container, wherein the preset state comprises a horizontal state;

when the holding fork assembly retracts, the rear shifting finger is utilized to drive the follow-up frame to retract to the position of the follow-up frame under the condition that the telescopic fork mechanism does not work;

when the second sensor assembly detects that the servo frame retracts to the position where the telescopic fork mechanism does not work, the second sensor assembly controls the slewing bearing assembly to drive the telescopic fork mechanism to rotate to the position where a front shifting finger of the telescopic fork mechanism faces an inlet of a container in the temporary storage mechanism, and controls the fork assembly to store the target container on the temporary storage mechanism.

In one possible embodiment, the robot comprises a lifting mechanism, a temporary storage mechanism, a slewing bearing assembly and a telescopic fork mechanism; the telescopic fork mechanism comprises a fork holding assembly, a first driving unit, a second guide rail assembly, a second driving unit, a third driving unit, a follow-up frame, a front shifting finger and a rear shifting finger; the holding fork assembly comprises a first telescopic fork and a second telescopic fork which can be telescopic along a first direction; the adjusting mechanism comprises a first guide rail assembly and a first driving unit; the length direction of the first guide rail assembly is a second direction, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction;

after responding to the container handling instructions received from the controller, the method further comprises the following steps:

controlling the lifting mechanism to lift to a first target goods space height of a goods shelf where a target container to be carried is located; the first target cargo space height is the height corresponding to the storage space of the goods shelf where the target container is currently placed;

controlling the first driving unit to drive the box taking size between the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork to be matched with the target container size;

the third driving unit is controlled to drive the embracing fork assembly to extend to a position where the embracing fork assembly can be hooked to the target container, the front shifting finger is controlled to rotate to a preset state so as to hook the target container, and the follow-up frame moves to a position limited by a fixing element on the second guide rail assembly along the first direction under the action of the tension force provided by the second driving unit;

after the front shifting finger hook is taken out of the target container, the position of the follow-up frame is controlled to retract to the position of the telescopic fork mechanism under the condition that the telescopic fork mechanism does not work;

controlling the lifting mechanism to lift to a second target cargo space height; the second target cargo space height is the height of a temporary storage space where the target container is to be placed in the temporary storage mechanism;

and controlling the slewing bearing mechanism to drive the telescopic fork mechanism to rotate to the position, facing the inlet of the container in the temporary storage mechanism, of the front shifting finger of the telescopic fork mechanism, and controlling the third driving unit to drive the fork holding assembly to store the target container on the temporary storage mechanism.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a container handling method, applied to the robot in the second aspect, including:

the robot comprises a temporary storage mechanism; in response to a container storage instruction received from a controller, adjusting the container taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism to be matched with the size of the temporary storage mechanism;

stretching the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism into a temporary storage mechanism where a target container to be transported is stored;

based on the target container size of the target container, adjusting the container taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism again to be matched with the target container size, acquiring the target container on the temporary storage mechanism by using the re-adjusted telescopic fork mechanism, and carrying the target container to a preset goods shelf; the container storage instruction is an instruction issued by the controller to store a target container on the temporary storage mechanism onto a preset goods shelf.

the adjustment flexible fork mechanism get the case size with temporary storage mechanism's size phase-match includes:

and controlling a first driving unit to drive the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork to move in opposite directions or back to back along a second direction on the first guide rail assembly, so that the box taking size between the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork is matched with the size of the temporary storage mechanism.

In a possible embodiment, the telescopic fork mechanism further comprises a second guide rail assembly, a second driving unit, a follow-up frame, a front shifting finger and a rear shifting finger; the robot comprises a lifting mechanism;

the flexible fork mechanism after will adjusting stretches into and deposits the temporary storage mechanism at the target packing box place that will carry, includes:

and controlling the lifting mechanism to lift to an inlet of a temporary storage mechanism where a target container to be carried is located, and controlling the fork holding assembly to extend to a position where the target container can be hooked based on the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism so as to obtain the target container.

after responding to the container storage instruction received from the controller, the method further comprises the following steps:

controlling the lifting mechanism to lift to a third target cargo space height of the temporary storage mechanism where the target container to be carried is located; the third target cargo space height is the height of a temporary storage space on the temporary storage mechanism where the target container is currently located;

controlling a first driving unit to drive the box taking size between the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork to be matched with the size of the temporary storage mechanism;

controlling a third driving unit to drive the embracing fork assembly to extend to a position where the embracing fork assembly can be hooked to the target container, and enabling the follow-up frame to move to a position limited by a fixing element on the second guide rail assembly along the first direction under the action of the pulling force provided by the second driving unit;

based on the target container size of the target container, controlling the first driving unit to drive the container taking size between the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork to be matched with the target container size again, and controlling the front shifting finger to rotate to a preset state so as to hook the target container;

controlling the lifting mechanism to lift to a fourth target cargo space height; the fourth target cargo space height is the height corresponding to the preset shelf storage space where the target container is to be placed;

and controlling the slewing bearing mechanism to drive the telescopic fork mechanism to rotate to a position where a front shifting finger of the telescopic fork mechanism faces a container storage inlet of the preset goods shelf, and controlling a third driving unit to drive the fork holding assembly to store the target container on the preset goods shelf.

According to the container carrying system, the robot and the container carrying method, the container taking size of the cargo telescopic fork mechanism is adjusted to carry containers with various container sizes, the container storage positions can be more reasonably distributed, and the utilization rate of container storage space is improved.

Further, according to the container carrying system, the robot and the container carrying method provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the follow-up frame and the second driving unit can be further utilized, when the fork assembly extends out to obtain the container, the follow-up frame is connected with the goods shelf, and the container with a small size is prevented from falling between the robot and the goods shelf when being taken in a holding mode.

In order to make the aforementioned objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure more comprehensible, preferred embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly described below, and the drawings herein incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the technical solutions of the present disclosure. It is appreciated that the following drawings depict only certain embodiments of the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for those skilled in the art will be able to derive additional related drawings therefrom without the benefit of the inventive faculty.

Fig. 1a shows a left side view of a robot provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 1b illustrates a front view of a robot provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic structural view of a telescopic fork mechanism provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic structural diagram of a telescopic fork mechanism provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic structural diagram of a telescopic fork mechanism provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural view illustrating the extending of a fork holding assembly in the telescopic fork mechanism provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic structural view of a second telescopic fork provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 illustrates a schematic structural view of a container handling system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 illustrates a flow chart of a method of handling containers provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating another container handling method provided by embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

To make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure more clear, the technical solutions in the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of the embodiments. The components of the present disclosure, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Accordingly, the following detailed description of the present disclosure, presented in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed disclosure, but is merely representative of selected embodiments of the disclosure. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments of the disclosure without making creative efforts, shall fall within the protection scope of the disclosure.

Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like in the description and in the claims, as well as in the drawings, in the present disclosure are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It will be appreciated that the data so used may be interchanged under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments described herein may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated or described herein.

Reference herein to "a plurality or a number" means two or more. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

Research shows that in a storage operation scene, in order to meet the use requirement of containers with different sizes, the telescopic fork mechanism of the robot is often designed into a fixed size capable of storing and taking containers with the largest size, the telescopic fork mechanism with the fixed size has poor adaptability, and meanwhile, the telescopic fork mechanism with the inherent size is large when the containers are taken and placed, so that the container storage space is wasted, and the utilization rate of the container storage space is low.

Based on the research, the utility model provides a packing box handling system, through adjusting the case size of getting of flexible fork mechanism for carrying the packing box that has multiple packing box size, can improve packing box storage space's the rate of utilization and the rate of adaptation of robot.

The above-mentioned drawbacks are the results of the inventor after practical and careful study, and therefore, the discovery process of the above-mentioned problems and the solutions proposed by the present disclosure to the above-mentioned problems should be the contribution of the inventor in the process of the present disclosure.

It should be noted that: like reference numbers and letters refer to like items in the following figures, and thus, once an item is defined in one figure, it need not be further defined and explained in subsequent figures.

Since the container handling system provided by the present disclosure includes the robot, in order to facilitate understanding of the present disclosure, the robot provided by the present disclosure is first described in detail, and then the container handling system provided by the present disclosure is described in detail. Specifically, the robot provided by the present disclosure includes a microcontroller with certain computing power, and in some possible implementation manners, the robot may be implemented in a single chip microcomputer control manner.

Referring to fig. 1a, which is a left side view of a robot provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the robot includes a robot body 11, a telescopic fork mechanism 12, a gantry 13, a lifting mechanism 14 (see fig. 1 b), a temporary storage mechanism 15, and the like; the telescopic fork mechanism 12 is installed on the lifting mechanism 14, the lifting mechanism 14 is installed on the portal 13, the portal 13 is vertically installed on the robot body 11, the portal 13 is further provided with a plurality of temporary storage mechanisms 15, and the temporary storage mechanisms 15 are arranged on one side, far away from the telescopic fork mechanism 12, of the portal 13.

The robot body 11 is used for supporting the robot to move; the telescopic fork mechanism 12 is used for acquiring and carrying a container; the gantry 13 is used for supporting the telescopic fork mechanism to move to a temporary storage position corresponding to any temporary storage mechanism along the vertical direction; the lifting mechanism 14 can provide power for the telescopic fork mechanism 12 to move in the vertical direction; the buffer means 15 is arranged to provide temporary storage positions for containers for temporary storage.

Referring to fig. 2, it is a schematic structural view of the telescopic fork mechanism. The telescopic fork mechanism 12 comprises a fork holding assembly and an adjusting mechanism; the holding fork assembly comprises a first telescopic fork 121-1 and a second telescopic fork 121-2 which can be telescopic along a first direction; the adjustment mechanism includes: a first rail assembly 122 and a first driving unit, and an adjusting mechanism for adjusting a distance between the first telescopic fork 121-1 and the second telescopic fork 121-2 in the second direction.

Here, the length direction of the first guide rail assembly 122 is a second direction, the telescopic directions of the first telescopic fork 121-1 and the second telescopic fork 121-2 in the embracing fork assembly are first directions, and the first directions are perpendicular to the second direction.

First and second telescopic forks 121-1 and 121-2 are slidably mounted on first rail assembly 122; the first driving unit is used for driving the first telescopic fork 121-1 and the second telescopic fork 121-2 to move towards or away from each other along the second direction so as to adjust the box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism 12.

The first driving unit includes a driving motor 123-1 (shown in fig. 4) and a first timing belt assembly 123-2; the first timing belt assembly 123-2 includes a belt and a pulley; the pulley may divide the belt into a first portion of the belt on which the first telescopic fork 121-1 is fixedly mounted and a second portion of the belt on which the second telescopic fork 121-2 is fixedly mounted. For example, the first telescopic fork 121-1 may be fixedly connected to a first belt portion of the first synchronous belt assembly 123-2 by a first driving block, and the second telescopic fork 121-2 may be fixedly connected to a second belt portion of the first synchronous belt assembly 123-2 by a second driving block, so that when the first synchronous belt assembly 123-2 is driven by the driving motor 123-1, the first telescopic fork 121-1 of the first belt portion and the second telescopic fork 121-2 of the second belt portion are driven to move toward or away from each other along the second direction.

The first synchronous belt assembly 123-2 drives the first telescopic fork 121-1 and the second telescopic fork 121-2 to move towards or away from each other on the first guide rail assembly 122 along the second direction under the driving of the driving motor 123-1, so as to adjust the box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism 12. The size of the box taking is the size between the first telescopic fork 121-1 and the second telescopic fork 121-2 when the fork holding assembly stretches to obtain the container.

The telescopic fork mechanism 12 further comprises a base 1215; the first rail assembly 122 is mounted to the base 1215 and may include two rails and two sets of slides; the two sliding blocks in the first set of sliding blocks are respectively in sliding connection with the first guide rail and the second guide rail, and the two sliding blocks in the second set of sliding blocks are respectively in sliding connection with the first guide rail and the second guide rail; the first telescopic fork 121-1 is fixedly connected with the first set of sliding blocks and can slide on the first guide rail and the second guide rail through the first set of sliding blocks; the second telescopic fork 121-2 is fixedly connected with the second set of sliding blocks and can slide on the first guide rail and the second guide rail through the second set of sliding blocks.

In addition, the telescopic fork mechanism 12 further includes a second rail assembly 124, a second driving unit 125 (the structure of the second rail assembly and the second driving unit can be seen in fig. 3), a follower frame 126, and a rear finger 127.

The second rail assembly 124 is mounted to the base 1215 and may include at least one rail and at least one set of slides; the length direction of the second guide rail assembly is parallel to the first direction. Two sliding blocks in the third set of sliding blocks are respectively connected with the third guide rail and the fourth guide rail in a sliding manner; two sliding blocks in the fourth set of sliding blocks are respectively connected with the third guide rail and the fourth guide rail in a sliding manner; the follower rack 126 is fixedly connected with the third set of slide blocks and the fourth set of slide blocks, and can slide on the third guide rail and the fourth guide rail along the first direction through the third set of slide blocks and the fourth set of slide blocks.

The rear shifting fingers 127 are fixedly connected with the first telescopic fork 121-1 and the second telescopic fork 121-2 in a one-to-one correspondence manner and are used for pushing the follower rack 126. For example, a rear shifting finger may be respectively disposed on the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork, so as to uniformly apply a force to the follower frame when the follower frame is pushed.

The second driving unit is used for pulling the follow-up frame to extend out of the base along the first direction when the first telescopic fork 121-1 and the second telescopic fork 121-2 extend out; the rear finger 127 is used to push the follower carriage 126 to retract to the position where the fork mechanism is not operating when the first fork 121-1 and the second fork 121-2 retract. Specifically, the second driving unit 125 maintains the pulling force on the follower carriage 126 when the telescopic fork mechanism 12 is not operated, and pulls the follower carriage 126 to move on the second rail assembly 124 in the first direction when the fork assembly is extended, and limits the extending stroke of the follower carriage 126 by the fixing element provided on the base 1215; when the fork holding assembly retracts, the rear shifting finger 127 is used to drive the follower rack 126 to retract to the position where the telescopic fork mechanism is not operated. For example, the second driving unit may be designed in a form of a spring, one end of the spring is fixed on the base, and the other end of the spring is fixedly connected to the follower frame, and the spring is always kept in a form of tension in a state that the telescopic fork mechanism does not work; when the holding fork assembly extends out, the spring pulls the follow-up frame, and the fixed stroke of the follow-up frame along the first direction is limited by the fixing element, and the fixed stroke can be set according to actual requirements, which is not limited by the embodiment of the disclosure. When the holding fork assembly retracts, the rear shifting finger can be used for pushing the follow-up frame until the follow-up frame is pushed back to the initial position, namely the position of the follow-up frame under the condition that the telescopic fork mechanism does not work. Referring to fig. 5, the structural schematic diagram of the telescopic fork mechanism when the fork holding assembly extends out is shown, here, the fork holding assembly further includes a multi-stage guide rail assembly, and the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork can achieve telescopic acquisition of containers at different depth positions in the goods shelf along the first direction through the multi-stage guide rail assembly.

When the fork assembly extends to hook and get the target container, the second driving unit drives the follow-up frame 126 to extend for a fixed stroke, so that the container with the small size of the target container hooked and taken by the fork assembly during retraction can be prevented from falling from a gap between the goods shelf and the robot.

In addition, the fork mechanism 12 includes a first sensor assembly 128, a second sensor assembly 129, the mounting positions of which can be seen in FIG. 2.

A first sensor assembly 128 mounted on base 1215 for capturing the container size of a container to be handled to adjust the pick size of the telescopic fork mechanism 12 based on the container size; the actual position of the container to be handled can also be acquired to adjust the container taking position of the robot based on the actual position.

The second sensor assembly 129 is mounted on the base 1215, and can acquire the position of the rear finger 127 in real time when the fork holding assembly extends, and can determine whether the follower shelf 126 is retracted to the position of the follower shelf when the telescopic fork mechanism does not work based on the acquired position of the rear finger 127. Based on the judgment, the occurrence of the interference of the fork holding assembly and the goods shelf and other conditions caused by misoperation of the robot can be avoided.

In addition, as shown in fig. 4, the telescopic fork mechanism 12 further includes a ball spline assembly, a third driving unit 1211, a second timing belt 1212, and a third timing belt 1213 (shown in fig. 6).

A ball spline assembly mounted on base 1215, the ball spline assembly including a first nut member 1210-1, a second nut member 1210-2, and a spline shaft 1210-3; the holding fork assembly further comprises a first driving belt wheel 121-3 and a second driving belt wheel 121-4; the first telescopic fork 121-1 is fixedly connected with a first driving belt wheel 121-3; the second telescopic fork 121-2 is fixedly connected with a second driving belt wheel 121-4; the first nut member 1210-1 and the second nut member 1210-2 are sleeved on the spline shaft 1210-3; the first nut member 1210-1 is fixedly connected with the first driving pulley 121-3; the second nut member 1210-2 is fixedly connected to the second driving pulley 121-4. Illustratively, while the first driving unit drives the first telescopic fork 121-1 to move on the first rail assembly 122 in the second direction, the first telescopic fork 121-1 may also move on the spline shaft 1210-3 in the second direction by means of the first nut member 1210-1; while the first driving unit drives the second telescopic fork 121-2 to move in the second direction, the second telescopic fork 121-2 may also move in the second direction on the spline shaft 1210-3 by means of the second nut member 1210-2.

The third driving unit 1211 is mounted on the base 1215 and can drive the spline shaft 1210-3 to rotate, the spline shaft 1210-3 can drive the first nut member 1210-1 and the second nut member 1210-2 to rotate, and the first nut member 1210-1 drives the first telescopic fork 121-1 to complete telescopic action through the first driving pulley 121-3; the second nut member 1210-2 drives the second telescopic fork 121-2 to complete the telescopic action through the second driving pulley 121-4. Specifically, the third driving unit 1211 is connected with the second synchronous belt assembly 1212, the second synchronous belt assembly 1212 is connected with the spline shaft 1210-3, the spline shaft 1210-3 is connected with the third synchronous belt assembly 1213, and the third synchronous belt assembly 1213 is fixedly connected with the embracing fork assembly; a multi-stage guide rail assembly is arranged on the holding fork assembly; when the third driving unit 1211 drives the second timing belt assembly 1212, the second timing belt assembly 1212 drives the spline shaft 1210-3 to rotate, the spline shaft 1210-3 rotates to drive the first nut member 1210-1 and the second nut member 1210-2 to rotate, and the first nut member 1210-1 and the second nut member 1210-2 rotate to drive the first telescopic fork 121-1 and the second telescopic fork 121-2 on the third timing belt assembly to telescope in the first direction on the multi-stage guide rail assembly.

Additionally, the fork mechanism 12 includes a slewing bearing assembly 1214 (see fig. 3), a front finger 1216 (see fig. 2), and the like. Wherein front fingers 1216 are used to hook the target container.

The base 1215 is mounted to the lift mechanism 14 by a pivoting support assembly 1214, is vertically movable with the lift mechanism 14, and is rotationally movable by the pivoting support assembly 1212.

A slewing bearing assembly 1214 is used to support the telescopic fork mechanism for rotational movement. For example, when the target container on the follower stand 126 is to be stored in the temporary storage position of the temporary storage mechanism 15, the slewing bearing assembly 1214 may be driven by the slewing motor 1217 (see fig. 3), for example, the slewing bearing assembly may rotate the slewing bearing assembly by 90 ° so that the slewing bearing assembly faces the entrance of the temporary storage mechanism for storing the target container, and then the fork assembly is driven to extend and retract, so as to complete the temporary storage task of the target container.

In addition, the robot body 11 in fig. 1a is a bearing base body of various components inside the robot, including wheels and a suspension system, wherein the wheels are used for supporting the robot body 11 to complete at least part of the motions of the robot, such as moving and steering. The suspension system is a device for transmitting force between the robot body and the wheels, and can transmit force and torque acting between the wheels and the robot body 11, and buffer impact force transmitted to the robot body from an uneven road surface.

Gantry 13 may include a third rail assembly. The lifting mechanism 14 is connected with the third guide rail assembly in a sliding manner and is connected with the telescopic fork mechanism 12 through a rotary support assembly 1214 in the telescopic fork mechanism 12; the lifting mechanism 14 is driven by a driving element to move along the vertical direction on the third guide rail assembly in the gantry 13, wherein the driving element may be driven by a motor driving synchronous belt, a motor driving chain, a motor driving rack, or the like, and the driving element may be set according to actual requirements, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

Based on the above detailed description of the embodiment of the present disclosure on a robot, a further embodiment of the present disclosure provides a container handling system, which can be seen in fig. 7, and is a schematic structural diagram of the container handling system, where the system may include: containers having multiple container sizes (e.g., container 201-1, container 201-2, container 201-3), controller 202, robot 203. Wherein, the robot 203 may be the robot provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure. The robot 203 is provided with the telescopic fork mechanism 12, the box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism 12 can be adjusted, containers with different container sizes can be obtained, and container carrying can be achieved.

The container carried by the present disclosure may be a rectangular container, and the size of the container may be the length x width x height of the rectangular container, or may be the size of any one of the three sides, i.e., the long side, the wide side, and the high side of the rectangular container. The selection may be performed according to an actual application scenario, and is not limited herein.

The controller 202 may be configured on the server, or may be provided separately or on the robot 203, for responding to the container handling request sent by the console 205.

In the case where the controller 202 is configured in a server, the controller 202 may be a software system having data storage and information processing capabilities and running on the server, and may be connected to the robot 203, a hardware input system, or other software systems by wireless or wired connection. The controller 202 has a processor 2021 and a memory 2022, the memory 2022 may store the container size for each container in the warehouse.

In one possible embodiment, the controller 202 is configured to generate and send container handling instructions to the robot 203 in response to a container handling request. The robot 203 is configured to adjust the pick size of the telescopic fork mechanism 12 to match the target container size in response to a container handling instruction, and acquire and handle the target container using the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism 12.

Here, the container handling instructions may include a container pick position for the target container and/or a target container size for the target container.

In a specific embodiment, as shown in fig. 7, the operator may operate the controller 202 through the console 204, and the controller 202 wirelessly communicates with the robot 203 to transmit a container transfer command to the robot 203, thereby controlling the robot 203 to perform a transfer operation for containers of various container sizes.

In one possible embodiment, where the controller 202 is capable of providing the robot 203 with a target container size for a target container, the robot 203 is configured to adjust the pick size of the telescopic fork mechanism 12 to match the target container size in response to the container handling instructions and based on the target container size in the container handling instructions, and acquire and handle the target container using the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism 12. Here, the time for adjusting the box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism 12 by the robot 203 may be adjusted immediately after receiving a container carrying instruction, that is, while moving; or, the container may be adjusted after being moved to the container-taking position of the target container, which is not limited herein.

In one possible embodiment, in the event that the controller 202 is unable to provide the robot 203 with a target container size for the target container, the telescopic fork mechanism 12 may acquire the target container size for the target container using the first sensor assembly 128 mounted thereon, at which time the pick size of the telescopic fork mechanism 12 may only be adjusted at the pick position for the target container. Specifically, the robot 203 is configured to adjust the pick size of the telescopic fork mechanism 12 to match the target container size based on the target container size collected by the first sensor assembly 128 after moving to the pick position of the target container to be handled, and acquire and handle the target container using the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism 12. The first sensor assembly 128 may be a sensor assembly capable of detecting a distance, such as a vision sensor or a depth sensor, and the specific sensor type is not limited in this regard.

In one possible embodiment, where the controller 202 is capable of providing the robot 203 with a target container size for a target container, the robot 203 may first adjust the telescoping fork mechanism 12 using the target container size provided by the container handling instructions and then perform a verification process on the initially adjusted telescoping fork mechanism using the first sensor assembly 128. Specifically, the robot 203 is configured to adjust the pick size of the telescopic fork mechanism 12 to match the target container size in response to the container handling instruction and based on the target container size in the container handling instruction; after moving to the container pick-up position for the target container to be handled, verifying whether the target container size matches the actual container size based on the actual container size of the target container collected by the first sensor assembly 128; if the container is matched with the container, the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism 12 is used for acquiring and carrying a target container; if the container size is not matched with the actual size of the container, the container taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism 12 is adjusted by using the actual size of the container, and under the condition that the container taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism is matched with the actual size of the container, the target container is obtained and carried by using the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism 12.

Based on above-mentioned system, in the packing box actual size that combines target packing box size and first sensor subassembly real-time detection, the robot can adjust the case size matching of getting between the first flexible fork that stretches out and the flexible fork of second for can acquire the minimum size of target packing box, thereby guarantee that the robot is when embracing and getting the target packing box, can keep the position of target packing box in embracing the fork subassembly, avoid appearing the skew, it is rotatory, unusual states such as slope, the maximize has improved the adaptability of robot to the packing box storage scene of multiple packing box size. Meanwhile, the distance between the containers stored on the goods shelf can be adjusted to be the minimum distance precision that the robot can obtain the target containers by the aid of the mode that the robot actively adjusts the size of the containers taken by the telescopic fork mechanism, storage density of the containers can be improved, and waste of storage space is further reduced.

Based on the robot in the container carrying system, the embodiment of the disclosure also provides a container carrying method, and an execution main body of the container carrying method is the robot. Referring to fig. 8, it is a flowchart of a container handling method, including steps S801 to S803, wherein:

s801: in response to container handling instructions received from the controller.

In this step, the container handling instructions may include a container pick position for the target container and/or a target container size for the target container.

S802: and adjusting the box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism to be matched with the size of the target container.

In the step, the telescopic fork mechanism comprises a holding fork assembly and an adjusting mechanism; the holding fork assembly comprises a first telescopic fork and a second telescopic fork which can be telescopic along a first direction; the adjusting mechanism comprises a first guide rail assembly and a first driving unit, the length direction of the first guide rail assembly is a second direction, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

Here, the case taking size may be a size between the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork. The target container size may be the size of the target container to be handled as indicated in the container handling instructions.

In a possible implementation manner, in a case that the container handling instruction includes a target container size, the first driving unit may be controlled to drive the first retractable fork and the second retractable fork to move towards or away from each other on the first guide rail assembly along the second direction based on the target container size, so that the container taking size between the first retractable fork and the second retractable fork matches the target container size. Specifically, the first driving unit includes a driving motor and a first timing belt assembly; can utilize driving motor drive first synchronous belt subassembly, simultaneously, first synchronous belt subassembly drives first flexible fork and the flexible fork of second of fixed connection above that and moves in opposite directions or carrying on the back mutually along the second direction on first guide rail assembly, adjusts getting between first flexible fork and the flexible fork of second case size and target packing box size phase-match.

In another possible embodiment, in the case that only the container taking position of the target container is included in the container handling instruction, the target container size of the target container may be acquired by using the first sensor assembly included in the telescopic fork mechanism; when the robot runs to the box taking position of the target container, the box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism is adjusted to be matched with the size of the target container based on the size of the target container collected by the first sensor assembly. Specifically, based on the target container size collected by the first sensor assembly, the box taking size between the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork is adjusted to be matched with the target container size.

Here, when the robot moves to the box taking position of the target container, the first sensor assembly can also acquire the actual position of the target container to be carried on the goods shelf, adjust the box taking position of the robot again based on the actual position, and acquire the target container at the box taking position after being adjusted again. For example, the actual position of the target container to be carried on the goods shelf can be acquired based on the first sensor assembly, the robot is controlled to move to the box taking position, and the robot controls the fork holding assembly to stretch at the box taking position, so that the target container which is placed on the goods shelf in an offset manner can be acquired.

S803: and acquiring and carrying the target container by using the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism.

And the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism is used for acquiring the target container on the goods shelf and conveying the target container to be temporarily stored on the temporary storage position of the temporary storage mechanism.

In one possible embodiment, the robot includes a staging mechanism and a slewing bearing assembly; the telescopic fork mechanism comprises a second guide rail assembly, a second driving unit, a third driving unit, a follow-up frame, a front shifting finger and a rear shifting finger; after the robot runs to a box taking position of a target container to be carried, controlling a third driving unit to drive a holding fork assembly to extend to a position where the holding fork assembly can be hooked to the target container, and simultaneously, under the action of a pulling force provided by a second driving unit, a follow-up frame moves to a position limited by a fixed element on a second guide rail assembly along the extending direction of the holding fork assembly; then, the front shifting finger is controlled to rotate to a preset state so as to hook a target container, and when the fork holding assembly retracts, the rear shifting finger is utilized to drive the follow-up frame to retract to the position of the follow-up frame under the condition that the telescopic fork mechanism does not work; under the condition that the second sensor assembly detects that the follow-up frame retracts to the position where the telescopic fork mechanism does not work, when the follow-up frame is located, the slewing bearing assembly is controlled to drive the telescopic fork mechanism to rotate to the position where the front shifting finger of the telescopic fork mechanism faces the inlet of the container in the temporary storage mechanism, and the fork holding assembly is controlled to store the target container to the temporary storage position of the temporary storage mechanism.

Here, the preset state includes a horizontal state or a certain angle with the horizontal direction, the angle may be specifically defined according to the target container size, and is not specifically defined herein, it should be noted that, when combining the container taking size and the preset state of the front finger when taking the container, the extended fork assembly may be ensured to be the minimum size capable of achieving access to the target container, and the utilization rate of the container storage space (such as a shelf) may be improved.

For example, firstly, the robot controls the lifting mechanism to lift to a first target cargo space height of a shelf where a target container to be carried is located; then, adjusting the box taking size between the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork to be matched with the target container size based on the target container size; after the robot runs to the box taking position of a target container to be carried, the second driving unit is controlled to drive the holding fork assembly to extend to the position where the target container can be hooked, for example, the long side x the wide side x the high side of the target container are 650mm x 500mm x 400mm, and the holding fork assembly can be controlled to extend by 800mm, including a gap part between the wide side loading rack of the target container and the robot. Meanwhile, the follow-up frame moves to a position limited by the fixed element on the second guide rail assembly along the extending direction of the holding fork assembly under the action of the pulling force of the spring, and the extending stroke of the follow-up frame is fixed. And then, the front shifting finger is controlled to rotate to a horizontal state, and the second driving unit drives the holding fork assembly and the follow-up frame to drive the container to retract to the position of the follow-up frame under the condition that the telescopic fork mechanism does not work. When the second sensor assembly collects the position of the rear shifting finger, the position of the follower frame can be determined under the condition that the follower retracts to the position where the telescopic fork mechanism does not work, then the slewing bearing assembly is controlled to drive the telescopic fork mechanism to rotate to the position where the front shifting finger of the telescopic fork mechanism faces the inlet of the target container in the temporary storage mechanism, the fork holding assembly is controlled to store the target container to the temporary storage position of the temporary storage mechanism, and the container taking work of the target container is completed.

Based on the above S801, in a possible implementation, after responding to the container handling instruction received from the controller, the robot may further control the lifting mechanism to lift to the first target cargo space height of the shelf where the target container to be handled is located; the first target cargo space height can be the height corresponding to the storage space of the goods shelf where the target container is currently placed; controlling a first driving unit to drive a box taking size between a first telescopic fork and a second telescopic fork to be matched with the size of a target container; the third driving unit is controlled to drive the holding fork assembly to extend out to a position where the holding fork assembly can be hooked to a target container, the front shifting finger is controlled to rotate to a preset state so as to hook the target container, and the follow-up frame moves to a position limited by the fixing element on the second guide rail assembly along the extending direction of the holding fork assembly under the action of tension provided by the second driving unit; after the front shifting finger hook takes the target container, the position of the follow-up frame is controlled to retract to the position where the telescopic fork mechanism does not work; controlling the lifting mechanism to lift to a second target cargo space height; the second target cargo space height can be the height of a temporary storage space where the target container is to be placed in the temporary storage mechanism; and controlling the slewing bearing mechanism to drive the telescopic fork mechanism to rotate to the position of the front shifting finger of the telescopic fork mechanism towards the inlet of the container in the temporary storage mechanism, and controlling the third driving unit to drive the fork holding assembly to store the target container on the temporary storage mechanism.

Here, after controlling slewing bearing mechanism to drive the flexible fork mechanism to rotate to the front shifting finger of the fork mechanism that contracts and to the entry position of the container in the temporary storage mechanism, the process of specifically depositing the target container on the temporary storage mechanism is: and controlling the third driving unit to drive the holding fork assembly to extend into the temporary storage mechanism, controlling the front shifting finger to rotate from the current state and the preset state to be in a vertical state, and then controlling the third driving unit to drive the holding fork assembly to retract to the position where the telescopic fork mechanism does not work, wherein the position of the follow-up frame is located, so that the process of placing the target container into the temporary storage position of the temporary storage mechanism from the follow-up frame is completed.

Based on the robot in the container handling system, the embodiment of the disclosure also provides another container handling method, and an execution main body of the container handling method is the robot. Referring to fig. 9, it is a flowchart of another container handling method, including steps S901 to S905, wherein:

s901: in response to a container deposit command received from the controller.

Here, the robot includes a buffer mechanism.

In this step, the container storage instruction is an instruction issued by the controller to store the target container on the temporary storage position of the temporary storage mechanism onto a preset goods shelf.

Here, the preset shelf may be a designated shelf storing the target container.

S902: the size of the box taking of the telescopic fork mechanism is adjusted to be matched with the size of the temporary storage mechanism.

In this step, the size of the box taking of the telescopic fork mechanism is adjusted to the size of the temporary storage mechanism, and the target container at any position on the temporary storage position of the temporary storage mechanism can be obtained by the telescopic fork mechanism. Here, the size of the buffer means is the maximum size of the inlet of the buffer means for taking the box.

Here, the telescopic fork mechanism includes a embracing fork assembly, a first driving unit and a first guide rail assembly; the holding fork assembly comprises a first telescopic fork and a second telescopic fork which can stretch in a first direction, the length direction of the first guide rail assembly is a second direction, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

Exemplarily, there is some target packing boxes that the parking position on the temporary storage position of temporary storage mechanism is not normal, for example, compare in the less condition of the size of temporary storage mechanism in the target packing box size of target packing box, lead to the skew of target packing box on temporary storage position of temporary storage mechanism by uncontrollable reason, at this moment, the case size of getting of flexible fork mechanism needs to be adjusted to the size of temporary storage mechanism, the size of this temporary storage mechanism is the maximum size that the case entrance was got to temporary storage mechanism promptly, like this, just can guarantee to acquire the target packing box of the optional position department of skew on temporary storage position. The box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism can be adjusted, the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork are controlled by the first driving unit to move in opposite directions or back to back along the second direction on the first guide rail assembly, so that the box taking size between the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork is matched with the size of the temporary storage mechanism.

S903: and stretching the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism into a temporary storage mechanism where a target container to be transported is stored.

When the telescopic fork mechanism is specifically implemented, the telescopic fork mechanism further comprises a second guide rail assembly, a second driving unit, a follow-up frame, a front shifting finger and a rear shifting finger; the robot comprises a lifting mechanism; and controlling the lifting mechanism to lift to an inlet of a temporary storage mechanism where a target container to be carried is located, and controlling the holding fork assembly to extend to a position where the target container can be hooked and taken based on the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism.

S904: and adjusting the box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism again to be matched with the target container size based on the target container size of the target container.

During specific implementation, the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork can be controlled to move in the opposite direction or in the opposite direction along the second direction on the first guide rail assembly based on the target container size, so that the container taking size between the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork is matched with the target container size.

Continuing the example, under the circumstances of getting the case size and the size assorted of temporary storage mechanism between first flexible fork and the flexible fork of second, can be according to the target packing box size of target packing box, adjust again and get the case size between first flexible fork and the flexible fork of second, at this moment, the flexible fork of first drive unit drive and second can realize putting the effect of target packing box at the skew position of keeping in, later, utilize to get case size and target packing box size assorted and just can get the target packing box through preceding thumb hook.

S905: and acquiring the target container on the temporary storage position of the temporary storage mechanism by using the telescopic fork mechanism after secondary adjustment, and carrying the target container to a preset goods shelf.

And acquiring a target container on the temporary storage position of the temporary storage mechanism by using the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism, and carrying the container to a preset goods shelf.

For example, in response to a container storage instruction received from the controller, the container taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism can be adjusted to the size of the temporary storage mechanism, then the lifting mechanism is controlled to drive the telescopic fork mechanism to vertically move to the inlet of the temporary storage mechanism where a target container is located, and in the process, the slewing bearing assembly can be controlled to drive the telescopic fork mechanism to rotate to the position where the front shifting finger of the telescopic fork mechanism faces the inlet of the container in the temporary storage mechanism; then, the adjusted telescopic fork mechanism extends into the temporary storage mechanism, the box taking size of the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork is adjusted to be matched with the size of a target container, the target container which is possibly offset is straightened through the clamping action of the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork, the front shifting finger is controlled to be adjusted to be in a preset state, the target container is hooked and taken, the holding fork assembly retracts at the moment, the target container is hooked on the follower frame, and the target container retracts into the telescopic fork mechanism along with the follower frame; and then, the lifting mechanism drives the telescopic fork mechanism to vertically move to a height corresponding to a storage position in a preset goods shelf where the target goods box is to be stored, and the target goods box is stored on the preset goods shelf by utilizing the telescopic fork assembly to stretch.

Based on the above S901, in a possible implementation manner, after responding to the container storage instruction received from the controller, the robot may further control the lifting mechanism to lift to a third target cargo space height of the temporary storage mechanism where the target container to be carried is located; the third target cargo space height is the height of a temporary storage space on the temporary storage mechanism where the target container is currently located; controlling a first driving unit to drive a box taking size between a first telescopic fork and a second telescopic fork to be matched with the size of the temporary storage mechanism; controlling a third driving unit to drive the embracing fork assembly to extend to a position where the embracing fork assembly can be hooked to a target container, and enabling the follow-up frame to move to a position limited by the fixing element on the second guide rail assembly along the first direction under the action of tension provided by the second driving unit; based on the target container size of the target container, controlling the first driving unit to drive the container taking size between the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork to be matched with the target container size again, and controlling the front shifting finger to rotate to a preset state so as to hook the target container; after the front shifting finger hook takes the target container, the position of the follow-up frame is controlled to retract to the position where the telescopic fork mechanism does not work; controlling the lifting mechanism to lift to a fourth target cargo space height; the fourth target cargo space height is the height corresponding to the preset goods shelf storage space where the target container is to be placed; and controlling the slewing bearing mechanism to drive the telescopic fork mechanism to rotate to a position where a front shifting finger of the telescopic fork mechanism faces a container storage inlet of a preset goods shelf, and controlling the third driving unit to drive the fork holding assembly to store the target container on the preset goods shelf.

Here, after controlling the slewing bearing mechanism to drive the telescopic fork mechanism to rotate to the position where the front shifting finger of the telescopic fork mechanism faces the container storage inlet of the preset goods shelf, the process of specifically storing the target container on the preset goods shelf is as follows: and controlling the third driving unit to drive the holding fork assembly to extend into the storage space of the preset goods shelf, controlling the front shifting finger to rotate from the current state and the preset state to a vertical state, and then controlling the third driving unit to drive the holding fork assembly to retract to the position of the follow-up frame under the condition that the telescopic fork mechanism does not work, so that the process of putting the target goods box into the storage space of the preset goods shelf from the follow-up frame is completed.

Above-mentioned embodiment, adjust the case size of getting of flexible fork mechanism earlier and get the maximum size of case entrance for temporary storage mechanism, just so can guarantee to embrace and insert the subassembly and stretch out the back, when the flexible fork of first flexible fork of control and second moves along the second direction, can have the chance to set the target packing box of skew optional position department on the position of keeping in right, afterwards, adjust once more that get of flexible fork mechanism case size is target packing box size, just can utilize preceding thumb hook to get the target packing box, at this moment, just need not install not unidimensional temporary storage mechanism according to target packing box size again.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and these embodiments are based on different implementations of the overall concept of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure should be covered by the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A container handling system, the system comprising: containers having a plurality of container sizes, a controller, and a robot; the robot comprises a telescopic fork mechanism, and the box taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism is adjustable;

2. A container handling system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the telescopic fork mechanism includes a fork assembly and an adjustment mechanism; the holding fork assembly comprises a first telescopic fork and a second telescopic fork which can be telescopic along a first direction;

3. A container handling system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the first drive unit includes a drive motor and a first timing belt assembly; the first synchronous belt assembly comprises a belt and a belt wheel;

4. A container handling system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the telescopic fork mechanism further comprises a base, a second rail assembly, a second drive unit, a follower frame and rear fingers;

5. A container handling system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the telescopic fork mechanism includes a first sensor assembly; the first sensor assembly is used for acquiring the size of a container of the container to be carried so as to adjust the container taking size of the telescopic fork mechanism based on the size of the container;

6. A robot, characterized in that it comprises a robot according to any of claims 1 to 5.

7. A container handling method applied to the robot according to claim 6, comprising:

8. A container handling method according to claim 7 wherein the robot includes a lift mechanism, a staging mechanism, a slewing bearing assembly and a telescopic fork mechanism; the telescopic fork mechanism comprises a fork holding assembly, a first driving unit, a second guide rail assembly, a second driving unit, a third driving unit, a follow-up frame, a front shifting finger and a rear shifting finger; the holding fork assembly comprises a first telescopic fork and a second telescopic fork which can be telescopic along a first direction; the adjusting mechanism comprises a first guide rail assembly and a first driving unit; the length direction of the first guide rail assembly is a second direction, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction;

9. A container handling method applied to the robot according to claim 6, comprising:

10. A container handling method according to claim 9 wherein the robot includes a lift mechanism, a staging mechanism, a slewing bearing assembly and a telescopic fork mechanism; the telescopic fork mechanism comprises a fork holding assembly, a first driving unit, a second guide rail assembly, a second driving unit, a third driving unit, a follow-up frame, a front shifting finger and a rear shifting finger; the holding fork assembly comprises a first telescopic fork and a second telescopic fork which can be telescopic along a first direction; the adjusting mechanism comprises a first guide rail assembly and a first driving unit; the length direction of the first guide rail assembly is a second direction, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction;