CN116605562A

CN116605562A - Work station, container handling system and container handling method

Info

Publication number: CN116605562A
Application number: CN202210119115.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李洪波
Original assignee: Beijing Jizhijia Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Jizhijia Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-02-08
Filing date: 2022-02-08
Publication date: 2023-08-18

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a workstation, container handling system, and container handling method, the workstation including a movable carrier dock and a container handling mechanism. The container handling mechanism includes a first pushing assembly and a first carrying assembly located on a first side of the movable carrier dock, and a moving assembly driving the first pushing assembly and the first carrying assembly. The movement assembly drives the first pushing assembly and the first bearing assembly to move to a target position; the first pushing component pushes the to-be-erected container received on the first bearing component from the first side to the second side along the Z-axis direction so as to push the to-be-erected container to the movable carrier for storage. The first pushing component can automatically push the to-be-shelved container received on the first bearing component to the movable carrier for storage, so that the container racking efficiency is improved.

Description

Work station, container handling system and container handling method

Technical Field

The disclosure relates to the technical field of warehousing, and in particular relates to a workstation, a container loading and unloading system and a container loading and unloading method.

Background

In recent years, with the rapid development of electronic commerce, the number of orders of users increases geometrically, and a warehouse needs to store a large amount of articles, so how to improve the warehouse efficiency becomes critical.

In current warehouse management, different types of articles are packaged in different containers, then each container is placed on a movable carrier, the movable carrier is carried to a designated position, a worker at the designated position takes out the container from the movable carrier, and then the articles in the container are picked. This process requires human involvement, is complex and inefficient.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a workstation to solve the technical drawbacks of the prior art. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a container handling system, a container handling method.

According to a first aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a workstation comprising a movable carrier dock, a container handling mechanism;

the movable carrier dock is configured for docking a movable carrier; the two opposite sides of the movable carrier stopping position are respectively marked as a first side and a second side;

the container loading and unloading mechanism comprises a first pushing component and a first bearing component which are positioned on the first side, and a movement component for driving the first pushing component and the first bearing component;

the movement assembly is configured to drive the first pushing assembly and the first bearing assembly to move to a target position;

The first pushing assembly is configured to push the containers to be palletized received on the first carrying assembly from the first side to the second side in the Z-axis direction to push the containers to be palletized onto the movable carrier for storage.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the movable carrier is provided with at least two rows of container storage units on a plane on which the X-axis and the Y-axis lie, at least one of the container storage units being configured to penetrate in the Z-axis direction and configured to accommodate at least one container in the Z-axis direction.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the motion assembly includes a Y-axis motion assembly that moves in a vertical Y-axis direction; the Y-axis motion assembly is configured to drive the first pushing assembly and first carrying assembly to move in a vertical direction to a position of a target row on the movable carrier.

In one embodiment of the disclosure, the first pushing assemblies are at least two, and the at least two first pushing assemblies are arranged at intervals along the extending direction of the movable carrier stopping position at the first side and are in one-to-one correspondence with different rows on the movable carrier;

And/or the number of the groups of groups,

the first bearing assemblies are arranged at least two, are arranged at the first side at intervals along the extending direction of the movable carrier stopping positions, and are in one-to-one correspondence with different rows on the movable carrier.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the movement assembly includes an X-axis movement assembly that moves in an extension direction of the movable carrier dock; the X-axis motion assembly is configured to drive the first pushing assembly and first carrying assembly to move along an extension direction of the movable carrier dock to a position of a target column on the movable carrier.

In one embodiment of the disclosure, the movable carrier is configured to move in the X-axis direction under the drive of the automatic handling device, so that the movable carrier moves to have its target row corresponding to the first pushing assembly and the first carrying assembly.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the apparatus further comprises a sensor unit for determining a pose deviation between the first pushing assembly and/or the first carrying assembly and the movable carrier.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the motion assembly is further configured to adjust a pose of the first pushing assembly and/or the first bearing assembly according to the pose deviation determined by the sensor unit, so as to eliminate the pose deviation.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the movement assembly includes a top rail and/or a bottom rail, the movement assembly being configured to drive the first pushing assembly and the first carrying assembly in movement on the top rail and/or the bottom rail.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the moving component includes two upright posts, and at least one first pushing component and at least one first bearing component are respectively distributed on opposite sides of the two upright posts.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the moving assembly is further configured to drive the first carrying assembly to a position corresponding to a conveyor line or a buffer position to transfer a container to be palletized on the conveyor line or the buffer position onto the first carrying assembly.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first pushing assembly and the first carrying assembly are configured to each move independently.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the movement assembly is configured to drive the first pushing assembly, the first bearing assembly to move synchronously to a target position.

In one embodiment of the disclosure, the first bearing assembly comprises a base, and a bearing position for accommodating a container is arranged on the base; the first pushing assembly comprises a pushing part arranged on the base, and the pushing part is configured to push the to-be-erected container received on the first bearing assembly to the movable carrier along the Z-axis direction for storage.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the movable carrier is provided with at least one container storage unit thereon, at least one of the container storage units being configured to be provided with at least a first storage location arranged adjacent to the first side and a second storage location arranged adjacent to the second side in the Z-axis direction; the first pushing component is configured to push the to-be-erected container received on the first bearing component to the first storage position along the Z-axis direction, the movable carrier is configured to move to enable the second storage position on the second side of the movable carrier to correspond to the first pushing component, and the first pushing component is configured to push the to-be-erected container received on the first bearing component to the second storage position along the Z-axis direction for storage.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one of the container storage units is provided with at least a first storage location arranged adjacent to the first side and a second storage location arranged adjacent to the second side in the Z-axis direction;

the first pushing component is configured to push the to-be-shelved container received on the first bearing component to the first storage position or the second storage position along the Z-axis direction for storage.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first pushing assembly is configured to: and pushing the container to be put on the rack to a movable carrier by pushing the first side to the second side by a corresponding distance according to the extending depth of the container storage unit along the Z-axis direction and the storage position of the container to be put on the rack in the container storage unit.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, in case that the first storage location has a first container stored therein, pushing the first container from the first storage location to the second storage location for storage by a movement of the container to be shelved;

or,

pushing the first container or the second container out of the second side by the movement of the container to be palletized in the case that the first container is already stored in the first storage place or the second container is already stored in the second storage place;

or,

and under the condition that the first storage position stores the first container and the second storage position stores the second container, pushing the first container to move through the container to be put on the shelf, and pushing the second container out of the second side through the movement of the first container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the device further comprises a second bearing assembly located on the second side and a movement assembly driving the second bearing assembly; a movement assembly located on the second side is configured to drive the second carrier assembly to a target position, the second carrier assembly being configured to receive a container pushed out of the second side.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the movement assembly on the second side is configured to drive the second carrier assembly to a position corresponding to a conveyor line or buffer location to transfer containers on the second carrier assembly onto the conveyor line or buffer location; or alternatively, to transfer containers located on the conveyor line or buffer location to the first carrier assembly.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the container handling mechanism further comprises a second pushing assembly located on the second side, the second pushing assembly being configured for pushing a container located on the second carrying assembly onto at least one of a movable carrier, a conveyor line, a buffer location.

In one embodiment of the disclosure, the second bearing assembly comprises a base, and a bearing position for accommodating a container is arranged on the base; the second pushing assembly includes a pushing portion configured to be pushed out or retracted in the Z-axis direction.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the second pushing assembly is configured to push the containers to be shelved on the second carrying assembly into corresponding container storage units on a movable carrier, and move another container in the container storage units from an original storage location to an adjacent storage location for storage by movement of the containers to be shelved; or pushing the further container out of the first side, the first carrier assembly being configured for carrying the container pushed out of the first side.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the container handling mechanism further comprises a second pushing assembly located on the second side and a moving assembly driving the second pushing assembly, the moving assembly located on the second side being configured to drive the second pushing assembly to move to a target position; the second pushing assembly is configured to push the container on the movable carrier from the second side to the first side in the Z-axis direction so as to push the container on the movable carrier out of the first side; the first carrier assembly is configured to receive containers on the movable carrier pushed out by the second pushing assembly from the first side.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first pushing assembly is configured to push the container on the movable carrier in the Z-axis direction from the first side to the second side so as to push the container on the movable carrier out from the second side; the device also comprises a second bearing component positioned on the second side and a motion component for driving the second bearing component; a motion assembly on the second side is configured to drive the second carrier assembly to a target position to receive a container on the movable carrier pushed out by the first push assembly from the second side.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a visual detection device is also included, configured to detect the type and/or number of items in the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle further comprises a positioning mechanism disposed in the movable carrier dock and configured to position and/or limit the position of the movable carrier in the movable carrier dock.

According to a second aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a container handling system comprising a server, at least one automated handling equipment, and at least one workstation as described above;

the server is configured to send a handling instruction to the automatic handling equipment and an up operation instruction to the workstation;

the automatic handling device is configured to handle a movable carrier based on the handling instruction and to handle the movable carrier into the movable carrier dock;

a movement assembly in the workstation configured to drive the first pushing assembly and the first bearing assembly to a target position based on the racking operation instruction;

The first pushing component is configured to push the to-be-shelved container received on the first bearing component from the first side to the second side along the Z-axis direction based on the racking operation instruction so as to push the to-be-shelved container to the movable carrier for storage.

According to a third aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a container handling method, applied to the container handling system described above, the method comprising:

the server sends a handling instruction to the automatic handling equipment and sends an racking operation instruction to the workstation;

the automatic carrying equipment carries the movable carrier to a movable carrier stopping position based on the carrying instruction;

the moving assembly in the workstation drives the first pushing assembly and the first bearing assembly to move to a target position based on the racking operation instruction;

the first pushing component pushes the to-be-shelved container received on the first bearing component from the first side to the second side along the Z-axis direction based on the racking operation instruction so as to push the to-be-shelved container to the movable carrier for storage.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, after the step of pushing the first pushing assembly from the first side to the second side in the Z-axis direction on the basis of the racking operation instruction, the method further includes:

And the server obtains the position information of the container to be put on the shelf on the movable carrier and updates and records the position information.

The present embodiments provide a workstation, container handling system, and container handling method, the workstation including a movable carrier dock and a container handling mechanism. Wherein the movable carrier dock is configured for docking the movable carrier; the opposite sides of the movable carrier rest position are respectively marked as a first side and a second side. The container loading and unloading mechanism at least comprises a first pushing component and a first bearing component which are positioned on the first side, and a movement component for driving the first pushing component and the first bearing component. The movement assembly is configured to drive the first pushing assembly and the first bearing assembly to move to a target position; the first pushing assembly is configured to push the container to be palletized received on the first bearing assembly from the first side to the second side in the Z-axis direction to push the container to be palletized onto the movable carrier for storage. Through the first pushing component of the container racking mechanism in the workstation, the to-be-racking container received on the first bearing component can be automatically pushed to the movable carrier for storage, and therefore, the process of container racking in the embodiment does not need manual participation, the time of container racking is shortened, and the container racking efficiency is improved.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a workstation according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a container handling system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a second load bearing assembly and a second pushing assembly of a workstation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another workstation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of another container handling system provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 is a flow chart of a container handling method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. The present disclosure may be embodied in many other forms than described herein and similarly generalized to the state of the art may be made by the person skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the disclosure and, therefore, the disclosure is not limited to the specific implementations disclosed below.

The terminology used in the one or more embodiments of the disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the one or more embodiments of the disclosure. As used in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and/or" as used in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure refers to and encompasses any or all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It should be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure to describe various information, these information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one type of information from another. For example, a first may also be referred to as a second, and similarly, a second may also be referred to as a first, without departing from the scope of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at … …" or "at … …" or "responsive to a determination", depending on the context.

First, terms related to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure will be explained.

A movable carrier: refers to an object carried by automatic carrying equipment, and one or more container storage units are arranged on a movable carrier for placing containers.

A container: generally, the utility model is also called a bin or a container, and is a entity for containing goods, materials and other articles, including a plastic bin, a paper box, a plastic basket and the like, and also comprises a packing box, a packing box and the like of the goods.

Storage position: the position on the movable carrier for storing the containers may also be empty, i.e. not storing the containers.

Automatic handling equipment: an automated apparatus capable of handling a movable carrier.

A workstation is provided in the present disclosure, as well as a container handling system and a container handling method, described in detail in the examples below.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic structural view of a workstation provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the workstation including a movable carrier dock 3, a container handling mechanism.

Wherein the movable carrier docking station 3 is configured for docking a movable carrier; the two opposite sides of the movable carrier rest position 3 are respectively marked as a first side and a second side;

the container loading and unloading mechanism comprises a first pushing assembly 5 and a first bearing assembly 50 which are positioned on a first side, and a movement assembly for driving the first pushing assembly 5 and the first bearing assembly 50;

the movement assembly is configured to drive the first pushing assembly 5 and the first bearing assembly 50 to move to a target position;

the first pushing assembly 5 is configured to push the rack container received on the first carrying assembly 50 from the first side to the second side in the Z-axis direction to push it onto the movable carrier for storage.

The workstation of this embodiment may be a warehouse workstation, or may be a workstation for storing containers in a factory scenario, which is not specifically limited herein.

The mobile carrier dock 3 is capable of being accessed and docked by a mobile carrier, as shown in fig. 1, the mobile carrier dock 3 may include opposite sides, a first side provided with a first push assembly 5 and a first load assembly 50.

The first carrier assembly 50 provides a container receiving function, and the first pushing assembly 5 can provide a container pushing function, which may be a pushing rod, a pushing block, a pushing disc, or the like. The number of the first bearing components 50 and the first pushing components 5 can be one or more, the number of the first bearing components 50 and the number of the first pushing components 5 can be the same or different, the first bearing components 50 and the first pushing components 5 are arranged to be movable and can precisely move to a target position under the driving of the moving components, and then the first pushing components 5 push the to-be-erected container supported on the first bearing components 50 from the first side to the second side along the Z-axis direction so as to push the to-be-erected container to the movable carrier for storage.

In order to realize the function of automatically loading the containers, the workstation of the embodiment of the disclosure may further be provided with a control mechanism (the control mechanism may be a control chip integrated in the workstation or may be a server independent of the workstation), and the control mechanism is used for issuing instructions to the moving component and the first pushing component, after the moving component receives the instructions, the moving component may drive the first pushing component 5 and the first bearing component 50 to move according to the instructions, and after the first pushing component 5 receives the instructions, the first pushing component may start pushing the containers to be loaded according to the instructions.

With embodiments of the present disclosure, the workstation includes a movable carrier dock 3 and a container handling mechanism. Wherein the movable carrier docking station 3 is configured for docking a movable carrier; the opposite sides of the movable carrier rest 3 are denoted as first side and second side, respectively. The container handling mechanism comprises at least a first pushing assembly 5 and a first carrying assembly 50 at a first side, and a movement assembly driving the first pushing assembly 5 and the first carrying assembly 50. The movement assembly is configured to drive the first pushing assembly 5 and the first bearing assembly 50 to move to a target position; the first pushing assembly 5 is configured to push the rack container received on the first carrying assembly 50 from the first side to the second side in the Z-axis direction to push it onto the movable carrier for storage. The first pushing component 5 of the container loading mechanism in the workstation can automatically push the container to be loaded on the first bearing component 50 to the movable carrier for storage, so that the process of loading the container in the embodiment does not need manual participation, the time of loading the container is shortened, and the container loading efficiency is improved.

In an actual application scenario, as shown in fig. 2, fig. 2 shows a schematic structural diagram of a container handling system according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The movable carrier 6 is carried into the movable carrier stopping position 3 by the automatic carrying equipment, and the movable carrier stopping position 3 is used for the movable carrier 6 to enter and stop. In order to ensure that the movable carrier 6 can completely enter the movable carrier docking station 3, the width of both sides of the movable carrier docking station 3 is set to be larger than the width of the movable carrier 6. In order to ensure the stable structure of the workstation and to shield dust and falling objects, a cover plate can be arranged above the stop position 3 of the movable carrier 6.

A plurality of containers 60 can be placed on the movable carrier 6, each container 60 can hold the same or different articles, and the containers can be put on different positions when being put on the rack, however, if the first pushing assembly 5 and the first bearing assembly 50 are correspondingly arranged for all positions, the structure of the workstation is too complex. Thus, to simplify the construction of the workstation, the presently disclosed embodiments provide that the first pushing assembly 5 and the first carrying assembly 50 are movable, in particular, the first pushing assembly 5, the first carrying assembly 50 are driven to move by the movement assembly.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiments, the movable carrier 6 is provided with at least two rows of container storage units on a plane on which the X-axis and the Y-axis lie, at least one container storage unit being configured to penetrate in the Z-axis direction and configured to accommodate at least one container in the Z-axis direction.

The common movable carrier is provided with an AB surface, the AB surface is respectively provided with a container storage unit which is symmetrically arranged, the container storage units which are symmetrically arranged are separated by a surrounding baffle, and obviously, the movable carrier is not suitable for pushing the container, and is only suitable for sucking the container or dragging the container and other types of operations. For such movable carriers, the center of gravity of the movable carrier needs to be considered when the container is put on the shelf, if the movable carrier is always put on the shelf on one side, the movable carrier is easy to turn over, and then automatic conveying equipment is needed to turn the movable carrier back and forth, so that the containers are ensured to be put on the two sides of the movable carrier uniformly, the operation complexity is increased, and the container putting efficiency is affected.

In order to solve the above problem, the movable carrier 6 may be provided with at least two rows of container storage units on the plane on which the X axis and the Y axis lie, and at least one container storage unit is configured to be penetrated in the Z axis direction, and the penetrating structure means that, no matter there are several container storage positions in the depth direction of the movable carrier 6, there are no barriers between the container storage positions, so that the first pushing component is convenient to push the container 60 to a storage position with any depth for storage. When the container 60 is put on the shelf, the container is put on the shelf by pushing the container based on the through structure, and compared with the container put on the shelf based on the common movable carrier, such as the suction container or the dragging container, the gravity center position can be better adjusted, the situation that the movable carrier is turned over due to the fact that the containers are put on one side in a concentrated mode is avoided, the operation is simpler, and the container put on the shelf efficiency is high.

In embodiments where the movable carrier 6 is provided with at least two rows of container storage units on a plane in which the X-axis and the Y-axis lie, the movement assembly may include a Y-axis movement assembly that moves in a vertical Y-axis direction; the Y-axis movement assembly is configured to drive the first pushing assembly 5 and the first carrying assembly 50 to move in a vertical direction to a position of a target row of the movable carrier 6.

Since the container storage units are arranged in rows, when there is a need for the container 60 to be set up, the moving assembly is required to drive the first pushing assembly 5 and the first carrying assembly 50 to move to the corresponding rows, and thus the moving assembly may include a Y-axis moving assembly moving in the vertical Y-axis direction, and the Y-axis moving assembly may drive the first pushing assembly 5 and the first carrying assembly 50 to move to the target row position of the movable carrier 6 in the vertical direction.

In another implementation of the disclosed embodiment, the movable carrier 6 is provided with at least two rows of container storage units on a plane on which the X-axis and the Y-axis lie, at least one container storage unit being configured to penetrate in the Z-axis direction and configured to accommodate at least one container 60 in the Z-axis direction.

The movable carrier 6 may be provided with at least two rows of container storage units on the plane on which the X axis and the Y axis lie, and at least one container storage unit is configured to be penetrated in the Z axis direction, and the penetrating structure means that, no matter how many container storage positions are provided in the depth direction of the movable carrier 6, each container storage position is not surrounded and separated, and is penetrating, so that the first pushing component is convenient to push the container 60 to a storage position with any depth for storage. When the container 60 is put on the shelf, the container is put on the shelf by pushing the container based on the through structure, and compared with the container put on the shelf based on the common movable carrier, such as the suction container or the dragging container, the gravity center position can be better adjusted, the situation that the movable carrier is turned over due to the fact that the containers are put on one side in a concentrated mode is avoided, the operation is simpler, and the container put on the shelf efficiency is high.

In an embodiment in which the movable carrier 6 is provided with at least two rows of container storage units on a plane on which the X-axis and the Y-axis lie, the movement assembly may include an X-axis movement assembly that moves in the extending direction of the movable carrier rest 3; the X-axis movement assembly is configured to drive the first pushing assembly 5 and the first bearing assembly 50 to move to the position of the target column of the movable carrier 6 along the extending direction of the movable carrier docking station 3.

Since the container storage units are arranged in the columns, when there is a need to put the container 60 on the shelf, the moving assembly is required to drive the first pushing assembly 5 and the first bearing assembly 50 to move to the corresponding columns, and thus the moving assembly may include an X-axis moving assembly that moves in the extending direction of the movable carrier docking station 3, and the X-axis moving assembly may drive the first pushing assembly 5 and the first bearing assembly 50 to move to the position of the target column of the movable carrier 6 in the extending direction of the movable carrier docking station 3.

In the embodiment in which the movable carrier 6 is provided with at least two rows of container storage units on the plane on which the X axis and the Y axis are located, the first pushing assemblies 5 are provided with at least two, and the at least two first pushing assemblies 5 are arranged at intervals along the extending direction of the movable carrier stopping position 3 on the first side and are in one-to-one correspondence with different rows on the movable carrier 6;

And/or the number of the groups of groups,

the first bearing components 50 are provided with at least two, and the at least two first bearing components 50 are arranged at intervals along the extending direction of the movable carrier stopping position 3 at the first side and are in one-to-one correspondence with different rows on the movable carrier 6.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, at least two first pushing assemblies 5 and at least two first bearing assemblies 50 may be provided (the first pushing assemblies 5 and the first bearing assemblies 50 are only shown as examples and not limited by specific numbers), and are arranged at intervals along the extending direction of the movable carrier docking station 3 on the first side, and each first pushing assembly 5 and each first bearing assembly 50 respectively correspond to different columns on the movable carrier 6 one by one, so that each pushing assembly and each bearing assembly are only responsible for the container storage units of the corresponding column. The first pushing assemblies 5 and the first bearing assemblies 50 can be controlled independently, that is, the containers to be put on the shelf in each column can be pushed at the same time, so as to achieve the purpose of putting a plurality of containers on the shelf at the same time.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the movable carrier 6 is provided with at least two columns and at least two rows of container storage units on a plane on which the X-axis and the Y-axis lie. In this embodiment, the movement assembly may include an X-axis movement assembly and a Y-axis movement assembly, and the first pushing assembly 5 and the first bearing assembly 50 may be moved to a target position corresponding to a corresponding container storage unit on the movable carrier 6 by the cooperative movement of the X-axis movement assembly and the Y-axis movement assembly.

In yet another implementation of the disclosed embodiment, the movable carrier 6 is configured to move in the X-axis direction under the drive of the automatic handling device, so that the movable carrier 6 moves to have its target column correspond to the first pushing assembly 5 and the first bearing assembly 50.

Since the movable carrier 6 is driven by the automatic handling device to move in the X-axis direction, the automatic handling device can finely adjust the position of the movable carrier 6 during the handling of the movable carrier 6 based on its handling function, so that the target row of the movable carrier 6 can correspond to the first pushing assembly 5 and the first carrying assembly 50. In this embodiment, the first pushing assembly 5 and the first bearing assembly 50 may be provided one each, and the positions thereof are fixed. When different rows of the movable carrier 6 are required to be corresponding to the first pushing assembly 5 and the first carrying assembly 50, the automatic carrying device can be controlled to drive the movable carrier 6 to move by a corresponding distance in the X-axis direction until the target row of the movable carrier 6 is corresponding to the first pushing assembly 5 and the first carrying assembly 50, i.e. the first pushing assembly 5 can correspondingly push the to-be-erected container received by the first carrying assembly 50 into the container storage unit of the target row.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiments, the workstation may further comprise a sensor unit for determining a pose deviation between the first pushing assembly 5 and/or the first carrying assembly 50 and the movable carrier.

In the process of pushing the container by the first pushing component 5, the first pushing component 5 and the first bearing component 50 need to be moved to a position corresponding to the target position on the movable carrier 6, and if the first pushing component 5 and the first bearing component 50 do not move in place, the stability of pushing the container is difficult to keep. Thus, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, a sensor unit is provided, which may be an infrared sensor, a position sensor, a camera, a distance sensor, or the like. By the positioning of the sensor unit, the pose deviation between the first pushing assembly 5 and/or the first carrying assembly 50 and the movable carrier 6 can be determined. For example, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the sensor unit may be a two-dimensional camera by which deviations in the pose of the first pushing assembly 5 with respect to the movable carrier 6, such as deviations in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, the Z-axis direction, may be detected.

The sensor unit may use the container as a detection reference or the corresponding position on the movable carrier 6 as a detection reference, as will be apparent to a person skilled in the art. For example, a positioning mark may be provided at a corresponding position of the movable carrier 6, and the sensor unit may determine, based on the positioning mark, an offset of the first pushing assembly 5 and/or the first carrying assembly 50 relative to the positioning mark, which corresponds to obtaining a pose deviation between the first pushing assembly 5 and/or the first carrying assembly 50 and the movable carrier 6.

It is also possible for a person skilled in the art that the sensor unit is a three-dimensional camera which can be used directly to locate the position of the movable carrier 6, whereby the three-dimensional deviation of the first pushing assembly 5 and/or the first carrying assembly 50 from the movable carrier 6 can be calculated.

In the case of the first pose deviation, the motion assembly is further configured to adjust the pose of the first pushing assembly 5 and/or the first bearing assembly 50 according to the pose deviation determined by the sensor unit, so as to eliminate the pose deviation.

If there is a pose deviation, the motion assembly is required to adjust the pose of the first pushing assembly 5 and/or the first bearing assembly 50 according to the pose deviation, and the pose deviation can be eliminated through adjustment, so that the first pushing assembly 5 can push the middle position of the container 60 as much as possible. For example, if it is determined by the sensor unit that there is a 15 ° deviation, the movement assembly may drive the first pushing assembly 5 and/or the first carrying assembly 50 to be offset by 15 °, thereby eliminating the 15 ° deviation.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiments, the movement assembly includes a headrail and/or a ground rail, the movement assembly being configured to drive the first pushing assembly 5 and the first carrying assembly 50 in movement on the headrail and/or the ground rail.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the motion assembly may include a top rail and/or a bottom rail, and the X-axis motion assembly of the motion assembly may be guided to mate with the top rail and/or the bottom rail, such that the X-axis motion assembly may move along the extending direction of the top rail and/or the bottom rail.

In a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, on a first side where the first pushing component 5 is disposed, the moving component includes a first gantry component 2, at least one first upright 20 (X-axis moving component) is connected to the first gantry component 2, the first pushing component 5 and the first bearing component 50 can move along the first upright 20 in a vertical direction, and by disposing the first gantry component 2 and the first upright 20, the first pushing component 5 and the first bearing component 50 can flexibly move along the vertical direction, and the stability of the first pushing component 5 and the first bearing component 50 moving along the vertical direction is ensured.

In a specific practical application, the first upright 20 may be in guiding fit on a top rail and a bottom rail of the first portal frame assembly 2, and the first upright 20 may be supported and guided by the top rail and the bottom rail, so that the first upright 20 may move in the X-axis direction under the limitation of the top rail and the bottom rail of the first portal frame assembly 2, so that the first upright 20 may drive the first pushing assembly 5 and the first bearing assembly 50 to correspond to the target column on the movable carrier 6. The first pushing assembly 5 and the first bearing assembly 50 are connected to the first upright 20 through the Y-axis moving assembly, so that the first pushing assembly 5 and the first bearing assembly 50 can move along the first upright 20 in the Y-axis direction to correspond to the target row of the movable carrier 6.

In the embodiment of setting the second pushing component 40 and the second bearing component 4, on the second side where the second pushing component 40 and the second bearing component 4 are set, the motion component includes the second door frame component 1, at least one second upright post 10 (X-axis motion component) is connected to the second door frame component 1, the second pushing component 40 and the second bearing component 4 can move along the second upright post 10 in the vertical direction, and by setting the second door frame component 1 and the second upright post 10, the second pushing component 40 and the second bearing component 4 can flexibly move along the vertical direction, and the stability of the second pushing component 40 and the second bearing component 4 moving along the vertical direction is ensured. The structure of the second pushing assembly 40 and the second carrying assembly 4 moving in the second mast assembly 1 may be identical to the structure of the first pushing assembly 5 and the first carrying assembly 50 moving in the first mast assembly 2, which will not be described in detail herein.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiment, the movement assembly comprises two uprights, each of which has at least one first pushing assembly 5 and at least one first carrying assembly 50 distributed on opposite sides thereof.

In a specific implementation of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 4, fig. 4 shows a schematic structural diagram of another workstation provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The first upright 20 is provided with two, and at least one first pushing component 5 and at least one first bearing component 50 are respectively distributed on the opposite sides of the two first uprights 20. That is, the first pushing assemblies 5 and the first bearing assemblies 50 are respectively disposed on each first upright 20, and the first pushing assemblies 5 and the first bearing assemblies 50 are disposed on opposite sides of the two first uprights 20, so that the first pushing assemblies 5 and the first bearing assemblies 50 on each upright can simultaneously push the containers 60 to be put on the shelf into the adjacent two rows of container storage units.

Based on the same principle, in the following embodiments where the second pushing assemblies 40 and the second bearing assemblies 4 are provided, two second upright posts 10 are provided, and at least one second pushing assembly 40 and one second bearing assembly 4 are respectively distributed on opposite sides of the two second upright posts 10. The second pushing assemblies 40, 4 are disposed on opposite sides of the two second uprights 10 such that the second pushing assemblies 40, 4 on each upright can simultaneously push the containers 60 to be palletized into the adjacent two columns of container storage units.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiments, the motion assembly is further configured to drive the first carriage assembly 50 to a position corresponding to the conveyor line or buffer location to transfer the racking container 60 located on the conveyor line or buffer location onto the first carriage assembly 50.

In the racking process, the moving assembly may drive the first carrying assembly 50 to move to a position corresponding to the conveying line or the buffer position, and when the first carrying assembly 50 moves to a position abutting against the conveying line or the buffer position, the container 60 on the conveying line or the buffer position may be transferred to the first carrying assembly 50 and then transported to a corresponding position of the movable carrier 6 by the first carrying assembly 50, so as to facilitate a subsequent racking operation.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiments, the first pushing assembly 5 and the first carrying assembly 50 are configured to move independently of each other.

In practical designs, the first pushing assembly 5 and the first carrying assembly 50 on the first side may be independently moved, that is, the first pushing assembly 5 and the first carrying assembly 50 are controlled by respective moving assemblies, and there is no association between the movement of the first pushing assembly 5 and the first carrying assembly 50, and the two are independently moved.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiments, the movement assembly is configured to drive the first pushing assembly 5, the first bearing assembly 50 to move synchronously to the target position.

Since the first pushing assembly 5 and the first bearing assembly 50 are both disposed on the first side, for convenience of control, the assemblies on the same side may be disposed to move synchronously, that is, the moving assemblies on the first side may drive the first pushing assembly 5 and the first bearing assembly 50 to move synchronously to the target position.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiment, the first carrying assembly 50 includes a base having a carrying location 400 thereon for receiving the container 60; the first pushing assembly 5 includes a pushing portion 401 provided on the base, the pushing portion 401 being configured to push the rack container 60 received on the first carrying assembly 50 onto the movable carrier 6 in the Z-axis direction for storage.

As with the structure shown in fig. 3, the first carrying assembly 50 includes a base on which a carrying position 400 for accommodating a container is provided; the second pushing component 5 includes a pushing portion 401 disposed on the base, and the pushing portion 401 can push the to-be-shelved container 60 received on the first bearing component 50 to the movable carrier 6 along the Z-axis direction for storage. By means of the integrated design, synchronous movement of components on the same side is achieved.

In a specific application, the base may be mounted on a motion assembly, and the motion assembly may drive the base to move in the X-axis and/or Y-axis directions, so as to drive the bearing position 400 and the pushing portion 401 to a target position.

The container storage unit of the present disclosure may be configured to accommodate one container, two containers, or more containers, and the manner in which the first pushing assembly 5 pushes the containers is different for different situations, as will be described below.

The two cases above respectively describe the case that the movable carrier 6 has different rows or different columns, and in a specific practical application, a plurality of container storage units are disposed on the movable carrier 6 in different rows and different columns, and in the embodiment shown in fig. 1, twelve container storage units in total are disposed on the movable carrier 6 in three rows and four columns. Of course, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the movable carrier 6 may be provided with more or less container storage units according to actual needs and carrying capacity.

In connection with the embodiment shown in fig. 1, when the movable carrier 6 has different rows and different columns of container storage units, according to the number of the first pushing assemblies 5 and the first carrying assemblies 50, the first pushing assemblies 5 and the first carrying assemblies 50 need to be driven to move in the X-axis direction or the Y-axis direction, so that the first pushing assemblies 5 and the first carrying assemblies 50 can be made to correspond to the container storage units on the target row and the target column. That is, it is necessary to combine the above-described X-axis moving assembly and Y-axis moving assembly. Of course, the structure for realizing the movement of the first pushing assembly 5 and the first bearing assembly 50 in the X-axis and Y-axis directions is various to those skilled in the art, and will not be described in detail herein.

First case: the at least one container storage unit is configured to receive one container 60.

In this case, the first pushing assembly 5 is configured to push the container to be palletized received on the first carrying assembly 50 onto the movable carrier 6 in the Z-axis direction, directly store the container on the corresponding container storage unit if the container storage unit is empty, and push the container originally stored in the container storage unit out of the first side to the second side by pushing the container to be palletized if the container storage unit is not empty. Of course, in order to ensure that the container racking does not affect the storage of other containers, a container storage unit that is empty is typically selected for container racking.

Second case: the movable carrier 6 is provided with at least one container storage unit configured to be provided with at least a first storage location arranged adjacent to the first side and a second storage location arranged adjacent to the second side in the Z-axis direction.

In this case, after the first pushing assembly 5 is configured to push the to-be-palletized container received on the first carrying assembly 50 to the first storage position for storage in the Z-axis direction, the movable carrier 6 is configured to move to the second storage position on the second side thereof corresponding to the first pushing assembly 5, and the first pushing assembly 5 is configured to push the to-be-palletized container received on the first carrying assembly 50 to the second storage position for storage in the Z-axis direction.

The first pushing component 5 can directly push the to-be-erected container received on the first bearing component 50 to the first storage position along the Z-axis direction, then the movable carrier 6 is configured to move to enable the second storage position of the second side of the movable carrier to correspond to the first pushing component 5, specifically, the movable carrier 6 can adjust the direction in the movable carrier stopping position 3, for example, after the automatic carrying device can drive the movable carrier 6 to rotate 180 degrees in situ, the second storage position of the second side corresponds to the first pushing component 5. The automatic handling device may move the movable carrier 6 out of the movable carrier stopping position 3, after the external direction adjustment is completed, move the movable carrier back into the movable carrier stopping position 3, and through the direction adjustment, make the second storage position on the second side correspond to the first pushing component 5, and then push the to-be-put container received on the first bearing component 50 to the second storage position for storage by the first pushing component 5 along the Z-axis direction.

By adopting the scheme, the problem of unstable gravity center of the movable carrier 6 caused by carrying out the loading on the same side of the movable carrier 6 can be avoided. This solution is applicable to through-racks as well as to ordinary racks, and is not described in detail here.

Third case: at least one container storage unit is provided with at least a first storage position arranged adjacent to the first side and a second storage position arranged adjacent to the second side along the Z-axis direction;

the first pushing assembly 5 is configured to push the rack container received on the first carrying assembly 50 to the first storage position or the second storage position along the Z-axis direction for storage.

In the case where the container storage unit includes two storage bits, the container loading may be performed in a short arm manner or a long arm manner. The long arm and the short arm refer to different pushing depths of the first pushing assembly 5 along the Z-axis direction. Specifically, the short arm mode is that the first pushing component 5 pushes the to-be-erected container received on the first bearing component 50 to the first storage position along the Z axis direction, and the long arm mode is that the first pushing component 5 pushes the to-be-erected container received on the first bearing component 50 to the second storage position along the Z axis direction. The purpose of adjusting the center of gravity of the automatic carrier 6 can be achieved by selectively pushing the container to a first storage location on a first side or to a second storage location on a second side for storage.

Accordingly, the first pushing assembly 5 is configured to: the containers to be erected are pushed by the direction of the first side to the second side by a corresponding distance according to the depth of the container storage unit extending along the Z-axis direction and the position of the containers to be erected in the container storage unit, so as to push the containers to be erected onto the movable carrier 6.

For the case where the container storing unit is provided with a first storing position arranged adjacent to the first side and a second storing position arranged adjacent to the second side in the Z-axis direction, the first pushing assembly 5 may push the container to be shelved by a corresponding distance from the first side to the second side (the distance is approximately equal to the longitudinal depth of the storing position in the container storing unit without taking into consideration the clearance of the respective components) depending on the depth of the container storing unit extending in the Z-axis direction and the position where the container to be shelved is stored in the container storing unit.

Correspondingly, under the condition that the first storage position stores the first container, pushing the first container from the first storage position to the second storage position for storage through the movement of the container to be put on the shelf; or pushing the first container or the second container out of the second side by the movement of the container to be put on shelf in case the first container is already stored in the first storage place or the second container is already stored in the second storage place; or in the case that the first storage position has the first container stored and the second storage position has the second container stored, pushing the first container to move by the container to be put on the shelf and pushing the second container out of the second side by the movement of the first container.

In the above embodiment, the second container may be pushed out from the second side, so that, in order to be able to normally receive the container pushed out from the second side, the workstation further comprises a second carrying assembly 4 located at the second side and a movement assembly driving the second carrying assembly 4; the movement assembly on the second side is configured to drive the second carrier assembly 4 to move to the target position, the second carrier assembly 4 being configured to receive a container pushed out of the second side.

In this embodiment, if the first storage location has already stored the first container, the first pushing component 50 may push the first container toward the second storage location during the process of pushing the first container to be shelved toward the first storage location, and after the pushing is completed, the first container that is originally located in the first storage location is pushed into the second storage location for storage.

In this embodiment, the function of lifting the containers up and down can also be provided, that is to say, the containers to be lifted can be pushed out by the second carrier assembly 4 on the second side by pushing the containers from each other in the same container storage unit while lifting them up from the first side. In particular, the second carrying element 4 may also be movable, the target position of movement being driven by the movement element, in order to accurately receive the containers being taken off.

The second carrying assembly 4 can provide a container receiving function, and like the first pushing assembly 5, the number of the second carrying assemblies 4 can be one or more, and the second carrying assemblies 4 can be movable, and the second carrying assemblies 4 can be driven by the moving assembly to move to the target position. The containers on the movable carrier are pushed from the first side to the second side by the first pushing assembly 5, the containers are pushed out from the second side by the interaction force, and the containers pushed out by the first pushing assembly 5 on the movable carrier 6 are received from the second side by the second carrying assembly 4.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiments, the movement assembly on the second side is configured to drive the second carrier assembly 4 to a position corresponding to the transfer line or buffer location to transfer the containers located on the second carrier assembly 4 onto the transfer line or buffer location; or alternatively, to transfer containers located on a conveyor line or buffer location to the second carrier assembly 4.

After receiving the containers, the second carrier assembly 4 can transfer the received containers to a conveyor line or a buffer location, and can be transported to other places or transferred to the buffer location for storage. Alternatively, when there are containers on the conveyor line or buffer station to be set up, the containers on the conveyor line or buffer station may be transferred to the second carrier assembly 4.

In the process of unloading, the second bearing assembly 4 can be driven to move to a position corresponding to the conveying line or the buffer position by the moving assembly positioned on the second side, that is, after the second bearing assembly 4 receives the container, the second bearing assembly 4 can be driven to move to a position corresponding to the conveying line or the buffer position by the moving assembly positioned on the second side. After the second carrier assembly 4 has been moved to a position corresponding to the conveyor line or buffer location, the second carrier assembly 4 can transfer the containers thereon to the conveyor line or buffer location. For example, when the second carrier assembly 4 receives a target container, the second carrier assembly 4 is moved to a position to interface with the conveyor line and transfers the target container to the conveyor line so that the target container can be transported by the conveyor line to the operating station for operation. When the second carrying component 4 receives a container to be cached, the second carrying component 4 moves to a position of being in butt joint with the caching position, and the cached container is transferred to the caching position.

In the racking process, when the second bearing component 4 moves to a position of being in butt joint with the conveying line or the buffer storage position, the container on the conveying line or the buffer storage position can be transferred to the second bearing component 4 and then conveyed to the corresponding position of the movable carrier 6 by the second bearing component 4 so as to facilitate the subsequent racking operation.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiment, the container handling mechanism further comprises a second pushing assembly 40 on the second side, the second pushing assembly 40 being configured for pushing containers located on the second carrier assembly 4 onto at least one of the movable carrier, conveyor line, buffer station.

In the case of container racking, container transfer, the containers located on the second carrier assembly 4 are pushed by the second pushing assembly 40 to at least one of the movable carriers, conveyor lines, buffer locations by providing the second pushing assembly 40 on the second side. For example, after the first carrier assembly 4 moves to the position of abutting against the conveyor line, the containers on the second carrier assembly 4 can be pushed onto the conveyor line by the second pushing assembly 40, and the containers are transferred between the second pushing assembly 40 and the conveyor line. Conversely, the second pushing assembly 40 can also push containers on the conveyor line onto the second carrying assembly 4, which will not be described in detail here.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the second pushing assembly 40 may also push the container on the movable carrier 6 from the second side to the first side in the Z-axis direction, and the container may be pushed out from the first side by the second pushing assembly 40. The structure of the second pushing assembly 40 may be the same as or similar to that of the first pushing assembly 5, and the second pushing assembly 40 may be integrally designed with the second bearing assembly 4.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiment, the second carrying assembly 4 includes a base on which a carrying place 400 for accommodating the container is provided; the second pushing assembly 40 includes a pushing portion 401, and the pushing portion 401 is configured to push out or retract in the Z-axis direction.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a structure of a second carrying assembly and a second pushing assembly in a workstation according to an embodiment of the disclosure, wherein the second carrying assembly 4 includes a base, and a carrying position 400 for accommodating a container is disposed on the base; the second pushing assembly 40 includes a pushing part 401 provided on the base, and the pushing part 401 can push the container from the second side to the first side in the Z-axis direction. By means of the integrated design, synchronous movement of components on the same side is achieved.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiment, the second pushing assembly 40 is configured to push the containers to be racking on the second carrying assembly 4 into the corresponding container storage units on the movable carrier 6, and move another container in the container storage units from the original storage location to the adjacent storage location for storage by movement of the containers to be racking; or pushing another container out of the first side, the first carrier assembly 50 is configured to carry the container pushed out of the first side.

On the second side of the mobile carrier docking station 3, a container racking operation may be performed, and accordingly, the second pushing assembly 40 may push the container to be racking on the second carrying assembly 4 into a corresponding container storage unit on the mobile carrier 6, and move another container in the container storage unit from the original storage station to an adjacent storage station for storage through movement of the container to be racking. Alternatively, the second pushing assembly 40 may push another container out of the first side, such that the container pushed out of the first side is carried by the first carrying assembly 50.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiments, the container handling mechanism further includes a second pushing assembly on the second side and a motion assembly driving the second pushing assembly, the motion assembly on the second side configured to drive the second pushing assembly 40 to move to the target position; the second pushing assembly 40 is configured to push the container on the movable carrier in the Z-axis direction from the second side toward the first side so as to push the container on the movable carrier out of the first side; the first carrier assembly 50 is configured to receive the containers pushed out of the movable carrier by the second pushing assembly 40 from the first side.

A second pushing assembly 40 is provided on the second side, and the second pushing assembly 40 can provide a function of pushing the container, which can be a pushing rod, a pushing block, a pushing disc, etc. The number of the second pushing assemblies 40 may be one or more, and the second pushing assemblies 40 are provided to be movable, and the second pushing assemblies 40 may be moved to the target position by the driving of the moving assemblies. After the second pushing assembly 40 is moved into position, the containers on the movable carrier 6 can be pushed from the second side to the first side in the Z-axis direction so as to push the containers on the movable carrier 6 out of the first side. Accordingly, the first carrier assembly 50 is capable of receiving the container pushed out of the second pushing assembly 40 on the movable carrier from the first side.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiments, the first pushing assembly 5 is configured to push the containers on the movable carrier 6 from the first side to the second side in the Z-axis direction so as to push the containers on the movable carrier 6 from the second side; the second bearing assembly 4 is positioned on the second side, and the motion assembly for driving the second bearing assembly 4 is also included; the movement assembly on the second side is configured to drive the second carriage assembly 4 to move to a target position to receive from the second side a container pushed out by the first pushing assembly 5 on the movable carrier 6.

The first pushing assembly 5 may also provide the function of pushing the containers on the movable carrier 6 in the Z-axis direction from the first side to the second side, so that the containers on the movable carrier 6 may be pushed out from the second side, i.e. the containers are brought off the shelf from the second side. Accordingly, a second carrier assembly 4 is provided on the second side.

The second carrier assembly 4 is movable, and the second carrier assembly 4 can be moved to a target position under the drive of the movement assembly. The containers on the movable carrier are pushed from the first side to the second side by the first pushing assembly 5, the containers are pushed out from the second side by the interaction force, and the containers pushed out on the movable carrier by the first pushing assembly 5 are received from the second side by the second carrying assembly 4.

The first pushing component 5 of the present disclosure may not only cooperate with the first bearing component 50 to realize the loading of the container, but also cooperate with the second bearing component 4 to realize the unloading operation of the container. Correspondingly, the second pushing component 40 of the present disclosure may not only cooperate with the second bearing component 4 to realize the upper rack of the container, but also cooperate with the first bearing component 50 to realize the lower rack of the container.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiments, the workstation may further comprise a visual detection device configured to detect the type and/or quantity of the items in the container.

The position where the container passes through in the workstation can be provided with visual detection device, and this visual detection device can gather two-dimensional or three-dimensional image, when the container passes through visual detection device, visual detection device can carry out image acquisition to the container inside, obtains container internal image, then discerns container internal image, based on the recognition result, detects the kind and/or the quantity of article in the container. The verification of correctness of the articles in the container is increased, and the safety of article supervision is improved.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiments, the workstation may further comprise a positioning mechanism disposed in the movable carrier dock 3 and configured to position and/or limit the position of the movable carrier 6 in the movable carrier dock 3.

As shown in fig. 1, 2 and 4, the movable carrier dock 3 is further provided with a positioning mechanism 7, which positioning mechanism 7 is used for positioning and/or limiting the movable carrier 6 located in the movable carrier dock 3. After entering the movable carrier docking station 3, the movable carrier 6 is pushed by the first pushing component 5 to be put on or put on, so as to avoid that the movable carrier 6 moves along with the container during the process of pushing the container, and in this embodiment, a positioning mechanism 7 is provided. The movable carrier 6 is limited by the positioning mechanism 7, and the movable carrier 6 cannot be randomly deviated under the action of the positioning mechanism 7.

Of course, the positioning mechanism 7 may also play a role in positioning, and in the process of carrying the movable carrier 6 to the movable carrier docking station 3 by the automatic carrying device, the positioning mechanism 7 may be used to position the movable carrier 6 to precisely dock at a suitable position.

Fig. 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of another container handling system provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 5, the system 300 includes a server 310, at least one automated handling device 320, and at least one workstation 330.

The workstation 330 includes a movable carrier dock 331 and a container handling mechanism 332. Opposite sides of the movable carrier dock 331 are denoted as a first side and a second side, respectively; the container handling mechanism 332 includes a first pushing assembly 3321 and a first bearing assembly 3323 on a first side, and a moving assembly 3322 that drives the first pushing assembly 3321 and the first bearing assembly 3323.

A server 310 configured to send a handling instruction to the automated handling equipment 320, and an up operation instruction to the workstation;

an automatic conveyance device 320 configured to convey the movable carrier 6 based on the conveyance instruction, and convey the movable carrier 6 into the movable carrier docking 331;

A movement assembly 3322 in the workstation configured to drive the first pushing assembly 3321 and the first bearing assembly 3323 to move to a target position based on the racking operation instruction;

the first pushing component 3321 is configured to push the container to be shelved received on the first bearing component 3323 along the Z-axis direction from the first side to the second side so as to push the container to be shelved onto the movable carrier 6 for storage.

Specifically, the server 310 refers to a server for handling the task of loading containers, and is configured to send a handling instruction of the movable carrier 6 to the automatic handling device 320, and send a loading operation instruction to a workstation. Based on this, when the racking operation of the container is required, in order to be able to improve the efficiency of the container racking, a conveyance instruction may be transmitted to the automatic conveyance device 320, and at the same time, a racking operation instruction may be transmitted to the workstation. Further, the workstation may generate a motion instruction and a first pushing instruction according to the loading operation instruction, send the motion instruction to the motion component 3322 of the container loading and unloading mechanism 332, send the first pushing instruction to the first pushing component 3321 for the container to be loaded, and of course, the loading operation instruction may directly carry the motion instruction and/or the first pushing instruction, after being resolved by the workstation, send the motion instruction to the motion component 3322 of the container loading and unloading mechanism 332, and send the first pushing instruction to the first pushing component 3321 for the container to be loaded. Or the server 310 directly issues the motion command and the first pushing command to the motion component 3322 and the first pushing component 3321, which are not described in detail herein.

The instruction issued by the server includes information of the movable carrier, storage location information (location information on the movable carrier, where the storage location on the movable carrier may store a container or may be empty), and container information (specifically, an identifier of a container carrying goods), so that the automatic handling device 320 may move the movable carrier to a movable carrier parking location 331 corresponding to the task, and the container handling mechanism 332 may accurately mount the container; accordingly, the handling instructions may direct the automated handling equipment to determine and handle the movable carrier 6. The racking operation instruction may guide the movement assembly 3322 to drive the first pushing assembly 3321 and the first bearing assembly 3323 to move to the target position; the racking operation instruction may further guide the first pushing component 3321 to push the container to be racking received on the first bearing component 3323 from the first side to the second side along the Z-axis direction so as to push the container to be racking to the movable carrier 6 for storage.

When there is a container loading task, the server 310 may actively send a transport instruction to the automatic transport device 320 and a loading operation instruction to the workstation. The server 310 may send a transfer instruction to the automated transfer equipment 320 and an up operation instruction to the workstation when receiving a user operation instruction or an order instruction.

Further, after receiving the handling instruction, the automatic handling device 320 indicates that the movable carrier needs to be moved to the target position for the task of loading the container, the movable carrier 6 to be handled can be determined according to the handling instruction at this time, and then the movable carrier 6 is moved to the movable carrier 6 position and the movable carrier 6 is handled to the movable carrier stop position 331; at this time, the moving component 3322 receives a corresponding instruction and drives the first pushing component 3321 and the first bearing component 3323 to move to the target position; then, the first pushing component 3321 receives a corresponding instruction, and pushes the to-be-racking container received on the first bearing component 3323 to the movable carrier 6 along the Z-axis direction for storage, so as to complete the task of racking the container.

For example, the server receives a container loading instruction corresponding to the container loading task, and at this time, the server sends a handling instruction to the automatic handling device P according to the container loading instruction, and simultaneously sends a motion instruction to the motion assembly. After the automatic conveying device P receives the conveying instruction, determining the position of the movable carrier S in the storage area, moving the movable carrier S to the position, conveying the movable carrier S to the movable carrier parking position, driving the first pushing component 3321 and the first bearing component 3323 to move to the target position along the vertical Y-axis direction by the moving component at the moment based on the moving instruction, receiving the first pushing instruction issued by the server by the first pushing component 3321, and pushing the to-be-erected container carried on the first bearing component 3323 to the movable carrier S along the Z-axis direction based on the first pushing instruction for storage.

In conclusion, the loading of the containers is realized by adopting a mode of combining the server, the automatic conveying equipment and the workstation, so that the loading efficiency of the containers can be effectively improved.

In one implementation manner of the embodiment of the disclosure, the pop-up operation instruction carries position information of the target position;

the moving assembly 3322 is further configured to pre-drive the first pushing assembly 3321 and the first bearing assembly 3323 to the target position based on the position information before the automatic transfer device transfers the movable carrier 6 to the movable carrier dock 331.

When the racking operation instruction is transmitted to the movement component 3322, since the racking operation instruction may carry the position information of the target position, the position information characterizes the position of the container to be racking on the movable carrier 6, and in order to improve efficiency, the movement component 3322 may move to the target position corresponding to the position information in advance based on the racking operation instruction.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiment, the moving component 3322 is further configured to stop driving the first pushing component 3321 and the first bearing component 3323 to move to the target position if receiving the withdrawal instruction sent by the server 310; or to drive first pushing assembly 3321 and first bearing assembly 3323 to reset.

Since the moving component 3322 is pre-moved, the task of loading the container to the movable carrier 6 can be canceled before the movable carrier 6 is actually moved to the movable carrier stop 331, at this time, the server 310 can send a cancel command to the moving component 3322, and the first pushing component 3321 and the first bearing component 3323 will stop being driven to move to the target position after the moving component 3322 receives the cancel command. According to the scheme, when the container loading task is carried out on different movable carriers 6, the situation that the task is disordered to execute is avoided, and if the container loading task is switched to the container loading task of different movable carriers, the server 310 can stop the container loading task in time by sending a withdrawal instruction.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiments, the server 310 is further configured to send a racking operation instruction to the motion component 3322 according to the first position information of the container to be racking;

the moving component 3322 is further configured to drive the first pushing component 3321 and the first bearing component 3323 to move to the target position corresponding to the first position information based on the loading operation instruction.

For the case of a container racking, server 310 receives a racking instruction carrying a carrier identification of the movable carrier and a container identification of the container to be racking. In this case, the server 310 sends a transfer instruction for the movable carrier to the automatic transfer device 320 according to the carrier identifier, so that the automatic transfer device 320 can move the movable carrier 6 based on the transfer instruction and transfer the movable carrier 6 to the movable carrier dock 331. Meanwhile, the server 310 may further obtain first position information corresponding to the container to be shelved according to the container identifier, and send a racking operation instruction to the motion assembly 3322 according to the first position information. For the case of loading containers, the server may also automatically generate a carrier identifier and a container identifier, then send a carrying instruction for the movable carrier to the automatic carrying device 320 according to the carrier identifier, and obtain first position information corresponding to the container to be loaded according to the container identifier.

The moving component 3322 receives the overhead operation instruction and can drive the first pushing component 3321 and the first bearing component 3323 to move to the target position corresponding to the first position information based on the overhead operation instruction.

Through this scheme, through adopting server, automatic handling equipment, motion subassembly, first promotion subassembly and the first mode that bears the weight of the subassembly combination to have realized that the container puts on the shelf, can improve the efficiency that the container put on the shelf effectively.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiment, the server 310 is further configured to obtain the position information of the container to be shelved on the movable carrier 6, and update the position information.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, after the container to be shelved is shelved, the server 310 may obtain the position information of the container to be shelved on the movable carrier 6, that is, the specific position where the container to be shelved is placed on the movable carrier 6, and then update and record the position information, as inventory information, and when the container needs to be shelved later, the operation may be performed based on the inventory information.

The disclosure also provides a container handling method, specifically as follows:

fig. 6 shows a flowchart of a container loading and unloading method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the container loading and unloading method being applied to the above system, the method including the steps of:

Step 402, the server sends a handling instruction to the automated handling equipment and an racking operation instruction to the workstation.

At step 404, the automated handling equipment handles the mobile carrier into the mobile carrier dock based on the handling instructions.

In step 406, the moving component in the workstation drives the first pushing component and the first bearing component to move to the target position based on the racking operation instruction.

In step 408, the first pushing component pushes the container to be shelved received on the first carrying component from the first side to the second side along the Z-axis direction based on the racking operation instruction, so as to push the container to be shelved to the movable carrier for storage.

The server specifically refers to a server side for processing a container racking task, and is used for sending a conveying instruction of a movable carrier to automatic conveying equipment and sending a racking operation instruction to a workstation. In this case, when the server receives the container loading instruction, it is described that the container loading task is required at this time, and in order to improve the efficiency of container loading, the server may send the transport instruction to the automatic transport device based on the container loading instruction and send the loading operation instruction to the workstation. The container loading instruction comprises information of the movable carrier, storage position information and container information, so that the automatic carrying equipment can move the movable carrier to a movable carrier stop position corresponding to the task, and the container loading and unloading mechanism can accurately load and load the container; accordingly, the handling instructions may direct the automated handling equipment to determine and handle the movable carrier; the racking operation instruction can guide the movement assembly to drive the first pushing assembly and the first bearing assembly to move to the target position; the racking operation instruction can also guide the first pushing component to push the to-be-racking container received on the first bearing component from the first side to the second side along the Z-axis direction so as to push the to-be-racking container to the movable carrier for storage.

Further, after receiving the carrying instruction, the automatic carrying equipment indicates that the movable carrier needs to be moved to the target position for carrying out the task of placing the container on the shelf, then the movable carrier needing to be carried can be determined according to the carrying instruction, and then the movable carrier is driven to the movable carrier to carry the movable carrier to the parking position; at the moment, the workstation receives the racking operation instruction, and the moving assembly drives the first pushing assembly and the first bearing assembly to move to the target position based on the racking operation instruction; then, the first pushing component pushes the to-be-shelved container received on the first bearing component to the movable carrier in the Z-axis direction for storage based on the racking operation instruction, so that the container racking task is completed.

The server can actively send a carrying instruction to the automatic carrying equipment and send a shelf operation instruction to the workstation under the condition of having a container shelf task. The server may send a handling instruction to the automatic handling device and an up operation instruction to the workstation when receiving a user operation instruction or an order instruction.

In conclusion, the loading of the containers is realized by adopting a mode of combining the server, the automatic conveying equipment and the workstation, so that the container loading efficiency can be effectively improved.

step 406 may be specifically implemented as follows: before the automatic conveying equipment conveys the movable carrier to the movable carrier stopping position, the moving component pre-drives the first pushing component and the first bearing component to move to the target position based on the position information.

When the racking operation instruction is transmitted to the moving component, the racking operation instruction can carry the position information of the target position, the position information represents the position of the container to be racking on the movable carrier, and the moving component can move to the target position corresponding to the position information in advance based on the racking operation instruction in order to improve efficiency.

In one implementation of the embodiment of the disclosure, in the process that the moving assembly drives the first pushing assembly and the first bearing assembly in advance to the target position based on the position information, the container loading and unloading method further includes:

and under the condition that the workstation receives the withdrawal instruction sent by the server, the movement component stops driving the first pushing component and the first bearing component to move to the target position or drives the first pushing component and the first bearing component to reset based on the withdrawal instruction.

Because the moving component moves in advance, the task of putting the container on the movable carrier can be canceled before the movable carrier is actually moved to the movable carrier stopping position, at the moment, the server can send a withdrawal instruction to the workstation, and the moving component stops driving the first pushing component and the first bearing component to move to the target position after receiving the withdrawal instruction. According to the scheme, when the container loading task is carried out on different movable carriers, the situation that the task is disordered to execute is avoided, and if the container loading task is switched to the container loading task of different movable carriers, the server can stop the container loading task in time by sending the withdrawal instruction.

In one implementation of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the container handling method may further include: the server obtains the position information of the container to be put on the movable carrier, and updates and records the position information.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, after the container to be shelved is shelved, the server may obtain the position information of the container to be shelved on the movable carrier, that is, the specific position of the container to be shelved on the movable carrier, and then update and record the position information, as inventory information, and when the container needs to be shelved later, the server may operate based on the inventory information.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiments, at least one container storage unit is provided on the movable carrier, the at least one container storage unit being configured to provide at least a first storage location arranged adjacent to the first side and a second storage location arranged adjacent to the second side in the Z-axis direction.

Accordingly, step 408 may specifically include: the first pushing assembly pushes the to-be-shelved container received on the first bearing assembly to a first storage position along the Z-axis direction based on the racking operation instruction; the automatic carrying equipment receives a motion instruction, and drives the movable carrier to move to enable a second storage position on the second side of the movable carrier to correspond to the first pushing assembly based on the motion instruction; the first pushing component pushes the to-be-erected container received on the first bearing component to the second storage position for storage along the Z-axis direction based on the erecting operation instruction.

The first pushing component can directly push the to-be-erected container carried on the first carrying component to the first storage position along the Z-axis direction, then the movable carrier moves to enable the second storage position on the second side of the movable carrier to correspond to the first pushing component, specifically, the movable carrier can be adjusted in the direction in the movable carrier stopping position, the movable carrier can be moved out of the movable carrier stopping position, the direction adjustment is completed outside the movable carrier stopping position, then the movable carrier is moved back to the movable carrier stopping position, the second storage position on the second side corresponds to the first pushing component through the direction adjustment, and then the to-be-erected container carried on the first carrying component is pushed to the second storage position for storage along the Z-axis direction by the first pushing component.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiments, at least one of the container storage units is provided with at least a first storage location arranged adjacent to the first side and a second storage location arranged adjacent to the second side in the Z-axis direction;

accordingly, step 408 may specifically include: the first pushing component pushes the to-be-shelved container received on the first bearing component to a first storage position or a second storage position for storage along the Z-axis direction based on the racking operation instruction.

In the case where the container storage unit includes two storage bits, the container loading may be performed in a short arm manner or a long arm manner. The short arm mode is that the first pushing component pushes the to-be-erected container received on the first bearing component to the first storage position along the Z-axis direction, and the long arm mode is that the first pushing component pushes the to-be-erected container received on the first bearing component to the second storage position along the Z-axis direction.

Specifically, step 408 may include: the first pushing component pushes the container to be put on the rack to the movable carrier by a corresponding distance from the first side to the second side according to the extending depth of the container storage unit along the Z-axis direction and the storage position of the container to be put on the rack in the container storage unit.

For the case that the container storing unit is provided with the first storing position arranged adjacent to the first side and the second storing position arranged adjacent to the second side in the Z-axis direction, the first pushing assembly 5 may push the container to be shelved by a corresponding distance from the first side to the second side according to the depth of the container storing unit extending in the Z-axis direction and the position of the container to be shelved stored in the container storing unit.

In one implementation of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the container handling method may further include the steps of:

the image acquisition equipment acquires an image inside the container, identifies the image inside the container, determines an article identification result inside the container, compares the article identification result with preset article information, and obtains an article verification result.

The image acquisition device can acquire two-dimensional or three-dimensional images, when the container passes through the image acquisition device, the image acquisition device can acquire images inside the container to obtain images inside the container, then the images inside the container are identified, an article identification result inside the container is determined, a specific identification means can adopt an image identification method based on deep learning, the identification result can comprise the type, the number and the like of the article, then the article identification result is compared with preset article information, for example, the preset article information is the type and the number of the article actually held by the container, which are recorded in advance, and then the type and the number in the article identification result are compared with the type and the number in the preset article information, so that an article verification result can be obtained. The article verification result represents the correctness of the type and/or the number of the articles, for example, if the category difference in the comparison result is larger than a preset threshold value and the number difference is larger than a preset number, an alarm message is sent out to prompt that the articles in the container possibly have the risk of being exchanged. The verification of correctness of the articles in the container is increased, and the safety of article supervision is improved.

In a specific implementation, the container loading and unloading method provided in this embodiment is applied to the container loading and unloading system, and the description content of the container loading and unloading method provided in this embodiment, which is the same as or corresponding to the description content of the container loading and unloading system, can be referred to the description in the foregoing embodiment, and this embodiment is not repeated here.

For example, the second carrying component and the second pushing component are described above, the second pushing component can be used with the second carrying component, for example, the second pushing component can push the container on the second carrying component onto the movable carrier, and the corresponding control is similar to the loading and unloading method described above, and will not be described in detail herein.

The workstation provided by the disclosure not only can be applied to picking workstations and component transfer in factory scenes, but also can be used for configuring the positions of containers on the movable carrier. The position of the container on the movable carrier may be adapted according to a predetermined strategy. For example, containers having a high heat or being required the next day may be dispensed to a storage location for easy racking operations, which will not be described in detail.

It should be noted that, for the sake of simplicity of description, the foregoing method embodiments are all expressed as a series of combinations of actions, but it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present application is not limited by the order of actions described, as some steps may be performed in other order or simultaneously in accordance with the present application. Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments described in the specification are all preferred embodiments, and that the acts and modules referred to are not necessarily all required for the present application.

In the foregoing embodiments, the descriptions of the embodiments are emphasized, and for parts of one embodiment that are not described in detail, reference may be made to the related descriptions of other embodiments.

The preferred embodiments of the application disclosed above are intended only to assist in the explanation of the application. Alternative embodiments are not exhaustive of all details, nor are they intended to limit the disclosure to the precise embodiments described. Obviously, many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the application and the practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best understand and utilize the application. The application is limited only by the claims and the full scope and equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A workstation, which is characterized by comprising a movable carrier stopping position and a container loading and unloading mechanism;

2. The workstation of claim 1, wherein: the movable carrier is provided with at least two rows of container storage units on a plane on which the X axis and the Y axis lie, and at least one of the container storage units is configured to penetrate in the Z axis direction and configured to accommodate at least one container in the Z axis direction.

3. The workstation of claim 1, wherein: the movable carrier is provided with at least two rows of container storage units on a plane on which an X axis and a Y axis lie, and at least one container storage unit is configured to penetrate in a Z axis direction and configured to accommodate at least one container in the Z axis direction.

4. The workstation of claim 1, wherein: at least one container storage unit is arranged on the movable carrier, and at least one container storage unit is configured to be provided with at least a first storage position arranged adjacent to the first side and a second storage position arranged adjacent to the second side in the Z-axis direction; the first pushing component is configured to push the to-be-erected container received on the first bearing component to the first storage position along the Z-axis direction, the movable carrier is configured to move to enable the second storage position on the second side of the movable carrier to correspond to the first pushing component, and the first pushing component is configured to push the to-be-erected container received on the first bearing component to the second storage position along the Z-axis direction for storage.

5. A workstation according to claim 2 or 3, wherein: at least one of the container storage units is provided with at least a first storage location arranged adjacent to the first side and a second storage location arranged adjacent to the second side along the Z-axis direction;

6. The workstation as recited in claim 5, wherein: the first pushing assembly is configured to: and pushing the container to be put on the rack to a movable carrier by pushing the first side to the second side by a corresponding distance according to the extending depth of the container storage unit along the Z-axis direction and the storage position of the container to be put on the rack in the container storage unit.

7. The workstation as recited in claim 5, wherein: pushing the first container from the first storage position to the second storage position for storage by the movement of the to-be-shelved container under the condition that the first container is stored in the first storage position;

or,

Or,

8. The workstation of claim 1, wherein: the container handling mechanism further includes a second pushing assembly located on the second side and a movement assembly driving the second pushing assembly, the movement assembly located on the second side being configured to drive the second pushing assembly to move to a target position; the second pushing assembly is configured to push the container on the movable carrier from the second side to the first side in the Z-axis direction so as to push the container on the movable carrier out of the first side; the first carrier assembly is configured to receive containers on the movable carrier pushed out by the second pushing assembly from the first side.

9. A container handling system, characterized by: the container handling system comprising a server, at least one automated handling device and at least one workstation as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8;

10. A container handling method for use with the container handling system of claim 9, the method comprising: