CN215709083U

CN215709083U - Transfer robot, transfer system and warehousing system

Info

Publication number: CN215709083U
Application number: CN202122054995.8U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 熊影辉; 冯宇; 袁李
Original assignee: Suzhou Jizhijia Robot Co ltd
Current assignee: Suzhou Jizhijia Robot Co ltd
Priority date: 2021-08-27
Filing date: 2021-08-27
Publication date: 2022-02-01
Anticipated expiration: 2031-08-27

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a transfer robot and transfer system, warehouse system, transfer robot includes: a chassis mechanism; the lifting mechanism is arranged on the chassis mechanism; the top plate is arranged on the lifting mechanism and is driven by the lifting mechanism to ascend or descend; one surface of the top plate, which is used for being contacted with the container, is provided with a positioning mechanism matched with the bottom of the container; the top panel is configured to jack up or drop down the container. The transfer robot disclosed by the invention can accurately position the position of the container through the positioning mechanism, and the accuracy and the stability of the position of the container are improved.

Description

Transfer robot, transfer system and warehousing system

Technical Field

The disclosure relates to the field of logistics equipment, in particular to a transfer robot; the disclosure also relates to a transfer system and a warehousing system.

Background

Along with the improvement of industrial automation degree, the application of transfer robot is more and more, uses more extensively to can replace artifical transport, use manpower and materials sparingly. However, the existing transfer robot can only be responsible for transporting containers, the containers cannot be taken and placed, the containers need to be manually placed on the transfer robot, then the containers on the transfer robot are taken away manually, and the placement positions of the containers on the transfer robot cannot be accurately limited and positioned, so that the full-flow automatic operation cannot be realized.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

In order to solve the problems existing in the prior art, the present disclosure provides a transfer robot, a transfer system and a warehousing system.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a transfer robot comprising: a chassis mechanism; the lifting mechanism is arranged on the chassis mechanism; the top plate is arranged on the lifting mechanism and is driven by the lifting mechanism to ascend or descend; one surface of the top plate, which is used for being contacted with the container, is provided with a positioning mechanism matched with the bottom of the container; the top panel is configured to jack up or drop down the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the positioning mechanism comprises a positioning pin or a positioning hole; the positioning pin is arranged on the top plate, and a positioning hole matched with the positioning pin is arranged at the bottom of the container; or the positioning hole is arranged on the top plate, and the positioning pin matched with the positioning hole is arranged at the bottom of the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the positioning pins or positioning holes are provided in at least two positions, and are distributed on two opposite side areas of the top plate or the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, at least the top surface of the positioning pin has a conical surface structure, and the positioning hole is matched with the positioning pin in shape.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the lifting mechanism further includes a driving assembly and a scissors assembly having at least one scissors unit, the bottom end of the scissors assembly is movably connected to the chassis mechanism, the top end of the scissors assembly is movably connected to the top plate, and the driving assembly is configured to drive the scissors assembly to lift in a vertical direction.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the scissors unit includes two first and second link assemblies disposed and hinged at an intersection; the top end of a first connecting rod assembly in the scissor unit adjacent to the top plate is hinged with the top plate, and the top end of a second connecting rod assembly moves in the horizontal direction relative to the top plate; the bottom end of a first connecting rod assembly of the scissor unit adjacent to the chassis mechanism is hinged with the chassis mechanism, and the bottom end of a second connecting rod assembly moves in the horizontal direction relative to the chassis mechanism; two adjacent scissors units are hinged together.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the bottom of the top plate is provided with a first guide mechanism extending in the horizontal direction, and the second link assembly in the scissors unit adjacent to the top plate is configured to move horizontally in the first guide mechanism; the top of the chassis mechanism is provided with a second guide mechanism extending in the horizontal direction, and a second connecting rod assembly in the scissors unit adjacent to the chassis mechanism is configured to move horizontally in the second guide mechanism.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the end of the second connecting rod assembly in the scissors unit for cooperating with the first and second guiding mechanisms is provided with a roller configured to roll along the first and second guiding mechanisms.

Optionally, the scissors assembly includes two scissors units, the upper scissors unit includes a first upper connecting rod assembly and a second upper connecting rod assembly which are hinged, and the lower scissors unit includes a first lower connecting rod assembly and a second lower connecting rod assembly which are hinged; the top end of the first upper connecting rod assembly is hinged with the top plate, the bottom end of the first upper connecting rod assembly is hinged with the top end of the first lower connecting rod assembly, the top end of the second upper connecting rod assembly is supported at the bottom of the top plate and moves in the horizontal direction relative to the top plate, and the bottom end of the second upper connecting rod assembly is hinged with the top end of the second lower connecting rod assembly; the bottom end of the first lower connecting rod assembly is hinged with the chassis mechanism, and the bottom end of the second lower connecting rod assembly is supported on the chassis mechanism and moves horizontally relative to the chassis mechanism.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the driving assembly includes a rocker, a driving motor, and a cam connected to an output end of the driving motor, wherein one end of the rocker is hinged to the cam, and the other end of the rocker is hinged to the scissors assembly; the driving motor is configured to drive the scissor assembly to ascend and descend through a rocker.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is also provided a transfer system comprising a transfer robot, a rack, the transfer robot being configured to jack up a container located on the rack or being configured to place a container on a top plate on the rack.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the rack includes a rack body having a plurality of first container positions arranged in a row thereon, the first container positions having a support portion for supporting containers, the support portion being provided with an open end through which the transfer robot passes.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the shelf further has a second container position for placing a container thereon, the second container position being disposed above the first container position, and the carrier robot is configured to transfer a container located at the second container position to the first container position.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is also provided a warehouse system, comprising a warehouse storage area and a workstation area; the warehouse storage area comprises a plurality of shelves arranged in a matrix, and a cache area and a container storage area are arranged on each shelf; the transfer robot further comprises a transfer robot and the transfer robot;

the transfer robot is configured to be responsible for the exchange of containers between the buffer zone and the container storage zone;

the transfer robot is configured to be responsible for the handling of containers between the buffer zone and the workstation zone.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the transfer robot is configured to transfer containers on the cache area onto a shelf platform of the workstation area; the workstation zone is configured to process containers located on the shelf platform.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the workstation zone comprises at least one processing zone, the transfer robot being configured to jack up and move a container on the first container position to the processing zone of the workstation zone; the workstation zone is configured to process containers located on a transfer robot of the processing zone.

In one embodiment of the disclosure, the workstation includes at least one queuing area, and the transfer robots are configured to queue in order in the queuing area when the processing area is occupied.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a high-speed travel area is provided between the shelf and the workstation; the running speed of the transfer robot in the high-speed running area is greater than that of the transfer robot in the warehouse storage area.

The beneficial effects of this disclosure lie in, the transport robot can realize the lift of container, positioning mechanism on its roof can cooperate with the container, carry out accurate location to the position of container, in the container transfer system, the transport robot can get the work of putting the container on the goods shelves by oneself, the power labor has been saved, and can pinpoint the position of container through positioning mechanism, the accuracy and the stability of container position have been improved, the transport robot can enough transport the container, can get the container by oneself again, the automation operation of full flow has been realized.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

Fig. 1 is an overall structural schematic diagram of a transfer robot of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of a container of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of a top plate of the transfer robot of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of portion A of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a top plate of the transfer robot of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural view of a lifting mechanism of the transfer robot of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of the container transfer system of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is an overall profile of the warehousing system of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 is a schematic view of the structure of two adjacent shelves in fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a top view of a portion of the pallet of fig. 8.

FIG. 11 is a structural layout of the workstation of the present disclosure.

The one-to-one correspondence between component names and reference numbers in fig. 1 to 11 is as follows:

1. a chassis mechanism; 2. a lifting mechanism; 210. a first link assembly; 2101. a first link; 2102. a first cross member; 211. a first upper link assembly; 212. a second upper link assembly; 220. a second linkage assembly; 2201. a second link; 2202. a second cross member; 221. a first lower link assembly; 222. a second lower link assembly; 230. a first guide mechanism; 240. a second guide mechanism; 250. a roller; 260. a rocker; 270. a drive motor; 280. a cam; 3. a top plate; 4. a positioning mechanism; 41. positioning pins; 42. positioning holes; 43. mounting holes; 44. an elastic member; 5. a shelf; 51. a first container position; 511. a support portion; 5111. an open end; 52. a second container position; 6. a container; 7. a warehouse storage area; 70. a shelf; 71. a transverse channel; 72. a longitudinal channel; 73. a high-speed driving area; 700. a first container cache bit; 701. a first container storage bit; 702. a cache area channel; 703. an idle running channel; 70a, a first shelf, 70b, a second shelf; 8. a workstation zone; 80. a display; 81. a light directing device; 82. an interactive button; 83. a container pose detection means; 84. a safety device; 85. an identification device; 86. a visual recognition device; 87. a control unit; 88. a treatment zone; 89. a queuing area; 9. and a transfer robot.

Detailed Description

Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that: the relative arrangement of the components and steps, the numerical expressions, and numerical values set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present disclosure unless specifically stated otherwise.

The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure, its application, or uses.

Techniques, methods, and apparatus known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail but are intended to be part of the specification where appropriate.

In all examples shown and discussed herein, any particular value should be construed as merely illustrative, and not limiting. Thus, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values.

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

The present disclosure provides a transfer robot, as shown in fig. 1 to 6, including a chassis mechanism 1, a lifting mechanism 2 and a top plate 3, wherein the lifting mechanism 2 is disposed above the chassis mechanism 1, the top plate 3 is disposed on top of the lifting mechanism 2, and the top plate 3 is driven by the lifting mechanism 2 to ascend or descend. The top plate 3 is used for carrying the container 6, and the top plate 3 is configured to lift or drop the container 6. Roof 3 is used for being provided with the one side of contacting with container 6 bottom complex positioning mechanism 4, realizes carrying out accurate location to container 6's position.

The positioning mechanism 4 comprises a positioning pin 41 or a positioning hole 42 which are matched with each other. In one embodiment, locating pins 41 are provided on top plate 3 and locating holes 42 for cooperating with locating pins 41 are provided in the bottom of container 6. In another embodiment, positioning holes 42 are provided on the top plate 3, and positioning pins 41 for cooperating with the positioning holes 42 are provided at the bottom of the container 6.

One positioning pin 41 or two positioning holes 42 may be provided, respectively, or at least two positioning holes may be provided. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, the positioning pins 41 and the positioning holes 42 are provided two by two and distributed in the opposite side regions of the top plate 3 or the container 6. The positioning pin 41 may be a protrusion protruding from the surface of the top plate 3 or the container 6, and may specifically be a flat column, a cone, or a spherical structure, and the positioning hole 42 is shaped to match with the positioning pin 41. At least the top surface of the positioning pin 41 is formed in a conical surface structure so that the positioning pin 41 can smoothly enter the positioning hole 42. Fig. 4 shows a concrete structure of the positioning pin 41, which is provided in a flat cylindrical shape, and the end thereof away from the connecting top plate 3 or the container 6 is provided in a conical structure.

The positioning pin 41 and the top plate 3 or the surface of the container 6 can be fixedly connected in a non-detachable way, such as integrally formed, welded, bonded and the like; or can be detachably and fixedly connected, such as threaded connection, clamping connection and the like; the positioning pin 41 may also be configured to be elastically telescopic, and extend out of the bottom surface of the top plate 3 or the container 6 in a free state, and be capable of retracting into the top plate 3 or the container 6 when an external force is applied.

In the embodiment where the positioning pin 41 has an elastic telescopic structure, as shown in fig. 5, a mounting hole 43 is formed in the surface of the top plate 3 or the container 6, an elastic member 44 is disposed in the mounting hole 43, the positioning pin 41 is connected to the elastic member 44, and the positioning pin 41 can compress the elastic member 44 and be contracted into the mounting hole 43 by an external force. When the elastic guide pins 41 are provided on the top plate 3, the top plate 3 can be used to transport a general container, and the positioning pins 41 can be pressed back into the mounting holes 43 when the general container is placed on the top plate 3, so that the general container can be stably placed. When the elastic positioning pin 41 is provided at the bottom of the container 6, the container 6 can be stably placed on a flat plane, and the positioning pin 41 is contracted into the mounting hole 43 by the plane pressure.

The chassis mechanism 1 is provided with a walking assembly, the walking assembly can walk along a specific track and can also be controlled by a control system, and the walking assembly can receive instructions and walk according to a specified path to convey a container 6 at a specified position to another specified position. The chassis mechanism 1 can be provided with a plurality of sensors, such as a vision sensor, a laser ranging sensor, an infrared sensor, a laser sensor and the like, which can detect the position of the chassis mechanism and the positions of other targets such as a shelf, a container 6, an obstacle and the like, and send a position signal to an intelligent control system. The transfer robot can be provided with a navigation system and can plan a walking route according to the self position, the actual position of the target object and the designated position of the target object.

The lifting mechanism 2 may be a scissor lift mechanism, a linear actuator, or the like. As shown in fig. 6, in the embodiment that the lifting mechanism 2 adopts a scissor type lifting mechanism, the lifting mechanism 2 includes a driving assembly and at least one scissor assembly having a scissor unit, the bottom end of the scissor assembly is movably connected to the chassis mechanism 1, the top end of the scissor assembly is movably connected to the top plate 3, the driving assembly is used for driving the scissor assembly to lift in a vertical direction, and the driving assembly can be controlled by a control system. The number of the scissor units can be selected according to the requirement of the lifting height, and the more the number of the scissor units, the higher the lifting height.

The scissors unit comprises two first link assemblies 210 and a second link assembly 220 arranged crosswise and hinged at the intersection. The uppermost scissor unit is adjacent to the top plate 3, the top end of the first link assembly 210 of the scissor unit is hinged to the top plate 3, and the second link assembly 220 can move in the horizontal direction relative to the top plate 3. The lowermost scissors unit is adjacent to the chassis mechanism 1, and the bottom end of the first link assembly 210 of the scissors unit is hinged to the chassis mechanism 1, and the second link assembly 220 can move in the horizontal direction relative to the chassis mechanism 1. Any two adjacent scissors units are hinged together. When the scissor assembly has only one scissor unit, the scissor unit located uppermost adjacent to the top plate 3 and the scissor unit located lowermost adjacent to the chassis mechanism 1 are the same scissor unit.

When the scissors unit is lifted, the top end of the second connecting rod assembly 220 is gradually close to the top end of the first connecting rod assembly 210, and the bottom end of the second connecting rod assembly 220 is gradually close to the bottom end of the first connecting rod assembly 210; when the scissors unit is lowered, the top end of the second link assembly 220 is gradually far away from the top end of the first link assembly 210, and the bottom end of the second link assembly 220 is gradually far away from the bottom end of the first link assembly 210. When the scissor assembly is lifted or dropped, the first link 2101 and the second link 2201 of each scissor unit rotate relatively at the same time, and the top ends of the first link 2101 and the second link 2201 can be lifted synchronously, so that the top plate 3 can be stably lifted or dropped.

The first link assembly 210 includes two first links 2101 arranged in parallel, and a first cross member 2102 connected between the two first links 2101. The second link assembly 220 includes two second links 2201 parallel to each other, and a second cross member 2202 connected between the two second links 2201. In two adjacent scissors units, the upper and lower first connecting rods 2101 on the same side are hinged, and the upper and lower second connecting rods 2201 on the same side are hinged. In the scissor unit adjacent to the top plate 3, the upper ends of the two first connecting rods 2101 are hinged with the top plate 3, and the upper ends of the two second connecting rods 2201 can move in the horizontal direction relative to the top plate 3; in the scissor unit adjacent to the chassis mechanism 1, the lower ends of the two first links 2101 are hinged to the chassis mechanism 1, and the lower ends of the two second links 2201 are movable in the horizontal direction relative to the chassis mechanism 1.

The bottom of the top plate 3 is provided with a first guide mechanism 230 extending in the horizontal direction, and the second link assembly 220 in the scissors unit adjacent to the top plate 3 is configured to move horizontally in the first guide mechanism 230. The top of the chassis mechanism 1 is provided with a second guide mechanism 240 extending in the horizontal direction, and the second link assembly 220 adjacent to the chassis mechanism 1 is configured to move in the horizontal direction in the second guide mechanism 240. The two second connecting rod assemblies 220 respectively move along the first guide mechanism 230 and the second guide mechanism 240 in the horizontal direction relative to the top plate and the chassis mechanism 1, so that the lifting stability of the scissor fork assembly is ensured. The end of the second link 2201 of the scissors unit for cooperating with the first guide mechanism 230 and the second guide mechanism 240 is provided with a roller 250, and the roller 250 is configured to roll along the first guide mechanism 230 and the second guide mechanism 240. The friction between the roller 250 and the first and

second guide mechanisms

230 and 240 is small, and abrasion can be reduced.

Specifically, the first guide mechanism 230 is provided with two second links 2201 corresponding to the second link assemblies 220 adjacent to the top plate 3, respectively; the second guide mechanism 240 is also provided with two second links 2201 corresponding to the second link assemblies 220 adjacent to the chassis mechanism 1, respectively. The ends of the two second connecting rods 2201 of the second connecting rod assembly 220 adjacent to the top plate 3 are provided with rollers 250 rolling along the first guide mechanism 230, and the ends of the two second connecting rods 2201 of the second connecting rod assembly 220 adjacent to the chassis mechanism 1 are provided with rollers 250 rolling along the second guide mechanism 240. The first guide mechanism 230 and the second guide mechanism 240 may be made of angle steel, and one side of the angle steel is fixedly connected to the surface of the top plate 3 or the chassis mechanism 1, and forms a guide groove structure with the surface of the top plate 3 and the surface of the chassis mechanism 1 respectively. The rollers 250 roll in guide grooves formed between the angle steel and the surface of the top plate 3 or the chassis mechanism 1.

This embodiment will now be described in detail with respect to one embodiment of a scissors assembly.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 6, the scissors assembly includes two scissors units, the first link assembly 210 of the upper scissors unit is a first upper link assembly 211, the second link assembly 220 is a second upper link assembly 212, and the first link assembly 210 of the lower scissors unit is a first lower link assembly 221, and the second link assembly 220 is a second lower link assembly 222.

The bottom of roof 3 and chassis mechanism 1 are last all to be provided with articulated seat, and the top of first upper connecting rod subassembly 211 is articulated with the articulated seat of roof 3 bottom, and the bottom of first upper connecting rod subassembly 211 is articulated with the top of first lower connecting rod subassembly 221, and the bottom of first lower connecting rod subassembly 221 is articulated with the articulated seat on the chassis mechanism 1. The top end of the second upper link assembly 212 is supported at the bottom of the top plate 3 and moves horizontally relative to the top plate 3, the bottom end of the second upper link assembly 212 is hinged to the top end of the second lower link assembly 222, and the bottom end of the second lower link assembly 222 is supported on the chassis mechanism 1 and moves horizontally relative to the chassis mechanism 1.

The bottom of the top plate 3 is provided with a first guide mechanism 230, and the top end of the second upper connecting rod component 212 is provided with a roller 250 which runs in the first guide mechanism 230; the chassis mechanism 1 is provided with a second guide mechanism 240, and the bottom end of the second lower connecting rod assembly 222 is provided with a roller 250 which runs in the second guide mechanism 240.

The driving assembly comprises a rocker 260, a driving motor 270 and a cam 280 connected to the output end of the driving motor 270, wherein one end of the rocker 260 is hinged to the cam 280, and the other end is hinged to the scissors assembly. A drive motor 270 is fixed to the chassis mechanism 1 and is configured to drive the scissor assembly up and down via the rocker 260. When the driving motor 270 works, the cam 280 is driven to rotate, one end of the rocker 260, which is hinged to the cam 280, rotates around the cam 280 under the driving of the cam 280, and the other end of the rocker 260 drives the first connecting rod 2101 and the second connecting rod 2201 of the scissors assembly to rotate relatively, so that the scissors assembly is driven to lift.

The driving component can also be a linear motor, a hydraulic cylinder and other drivers. In one embodiment, the actuator is hinged at one end to the top plate 3 or chassis mechanism 1 and at the other end to the scissor assembly. In another embodiment, the two ends of the driver are both hinged to the scissors assembly, in this embodiment, the two ends of the driver are hinged to different scissors units, and the two ends of the driver are hinged to the first link 2101 and the second link 2201 of the same scissors unit.

The present disclosure also provides a container transfer system, as shown in fig. 7, comprising the transfer robot and the pallet 5 described above. The transfer robot is configured to jack up the container 6 on the rack 5 or to place the container 6 on the top plate 3 on the rack 5.

The shelf 5 includes a shelf body, the shelf body has a plurality of first container positions 51 arranged in a row, the first container positions 51 are used for placing the containers 6, the plurality of first container positions 51 are located at the bottom layer of the shelf 5, and the first container positions 51 have supporting parts 511 for supporting the containers 6. The support portion 511 is provided with an open end 5111 through which the transfer mechanism of the container 6 passes, and a height allowing the transfer robot to pass is left between the first container position 51 and the lowermost end of the frame. The support portion 511 may be a U-shaped support beam defining one open end 5111, or may be two support beams supported only on opposite sides of the container 6 defining opposite open ends 5111.

The rack may further include a plurality of second container positions 52, and the plurality of second container positions 52 may be arranged in a row above the first container position 51 and may be arranged in multiple layers above the first container position 51. The container transfer system further comprises a transfer robot configured to transfer a container 6 located on the second container position 52 onto the first container position 51.

The transfer robot may adopt the prior art, and the following provides a transfer robot and describes the specific structure and operation thereof in this embodiment. The transfer robot is provided with a lifting mechanism and a container taking and returning mechanism, the lifting mechanism is used for driving the container taking and returning mechanism to move up and down, the container taking and returning mechanism comprises a bottom plate and two telescopic arms, and the two telescopic arms are configured to be capable of hooking or pushing the container 6. After the two telescopic arms extend out, the container 6 located at the second container position 52 can be hooked to the bottom plate, then the lifting mechanism lowers the container 6 to the height of the first container position 51, and then the container 6 is pushed to the first container position 51 through the two telescopic arms. The transfer robot may also be configured to transfer a container 6 located at the first container position 51 onto the second container position 52.

A command to take a container is sent to the transfer robot, and after receiving the command, the transfer robot lowers the top plate 3 to a position lower than the first container position 51 by the lifting mechanism 2; then the container 6 is moved to the position below the first container position 51 of the shelf 5 where the specified container 6 is located through the chassis mechanism 1, the top plate 3 is lifted from the open end 5111 of the supporting part 511 of the first container position 51 through the lifting mechanism 2, the container 6 is lifted, and meanwhile, the positioning mechanism 4 can accurately position the container 6; after lifting the container 6, the transfer robot moves away from the open end 5111 of the support portion 511, thereby taking the container 6 away. After the container 6 in the first container position 51 is removed, the transfer robot may move the container 6 in the second container position 52 to the first container position 51.

A container return sending command is sent to the transfer robot, and after receiving the command, the transfer robot raises the container 6 on the top plate 3 by the lifting mechanism 2 to make the container 6 higher than the supporting part 511 of the first container position 51 of the pallet 5; the container 6 is then lowered by the lifting mechanism 2 after traveling through the chassis mechanism 1 into the open end 5111 of the designated first container position 51, and the container 6 is placed on the support portion 511 of the designated first container position 51. The transfer robot can transfer the container 6 placed on the first container position 51 to the second container position 52.

The container transfer system realizes the work of the transfer robot for automatically taking and placing the containers 6 on the goods shelf 5, saves labor force, can accurately position the positions of the containers through the positioning mechanisms, improves the accuracy and the stability of the positions of the containers, can transport the containers and automatically take and place the containers, and realizes the automatic operation of the whole flow.

In conventional warehousing systems, automated picking is accomplished by a transfer robot that takes containers from the warehouse and delivers them directly to a workstation, where they are returned to the warehouse after picking is completed. In this mode, the same robot performs all operations regardless of whether the work station is in the form of a conveyor line or in the form of picking performed directly on the robot. The carrying robot is high and slow in operation; meanwhile, the cost is high, and the defects of low efficiency, low cost performance and the like are inevitably brought. In view of the above, a series of optimized solutions have appeared in the industry, such as using third-party equipment to quickly remove and replenish containers on a robot, thereby shortening the waiting time for handover and improving the utilization rate of the robot, but such solutions do not change the use of a transfer robot to complete the whole series of actions of taking containers, delivering containers, picking and returning containers, and the above-mentioned drawbacks still exist; meanwhile, rigidity is introduced into the whole scheme, and the method is not beneficial to site construction and later modification.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, the container is switched between the first container position and the second container position by the carrying robot, and the container is transferred between the first container position and the workstation by the transfer robot. The transfer robot can get a container, also can get two containers, no matter its whole height, functioning speed and cost all are superior to transfer robot, can improve warehouse system's work efficiency greatly from this.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, fig. 7 illustrates a structural diagram of a first container position 51 at one layer and a second container position 52 at three layers. The first container position 51 is located below the second container position 52, which facilitates the transfer robot to transfer the containers located on the first container position 51.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first container position 51 may also be provided with two, three or more layers, and the multiple layers of the first container position 51 are all located below the second container position 52. For example, the shelf starts from the bottom and has a first layer of first container positions, a second layer of first container positions, a third layer of second container positions and a fourth layer of second container positions. When the transfer robot transfers, the container on the first container position 51 at the bottommost layer can be transferred at first, and then the container on the first container position 51 at the upper layer is transferred according to the actual situation, so that the transfer of the first container positions 51 at different layers is completed in sequence.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first container positions 51 and the second container positions 52 may also be alternately arranged in the vertical direction. For example, the bottom most layer of the shelf may be a first container position 51, followed by a second container position 52, followed by an optional first container position 51, and so on. The bottom layer of the shelf may be a first container position 51, the second to nth layers may be a second container position 52, the n +1 th layer may be a first container position, and the n +2 nd to 2 nth layers may be a second container position, or the bottom layer may be a second container position 52, on which the first container position 51 is located, and on which the second container position 52 is optionally located, which is not illustrated here.

In this embodiment, it is necessary to select a robot that can transfer the upper first container position 51. The structure of the first container position 51 may also be redesigned, for example, a conveying mechanism controlled by a driving mechanism may be selected as the first container position 51, and the container on the first container position 51 may be conveyed outwards by the driving of the driving mechanism, so that a robot with a simpler structure and a faster operation speed may be selected to complete the container taking and placing operation on the first container position 51. A table top capable of walking is arranged below the first container position 51, and the transfer robot can walk to the table top through a slope to pick and place the container on the first container position 51 above the table top.

The first container bit 51 serves as a buffer and the second container bit 52 serves as a container storage. The transfer robot transfers the containers in the buffer area to the workstation, the containers are returned to the buffer area after being sorted, and the transfer robot continues to complete the exchange of the containers between the buffer area and the container storage area, so that the sorting is completed. When the transfer robot with the container finishes picking, the container can be selected not to be sent back to the buffer area and sent to other positions for storage. The transfer mode that adopts, transfer robot divide the labour clear, each takes its own duties. In addition, the transfer robot is greatly higher than the speed of the transfer robot in the general condition of the operation speed due to the structure and the actual work requirement of the transfer robot, and the sorting efficiency of the containers is greatly improved.

Fig. 10 illustrates a warehouse system of the present disclosure, which includes a warehouse storage area 7, a high-speed travel area 73, and a workstation area 8.

Specifically, a plurality of shelves 70 are provided in the warehouse storage area 7 in a matrix arrangement, and the shelves 70 may adopt the shelf structure in the above-described embodiment. The plurality of shelves 70 are arranged together, a transverse channel 71 is formed between the plurality of shelves 70 which are arranged transversely in the warehouse storage area 7, a longitudinal channel 72 is formed between the plurality of shelves 70 which are arranged longitudinally in the warehouse storage area 7, and the transverse channel 71 and the longitudinal channel 72 are crossed together to form a space for the transfer robot and the transfer robot to walk. Based on this, can rationally arrange the walking route that supplies transfer robot, transfer robot. For example, in view of different task assignments between the transfer robot and the transfer robot, the transfer robot may be configured to travel only in the vertical lanes 72, and the transfer robot may be configured to travel in the lateral lanes 71.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the longitudinal channel 72 may be a unidirectional channel and the transverse channel 71 may be a bidirectional channel. This is because the longitudinal channel 72 is only allocated to the transfer robot for use, and the transverse channel can be allocated to the transfer robot for use, because in the warehousing system, the transfer robot sets up a plurality ofly, and a plurality of transfer robots need to shuttle constantly in warehouse storage district 7 and workstation district 8 simultaneously, consequently sets up the transverse channel to be two-way passageway, and a plurality of transfer robots can go on two-way simultaneously on the transverse channel like this, is favorable to improving transfer robot's transport speed, avoids letting go each other between them.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the cross lane 71 may also be assigned to the transfer robot and the transfer robot at the same time. This allows the transfer robot to work in different longitudinal lanes 72 by means of the transverse lanes 71, so that the transfer robot can simultaneously take care of the exchange of containers on rows of racks between buffer and container storage. When the transfer robot or the transfer robot has a path conflict in the transverse channel 71, the transfer robot or the transfer robot may be selected to yield according to a pre-established processing strategy.

In order to plan more traffic paths for the transfer robot in the warehouse storage area 7, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the cache area includes not only the container cache bit (first container bit), but also a cache area channel for the transfer robot to walk.

Fig. 9 illustrates a schematic diagram of such a structure, and in the part of the storage area 7 illustrated in fig. 9, including the first shelf 70a and the second shelf 70b, the structure of the first shelf 70a and the second shelf 70b may be identical. The bottom layer of the first shelf 70a is a buffer area, and the upper layer of the buffer area is a container storage area. The cache includes adjacently disposed first container cache bits 700 (which may also be understood as the first container bits described above) and a cache way 702. The buffer lane 702 may extend through the entire first shelf 70a, such that the transfer robot may access or place containers on its adjacent first container buffer bay 700 via the buffer lane 702. For example, the transfer robot may also travel in the buffer lane 702 to other shelf locations, or to other lateral lanes, etc. The selection makes the transfer robot operate the container on first container cache position 700 in cache district passageway 702, can avoid the transfer robot to occupy the cross aisle for a long time, has improved the smoothness nature of cross aisle, avoids a plurality of transfer robots to cause the jam at the cross aisle.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the cache way 702 may also be used as a way for a full transfer robot, i.e. mainly for the transfer robot to get through after getting to the container. This is because the containers, after being positioned on the transfer robot, increase in their overall height and therefore need to pass through the buffer lane 702. At this time, the empty transfer robot may directly pass under the first container buffer location 700, and after the empty transfer robot travels to a suitable container location, the empty transfer robot takes off the container from a corresponding first container location and then transfers the container to the buffer area channel 702 for passing.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the empty transfer robot may also pass through the buffer lane 702 according to the specific actual demand and the path plan, which is not described in detail herein.

Fig. 9 illustrates a first shelf 70a, the bottom layer of which is provided with two longitudinally extending first container cache slots 700 and two longitudinally arranged cache way channels 702, each cache way channel 702 corresponding to a respective first container cache slot 700. Two buffer lanes 702 are provided in the middle of the first shelf 70a, while two longitudinally disposed first container buffer locations 700 are provided on the outside of the first shelf 70 a. Of course, the number of first container cache slots and cache way 702 on the first shelf 70a is not limited, and may be more or less, and will not be described in detail herein.

In the first shelf 70a, a first container storage position 701 (which may be understood as the second container position) as a container storage area is provided above the first container buffer position 700. In the embodiment illustrated in fig. 9, a longitudinal passage 72 through which the transfer robot 9 passes is formed between the first shelf 70a and the second shelf 70 b. The transfer robot 9 can exchange containers between the first container storage position 700 and the first container storage position 701 by its lifting and lowering assembly and the container retrieving and returning assembly, that is, transfer a container located on the first container storage position 701 to the first container storage position 700, or transfer a container located on the first container storage position 700 to the first container storage position 701.

It should be noted that a shelf may only include one longitudinally extending first container cache bit 700 and one longitudinally disposed cache way 702, i.e., a shelf may only include one half of the first shelf 70a shown in fig. 9. Such shelves may be placed when there is insufficient space to place the first shelf 70a shown in fig. 9, or when other scenarios require it, further increasing warehouse storage rates.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the transfer robot 9 may exchange containers in the container storage area and the buffer area of the same shelf. Alternatively, a plurality of shelves may share a container storage area and a buffer area, that is, the transfer robot 9 may transfer a container on one shelf container storage area to a buffer area of another shelf; alternatively, containers on one shelf buffer are transferred to the container storage area of another shelf.

The transfer robot is responsible for transferring containers between the areas. For example, to transfer containers between container storage and cache, to generally allocate the distribution of containers between different regions. It is also possible to transfer between different locations within the same region, for example, between different container cache locations of a cache region, or between different container storage locations of a container storage region, to generally allocate the distribution of containers at different locations within the same region.

The transfer robot is configured to perform an exchange of containers in the pick buffer and the container storage, and to allocate the distribution of containers in different areas. Each container assignment in a different zone may be determined by a number of factors, and in one embodiment of the present disclosure, may be determined by four factors: whether the container is hit by a task, algorithmic scoring of the container, storage limitations of different regions, rationality of distribution within or between regions, etc.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the transfer robot is configured to swap containers between a pick buffer and a container storage based on task assignment. When a container is hit by a task, i.e., after the system assigns a picking task to the container, the current state of the container determines its subsequent operations. That is, if the container is already currently located in the buffer (the first container level or the container buffer level), the transfer robot directly transfers the container to the destination to which the task is directed. If the container is currently located in the container storage area (second container position or container storage position), the transfer robot transfers the container to the buffer area, and then the transfer robot transfers the container to the destination pointed by the task.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, each container is scored according to the goods contained therein, and if the probability of the contained goods going out of the warehouse is relatively high, the score of the goods is relatively high; the scores of all the goods in one container are weighted and added to obtain the total score of one container.

The score of the container can be considered by various factors, in the embodiment, the types of goods contained in the container can be considered, the score of some goods is high in occupation ratio, the score of some goods is relatively low, and the scores of corresponding goods can be prestored in the system. If the value of the goods contained in the container is high, the value of the container will be relatively high.

The score of the goods may also be calculated according to the goods delivery probability, for example, the delivery probability of the goods in the predetermined time may be counted, if the delivery times of a certain goods in the predetermined time are large, the score of the goods is high, otherwise, the score is low. For example, the number of times of warehouse-out of all goods in one month is counted, and the probability of the rate of the goods in one month is calculated, which can also be called the hot sales degree of the goods.

The total score of the container is optionally normalized into the score of each container; the score of a container may change as inventory changes or as both aspects of the expectation of the amount of output change. The score of a container is not fixed, but is updated by periodic calculations or triggered by events of inventory changes.

Containers may be assigned with a tendency to place containers with a relatively low score in the container storage area and containers with a relatively high score in the cache area. Therefore, the operation times of the transfer robot can be relatively reduced, and the picking efficiency is improved.

When the fraction of the container varies, so that the fraction of the container does not match the area, the adjustment of the container position is triggered. That is, the transfer robot transfers a container with a high score from the container storage area to the buffer area or transfers a container with a low score from the buffer area to the container storage area based on the score of the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the transfer robot is configured to complete the transfer of the containers between the buffer and the container storage area based on the container storage area or the storage ratio of the buffer.

When the storage in a certain area exceeds a set threshold, the adjustment of the container is triggered. For example, when the containers are stored in the buffer area in excess of a certain proportion, a part of the containers need to be transferred from the buffer area to the container storage area. And/or, when the container storage in the buffer area is lower than a certain proportion, partial containers need to be transferred from the container storage area to the buffer area. The rule of transfer refers to the scoring and hitting of the container, and preferentially transfers the container with lower score or without hit back to the container storage area; on the contrary, if the storage of the container storage area exceeds the set threshold, part of the containers need to be adjusted from the container storage area to the cache area, and the rules of the transfer are similar, and the containers with higher scores or already hit are preferentially adjusted to the cache area.

In one embodiment of the disclosure, different distribution of containers in or among areas may affect the efficiency of robot taking and placing, and when the robot taking and placing are too concentrated or too dispersed due to unreasonable distribution, adjustment of container positions may be triggered to adjust the reasonability of the conveying path and concentration of the robot in different areas.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the buffer channel 702 may extend along the longitudinal direction of the shelf to form a longitudinal buffer channel, or may extend along the transverse direction of the shelf to form a transverse buffer channel. The longitudinal cache area channel and the transverse cache area channel are distributed in different goods shelves, so that the transfer robot can shuttle in the warehouse storage area by means of the transverse cache area channel and the longitudinal cache area channel, path planning of the transfer robot is facilitated, and efficiency of the warehousing system is improved.

Correspondingly, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the arrangement direction of the first container buffer bits adjacent to the buffer lane 702 may be vertical arrangement or horizontal arrangement. The transfer robot needs to travel to the lower part of the first container buffer position to take and place materials, so that an empty load traveling channel 703 for the transfer robot to travel in an empty load state is formed between the bottom of the first container buffer position arranged together and the ground. The empty travel path 703 may extend in the longitudinal direction or in the transverse direction, depending on the arrangement of the first container buffer positions. The empty-load transfer robot can pass in the longitudinal direction along the bottom of the first container buffer positions arranged longitudinally, and can also pass in the transverse direction along the bottom of the first container buffer positions arranged transversely, so that the path planning of the robot is enriched, and the container flow transfer efficiency is improved.

In the embodiment illustrated in figure 10 of the drawings,

the transverse channel (indicated by the reference number 71) of the transfer robot is used for switching the transfer robot among different channels, and according to actual conditions, the transverse channel can be a one-way channel or a two-way channel, and the transfer robot can pass in a full load state or an idle state.

Secondly, the longitudinal buffer area channel 702 of the full-load transfer robot is used for the transfer robot with containers to pass through, and the no-load transfer robot can also pass through by the channel.

And thirdly, a longitudinal channel (an idle running channel 703) of the idle transfer robot is only used for the idle transfer robot to pass through, and a first container buffer position is arranged above the channel.

And fourthly, a transverse channel (an idle running channel 703) of the idle transfer robot, wherein the transverse channel can only be used for the idle transfer robot to pass through, and the transverse channel can pass through the first container buffer position. The empty-load transfer robot cross passage can be formed on a single goods shelf or formed by a plurality of goods shelves arranged together.

The fifth step is a transverse channel (indicated by a reference number 71) of the transfer robot, which can be used for the full load and empty transfer robot to pass through, and a first container buffer position is not arranged above the channel.

Sixthly, the longitudinal channel (indicated by the reference number 72 in the above) of the transfer robot is used for the transfer robot to pass through at different positions of the same roadway, and can be bidirectional or unidirectional according to actual conditions.

The channels can be used independently and can be used in a combined mode, for example, one goods shelf or a plurality of goods shelves are provided with a longitudinal channel and a transverse channel of the no-load transfer robot.

The high-speed running area 73 is arranged between the warehouse storage area 7 and the work station area 8, and the running speed of the transfer robot in the high-speed running area 73 is higher than the running speed of the transfer robot in the warehouse storage area, so that the transfer robot can rapidly pass through the high-speed running area, and the circulation between the warehouse storage area 7 and the work station area 8 is completed. Of course, the high-speed driving area 73 is not necessary in the present disclosure, and in some application scenarios, the high-speed driving area may not be provided, and will not be described in detail here.

In the warehousing system or the transfer system of this embodiment, the workstation zone 8 includes at least one workstation, and fig. 8 illustrates a workstation zone of four workstations. The transfer robot may remove the container from the first container position and transfer the container to a corresponding station where the container may be processed, including placing the article in the container for racking, storing, or removing the article from the container, or other processing steps, without limitation.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the transfer robot may transfer a container at the first container cache location to a shelf platform of the workstation. That is to say, the workstation position is provided with the goods shelves platform, transports the robot and takes the container to move to the workstation after, need place the container at the goods shelves platform, later handles the container that is located on the goods shelves platform at the workstation. Correspondingly, after the container is processed, the container is taken down from the goods shelf platform through the transfer robot, and is transferred to the first container cache position, and the transfer robot is waited for to transfer the container to the first container cache position for storage. The shelf platform in this embodiment may have a structure that is the same as or similar to the first container buffer location, as long as docking with the transfer robot is possible.

By adopting the mode, the transfer robot can quickly place the containers into the goods shelf platform or take the containers off the goods shelf platform, so that the transfer robot can quickly enter and exit without queuing at the workstation.

The shelf platform can be of a one-layer structure or a multi-layer structure. The transfer robot may place the containers on different levels or remove them from different levels.

After the transfer robot sends the container to the workstation, the container can be actively adjusted to a proper height and posture for an operator to conveniently operate; the container can also be taken off from the robot directly by manpower or a manipulator, and then the container is put back to the robot after the specified operation is carried out, and then the subsequent carrying work is carried out.

Referring to FIG. 11, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the workstation includes at least one processing area 88, and the transfer robot lifts and moves containers on the first container buffer station to the processing area 88 of the workstation; the workstation may thereafter process the containers on the transfer robot at processing region 88. That is, the transfer robot takes the containers to the processing area 88 and does not unload the containers, and the station processes the containers directly on the transfer robot. After the treatment is finished, the transfer robot sends the container to the first container buffer position again.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the workstation is configured to issue a container fetch command to the next transfer robot after the container on the transfer robot in the processing area 88 is processed, and the next transfer robot receives the corresponding command and then moves to the buffer area to fetch the container, and then moves to the processing area of the workstation with the container to continue processing.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, due to the time required for the processing of the containers by the workstations, the workstations further comprise at least one queuing area 89, based on which the transfer robots are configured to queue in sequence in the queuing area 89 when the processing area is occupied. When a certain transfer robot is processing in the processing area, if other transfer robots arrive at the station, the transfer robots need to wait in line in the queuing area 89 in sequence, and after the containers on the transfer robots in the processing area are processed and leave, the transfer robots in the queuing area 89 drive to the processing area for processing.

It is noted that a queuing area 89 may be understood as being for queuing a transfer robot. It is also understood that multiple transfer robots may be queued, with the queuing area 89 corresponding to the processing area 88. For example, when a workstation includes two processing areas 88, two queuing areas 89 are provided corresponding to the respective processing areas 88. In detail, for example, the system comprises a first processing area and a first queuing area corresponding to the first processing area, and a second processing area and a second queuing area corresponding to the second processing area, wherein the transfer robots on the first queuing area correspondingly move to the first processing area for processing, and the transfer robots on the second queuing area correspondingly move to the second processing area for processing.

Alternatively, when the workstation includes two processing areas 88 and two queuing areas 89, and which processing area 88 is first idle, the transfer robots in the two queuing areas 89 move to the processing area 88 for processing in a sequential and alternating manner, or may be selected according to a time sequence or other predetermined strategy. This approach described above is also understood to mean that different processing regions may share queuing regions.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the workstation further includes a display 80 to direct an operator or display information. The display 80 may provide various auxiliary information to the operator, such as the type, quantity, etc. of the picked items, or prompt the operator to perform corresponding operations, etc.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the workstation may further include a light guiding device 81, and the corresponding operation is guided by a light emitted by the light guiding device 81 or a projection form, and information for assisting the operation of the operator is projected. For example, when the operator needs to pick the items at the corresponding positions into the corresponding containers, the light guide device 81 may emit light to irradiate the corresponding containers or the corresponding items, and prompt the operator to perform the corresponding picking actions. The light guide device 81 may project the types and the number of the commodities to corresponding positions, and the operator may operate the light guide device according to the information.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the workstation may also include an interaction button 82, and the interaction button 82 may be configured for confirmation of interaction with the system after completion of the operation. The interactive button 82 may be pressed to complete interactive confirmation with the system, for example, after the operator has finished picking the corresponding container at the workstation. After the system confirms, an operation instruction for carrying out next transfer can be sent to the transfer robot; and/or issuing operational instructions to the next transfer robot that may arrive at the station, etc.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the workstation may further include a container posture detecting device 83, and the container posture detecting device 83 may be a sensor or a detecting device such as a camera for detecting the posture of the container on the robot. When the relative position of the container and the robot is shifted, the container pose detection device 83 can give an alarm; the operator is notified to straighten the container or through an automated device.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the workstation may also include a safety guard 84 for protecting the personnel safety of the operator during operation. The safety shield 84 may be a guardrail or other device that may function to protect an operator during operation. For example, the guardrail can prevent the container robot from bumping the operator due to instruction errors or other faults.

In this embodiment, safety shield 84 may be a shield door for preventing the transfer robot from entering the workstation. Only when this guard gate is opened, the handling area that the robot can get into the workstation is transported, can protect operating personnel like this, avoids transporting robot striking operating personnel.

Alternatively, the workstation comprises a safety guard 84 and a control unit 87, the safety guard 84 being a detection sensor; and the control unit sends an instruction of stopping entering the station to the transfer robot based on the electric signal of the mistaken entering the processing area of the workstation detected by the detection sensor. For example, when the processing area of the workstation falls into a commodity or other goods, the detection sensor detects that the processing area has an obstacle, and the control unit 87 sends an instruction for stopping entering the station to the transfer robot based on an electric signal of the detection sensor, so as to prevent the transfer robot from colliding with the goods. It is also possible, for example, that a body part of the operator, when reaching into the treatment zone, is also detected by the detection sensor, whereby a collision of the container robot against the operator is avoided and the personal safety of the operator is protected.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the workstation may further include an identification device 85, and the identification device 85 may be a bar code or chip reading device for identifying and verifying the container information. When the transfer robot brings the container to the workstation, the container can be identified through the bar code or chip identification device, and the system is informed of the identified information so that the system can make the next operation instruction.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the workstation may further include a visual recognition device 86 and a control unit 87, the visual recognition device 86 being used to identify the goods or quantity in the container or to identify the action of the operator, the control unit 87 may signal an alarm based on the error information obtained by the visual recognition device 86. The visual recognition device 86 may be, for example, a camera, and when an operator places the commodity in the container, the visual recognition device 86 may recognize information such as the type and the number of the commodity in the container by visual photographing. If the type and the quantity of the commodities in the container are not accordant with the information prestored in the system, warning information can be sent out.

The visual recognition device 86 can also be used to recognize the action of the operator, and if the action of the operator is recognized to be wrong, the control unit 87 will also send out corresponding warning information.

In the warehousing system disclosed by the disclosure, the goods shelf is divided into different areas in the vertical direction, and the operation of different robots is corresponded. The transfer robot is responsible for adjusting the position of the container between areas or in the same area, and the transfer robot is responsible for transferring the container from the buffer area to an operation destination for operation.

The warehousing system disclosed by the invention well overcomes the defects of a series of low efficiency and low cost performance caused by the fact that the traditional transfer robot needs to directly transfer containers to an operation point, and is completed by matching two robots.

Under the support of algorithm scoring, the system can also place the container with higher ex-warehouse probability in the cache region, when the container is operated, the container can be carried only by the transfer robot, the operation actions of the slow and high-cost transfer robot are greatly reduced, the container with high ex-warehouse probability can be placed in the cache region closer to the workstation, the transfer time is further reduced, and the working efficiency is improved.

The warehousing system does not need a conveying line device, greatly improves the flexibility of the scheme, and has the advantages of convenience in rapid construction, dynamic increase and decrease of robots and the like.

The present disclosure provides a plurality of embodiments, which can be implemented individually or in combination with each other. For example, the transfer in the embodiments can be accomplished by the transfer robot of the present disclosure, and can also be accomplished by other robots that can achieve similar transfer capabilities. For another example, the channels in the above embodiments may be individually arranged, or may be combined with each other to enrich the path plan of the robot. For another example, the structures of the first container position and the second container position may be applied to a buffer area and a container storage area of a transfer system or a warehousing system, and of course, other suitable structures may also be adopted in the buffer area and the container storage area, as long as the transfer robot can complete fast transfer of taking and sending containers in the buffer area.

The container transfer system and the warehousing system of the present disclosure are controlled by the control system, for example, the detection unit and the control unit in the control system complete the corresponding operations of the transfer robot and the transfer robot, which are not described in detail herein.

Having described embodiments of the present disclosure, the foregoing description is intended to be exemplary, not exhaustive, and not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein is chosen in order to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application, or improvements made to the technology in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A transfer robot, comprising:

a chassis mechanism (1);

the lifting mechanism (2) is arranged on the chassis mechanism (1);

the top plate (3) is arranged on the lifting mechanism (2), and is driven by the lifting mechanism (2) to ascend or descend; one surface of the top plate (3) which is used for being contacted with the container is provided with a positioning mechanism (4) matched with the bottom of the container;

the top plate (3) is configured for lifting or dropping the container.

2. Transfer robot according to claim 1, characterized in that the positioning mechanism (4) comprises positioning pins (41) or positioning holes (42);

the positioning pin (41) is arranged on the top plate (3), and a positioning hole (42) matched with the positioning pin (41) is arranged at the bottom of the container; in the alternative, the first and second sets of the first and second sets of the first and second sets of the first and second sets of the first and second sets of the first and second sets of the second,

the positioning hole (42) is arranged on the top plate (3), and a positioning pin (41) matched with the positioning hole (42) is arranged at the bottom of the container.

3. Transfer robot according to claim 2, characterized in that the positioning pins (41) or holes (42) are provided in at least two, distributed in the area of opposite sides of the top plate (3) or container.

4. Transfer robot according to claim 2, characterized in that the positioning pin (41) has a conical surface structure at least on its top surface, and the positioning hole (42) is shaped to fit the positioning pin (41).

5. Transfer robot according to any of claims 1-4, characterized in that the lifting mechanism (2) further comprises a driving assembly and a scissor assembly having at least one scissor unit, the bottom end of the scissor assembly is movably connected with the chassis mechanism (1), and the top end of the scissor assembly is movably connected with the top plate (3), and the driving assembly is used for driving the scissor assembly to lift in a vertical direction.

6. Transfer robot according to claim 5, characterized in that the scissor unit comprises two first (210), second (220) link assemblies arranged crosswise and articulated at the intersection;

the top end of a first connecting rod assembly (210) in the scissors unit adjacent to the top plate (3) is hinged with the top plate (3), and the top end of a second connecting rod assembly (220) moves in the horizontal direction relative to the top plate (3);

the bottom end of a first connecting rod assembly (210) of a scissor unit adjacent to the chassis mechanism (1) is hinged with the chassis mechanism (1), and the bottom end of a second connecting rod assembly (220) moves in the horizontal direction relative to the chassis mechanism (1);

two adjacent scissors units are hinged together.

7. Transfer robot according to claim 6, characterized in that the top plate (3) is provided at its bottom with a horizontally extending first guide (230), in which first guide (230) the second link assembly (220) in the scissors unit adjacent to the top plate (3) is configured to move horizontally;

the top of the chassis mechanism (1) is provided with a second guide mechanism (240) extending in the horizontal direction, and a second connecting rod assembly (220) in the scissors unit adjacent to the chassis mechanism (1) is configured to move horizontally in the second guide mechanism (240).

8. Transfer robot according to claim 7, characterized in that the ends of the second linkage assembly (220) in the scissors unit for cooperation with the first and second guide means (230, 240) are provided with rollers (250), the rollers (250) being configured to roll along the first and second guide means (230, 240).

9. Transfer robot according to claim 6, characterized in that the scissor assemblies comprise two scissor units, the upper scissor unit comprising a first upper link assembly (211) and a second upper link assembly (212) hingedly connected, and the lower scissor unit comprising a first lower link assembly (221) and a second lower link assembly (222) hingedly connected;

the top end of the first upper connecting rod component (211) is hinged with the top plate (3), the bottom end of the first upper connecting rod component is hinged with the top end of the first lower connecting rod component (221), the top end of the second upper connecting rod component (212) is supported at the bottom of the top plate (3) and moves horizontally relative to the top plate (3), and the bottom end of the second upper connecting rod component is hinged with the top end of the second lower connecting rod component (222); the bottom end of the first lower connecting rod assembly (221) is hinged with the chassis mechanism (1), and the bottom end of the second lower connecting rod assembly (222) is supported on the chassis mechanism (1) and moves horizontally relative to the chassis mechanism (1).

10. Transfer robot according to claim 5, characterized in that the drive assembly comprises a rocker (260), a drive motor (270) and a cam (280) connected to the output of the drive motor (270), wherein one end of the rocker (260) is hinged to the cam (280) and the other end is hinged to the scissor assembly; the drive motor (270) is configured to drive the scissor assembly to ascend and descend through a rocker (260).

11. A transfer system, characterized in that it comprises a transfer robot according to any of claims 1-10, at least one pallet (5), the transfer robot being configured to jack up containers located on the pallet (5) or to place containers on a top plate (3) on the pallet (5).

12. Transfer system according to claim 11, wherein the pallet (5) comprises a rack body with a number of first container places (51) arranged in rows thereon, the first container places (51) having a support (511) for supporting containers, the support (511) being provided with an open end (5111) for passage of the transfer robot.

13. Transfer system according to claim 12, wherein a second container position (52) for placing containers is further provided on the pallet (5), the second container position (52) being provided above the first container position (51), further comprising a transfer robot configured to transfer containers located on the second container position (52) onto the first container position (51).

14. Transfer system according to claim 13, wherein the first container position (51) is provided with at least one layer, located at the bottom of the second container position (52) on the rack.

15. A storage system is characterized by comprising a storage area of a storage and a workstation area; the warehouse storage area comprises a plurality of shelves arranged in a matrix, and a cache area and a container storage area are arranged on each shelf; further comprising a transfer robot according to any one of claims 1 to 10 and a handling robot;

the transfer robot is configured to be responsible for the deployment of containers between the buffer zone and the container storage zone;

the transfer robot is configured to be responsible for the exchange of containers between the buffer zone and the workstation zone.

16. The warehousing system of claim 15, wherein the transfer robot is configured to transfer containers on the buffer area to a shelf platform of the workstation area; the workstation zone is configured to process containers located on the shelf platform.

17. The transfer system of claim 15, wherein the workstation zone includes at least one processing zone, the transfer robot being configured to jack up and move the container on the first container position to the processing zone of the workstation zone; the workstation zone is configured to process containers located on a transfer robot of the processing zone.

18. The warehousing system of claim 17, wherein the workstation includes at least one queuing area, the transfer robots configured to queue in sequence in the queuing area when a processing area is occupied.

19. The warehousing system of claim 15, characterized in that a high-speed travel area is provided between the shelves and workstations; the running speed of the transfer robot in the high-speed running area is greater than that of the transfer robot in the warehouse storage area.