CN216735893U - Container handling device, warehouse system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a container handling device, a warehousing system, the container handling device comprising at least two handling units arranged at intervals in a horizontal X-axis direction, each handling unit comprising: a support assembly extending in a vertical Y-axis direction; at least one pick-and-place container assembly controlled by the driving assembly to move along the support assembly in the Y-axis direction; the picking and delivering container assembly comprises a picking and placing assembly and a bearing assembly, and the picking and placing assembly picks and places the container from the bearing assembly; the carrier is provided with at least two rows and at least two columns of container storage units, one container storage unit comprises at least one storage position, and one storage position can contain at least one container; at least two handling units are configured for handling containers on the same carrier. In the container loading and unloading device, the containers are taken and placed by simultaneously working at least two loading and unloading units, so that the working efficiency is effectively improved.

Description

Container handling device, warehouse system

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of logistics, and more specifically to a container handling device; the disclosure also relates to a warehousing system comprising the container handling device.

Background

At present, automatic storage systems are increasingly applied to various civil and industrial storage fields, and a stacker and other carrying equipment are adopted to shuttle in a roadway between carriers to replace manual goods picking and carrying. The existing handling equipment such as a stacker has the problems of low handling speed and low working efficiency, and cannot meet the development requirements of a storage system.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The present disclosure provides a container handling device and a warehousing system for solving the problems existing in the prior art.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a container handling apparatus comprising at least two handling units arranged at intervals in a horizontal X-axis direction, each of said handling units comprising:

a support assembly extending in a vertical Y-axis direction;

at least one pick-and-place container assembly controlled by a drive assembly to move along the support assembly in a Y-axis direction;

the picking and delivering container assembly comprises a picking and placing assembly and a bearing assembly, wherein the picking and placing assembly is configured to move along the Z-axis direction to pick a container from a carrier and load the container onto the bearing assembly or unload the container from the bearing assembly and place the container on the carrier; the carrier is provided with at least two rows and at least two columns of container storage units on the plane of the X axis and the Y axis, one container storage unit comprises at least one storage position along the Z axis direction, and one storage position can contain at least one container;

at least two handling units are configured for handling containers on the same carrier.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of the loading and unloading units corresponds to the number of rows of the container storage units on the same carrier, and different loading and unloading units correspond to different rows of the same carrier.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the loading and unloading units are configured to move in the X-axis direction, with the same loading and unloading unit corresponding to different rows of the same carrier.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the supporting assembly includes a column, a sliding track is disposed on the column, and the container taking and delivering assembly is slidably fitted with the column through the sliding track.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, each of the load handling units is independently controlled.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the gantry assembly further comprises a support assembly, wherein one end of the support assembly is connected to the top of the gantry assembly, and the other end of the support assembly is connected to the bottom of the gantry assembly, or is connected to other support surfaces.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the pick-and-place container assembly picks and places the container by at least one of sucking, pushing, clamping, grabbing, hooking, lifting, and lifting.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the moving assembly is configured to move along the second guide portion to a position where the pick-and-place assembly is lower than the carrying surface of the carrying assembly.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first guide portion and the second guide portion are guide grooves provided in the guide mechanism, and the second guide portion is configured to extend obliquely downward from a tip of the first guide portion.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the carrier assembly is configured for carrying a container; the bearing component is provided with a containing space for containing a container;

the pick-and-place assembly is configured for picking a container from a first target location and loading onto the carrier assembly, or for unloading a container from the carrier assembly and placing at a second target location;

the moving assembly is configured to drive the picking and placing assembly to move in a first moving track and a second moving track;

in the first motion track, the motion assembly is configured to drive the taking and placing assembly to move in the accommodating space of the bearing assembly so as to load and unload the container;

in the second motion track, the motion assembly is configured to drive the pick-and-place assembly to leave the accommodating space of the bearing assembly, so that the container enters the accommodating space and is borne on the bearing assembly.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the moving assembly includes a guide mechanism and a sliding mechanism, wherein the guide mechanism includes a first guide portion and a second guide portion that are communicated together; the sliding mechanism is configured to move along a first guide part and a second guide part;

the first guide part and the second guide part respectively limit the first motion track and the second motion track of the sliding mechanism.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first guide portion is configured to linearly extend in a horizontal direction, and the second guide portion is located in a different direction from the first guide portion;

the sliding mechanism is configured to move the taking and placing assembly along a linear direction in the accommodating space of the bearing assembly during the process of moving along the first guide part;

the sliding mechanism is configured to move along the first guide part to the second guide part, and then the taking and placing assembly moves away from the accommodating space of the bearing assembly gradually.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the second guide portion is configured to be located below the first guide portion; after the moving assembly is moved to the position along the second guide part, the taking and placing assembly is moved to the lower part of the bearing assembly so as to avoid the accommodating space of the bearing assembly.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first guide portion and the second guide portion are located in the same plane; the slide mechanism includes:

the fixing part is controlled by a driving assembly to linearly move along a direction parallel to the plane of the first guide part and the plane of the second guide part;

a sliding part which is in sliding fit with the fixing part; the sliding part is matched in the first guide part and the second guide part in a guiding way;

the taking and placing assembly is arranged on the sliding part.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the pick and place assembly includes a suction cup mechanism configured to engage an end surface of the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the pick-and-place container assembly includes a first open end, a second open end; the carrier assembly is a conveyor belt configured to drive the container to move to either the first open end or the second open end of the pick-and-feed container assembly.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the container further comprises a limiting mechanism configured to limit two sides of the container on the carrying assembly.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the limiting mechanism includes a first limiting portion and a second limiting portion which are arranged at an interval; the first limiting part and the second limiting part are constructed to move towards or away from each other along the X-axis direction relative to the bearing assembly so as to adjust the distance between the first limiting part and the second limiting part.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the display device includes a first base, and the first limiting portion and the second limiting portion are slidably fitted on the first base, and further includes a transmission mechanism for driving the first limiting portion and the second limiting portion to move on the first base along the X-axis direction.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the transmission mechanism includes a transmission belt controlled by a pulley and extending in the X-axis direction, and the first limiting portion and the second limiting portion are respectively connected to two sides of the transmission belt.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the spacing mechanism is disposed at a position above the carrier assembly and is configured to space an upper region of the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the pick-and-place device further comprises a rotating mechanism configured to drive the pick-and-place assembly and the carrying assembly to rotate around the Y axis.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the rotating mechanism includes a second base, and a rotation support portion rotatably connected to the second base, and the bearing assembly, the taking and placing assembly and the rotation support portion are relatively connected.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a first sensor is included for determining whether a vehicle's storage location has a container when the pick-and-place container assembly is removing a container from a vehicle and/or whether a vehicle's storage location is empty when placing a container to a carrier's storage location.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a second sensor is included for determining a pose deviation between the pick-and-place container assembly and a container on the carrier.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the container handling apparatus is further configured to adjust the posture of the container handling apparatus according to the posture deviation between the container handling apparatus and the corresponding container determined by the second sensor, so as to eliminate the posture deviation.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first sensor and the second sensor are the same sensor.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first sensor and the second sensor are a vision sensor, a depth information sensor, or a 3D sensor.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is also provided a warehousing system comprising: the device comprises a work station area, a carrier parking area and a container loading and unloading device, wherein the work station area is internally provided with an operation station, the carrier parking area and the container loading and unloading device;

the vehicle parking area is configured for parking a vehicle;

the container handling device is located between the operating station and the carrier docking area and is configured for transferring containers between the operating station and carriers located in the carrier docking area.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, at least two docking stations for docking a vehicle are provided within the vehicle docking area.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the container handling device is provided with at least two, one-to-one correspondence with different carriers located on different docking stations.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the workstation area further comprises a conveyor line comprising a conveyor line inlet and a conveyor line outlet, the operating station being located on a conveying path of the conveyor line; the conveying line inlet and the conveying line outlet are respectively provided with the container loading and unloading device;

a container handling apparatus at the entrance of the conveyor line for removing containers from the carriers at the carrier parking area and placing them on the conveyor line;

and the container handling device is positioned at the outlet of the conveying line and used for taking out containers from the conveying line and placing the containers on the carriers positioned in the carrier parking area.

The container loading and unloading device has the advantages that the containers are taken and placed through the simultaneous working of the at least two loading and unloading units, the loading and unloading units are arranged along the X axis, the containers corresponding to the container storage units in the carrier row can be taken and placed, the container taking and delivering assemblies can move to the container storage units with different heights along the supporting assemblies, the containers can be taken and placed on the carriers instead of manual work, and the working efficiency is higher.

Other features of the present disclosure and advantages thereof will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments thereof, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

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 a schematic view of the overall structure of a container handling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a pick-and-place container assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the motion assembly and the drive assembly of the pick-and-place container assembly provided by one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural view of a pick-and-place assembly and a moving assembly of a pick-and-place container assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is a schematic view of the pick-and-place assembly of the pick-and-place container assembly located at a first motion trajectory according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 is a schematic view of the pick-and-place assembly of the pick-and-place container assembly located at a second motion trajectory according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a limiting mechanism of a container handling device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural view of a rotating mechanism of a container handling device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the overall structure of a container handling device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a warehousing system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a pick and place method according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating another method for accessing a container according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a picking system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for removing a container according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for delivering containers according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The one-to-one correspondence between component names and reference numbers in fig. 1 to 15 is as follows:

1. a base; 11. a support;

2. a load bearing assembly; 21. a conveyor belt; 22. anti-falling flanges; 23. a reforming guide mechanism;

3. a picking and placing assembly; 31. a suction cup mechanism; 32. a fixed seat; 33. a buffer device;

4. a motion assembly; 41. a guide mechanism; 411. a first guide portion; 412. a second guide portion; 42. a sliding mechanism; 421. a fixed part; 422. a sliding part; 4220. a slider; 43. a guide bar;

5. a drive assembly; 51. a pulley; 52. a conveyor belt;

6. a positioning system;

7. a frame body; 71. an X-axis orbit; 72. a Y-axis track;

81. a support assembly; 82. a gantry assembly;

9. a limiting mechanism; 91. a first limiting part; 92. a second limiting part; 93. a first base; 94. a transmission mechanism; 95. a sliding guide structure;

10. a rotating mechanism; 101. a second base; 102. a rotation support portion; 103. and a slewing bearing.

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 one 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.

Specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In this document, "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", and the like are used only to indicate relative positional relationships between relevant portions, and do not limit absolute positions of the relevant portions.

In this document, "first", "second", and the like are used only for distinguishing one from another, and do not indicate the degree and order of importance, the premise that each other exists, and the like.

In this context, "equal", "same", etc. are not strictly mathematical and/or geometric limitations, but also include tolerances as would be understood by a person skilled in the art and allowed for manufacturing or use, etc.

Unless otherwise indicated, numerical ranges herein include not only the entire range within its two endpoints, but also several sub-ranges subsumed therein.

The present disclosure provides a container handling apparatus for handling containers on a carrier. The carrier is provided with a plurality of storage positions which are arranged horizontally and vertically and used for storing the containers, and the carrier can be a movable goods shelf. The container in this disclosure is mainly a container for loading goods in logistics, including but not limited to a bin, a tray, a packing box, etc., and is not limited herein. The container handling device is capable of removing a container from or placing a container on a designated storage location on the carrier.

In the present disclosure, the carrier is provided with at least two rows and at least two columns of container storage units on a plane where the X axis and the Y axis are located, one container storage unit includes at least one storage location along the Z axis direction, and one storage location can accommodate at least one container. The X-axis may be defined to extend in a horizontal direction, the Y-axis may be defined to extend in a vertical direction, and the Z-axis may be defined to extend in a direction perpendicular to a vertical plane on which the X-axis and the Y-axis are located. The container loading and unloading device can move in the space in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction, and loads and unloads containers at different positions on the carrier. The Z-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis are mutually perpendicular coordinate systems.

The container handling device comprises at least two handling units, which are arranged at intervals in the horizontal X-axis direction and are configured for handling containers on the same carrier. Each handling unit comprises a support assembly and at least one pick-and-place container assembly for picking and placing containers on the carriers. Wherein the supporting component extends in the vertical Y-axis direction, and the taking and delivering container component is controlled by the driving component to move along the supporting component in the Y-axis direction. The at least two loading and unloading units can effectively improve the working efficiency of the container loading and unloading device.

Example one

In the present embodiment, referring to fig. 1 and fig. 2, the container picking and delivering assembly in the container loading and unloading device includes a picking and placing assembly 3 and a carrying assembly 2, wherein the carrying assembly 2 is used for carrying the container, and the picking and placing assembly 3 can grab or release the container. And, the pick-and-place assembly 3 is configured to: in the Z-axis direction to remove the container from the carrier and load it onto the carrier assembly 2, or to unload the container from the carrier assembly 2 and place it on the carrier.

In one embodiment, the number of load cells corresponds one-to-one to the number of rows of container storage cells on the same carrier, with different load cells corresponding to different rows of the same carrier. In this embodiment, each loading and unloading unit corresponds to a row of container storage units in the carrier, and the position of the loading and unloading unit is relatively fixed and is only used for taking and placing the containers on the container storage units corresponding to the row. The pick-and-feed container assemblies on each unit are capable of moving along the support assemblies 81 in the Y-axis direction to pick up containers of different heights on the same column of container storage units.

In one embodiment, the handling units are configured to move in the X-axis direction, with the same handling unit corresponding to different rows of the same carrier. The handling unit is movable along the X-axis to a position corresponding to one of the rows of container storage units on the carrier, and the pick-and-place container assembly is movable along the support assembly 81 in the Y-axis direction to pick up containers of different heights on the row of container storage units. In this embodiment, the number of the loading and unloading units is smaller than the number of rows of the container storage units on the carrier, so that the number of the loading and unloading units can be relatively reduced, and the manufacturing cost of the container loading and unloading device can be reduced.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 1, four rows of container storage units are disposed on the carrier from left to right, and two loading units are disposed on the left and right, and move along the X-axis direction, respectively. The left loading unit can correspond to the left two-column container storage unit, and the right loading unit can correspond to the right two-column container storage unit.

In one embodiment, the supporting assembly 81 includes a column, a sliding rail is disposed on the column, the sliding rail extends along the Y-axis direction, and the container taking and delivering assembly is slidably fitted with the column through the sliding rail and can move up and down to different heights along the column, so as to correspond to container storage units with different heights.

The sliding track can be a sliding groove, a sliding rod and other structures, and the fetching and delivering container assembly can be provided with a sliding block or a roller matched with the sliding groove, a sliding sleeve matched with the sliding rod and other structures. The above structure is merely an example, and is not particularly limited in the present disclosure as long as the movement of the pick-and-place container assembly along the column in the Y-axis direction can be achieved.

In one embodiment, each loading and unloading unit is independently controlled and can be operated independently. At least two loading and unloading units can work simultaneously to fetch and place the containers on the container storage units in different columns. One or more of the loading and unloading units may remove containers from the carriers and another loading and unloading unit may place containers on the carriers. By making the loading and unloading unit independently controlled, the flexibility of the container loading and unloading device is higher, and the working efficiency is also higher.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 1, a mast assembly 82 is further included, and a support assembly 81 is mounted to mast assembly 82, and mast assembly 82 may be secured to a floor, wall, ceiling, or the like. The mast assembly 82 may be provided in a door-type configuration, a frame-type configuration, or the like. The gantry assembly may be juxtaposed with the carrier, the gantry assembly extending along the X-axis direction. The support assembly 81 may be attached at one end to the top of the mast assembly 82 and at the other end to the bottom of the mast assembly 82. When the mast assembly 82 is configured in a portal configuration, the other end of the support assembly 81 may also be coupled to another support surface, such as the ground.

In embodiments where the load handling unit is movable in the X-axis direction, the gantry assembly 82 is provided with a track extending in the X-axis direction at least at the top, and the support assembly 81 can be slidably engaged with the track on the gantry assembly 82 to move in the X-axis direction. The track on the mast assembly 82 may be a sliding track, a sliding bar, etc., and is not particularly limited in this disclosure.

The container is put through arbitrary one mode in absorption, promotion, clamp, get, snatch, hook, jack, the lifting mode to the container subassembly of getting and delivering, and this application does not do the restriction to the concrete mode that the container was put to the container subassembly of getting and delivering. Wherein, the container subassembly is sent in getting of embracing fork structure includes two flexible arms, and two flexible arms can stretch out or retract along the Z axle direction simultaneously, realize getting and put the container. The fork-holding structure is prior art and can be implemented by those skilled in the art, and is not described herein in detail. Of course, the pick-and-place container assembly may be configured to pick and place containers in other ways.

The pick-and-place container assembly is used to transfer containers between different target locations. The container taking and delivering assembly mainly comprises a base, a bearing assembly and a taking and placing assembly are arranged on the base, the bearing assembly is used for bearing a container and is provided with a containing space used for containing the container, and the taking and placing assembly is used for taking the container out of a first target position and loading the container onto the bearing assembly or unloading the container from the bearing assembly and placing the container at a second target position.

The motion trail of the taking and placing assembly comprises a first motion trail and a second motion trail, the taking and delivering container assembly further comprises a motion assembly which is connected with the taking and placing assembly and drives the taking and placing assembly to move in the first motion trail and the second motion trail, and a driving assembly which drives the motion assembly to move.

When the driving component drives the motion component to move in the first motion track, the motion component is configured to drive the picking and placing component to move in the accommodating space of the bearing component, and the container located at the first target position is loaded onto the bearing component or unloaded from the bearing component and placed at the second target position through reciprocating motions such as extending and retracting.

The first target position and the second target position can be corresponding container positions on the carrier. The first target position and the second target position may be the same container position or different container positions, and are not limited herein.

When the driving assembly drives the moving assembly to move in the second motion track, the moving assembly is configured to drive the taking and placing assembly to leave the accommodating space of the bearing assembly, so that the container can enter the accommodating space of the bearing assembly and be borne on the bearing assembly.

According to the container taking and delivering assembly, in the first motion track, the motion assembly drives the taking and placing assembly to move in the accommodating space of the bearing assembly so as to load and unload a container; in the second motion track, the moving assembly drives the taking and placing assembly to leave the accommodating space of the bearing assembly, so that the container can be accommodated in the accommodating space or move in the accommodating space. The fetching and delivering container assembly does not occupy the space of the bearing assembly, so that the fetching and delivering container assembly is more compact in structure and can adapt to narrow working space.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, the base 1 provides a support for the picking and delivering container assembly, and the base 1 may be configured in any structure such as a flat plate shape, a frame shape, etc., and may be disposed at the bottom or around the carrying assembly 2, and the structure and position of the base may be selected by those skilled in the art. As shown in fig. 1, the base 1 is provided as a frame-shaped structure, and may be disposed below the carrier assembly 2 to support the carrier assembly 2. The bearing assembly 2 is provided with a bearing surface for supporting the container, and an accommodating space for accommodating the container is arranged above the bearing surface.

In one embodiment, the moving assembly 4 includes a guide mechanism 41 and a slide mechanism 42. As shown in fig. 4 to 7, the guiding mechanism 41 includes a first guiding portion 411 and a second guiding portion 412 which are communicated together, and the first guiding portion 411 and the second guiding portion 422 define a first movement track and a second movement track of the moving assembly, respectively. That is, the moving assembly moves along the extending direction of the first guide portion 411 and the second guide portion 422, and may move along the first guide portion 411 to be engaged with the second guide portion 422.

The slide mechanism 42 is engaged with the guide mechanism 41, and the slide mechanism 42 is configured to move along the first guide portion 411 and the second guide portion 412. The pick-and-place assembly 3 is connected to the sliding mechanism 42, and the sliding mechanism 42 drives the pick-and-place assembly 3 to move along the first moving track and the second moving track when moving along the first guiding portion 411 and the second guiding portion 412.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first guide portion 411 is configured to linearly extend in a horizontal direction, and the second guide portion 412 is located in a different direction from the first guide portion 412. The sliding mechanism 42 is configured to move the pick-and-place assembly 3 in a linear direction in the accommodating space of the carrier assembly 2 during the movement along the first guide 411. When the moving assembly 4 moves along the first guide portion 411, the pick-and-place assembly 3 can be driven to load the container onto the carrying assembly 2 along the horizontal direction.

Further, after the moving assembly 4 is moved along the first guide portion 411 to the second guide portion 412, the pick-and-place assembly 3 is moved away from the accommodating space until the pick-and-place assembly 3 is located outside the accommodating space of the carrying assembly 2.

Specifically, when the pick-and-place assembly 3 moves on the first motion track, the pick-and-place assembly 3 is located above the bearing assembly 2 and moves along the extending direction of the bearing assembly 2. The picking and placing assembly 3 can move from the accommodating space above the bearing assembly 2 to the front end extending out of the bearing assembly 2, so that a container positioned at a first target position in front of the bearing assembly 2 can be loaded, and after the picking and placing assembly 3 moves reversely, the loaded container can be moved to a position corresponding to the bearing assembly 2, so that the container can be placed on the bearing assembly 2.

Of course, in another application scenario, after the container is located on the carrying assembly 2, the pick-and-place assembly 3 may unload the container to the second target position by the same movement manner as described above.

Since the second guide portion 412 is located in a different direction from the first guide portion 411, when the moving assembly 4 moves along the second motion track, the pick-and-place assembly 3 can leave the accommodating space of the carrier assembly 2 in a manner gradually deviating from the carrier assembly 2, and thereafter the container can be completely moved onto the carrier assembly 2 or pass through the accommodating space of the carrier assembly 2.

In the guide mechanism 41, the second guide portion 412 is connected to the tip of the first guide portion 411 and is offset from the extending direction of the first guide portion 411 itself.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, after the sliding mechanism 42 is moved to the position along the second guiding portion 412, the pick-and-place assembly 3 is configured to move to one side of the bearing assembly 2 to leave the accommodating space of the bearing assembly 2. One side in this position is relative to the direction of extension of the carrier assembly 2. For example, with reference to the orientation of the view of fig. 2, the load bearing assembly 2 extends in a left-to-right direction, and "one side" in this position refers to the front or rear side of the load bearing assembly 2.

In this embodiment, the first guiding portion 411 may extend along the extending direction of the bearing assembly, and the second guiding portion may be located in the same horizontal plane as the first guiding portion 411 and extend in a direction away from or gradually away from one side of the bearing assembly.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the second guide portion 412 is configured to be located above the first guide portion 411, specifically, the first guide portion 411 extends linearly in a horizontal direction, and the second guide portion 412 extends obliquely upward relative to the first guide portion 411, and an obtuse included angle is formed between the two guide portions. After the moving assembly 4 moves to the position along the second guiding portion 412, the pick-and-place assembly 3 is configured to move to the upper side of the bearing assembly 2 to leave the accommodating space of the bearing assembly 2. At this time, the distance between the pick-and-place assembly 3, the moving assembly 4 and the carrying assembly 2 should be higher than the height of the accommodating space.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 3 to 6, the second guide portion 412 is configured to be located below the first guide portion 411, specifically, the first guide portion 411 extends linearly along a horizontal direction, the second guide portion 412 is located in the same vertical plane as the first guide portion 411 and extends obliquely downward relative to the first guide portion 411, and an obtuse included angle is formed between the two guide portions. After the moving assembly 4 is configured to move to the position along the second guiding portion 412, the pick-and-place assembly 3 is configured to move to the lower side of the carrying assembly 2 to avoid the accommodating space of the carrying assembly 2.

In this embodiment, the middle area of the carrying assembly 2 may be provided with a gap or space for passing the pick-and-place assembly 3 and the moving assembly 4. When the moving assembly 4 drives the picking and placing assembly 3 to move along the second moving track, the picking and placing assembly can penetrate through a gap or a space in the middle of the bearing assembly 2, so that the picking and placing assembly can move to a position below the accommodating space.

The guide means of the present disclosure may be a guide plate, a guide rod, a rail, or other conventional guide structure. The first guide part and the second guide part can be chutes or guide holes arranged on the guide mechanism, or two guide rods with different directions and connected ends. The above-described guide mechanism is merely an example, and those skilled in the art will understand that a structure having two guide portions with different directions is included in the scope of the present disclosure.

In a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 3 and 5, the guide mechanism 41 is a guide plate, the first guide portion 411 and the second guide portion 412 are mutually communicated guide grooves formed on the guide plate, and the sliding mechanism 42 is guided and engaged with the guide grooves so as to be slidable along the guide grooves. The guide slot may be provided on one side or opposite sides of the guide plate, or may penetrate both sides of the guide plate to form a through slot. The guide plate is vertically distributed relative to the bearing assembly, and the upper end face of the guide plate is lower than the bearing face on the bearing assembly 2 so as to avoid the accommodating space. The first guiding portion 41 is configured as a guiding groove extending along the horizontal direction, the second guiding portion 42 is configured as a guiding groove extending from the end of the first guiding portion 411 obliquely downwards, and the sliding mechanism 42 can pass through the gap or space in the middle of the bearing assembly 2 when driving the pick-and-place assembly 3 along the second guiding portion 412, so as to move the pick-and-place assembly away from the accommodating space of the bearing assembly.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to fig. 4, 5, and 6, the sliding mechanism 42 includes a fixing portion 421 and a sliding portion 422, and the fixing portion 421 and the sliding portion 422 are slidably fitted together, so that the sliding portion 422 can slide relative to the fixing portion 421 under the action of an external force. The fixing portion 421 is controlled by the driving component 5, the driving component 5 can provide a driving force for linear motion, and the fixing portion 421 is driven to linearly move along a direction parallel to the plane where the first guiding portion 411 and the second guiding portion 412 are located. The sliding portion 422 is guided and matched in the first guiding portion 411 and the second guiding portion 412, the taking and placing assembly 3 is arranged on the sliding portion 422, the sliding portion 422 can drive the taking and placing assembly 3 to move along the first guiding portion 411 and the second guiding portion 412, and the second guiding portion 412 extends obliquely relative to the first guiding portion 411 and forms an obtuse included angle with the first guiding portion 411.

The direction of the relative movement between the fixing part 421 and the sliding part 422 may be set to be perpendicular to the extending direction of the first guide part 411. The driving assembly 5 can drive the sliding portion 422 to move simultaneously through the fixing portion 421, and the moving direction of the fixing portion 421 is consistent with the extending direction of the first guiding portion 411 and is inconsistent with the extending direction of the second guiding portion 422.

Referring to fig. 6, since the moving direction of the fixing portion 421 is different from the extending direction of the second guiding portion 422, when the driving assembly 5 drives the fixing portion 421 to move linearly along the horizontal direction, the sliding portion 422 gradually moves upward relative to the fixing portion 421 under the restriction of the second guiding portion 422, so as to drive the pick-and-place assembly 3 to move upward and enter the accommodating space of the carrier assembly 2; the reverse movement leaves the pick-and-place assembly 3 out of the receiving space of the carrier assembly 2.

Referring to fig. 5, after the sliding portion 422 moves into the first guiding portion 411, since the moving direction of the fixing portion 421 is consistent with the extending direction of the first guiding portion 411, in the continuous moving process of the fixing portion 421, no relative movement occurs between the fixing portion 421 and the sliding portion 422, that is, both the fixing portion 421 and the sliding portion 422 linearly move in the horizontal direction, so that the sliding portion 422 can drive the pick-and-place assembly 3 to linearly move in the accommodating space of the bearing assembly 2, so as to extend the driving assembly 3, and retract the pick-and-place assembly 3 in the reverse direction.

Both the fixing portion 421 and the sliding portion 422 may be provided as block structures, and in one embodiment, as viewed in fig. 3 to 6, the guide mechanism 41 is a guide plate vertically provided, and the first guide portion 411 and the second guide portion 412 are long holes or through holes provided on the guide plate. The first guide portion 411 extends linearly in the horizontal direction, and the second guide portion 412 extends obliquely downward with respect to the first guide portion 411. The fixing portion 421 may include two clamping plates, the top ends of the two clamping plates are connected together, and a sliding groove is arranged between the two clamping plates of the fixing portion 421; the sliding portion 422 is sandwiched between the two plates of the fixing portion 421, and is engaged with a slide groove in the fixing portion 421 to be slidable relative to the fixing portion 421. The sliding part 422 also includes two clamping plates with top ends connected together, a gap is left between the two clamping plates, and the guide plate is located between the two clamping plates of the sliding part 422. A sliding member is further connected between the two clamping plates of the sliding portion 422, and the sliding member is slidably fitted in the first guide portion 411 and the second guide portion 412. The sliding part can be a pin shaft, a sliding block and other structures, and can also be a roller, and the roller can reduce the friction force between the roller and the guide plate.

The driving assembly 5 provides a linear driving force, the sliding mechanism 42 and the guiding mechanism 41 are connected between the driving assembly 5 and the pick-and-place assembly 3, and can convert the linear driving force of the driving assembly 5 into a driving force along two directions of the first guiding portion 411 and the second guiding portion 412, and drive the pick-and-place assembly 3 to move in a first motion track and a second motion track with different directions.

Drive assembly 5 can select for use linear motor, lead screw assembly, rack and pinion, conveyer belt etc. and drive arrangement that can realize linear motion all contains in this disclosed scope of protection. In one embodiment, the driving assembly 5 is a pulley structure, and referring to fig. 3, it includes at least two pulleys 51, a transmission belt 52 wound around the pulleys 51, and a motor driving the pulleys 51 to rotate, and an output end of the motor may be directly connected to one of the pulleys 51, or may be in transmission connection with the pulleys 51 through a transmission structure such as a gear assembly. The moving direction of the conveyor belt 52 coincides with the extending direction of the first guide 411. The fixing portion 421 of the sliding mechanism 42 is fixedly connected to the conveyor belt 52. The motor can drive the fixing portion 421 to reciprocate by adjusting the rotation direction through the belt wheel 51 and the belt 52.

The driving assembly 5 can be mounted on the base 1 or the carrying assembly, and can also be mounted on the guide mechanism 41 of the moving assembly 4. In a specific embodiment, the guiding mechanism 41 is a guiding plate, the belt pulley 51 and the transmission belt 52 of the driving assembly 5 are disposed on the guiding plate, the number of the belt pulleys 51 is two, the two belt pulleys 51 are disposed at two ends of the first guiding portion 411 and the second guiding portion 412 respectively and are rotatably connected to the guiding plate through a rotating shaft, and the fixing portion 421 is provided with a connecting member fixedly connected to the transmission belt 52.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 3, the belt pulley 51 and the conveyor belt 52 of the driving assembly 5 are disposed on one side of the guide plate, and the pick-and-place assembly 3 is disposed on the other side of the guide plate, so as to avoid interference with the driving mechanism when the pick-and-place assembly 3 moves. The motor may be disposed at an end of the guide plate near the second guide portion 412.

The strength of the belt 52 of the driving unit 5 is low, and in order to improve the stability of the moving direction of the sliding portion 422, at least one guide bar 43 may be provided, and the extending direction of the guide bar 43 coincides with the moving direction of the fixing portion 421. The fixing portion 421 is fitted with the guide bar 43, and the fixing portion 421 is configured to move linearly in the extending direction of the guide bar 43 by the driving of the conveyor belt 52. The guide rod 43 may be provided at the base 1, the carrier assembly 2, or the guide mechanism 41, etc.

In one embodiment as shown in fig. 3, the guide rods 43 are connected to the guide plate, and specifically, two ends of the two guide rods 43 are fixed to two sides of the guide plate respectively through mounting seats. The fixing portion 421 is provided with a slider 4220 slidably engaged with the guide rod 43, and the slider 4220 is inserted into the guide rod 43. Two guide rods 43 are provided, and the two guide rods 43 are respectively provided on opposite sides of the guide plate. The two clamp plates of the fixing portion 421 are respectively provided with sliders 4220 which slide along the two guide rods 43.

The pick-and-place assembly 3 may load the container in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, snap fit, magnetic attraction, vacuum chuck attraction, etc. In one embodiment, the pick-and-place assembly 3 includes a suction cup mechanism 31, the suction cup mechanism 31 being configured to engage an end surface of the container to load the container. The pick-and-place assembly 3 further comprises a fixing seat 32, the suction cup mechanism 31 is connected to the fixing seat 32, and the fixing seat 32 is connected to the sliding part 422 of the sliding mechanism 42.

In a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to fig. 4 and 6, a buffer device 33 may be disposed between the suction cup mechanism 31 and the fixed seat 32 for buffering the impact force of the suction cup mechanism 31 when loading the container. The buffer device 33 may include a spring connected between the suction cup mechanism 31 and the fixing seat 32, a certain movement margin is left between the suction cup mechanism 31 and the fixing seat 32, and the suction cup mechanism 31 can overcome the acting force of the spring to displace relative to the fixing seat 32 under the action of an external force, so that the spring can buffer the external force applied to the suction cup mechanism 31.

The suction cup mechanism 31 may be a vacuum suction cup, and the number thereof may be one or more, and is not limited herein. The suction cup mechanism 31 can be controlled to suck the end face of the container or loosen the container by controlling the vacuum source, and the container is placed on the bearing component or the carrier.

In the above embodiment, the moving assembly drives the pick-and-place assembly to extend out and suck the container located at the first target position of the carrier and drive the container to move onto the carrying assembly in the process of reciprocating movement along the first guide portion. The pick-and-place assembly may then release the container and place the container on the carrier assembly.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the pick-and-place assembly may drive the container to move completely onto the carrying assembly, and then release the container to completely carry the container on the carrying assembly.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the pick-and-place assembly may drive the container to move to a position where a portion of the container is located on the carrying assembly, and after the pick-and-place assembly releases the container, the container may be completely pushed onto the carrying assembly by a pushing device.

In a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, the carrier assembly 2 is configured to transport a container, and two ends of the carrier assembly 2 can be referred to as a first open end and a second open end respectively. Referring to the view direction of fig. 2, the left end of the carrier assembly 2 is a first open end, and the right end thereof is a second open end. The carrier assembly 2 is capable of moving the transportable container between its first and second open ends, with a receiving space provided between the first and second open ends of the carrier assembly 2.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, the carrier assembly 2 includes a conveyor belt 21, an upper surface of the conveyor belt 21 is a bearing surface for supporting the containers, the conveyor belt 21 can convey the containers in a horizontal direction, and a conveying direction of the conveyor belt 21 is consistent with an extending direction of the first guide 411. When the picking and placing assembly 3 loads the container to move to the communication position of the first motion track and the second motion track or is close to the communication position, the container is driven to enter the first opening end, and at the moment, the picking and placing assembly 3 releases the container and moves away from the accommodating space of the bearing assembly along the second motion track; the container can then be moved by the conveyor belt to be completely carried on the conveyor belt 21.

The bearing component 2 further comprises a plurality of driving rollers matched with the conveying belt 21, and a driving motor for driving the conveying belt 21 to rotate through the driving rollers. In one embodiment, the carrier assembly 2 may be a belt conveyor. The structure and principles of belt conveyors are prior art and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that they are not specifically described in this disclosure.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, two conveyor belts 21 may be provided, the two conveyor belts 21 are spaced apart and located on the same horizontal plane, and the pick-and-place assembly 3 and the moving assembly 4 may be disposed between the two conveyor belts 21. The two conveyor belts 21 move synchronously and transport the containers simultaneously. The two conveyor belts 21 can be driven by the same drive. When the taking and placing assembly 3 moves to the right position along the first motion track, a first opening end can extend out from the position between the two conveyor belts 21 so as to adsorb the end face of the container; when the pick-and-place assembly 3 moves to the right position along the second motion track, it can retract between the two conveyor belts 21 and move to a position lower than the carrying surface.

In a particular application of the present disclosure, the conveyor belt 21 is also configured to convey the containers from the first open end to the second open end, or from the second open end to the second open end. The containers may be transported to the second open end, for example by means of a conveyor belt, and from the second open end to other target locations, for example to a workstation for sorting or to a conveyor line with the workstation. In addition, the container on the workstation conveying line can also enter the bearing assembly 2 through the second opening end, and after the container reaches the corresponding position through the conveying of the bearing assembly 2, the taking and placing assembly moves along the first guide part, and the container on the bearing assembly 2 is pushed to the target position of the carrier through the first opening end for storage. In the process, the taking and placing assembly can push the container to the target position of the carrier for storage only through the pushing action, or can suck the container and push the container to the target position of the carrier for storage.

In one embodiment, in order to prevent containers from falling off both sides of the carrier assembly 2, anti-falling ribs 22 can be provided at both side positions of the base 1, the anti-falling ribs 22 being located outside the conveyor belt, so that they can be configured for restraining the containers on the conveyor belt 21. In particular, the anti-falling ribs 22 on both sides are arranged in a strip-shaped structure and are aligned with the extension direction of the conveyor belt 21, and the anti-falling ribs 22 can extend from the first open end of the bearing component to the second open end thereof.

A reforming guide mechanism 23 may also be provided on the base 1, the reforming guide mechanism 23 being configured to guide the containers on the conveyor belt 21 to move to the centre of the carrier assembly. Specifically, as shown in fig. 2, the righting guide mechanisms 23 are arranged on two opposite sides of the base 1, and the righting guide mechanisms 23 on the two sides are symmetrically arranged relative to the central line of the bearing assembly 2. The end of the reforming guide mechanism 23 is arranged to be a flared structure, which facilitates the container to enter between the reforming guide mechanisms 23 on both sides.

The anti-falling flange 22 and the correcting guide mechanism 23 can be arranged independently or integrally. In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the anti-falling ribs 22 and the righting guide mechanisms 23 are connected into a whole, the anti-falling ribs 22 extend inwards in the middle area between the first opening end and the second opening end to form the righting guide mechanisms 23, the distance between the righting guide mechanisms 23 on the two sides is smaller than that between the anti-falling ribs 22, and the righting guide mechanisms 23 are connected with the anti-falling ribs 22 on the two ends through inclined planes to form flaring structures, so that containers can enter between the righting guide mechanisms 23.

In one embodiment, the pick-and-feed container assembly further comprises a detection device for detecting the position of the container. When the pick-and-place assembly 3 loads and unloads the container and moves a portion thereof onto the carrier assembly 2, the detection device can detect the container, and at this time, the pick-and-place assembly 3 can place the container on the carrier assembly 2, for example, the vacuum source of the suction cup mechanism 31 can be cut off, so that the suction cup mechanism 31 releases the container. The detection position of the detection means, which determines when the pick-and-place assembly 3 releases the containers, can therefore be adjusted according to the design, as long as the containers are finally carried on the conveyor belt. The detection position such as the detection position is a position where the moving member 4 moves into the first guide portion adjacent to the second guide portion.

The detection means includes, but is not limited to, a sensor, an infrared scanning means, an image pickup means, and the like, and the detection means is capable of generating and transmitting a detection signal when the container is detected. In one embodiment, the detection device may be a pressure sensor, which is disposed on the carrier assembly 2 and is capable of detecting the pressure of the container and generating a detection signal when the container is moved to a corresponding position on the carrier assembly 2. In another embodiment, it may be an infrared sensor or the like, and will not be described in detail here.

The container picking and delivering assembly can be used for transferring containers on a carrier, and the position of the container picking and delivering assembly needs to correspond to a target position on the carrier when the containers are transferred.

In an actual storage environment, factors such as uneven ground or vehicle installation errors also exist, so that the position of the container taking and delivering assembly deviates from a target position on the vehicle. To improve the positional accuracy, the pick-and-place container assembly further comprises a positioning system 6, the positioning system 6 being configured for positioning the relative position between the pick-and-place container assembly and the carrier. The positioning system 6 needs to adjust the position of the pick-and-place container assembly when detecting that the position deviation between the pick-and-place container assembly and the target position of the carrier reaches a preset range.

The positioning system can be a visual scanning module, a laser scanning module or an infrared scanning module, and acquires the position information of the container or the container position by identifying the corresponding position on the carrier. As shown in fig. 2, the positioning system may be disposed on the base 1, and the support 11 is located above the carrying assembly 2 and avoids the accommodating space so as not to interfere with the movement of the container. The support 11 can be set up to the door type structure, and the bottom fixed connection of support 11 is in the both sides of the first open end of carrier assembly 2, and positioning system installs at the top of support 11, is located the top of carrier assembly 2.

In a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, the positioning system 6 may be a two-dimensional imaging module, and each container position on the carrier is correspondingly provided with a two-dimensional identifier, which is located at a central position of a cross beam at a front side of the container position. The two-dimensional imaging module is configured to acquire positional information of a marker on the vehicle,

the two-dimensional imaging module can be arranged at the center of the front end of the bearing component 2. This is favorable to two-dimensional imaging module to read the positional information of sign on its front crossbeam. After the two-dimensional imaging module obtains the position information of the mark on the cross beam, the height deviation and/or the horizontal deviation of the container picking and delivering assembly relative to the target position can be obtained, and therefore a reference is provided for the adjustment of the position of the container picking and delivering assembly.

Example two

The present embodiment provides a container handling apparatus, and the specific structure and principle of the container handling apparatus may refer to the container handling apparatus of the first embodiment, and the same parts are not described herein again. The difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is that this embodiment further includes a limiting mechanism configured to limit two sides of the container on the carrying assembly, which can replace the anti-falling rib and the regulating and guiding mechanism in the first embodiment.

Specifically, referring to fig. 7, the limiting mechanism 9 includes a first limiting portion 91 and a second limiting portion 92 disposed at an interval, the first limiting portion 91 and the second limiting portion 92 are disposed on two sides of the bearing assembly 2, respectively, and the container is placed between the two limiting portions. The first and second position-limiting portions 91 and 92 are configured to move toward or away from each other in the X-axis direction relative to the carrier assembly 2, so as to adjust the distance between the first and second position-limiting portions 91 and 92, thereby being capable of accommodating containers of different sizes. When containers of different types are placed on the carrier, the size of the container can be adapted by adjusting the distance between the first limiting part 91 and the second limiting part 92. The first and second position-limiting portions 91 and 92 may be provided in a rod-like, plate-like, roller-like configuration, etc., but the present disclosure is not limited thereto as long as the first and second position-limiting portions can be arranged on both sides of the container.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 7, the container handling device further includes a first base 93, the first base 93 can provide a mounting base for the first limiting portion 91 and the second limiting portion 92, and the first limiting portion 91 and the second limiting portion 92 are slidably fitted on the first base 93. At least one set of sliding guide structures 95 extending along the X-axis direction may be disposed on the first base 93, and the first limiting portion 91 and the second limiting portion 92 are matched with the first base 93 through the sliding guide structures 95. The sliding guide structure 95 may include a sliding groove, a sliding block, and the like, and is not particularly limited in this disclosure. In a preferred embodiment, the sliding guide structures 95 are provided in two sets, wherein the two sets of sliding guide structures 95 are respectively close to two ends of the first position-limiting portion 91 and the second position-limiting portion 92.

The first base 93 may be provided with a transmission mechanism 94 that moves along the X-axis direction, and the transmission mechanism 94 drives the first position-limiting portion 91 and the second position-limiting portion 92 to move on the first base 93 along the X-axis direction. The transmission mechanism 94 may be, but is not limited to, a rack and pinion structure, a linkage mechanism, a pulley mechanism, etc., and the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In a particular embodiment, referring to fig. 7, the transmission mechanism 94 includes a belt extending in the X-axis direction and being controllable to rotate by a pulley that can be driven by a motor. The first and second position-limiting portions 91 and 92 may be connected to both sides of the interval of the conveyor belt, i.e., both sides in the extending direction of the conveyor belt. The conveyor belt is of an annular structure, and when the conveyor belt rotates, two spaced sides of the conveyor belt move in opposite directions, so that the first limiting part 91 and the second limiting part 92 can be driven to mutually approach or separate from each other, and the relative position between the first limiting part and the second limiting part can be adjusted.

In another embodiment, the stop mechanism 9 is disposed at a position above the carrier assembly 2 and is configured to stop an upper region of the container. Specifically, the container can be placed between the bearing assembly 2 and the limiting mechanism 9, and the first limiting portion 91 and the second limiting portion 92 of the limiting assembly are close to the top edges of two opposite sides of the container, so as to avoid interference with the bearing assembly 2. The limiting mechanism 9 can be mounted on the base 1 through a bracket.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 8, the container handling apparatus may further include a rotating mechanism 10, and the rotating mechanism 10 is configured to drive the pick-and-place assembly 3 and the carrying assembly 2 to rotate around the Y-axis, so as to flexibly adjust the angle of the container relative to the container. The container on the storage position may have a pose deviation with the pick-and-place assembly 3 and the carrying assembly 2 on the horizontal plane due to collision, unstable carrier and the like, and if the pose deviation is greater than a preset tolerance threshold, the container cannot be smoothly grabbed by the pick-and-place assembly 3. At this time, the angles of the driving pick-and-place assembly 3 and the carrying assembly 2 relative to the container can be correspondingly adjusted through the rotating mechanism 10, the posture deviation is eliminated, and the posture deviation is less than a preset tolerance threshold value, so that the driving pick-and-place assembly 3 can smoothly grab the container on the carrier onto the carrying assembly 2.

The rotating mechanism 10 may include a second base 101 and a rotation support 102, and the rotation support 102 is rotatably connected to the second base 101. The second base 101 can be connected to the supporting component 81 and move along the extending direction of the supporting component 81, the bearing component 2, the pick-and-place component 3 and the revolving support 102 are connected oppositely, the rotation axis of the revolving support 102 extends along the Y-axis direction and can rotate around the Y-axis relative to the second base 101, and the relative angle between the bearing component 2, the pick-and-place component 3 and the container is adjusted.

The rotation support 102 may be a plate-type structure, a frame-type structure, etc. and can support the carrying assembly 2 and the pick-and-place assembly 3. Specifically, the rotation support portion 102 may include a plurality of support rods connected to form a frame-shaped structure, and the bearing assembly 2 and the pick-and-place assembly 3 may be fixedly connected to the rotation support portion 102 by means of screw fixation, welding, bonding, and the like, which is not limited in this disclosure.

The pivoting support 102 may be coupled to the second base 101 by a conventional pivoting coupling structure such as a bearing, a shaft, and a bushing. In a preferred embodiment, referring to fig. 8, the rotation support part 102 is connected to the second base 101 through a rotation support bearing 103, the rotation support part 102 has an inner ring and an outer ring which rotate relatively, one of the inner ring and the outer ring is fixedly connected to the rotation support part 102, and the other is fixedly connected to the second base 101.

The turning mechanism 10 may further include a slewing drive mechanism for driving the slewing support 102 to rotate. The rotation mechanism 10 may be directly connected to the rotation support 102 in a rotation driving manner, or may drive the rotation support 102 to rotate by driving the rotation support bearing 103. The rotary driving mechanism includes, but is not limited to, a motor, a gear set, a pulley mechanism, etc., which are not limited in this disclosure. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the outer ring of the slewing bearing 103 is fixedly connected to the second base 101, the inner ring is fixedly connected to the bearing assembly 2 and the pick-and-place assembly 3, the slewing driving mechanism includes a synchronous belt and a driving pulley, the synchronous belt is connected to the driving pulley and the inner ring of the slewing bearing 103, the driving pulley can drive the inner ring of the slewing bearing 103 to rotate through the synchronous belt, and the inner ring drives the bearing assembly 2 and the pick-and-place assembly 3 to rotate through the slewing support portion 102.

In one embodiment, the container handling device includes a first sensor for detecting a storage bay of a vehicle and determining whether the storage bay has a container. The first sensor is for: determining whether a container is present in a storage location of the carrier when the container is removed from the carrier by the pick-and-place container assembly; and/or determining whether the vehicle storage location is empty when the container is placed to the vehicle storage location.

The first sensor is capable of generating either a null detection signal or a non-null detection signal. When taking out the container, whether the target storage bit has the container is determined by the first sensor, the picking and placing component 3 can grab the container on the target storage bit based on the non-vacancy detection signal, or the action of grabbing the container is not performed based on the vacancy detection signal, so that the situation that the picking and placing component 3 places the container to the non-vacancy storage bit to cause the original container of the storage bit to fall off, or the grabbing action is performed in the vacancy storage bit is avoided.

In the process of taking out the container, if the first sensor sends a non-vacancy detection signal, the taking and placing component 3 grabs the container on the storage position based on the non-vacancy detection signal and places the container on the bearing component 2; if the first sensor sends out a vacancy detection signal, the pick-and-place assembly 3 does not perform the action of grabbing the container based on the vacancy detection signal.

In the process of placing the container, if the first sensor sends a vacancy detection signal, the taking and placing component 3 places the container on the bearing component 2 on the storage position based on the vacancy detection signal, and if the first sensor sends a non-vacancy detection signal, the taking and placing component 3 does not do the action of placing the container based on the non-vacancy detection signal.

In one embodiment, the container handling apparatus includes a second sensor for determining a positional offset between the pick-and-place container assembly and a container on the carrier. The container handling device is also used for adjusting the pose of the container handling device and eliminating the pose deviation according to the pose deviation between the container handling device and the corresponding container determined by the second sensor.

In particular, the second sensor is capable of detecting the three-dimensional position of the container, thereby determining three-dimensional deviations between the container and the pick-and-feed container assembly, including deviations in the X-axis direction, deviations in the Y-axis direction, and angular deviations in the horizontal plane direction. Based on the position deviation, the taking and delivering container assembly can adjust the position through moving along the gantry assembly 82 and the support assembly 81 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, so that the deviation in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is eliminated; the pick-and-place container can also be rotated about the Y-axis by the rotating mechanism 10, so that the angular deviation from the container in the plane is adjusted.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the second sensor obtains three-dimensional position information of the container and determines a positional deviation, i.e., a horizontal deviation, between the container and the pick-and-place container assembly in the X-axis direction, and the support assembly 81 moves a corresponding distance in the X-axis direction based on the horizontal deviation so that the position of the pick-and-place container assembly in the X-axis direction corresponds to the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the second sensor obtains three-dimensional position information of the container and determines a positional deviation, i.e., a height deviation, between the container and the pick-and-feed container assembly in the Y-axis direction, and the pick-and-feed container assembly moves a corresponding distance along the support assembly 81 based on the height deviation so that the position of the pick-and-feed container assembly in the Y-axis direction corresponds to the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the second sensor obtains three-dimensional positional information of the container and determines an angular offset between the container and the pick-and-feed container assembly in a horizontal plane, which is the angular offset between the container and the Z-axis direction. The pick-and-place container assembly is rotated about the Y-axis by the pivoting support 102 based on the angular deviation to conform the angle to the angle of the container. The container assembly may be displaced in the X-axis direction from the container by the angular adjustment, and the support assembly 81 adjusts the position in the X-axis direction based on the positional displacement, so that the container assembly and the container can be angularly and positionally adjusted in the horizontal plane direction.

For safety considerations, the pick-and-place container assembly should be moved along the X-axis, Y-axis within a predetermined movement threshold range based on the three-dimensional position information, and rotated a corresponding angle within a predetermined rotation threshold range. The predetermined movement threshold is the maximum distance moved and the predetermined rotation threshold is the maximum angle of rotation. If the distance needing to be moved exceeds a preset moving threshold value or the angle needing to be rotated exceeds a preset rotating threshold value, the container taking and placing component stops taking and placing the container, and abnormality is reported so as to prevent the container from colliding with a frame of the carrier when the container is taken and placed.

When the position of the pick-and-place container assembly relative to the container is adjusted based on the second sensor, the order of adjusting the horizontal deviation, the height deviation, or the angle deviation may be arbitrarily ordered, and is not limited herein. In a preferred embodiment, the second sensing location should be relatively centered with respect to the pick-and-place container assembly to facilitate aligning the center of the pick-and-place container assembly with the center of the container, thereby avoiding labeling the container and improving the accuracy of the alignment relative to conventional methods.

The first sensor and the second sensor may be two sensors or the same sensor, which is not limited in this disclosure. The first sensor and the second sensor may be, but not limited to, a vision sensor, a depth information sensor, a 3D sensor, or the like, and those skilled in the art can select them based on the prior art as long as they can acquire three-dimensional position information.

EXAMPLE III

The present embodiment provides a container handling apparatus, as shown in fig. 9, the container handling apparatus includes a frame body 7, a container picking and delivering assembly disclosed in the first embodiment is disposed on the frame body 7, the container picking and delivering assembly is configured to move on the frame body 7, and the position of the container picking and delivering assembly can be adjusted on the frame body. The specific structure and principle of the picking and delivering container assembly refer to the first embodiment, and details are not described in this embodiment.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 9, the frame body 7 includes an X-axis rail 71 and a Y-axis rail 72 that are perpendicular to each other, and the X-axis rail 71 and the Y-axis rail 72 are disposed on a vertical plane. Specifically, the Y-axis track is configured to move along the X-axis track and the pick-and-feed container assembly is configured to move along the Y-axis track. The moving assembly 4 is configured to drive the taking and placing assembly to move along the Z-axis direction in the first motion track, and the X-axis, the Y-axis and the Z-axis form a three-dimensional coordinate system.

In one embodiment, the frame 7 includes a gantry assembly and the X-axis track 71 includes a ground rail structure and a head rail structure disposed on the gantry assembly. The X-axis rails 71 extend in the horizontal direction, and the Y-axis rails 72 extend in the vertical direction. The Y-axis track 72 may be a vertical column structure, two ends of the Y-axis track 72 are respectively matched with the ground track structure and the sky track structure in a guiding manner, and the Y-axis track 72 moves horizontally along the ground track structure and the sky track structure.

Specifically, two X-axis rails 71 are respectively provided with an X-axis moving plate, the X-axis moving plate can move along the horizontal direction of the X-axis rails 71, and two ends of the Y-axis rail 72 are respectively fixedly connected to the two X-axis moving plates. The Y-axis track 72 is provided with a Y-axis moving plate which can move in the vertical direction along the Y-axis track 72, and the taking and delivering container assembly is fixedly connected to the Y-axis moving plate. The X-axis moving plate and the Y-axis moving plate may further have guide assemblies mounted thereon, and may slide along the corresponding X-axis rails 71 and Y-axis rails 72 via the guide assemblies.

The frame body 7 is further provided with a driving system, and the driving system comprises an X-axis driving unit and a Y-axis driving unit. The X-axis driving unit is configured to drive the Y-axis track 72 to move along the X-axis track 71, and the Y-axis driving unit is configured to drive the pick-and-place container assembly to move along the Y-axis track 72, so that the pick-and-place container assembly can be moved to a corresponding position, for example, a position corresponding to a target position on the carrier. The drive system may comprise a drive motor, a transmission gear, a transmission chain, a lead screw assembly, etc., which can be configured by those skilled in the art based on the prior art to achieve the above-mentioned functions of the drive system.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, at least two Y-axis rails 72 may be provided, and at least two Y-axis rails 72 move independently between the upper and lower X-axis rails 71. At least one container taking and delivering assembly is arranged on each Y-axis track, and the container taking and delivering assemblies on each Y-axis track can move independently, so that the working efficiency of the container handling device is improved.

In this embodiment, the container handling apparatus is used for transporting containers on a carrier, and the container transporting assembly can move on the frame body 7 along the X-axis rail 71 and the Y-axis rail 72 to a target position of the carrier.

The pick-and-place container assembly has a positioning system 6 for positional deviation between the pick-and-place container assembly and a target location on the carrier. Positioning system 6 can select for use two-dimensional imaging module such as camera, also can select for use three-dimensional imaging module such as degree of depth camera or panoramic camera, can acquire the positional information of target location.

In one embodiment, the positioning system 6 selects a two-dimensional imaging module, each container position of the carrier is correspondingly provided with a two-dimensional identifier, and the two-dimensional imaging module is configured to obtain position information of the identifier on the carrier. Based on the sign position that two-dimensional imaging module obtained, can compare the position deviation of analysis delivery container subassembly and sign, including the deviation of horizontal direction and vertical direction. Based on the position deviation with the identification obtained by the two-dimensional imaging module, the fetching and sending container assembly can be adjusted through the X-axis track 71 and the Y-axis track 72, and the accuracy between the fetching and sending container assembly and the target position is improved.

The X-axis track 71 and the Y-axis track 72 of the container handling device are of frame structures, and the container handling device can be used in a narrow working space to work by adopting a compact container taking and delivering assembly in a matching manner, so that the space utilization rate is improved, and the capacity of a storage space is increased.

Example four

This embodiment provides a warehouse system, utilizes the container to store the goods to can carry out quick work such as transportation, select to the goods in the container, can improve work efficiency, alleviate the human labor.

Referring to fig. 10, the warehousing system includes a workstation area, and the workstation area is provided with an operation station, a carrier parking area, and the container handling apparatus provided in the first embodiment and the second embodiment. The carrier parking area is used for parking the carrier, a plurality of storage positions used for placing containers are arranged on the carrier, the container loading and unloading device can pick and place the containers on the carrier and transport the containers, and goods in the containers can be picked at an operation station. The container handling device is located between the operating station and the carrier docking area and is configured for transferring containers between the operating station and carriers located in the carrier docking area.

According to the taking and placing command, the taking and delivering container assembly of the container handling device moves along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction and corresponds to the position of the storage position of the target container, then the taking and placing assembly 3 grabs the container along the Z-axis direction and grabs the container to the bearing assembly 2. The container loading and unloading device can further transfer the containers on the bearing component 2 to an operation station, and the picking of the goods in the containers is completed at the operation station. After the picking is completed, the container loading and unloading device can take the containers of the operation stations away and transfer the containers to the target storage positions on the carriers for storage.

The operation station can realize any storage operation, including but not limited to: at least one of a racking operation, an inventory operation, and a tallying operation. For example, when the operator station implements a sort off rack operation, the operator station may act as a sort off rack station.

In one embodiment, at least two parking stations for parking the vehicles are arranged in the vehicle parking area, and different vehicles can be parked on the parking stations, so that the warehousing system has larger storage capacity. The carrier can set up to fix on the station of berthhing that corresponds, also can set up to remove to different berthhing on the station, and it is more convenient nimble to use.

In one embodiment, the container handling device is provided with at least two, one-to-one correspondence with different vehicles located at different docking stations. The container loading and unloading device and the carrier are relatively fixed in position, and different container loading and unloading devices can work relatively independently, so that the working efficiency is high.

In a particular embodiment, the workstation site further comprises a conveyor line for transporting the containers. The conveyor line includes a conveyor line inlet and a conveyor line outlet, the conveyor line being capable of transporting containers from the conveyor line inlet to the conveyor line outlet. The operation station is positioned on the conveying path of the conveying line; in the transportation process, can transport the container to operation station department to select the work to the container in operation station department, after finishing selecting, the container can be transported to transfer chain export.

And the conveying line inlet and the conveying line outlet are respectively provided with a container loading and unloading device. The container loading and unloading device is positioned at the inlet of the conveying line and used for taking out containers from the carriers positioned in the carrier parking area and placing the containers on the conveying line; the container loading and unloading device is positioned at the outlet of the conveying line and is used for taking out containers from the conveying line and placing the containers on the carriers positioned in the carrier parking area. The two different container handling devices may be located at the conveyor line inlet and the conveyor line outlet, or the same container handling device. The conveying line can be selected from a belt conveyor, a roller conveyor, a plate chain conveyor and the like, and the disclosure does not limit the conveying line.

The operation station can be selected work through artifical or intelligent robot, and the operation station can set up a plurality ofly, and a plurality of operation stations can be arranged on the transfer line, and relative independent work can improve and select efficiency.

When the storage system works, the container loading and unloading device at the inlet of the conveying line takes the container at the target position on the carrier according to the box taking instruction, and then conveys the container to the inlet of the conveying line; the container is conveyed to an operation station by the conveying line, goods in the container are sorted on the operation station, and after sorting is completed, the container is conveyed to an outlet of the conveying line by the conveying line; the container handling device at the outlet of the conveyor line takes the containers at the outlet of the conveyor line on command and then delivers the containers to the target storage locations of the carriers.

The warehousing system realizes the preliminary selection and transportation of the containers through the container loading and unloading device, can realize the transportation of the containers between the carriers and the operating station areas, effectively improves the efficiency of sorting work, and lightens the labor intensity.

EXAMPLE five

The embodiment provides a method for taking and placing a container, which is applied to a control server and the container handling device provided in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, wherein the control server can control the container handling device to take and place the container. Referring to fig. 11, the method of taking and placing the container includes:

the control server sends a pick-and-place instruction to the container handling device.

Specifically, the pick-and-place command is a command to pick up a container from a target storage location on the carrier, or a command to place a container on the container handling device onto a target storage location on the carrier. The container handling device can drive the taking and delivering container assembly to move to a position corresponding to a target storage position according to a target storage position coordinate prestored in the system, then drive the taking and delivering container assembly to move along the Z axis, and take the container on the target storage position away, or place the container on the taking and delivering container assembly on the target storage position.

The container handling device controls at least two handling units to carry out handling operation on containers on the same carrier in parallel based on the received handling instruction.

In particular, the container handling device comprises at least two handling units, the loading units are controlled independently of each other, and the picking and placing operations can be performed simultaneously or only part of the loading units can be operated. The control server can send a taking and placing instruction for simultaneously taking and placing at least two containers to the container handling device, and the container handling device controls the handling unit to carry out taking and placing operation simultaneously based on the taking and placing instruction, so that the working time can be effectively saved, and the working efficiency is improved.

Example six

The embodiment provides a method for taking and placing a container, which is applied to a control server, automatic handling equipment and the warehousing system disclosed in the fourth embodiment.

Referring to fig. 12, the method for taking and placing the container in this embodiment includes:

and the control server sends a carrying instruction to the automatic carrying equipment according to the task order and sends a taking and placing instruction to the warehousing system.

The automatic handling apparatus may be a handling robot for handling the carrier, for example, the automatic handling apparatus may lift the carrier from the bottom of the carrier by the lifting device and then transport the carrier. The pick-and-place command sent by the control server to the warehousing system may be a command to pick a container from a target storage location on the carrier or a command to place a container onto a target storage location on the carrier. The target storage position is located on a carrier carried by the automatic carrying equipment.

The automatic carrying equipment carries the carrier to a carrier parking area based on the received carrying instruction; or moving the carrier away from the carrier parking area.

When the taking and placing instruction is an instruction for taking away the container, the automatic carrying equipment carries the carrier to a carrier parking area of the workstation area, so that the position of the carrier corresponds to the position of the container loading and unloading device, and then the container loading and unloading device can take away the container of the target storage position on the carrier.

When the taking and placing instruction is an instruction for placing a container, the carrier places the container on the carrier parking area, and then the automatic carrying device carries away the carrier on the carrier parking area to empty the carrier parking area.

The container handling device controls at least two handling units to carry out handling operation on the containers between the operation station and the same carrier in parallel based on the received handling instruction.

The container handling apparatus is capable of transferring containers between carriers when an operator is positioned. When the taking and placing instruction is an instruction for taking the container away, the container loading and unloading device controls at least two loading and unloading units to transfer the container on the carrier to the operation station; when the taking and placing instruction is an instruction for placing the container, the container loading and unloading device controls the loading and unloading unit to convey the container on the operation station to the carrier.

In the method for picking and placing the containers, the containers are primarily picked and transported by controlling the server, the automatic carrying equipment and the storage system, the efficiency of sorting work is effectively improved, and the labor intensity is reduced.

EXAMPLE seven

As shown in fig. 13, the picking system includes a workstation area, a carrier parking area, and a container handling device disclosed in the third embodiment, and the specific structure and principle of the container handling device are not described in detail in this embodiment.

The carrier parking area is configured for parking carriers, the container handling device is configured for transporting containers between the workstation area and the carriers, an operating station is arranged in the workstation area, and goods in the containers can be sorted on the operating station.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the workstation area may further comprise a conveyor line, which is capable of transporting the containers. The conveying line is used for receiving containers transferred from the container picking and conveying assembly, and workers on the operating stations can pick the containers on the conveying line; or the conveying line is used for conveying the containers on the conveying line to the picking and delivering container assembly, and the containers conveyed to the picking and delivering container assembly are the containers which are completely picked.

The container loading and unloading device can load the container at the target position on the carrier according to the order and then convey the target container to the conveying line of the workstation area, and the staff at the operation station can pick the goods in the container on the conveying line according to the order; after the picking is completed, the containers are conveyed to the container loading and unloading device through the conveying line, and the unloading device can put the containers back to the carriers. The system of selecting realizes selecting and transporting the preliminary of container through container handling device, can realize the transportation of container between carrier and workstation district, has effectively improved the efficiency of letter sorting work, has alleviateed the human labor.

Example eight

The embodiment discloses a container taking method implemented by the picking system disclosed in the third embodiment, as shown in fig. 14, including the following steps:

in step S1000, the container handling apparatus drives the pick-and-place container assembly to move to the target position.

And the service system sends a container fetching instruction to the container loading and unloading device, and the container loading and unloading device drives the container fetching and sending assembly to move to the target position according to the container position information contained in the service instruction after receiving the service instruction. The container position information can be stored in advance, for example, in a coordinate manner in the service system or in the control system of the container handling device, and the container handling device can perform corresponding operations based on the position information.

In combination with the structure of the container handling device in the present disclosure, the container handling device includes an X-axis rail 71 arranged in the horizontal direction and a Y-axis rail 72 arranged in the vertical direction, and after receiving a service command, the container handling device drives the pick-and-place container assembly to move to a target position through the movement in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and corresponds to a target container position included in the service command.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, step S1000 includes:

step S1100, the container handling device drives the container taking and delivering assembly to move to a target position according to coordinates prestored in the system;

each container position on the carrier can be pre-stored in the system in a coordinate (x.y) mode, and after the unloading device receives a corresponding instruction, the unloading device can control the X-axis track 71 and the Y-axis track 72 to move corresponding distances according to coordinate information of a target position contained in the instruction, so that the container taking and delivering assembly is driven to the corresponding coordinate position to reach the target position.

Step S1200, the positioning system obtains the position information of the mark on the carrier, and the container handling device adjusts the position of the pick-and-place container assembly based on the obtained position deviation.

The corresponding position of each container position on the carrier is provided with an identification, when the picking and delivering container assembly moves to the target position of the carrier, the positioning system can identify the identification of the target position of the carrier to obtain the position deviation between the target position and the picking and delivering container assembly, and the container handling device can adjust the position of the picking and delivering container assembly along the directions of the X axis and the Y axis based on the obtained position deviation to improve the position precision of the picking and delivering container assembly.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the container handling apparatus drives the picking and delivering device to move to a position where the carrying surface of the carrying device is lower than the carrying surface of the container on the carrier container position for carrying the container, so that the picking and delivering device is facilitated to drag the container on the carrying device.

In step S2000, the moving assembly 4 is controlled by the driving assembly 5 to move in the first motion track, and drives the pick-and-place assembly 3 to load the container at the carrier target position onto the carrying assembly 2.

The driving component drives the picking and placing component 3 to move along the first motion track through the moving component, so that the picking and placing component extends out along the extending direction of the bearing component 2 in the accommodating space of the bearing component 2, and a container in front is adsorbed by the picking and placing component. The moving component moves reversely to drive the taking and placing component to convey the container to the bearing component 2.

In a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, step S2000 includes:

in step S210, the moving assembly is controlled by the driving assembly to move to a first position in the first motion trajectory, and drives the pick-and-place assembly to extend out and load the container at the target position on the carrier.

When the device is located at the first position, the pick-and-place assembly can be matched with a container at a target position on the carrier so as to load the container. When the pick-and-place assembly 3 moves to the first position, the pick-and-place assembly 2 extends out of the first opening end of the bearing assembly 2, extends to the container on the target position of the carrier, and is matched with the end surface of the container, so that the container is loaded. For example, when the pick-and-place assembly 3 employs a suction cup mechanism, the suction cup mechanism engages the end surface of the container at that location, thereby attracting the container.

In step S220, the moving assembly is controlled by the driving assembly to move toward the second position in the first motion trajectory, and the pick-and-place assembly moves the loaded container toward the accommodating space of the carrying assembly.

When the container is located at the second position, the picking and placing assembly places the container on the bearing assembly. For example, when the pick-and-place assembly is a suction cup mechanism, in the second position, the vacuum source of the suction cup mechanism is turned off to support the container on the carrier assembly.

The second position may be set at a communication position between the first motion trajectory and the second motion trajectory, or may be set at a position adjacent to the first motion trajectory, where the second motion trajectory communicates with the first motion trajectory. When the picking and placing assembly adsorbs the container to move from the first position to the second position, the container moves towards the accommodating space of the bearing assembly, so that the container is completely or partially positioned on the bearing assembly.

Step S2300, when the detection device detects that the container reaches the second position, the pick-and-place assembly releases the container, and the container is supported on the bearing assembly.

When the container moves to the second position, it can be detected by the detection device, and the pick-and-place assembly can unload the container onto the carrying assembly. In embodiments in which the carrier assembly comprises a conveyor belt, the conveyor belt is capable of moving the containers completely into the receiving spaces of the carrier assembly during operation.

In embodiments where the pick-and-place assembly includes a suction cup mechanism, the detection device signals that the container is in position when the container is moved to the second position, thereby disconnecting the vacuum source of the suction cup mechanism which loads the container onto the conveyor belt.

And S3000, the moving assembly 4 is controlled by the driving assembly to move in the second motion track to drive the taking and placing assembly to avoid the accommodating space of the bearing assembly.

The sliding mechanism of the moving assembly 4 drives the picking and placing assembly 3 to move downwards to a second moving track, and drives the picking and placing assembly 3 to move to a position lower than the bearing surface of the bearing assembly 2, so that the accommodating space of the bearing assembly is avoided. At this time, the carrier assembly 2 may transport the container into the receiving space.

In one embodiment, in step S3000, the moving assembly is controlled by the driving assembly to move to the third position in the second moving track, and the pick-and-place assembly moves to a position below the carrying assembly to avoid the accommodating space of the carrying assembly.

The third position is located on the second motion track, the taking and placing assembly moves to the position below the bearing assembly to avoid the accommodating space, so that when the container moves to the accommodating space or passes through the accommodating space along the bearing assembly 2, the container can not interfere with the taking and placing assembly, the space for taking and delivering the container assembly is saved, and the structure is more compact.

And step S4000, driving the container on the bearing assembly 2 to move to the workstation area.

After the containers have been moved onto the carrier assembly 2, the X-axis rails 71 and Y-axis rails 72 of the container handling device drive the pick-and-place container assemblies from the target positions to positions corresponding to the stations, for example, the conveyor lines of the stations. The conveyer belt continues to carry to on transferring the conveyer line of workstation with the container, so that can select the container in order to operate the station in workstation district, container handling device has realized having saved the human cost to the automatic transportation of container, has improved work efficiency.

Example nine

The embodiment discloses a container conveying method implemented by the picking system disclosed in the third embodiment, as shown in fig. 15, including the following steps:

and S1000, conveying the containers in the work station area to a bearing assembly of the container taking and delivering assembly.

The containers which are picked in the workstation area need to be returned to the carrier, when the containers are conveyed to the bearing assembly of the picking and conveying container assembly, the picking and placing assembly is located in the second motion track, namely the picking and placing assembly is located outside the accommodating space of the bearing assembly, and the containers located in the workstation area can be conveyed to the bearing assembly of the picking and conveying container assembly.

For example, the container may be transported on a conveyor line at the workstation area and passed through the second open end of the pick-and-feed container assembly into the receiving space of the carrier assembly, eventually with the container supported on the carrier assembly.

In step S2000, the container handling apparatus drives the pick-and-place container assembly to move to the target position.

The container handling apparatus can drive the pick-and-place container assembly to move to the target position through the X-axis track 71 and the Y-axis track 72. The method of this step is consistent with the above-described manner of movement and will not be described in detail here.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the container handling apparatus drives the picking and delivering container assembly to move to make the bearing surface of the bearing assembly higher than the bearing surface of the carrier container position for bearing the container, so that the picking and delivering assembly is facilitated to push the container on the bearing assembly to the container position of the carrier for storage.

And S3000, after the container on the bearing assembly is driven to move to the preset position, the moving assembly is controlled by the driving assembly to move to the first moving track along the second moving track, so that the container taking and delivering assembly is driven to enter the accommodating space of the bearing assembly.

After reaching the target position, the easy movement on the carrying assembly can be driven to a preset position, which can be the second position. Of course, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that this step may be performed before the pick-and-place container assembly is moved, and is not limited herein.

In embodiments where the carrier assembly is a conveyor belt, the containers may be conveyed by the conveyor belt. When the container moves to the second position, the motion assembly is controlled to move to the first motion track along the second motion track, so that the pick-and-place assembly is driven to enter the accommodating space of the bearing assembly.

And step S4000, the moving assembly is controlled by the driving assembly to move in the first motion track, so that the pick-and-place assembly pushes the container on the bearing assembly to a target position of the carrier for storage.

Under the driving force of the driving assembly, the taking and placing assembly can push the container located at the second position on the bearing assembly along the first motion track, so that the container is pushed towards the first opening end, and is pushed to a target position of the carrier through the first opening end to be stored, and the step of feeding the container on the carrier is completed.

The container loading and unloading device can complete the container taking work and the container conveying work in the picking system, improves the utilization rate and the work efficiency of equipment, lightens the manpower labor, effectively reduces the production cost and has outstanding advantages.

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 (30)

1. A container handling apparatus comprising at least two handling units spaced apart in a horizontal X-axis direction, each said handling unit comprising:

a support assembly extending in a vertical Y-axis direction;

at least one pick-and-place container assembly controlled by a drive assembly to move along the support assembly in a Y-axis direction;

the picking and delivering container assembly comprises a picking and placing assembly and a bearing assembly, wherein the picking and placing assembly is configured to move along the Z-axis direction to pick out a container from a carrier and load the container onto the bearing assembly or unload the container from the bearing assembly and place the container on the carrier; the carrier is provided with at least two rows and at least two columns of container storage units on the plane of the X axis and the Y axis, one container storage unit comprises at least one storage position along the Z axis direction, and one storage position can contain at least one container;

at least two of the loading and unloading units are configured for loading and unloading containers on the same carrier.

2. The container handling apparatus of claim 1 wherein the number of handling units corresponds one-to-one to the number of rows of container storage units on the same carrier, and wherein different handling units correspond to different rows of the same carrier.

3. The container handling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the handling units are configured to move in an X-axis direction, with the same handling unit corresponding to different rows of the same carrier.

4. The container handling apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the supporting component comprises an upright post, a sliding rail is arranged on the upright post, and the taking and delivering container component is matched with the upright post in a sliding manner through the sliding rail.

5. The container handling apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the handling units is independently controlled.

6. The container handling apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a mast assembly, wherein the support assembly is attached at one end to a top of the mast assembly and at another end to a bottom of the mast assembly, or to another support surface.

7. The container handling apparatus of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the pick-and-place container assembly picks and places the container by at least one of suction, pushing, gripping, grabbing, hooking, lifting, and lifting.

8. Container handling device according to any of claims 1 to 6,

the carrier assembly is configured for carrying a container; the bearing component is provided with a containing space for containing a container;

the pick-and-place assembly is configured for picking a container from a first target location and loading onto the carrier assembly, or for unloading a container from the carrier assembly and placing at a second target location;

the moving assembly is configured to drive the picking and placing assembly to move in a first moving track and a second moving track;

in the first motion track, the motion assembly is configured to drive the taking and placing assembly to move in the accommodating space of the bearing assembly so as to load and unload the container;

in the second motion track, the motion assembly is configured to drive the pick-and-place assembly to leave the accommodating space of the bearing assembly, so that the container enters the accommodating space and is borne on the bearing assembly.

9. The container handling apparatus of claim 8, wherein the motion assembly comprises a guide mechanism and a slide mechanism, the guide mechanism comprising a first guide portion and a second guide portion in communication; the sliding mechanism is configured to move along a first guide part and a second guide part;

the first guide part and the second guide part respectively limit the first motion track and the second motion track of the sliding mechanism.

10. The container handling apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the first guide portion is configured to extend straight in a horizontal direction, and the second guide portion is located in a different direction from the first guide portion;

the sliding mechanism is configured to move the taking and placing assembly along a linear direction in the accommodating space of the bearing assembly during the process of moving along the first guide part;

the sliding mechanism is configured to move along the first guide part to the second guide part, and then the taking and placing assembly moves away from the accommodating space of the bearing assembly gradually.

11. The container handling apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the second guide is configured to be positioned below the first guide; after the moving assembly is moved to the position along the second guide part, the taking and placing assembly is moved to the lower part of the bearing assembly so as to avoid the accommodating space of the bearing assembly.

12. The container handling apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first and second guides are in the same plane; the slide mechanism includes:

the fixing part is controlled by a driving assembly to linearly move along a direction parallel to the plane of the first guide part and the plane of the second guide part;

a sliding part which is in sliding fit with the fixing part; the sliding part is matched in the first guide part and the second guide part in a guiding way;

the taking and placing assembly is arranged on the sliding part.

13. The container handling apparatus of claim 8, wherein the pick-and-place assembly includes a suction cup mechanism configured to engage an end surface of the container.

14. The container handling apparatus of claim 8, wherein the pick-and-feed container assembly includes a first open end, a second open end; the carrier assembly is a conveyor belt configured to drive the container to move to either the first open end or the second open end of the pick-and-feed container assembly.

15. The container handling apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a stop mechanism configured to stop both sides of a container on the carrier assembly.

16. The container handling apparatus of claim 15, wherein the stop mechanism comprises a first stop portion and a second stop portion spaced apart from each other; the first limiting part and the second limiting part are constructed to move towards or away from each other along the X-axis direction relative to the bearing assembly so as to adjust the distance between the first limiting part and the second limiting part.

17. The container handling device of claim 16, comprising a first base, wherein the first and second stops are slidably engaged with the first base, and further comprising a drive mechanism for driving the first and second stops to move on the first base in the X-axis direction.

18. The container handling apparatus of claim 17, wherein the transmission mechanism comprises a belt controlled by a pulley and extending in the X-axis direction, and the first and second position-limiting portions are connected to two spaced sides of the belt, respectively.

19. The container handling device of any of claims 15 to 18, wherein a stop mechanism is provided at a location above the carrier assembly and is configured to stop an upper region of the container.

20. The container handling apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a rotation mechanism configured to drive the pick-and-place assembly, the carrier assembly, and the pick-and-place assembly to rotate about the Y-axis.

21. The container handling apparatus of claim 20, wherein the rotation mechanism includes a second base and a rotatable support pivotally coupled to the second base, the carrier assembly, the pick-and-place assembly being coupled to the rotatable support.

22. The container handling apparatus of claim 1, including a first sensor for determining whether a container is present in a vehicle storage location when the pick-and-place container assembly is removing a container from a vehicle and/or whether a vehicle storage location is empty when placing a container to a vehicle storage location.

23. The container handling apparatus of claim 22, comprising a second sensor for determining a pose offset between the pick-and-place container assembly and a container on the carrier.

24. The container handling apparatus of claim 23, wherein the container handling apparatus is further configured to adjust the attitude of the container handling apparatus to eliminate the attitude deviation based on the attitude deviation between the container handling apparatus and the corresponding container determined by the second sensor.

25. The container handling apparatus of claim 23, wherein the first sensor and the second sensor are the same sensor.

26. The container handling device of claim 23, wherein the first sensor and the second sensor are visual sensors, depth information sensors, or 3D sensors.

27. A warehousing system, comprising: a workstation area within which are disposed an operating station, a vehicle docking area, and a container handling device according to any of claims 1 to 26;

the vehicle parking area is configured for parking a vehicle;

the container handling device is located between the operating station and the carrier docking area and is configured for transferring containers between the operating station and carriers located in the carrier docking area.

28. The warehousing system of claim 27, wherein at least two docking stations for docking vehicles are provided within the vehicle docking area.

29. The warehousing system of claim 28, characterized in that said container handling devices are provided with at least two, one for one, respective different vehicles located at different docking stations.

30. The warehousing system of claim 27, wherein said workstation area further includes a conveyor line including a conveyor line inlet and a conveyor line outlet, an operating station being located on a conveying path of said conveyor line; the conveying line inlet and the conveying line outlet are respectively provided with the container loading and unloading device;

a container handling apparatus at the entrance of the conveyor line for removing containers from the carriers at the carrier parking area and placing them on the conveyor line;

and the container handling device is positioned at the outlet of the conveying line and used for taking out containers from the conveying line and placing the containers on the carriers positioned in the carrier parking area.

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