CN216836069U - Conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

A conveyor for conveying articles, comprising: a first transport platform comprising a first lift operable to move up and down; a second transport platform comprising a second lift operable to move up and down, the second lift configured to receive at least one item and operable to move the item up and down; and a robot arm provided on the first lift table and configured to carry the object; wherein the robotic arm has a gripping device arranged to move between a gripping position on the second lift and at least one predetermined mounting position for the item, the gripping device being configured to grip the item received on the second lift in the gripping position and release the item in the at least one predetermined mounting position.

Description

Conveying device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a conveyor, and more particularly, to a conveyor having a mechanical arm.

Background

The laying of large indoor walls is mostly performed using standard large plasterboards. The gypsum board has stable structure, convenient cleaning and maintenance, low consumed human resources and high water and fire resistance, and is commonly used for large indoor walls of buildings. In order to realize the standardized rapid construction of building walls, standardized large gypsum boards are used in the building industry for the rapid construction of building indoor walls.

At present, the carrying and installation of the gypsum boards are completed by manpower in a large quantity, however, the standard gypsum boards used at present are large in size, large in surface area and high in weight, and human resources consumed for carrying and installing the gypsum boards once are high, so that the carrying and installing efficiency of the gypsum boards at present is low, the gypsum boards are subjected to high-load operation for a long time, hidden dangers to human health are large, and even real-time obvious influences are caused to the health. In addition, when carrying out the gypsum board at the high altitude and installing, take place the gypsum board easily and fall, cause the incident such as staff's injury, cause serious loss of property, cause urgent shutdown, bring serious economic loss.

When the building industry uses gypsum boards to construct or lay large walls, it is usually necessary to build a scaffold or a trellis system in advance, and then work on the scaffold (or the trellis) built around the wall. However, the scaffold needs a long time for building, has high economic cost and low safety, the space available for activities of the scaffold is narrow, the activity space of workers on the built scaffold is limited, and it is difficult to install and use related equipment for auxiliary production on the scaffold so as to improve the working efficiency.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention provide a variety of new transport devices to overcome the above technical problems.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a transport device for transporting articles, having a first transport platform comprising a first lift operable to move up and down; a second transport platform comprising a second lift operable to move up and down, the second lift configured to receive at least one item and operable to move the item up and down; and a robot arm provided on the first lift table and configured to carry the object; wherein the robotic arm has a gripping device arranged to move between a gripping position on the second lift and at least one predetermined mounting position for the item, the gripping device being configured to grip the item received on the second lift in the gripping position and release the item in the at least one predetermined mounting position.

Preferably, the transport device further has a rotation structure configured to rotationally move the robot arm to move the gripping device and the object gripped thereby between the gripping position and the predetermined mounting position.

Preferably, the holding device further has a vacuum chuck configured to hold the object by suction.

Preferably, the holding device further comprises a protection mechanism comprising a pair of supports movable towards each other to secure and/or hold the object held by the vacuum chuck. Advantageously, the protection means can prevent the accidental fall of the article being held.

Preferably, the robot arm is further provided with an adjusting device at an end remote from the first transport platform, configured to adjust an angle of the gripping device and the object held thereby.

Preferably, the robot arm further has a power assisting device configured to assist the robot arm in rotating.

Preferably, the power assisting means and the adjusting means are pneumatic, pilot operated, or electric.

Preferably, the first transport platform and/or the second transport platform are configured to operate in a suspended manner for movement.

Preferably, the first transport platform and the second transport platform are configured to move on the ground to transport the item.

Preferably, the first transport platform and the second transport platform may be connected using at least one of: fixed connection, wired connection and wireless connection. Alternatively, the first transport platform and the second transport platform may be unconnected.

Preferably, the transport device further has a safety detection device including a sensor configured to sense inclination of the first and second lift tables, the safety detection device being configured to stop operation of the transport device when the sensor senses that the inclination of the first or second lift table exceeds a threshold.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a transport device for transporting articles, having a transport platform comprising an elevator table operable to move up and down, the elevator table being configured to receive at least one article and being operable to move the article up and down; and a robot arm provided on the lift table and configured to carry the object, wherein the robot arm is moved up and down while the lift table moves the object up and down; wherein the robotic arm has a gripping device arranged to move between a gripping position on the lift table and at least one predetermined mounting position for the item, the gripping device being configured to grip the item received on the lift table in the gripping position and release the item in the at least one predetermined mounting position.

Preferably, the transport device further has a rotation structure configured to rotationally move the robot arm to move the gripping device and the object gripped thereby between the gripping position and the predetermined mounting position.

Preferably, the carrying device further has a sliding structure configured to slide the robot arm back and forth with respect to the elevating table.

Preferably, the holding device further has a vacuum chuck configured to hold the object by suction.

Preferably, the holding device further comprises a protection mechanism comprising a pair of supports movable towards each other to secure and/or hold the object held by the vacuum chuck. Advantageously, the protection means can prevent the accidental fall of the article being held.

Preferably, the robot arm is further provided with a first power assisting device at an end away from the transportation platform, and the first power assisting device is configured to adjust the angle of the clamping device and the object held by the clamping device.

Preferably, the mechanical arm is further provided with a second power assisting device which is arranged to assist the mechanical arm in rotating.

Preferably, the first and second power assist devices are pneumatic, pilot operated, or electric.

Preferably, the transport platform is configurable to operate in a suspended manner for movement.

Preferably, the transport platform is configured to move on the ground to transport the item.

Preferably, the transport device further has a safety detection device including a sensor configured to sense an inclination of the lift table, the safety detection device being configured to stop an operation of the transport device when the sensor senses that the inclination of the lift table exceeds a threshold value.

Preferably, the article comprises gypsum board or building board.

The transport device of the present invention thus provides a number of advantages. One of them advantage lies in the utility model discloses can be used to the indoor high wall construction's of building industry novel movable gypsum board or other building boards's laying system, get rid of the use of scaffold frame. The utility model discloses a need not build scaffold frame or rack in advance, fix a position fast in three-dimensional space with the help of portable lift platform to rely on the transport of pneumatic or hydraulic pressure type helping hand arm supplementary gypsum board, lay, realize quick laborsaving laying and the accurate installation that carries out large-scale gypsum board wall in narrow and small region or space. Through the utility model discloses a technique has reduced the reliance of carrying out the gypsum board to manpower and has laid, reduces manpower resources and occupies, has consequently improved holistic building efficiency of construction and security.

Drawings

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings; the same components are numbered the same throughout the several views.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic structural view of a transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart of the operation of the transport apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

fig. 3 shows a schematic structural view of a conveyor according to another embodiment of the invention; and

fig. 4 shows a flow chart of the operation of the conveyor shown in fig. 3.

Detailed Description

At present, no safe and reliable alternative scheme exists. Similar solutions exist, mainly using suspended platforms on which workers operate instead of scaffolding. However, due to the limitations of the suspended platform itself, such as poor stability of the suspended platform, easy sway, limited carrying capacity of the suspended platform, narrow movement space, generally allowing only people to walk on it, no mechanical assistance device or installation device can be used on the suspended platform to assist workers in laying plasterboards.

Therefore, the method only saves the time for building the scaffold and fails to solve the problem that the gypsum board is only laid by manpower. In order to improve the building efficiency of the wall, unnecessary work such as building a scaffold and the like is reduced, the overall laying efficiency is improved by means of the assistance of mechanical equipment, and the consumption of human resources is reduced.

If mechanical power-assisted equipment such as a mechanical arm is used for assisting the carrying or other auxiliary operations of gypsum boards, in order to ensure the safety and stability, the power-assisted equipment is generally fixedly arranged on a scaffold or a fixed suspension platform, and the mechanical arm is manually operated to pick up and transfer building materials such as gypsum boards. Because the power-assisted equipment is fixed on the scaffold, the action space is limited, and the flexible movement of the equipment is difficult to realize, so that the covered area is small, the application range is limited, the whole large gypsum board wall can not be covered, and the played auxiliary function is limited. When using, need match extra equipment, manpower resources auxiliary assembly's installation adjustment, and manpower cooperation auxiliary assembly, place building materials such as gypsum board near auxiliary assembly, it is inefficient.

The utility model discloses an embodiment combines together portable lift platform and helping hand arm. Various other benefits and advantages provided by various embodiments of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.

The utility model discloses an in the embodiment, combine together two portable lift platforms and helping hand arm, install the arm on one of them removes lift platform, another removes lift platform and cooperates with it, and the required gypsum board that uses of bearing to carry the gypsum board through the lift of self when the gypsum board is not enough. The utility model discloses well two lift platforms cooperate with helping hand arm, constitute neotype gypsum board transport installing the system, realize the supplementary installation of gypsum board, realized carrying out the semi-automatization construction of indoor large-scale wall in narrow space from this, reduce manpower resources and occupy, improve the building efficiency. The system of this design stable in structure, the motion is nimble, and the security is high.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the movable lifting platform is combined with a pneumatic or hydraulic power-assisted mechanical arm to realize flexible and rapid construction of a general large wall. With the help of the characteristics of high bearing capacity and high stability of the lifting platform, the power-assisted mechanical arm is arranged on the movable lifting platform, the target position is quickly reached with the help of the movable lifting platform, and the gypsum board is carried and installed in an auxiliary mode through the power-assisted mechanical arm arranged on the lifting platform, so that the consumption of human resources is reduced, and the laying efficiency of the gypsum board is improved.

Referring to fig. 1, the present invention provides a transport apparatus 100 for transporting articles, having a first transport platform 101, a second transport platform 114, and a robotic arm 120. In this embodiment, the robot arm 120 is disposed on the first elevation table 101A on the first transport platform 101, and the robot arm 120 can be moved up and down or elevated by moving the first elevation table up and down, and thus the operating height range of the robot arm 120 is changed, and the articles are carried in this range.

As shown in fig. 1, the second transport platform 114 also has a lift 114A. The lift table 114A may be operated as a second lift table that moves up and down, except that the second lift table 114A is configured to hold at least one item 10, such as a stack of plasterboard or building boards, and may be operated to move the item on the second lift table 114A up and down to fit the operating height or range of the robotic arm 120.

The robot arm 120 further has a gripping device at an end remote from the first transport platform 101, which is arranged to move between a gripping position (such as the position of the article 10 shown in fig. 1) on said second lifting table 114A and at least one predetermined mounting position of the article 10. For example, in a gypsum board installation process, the holding device may hold the article 10 received on the second elevating table 114A at this holding position, and then release the article 10 at a different predetermined installation position (not shown) to complete the installation of the gypsum board.

In another example of operation, the transporter 100 provides a structure in which two mobile lift platforms 101,114 are paired for use in conjunction with a robotic arm 120. The first movable lifting platform 101 is provided with a power-assisted mechanical arm 120. The main motion systems of the transportation device 100 are a movable lifting platform 101 and a power-assisted mechanical arm 120 fixed on the lifting platform 101. The two mobile lifting platforms 101,114 are responsible for movement in three dimensions, the support of the robotic arms 120, and the transport of the gypsum boards 10, and the robotic arms 120 are responsible for the handling, installation, and placement of the gypsum boards 10. The mechanical arm 120 can move freely in a three-dimensional space by utilizing the characteristics that the movable elevator platform 101 can move freely and the height can be actively adjusted.

The assisting mechanical arm 120 is fixed on the lifting platform 101. For example, the column 122 of the robot arm 120 is fixedly connected to the first movable lifting platform 101 through the fixed portion 102. The robot 120 is actuated by a compressed air or hydraulic circuit having a robot gas circuit control box 104 controlling compressed air through the input/output port 103. The movement of the robot arm 120 is manipulated by a worker, and the robot arm 120 moves following the worker and responds to the movement of the robot arm 120 by pneumatic or hydraulic assistance or the like mounted on the robot arm 120, reducing consumption in manipulating the robot arm 120.

Preferably, the robot arm 120 has a plurality of robot arm rotating structures and a plurality of link portions for rotating the robot arm 120 between the gripping position and the predetermined mounting position. The robot 120 has a first robot arm rotation structure 105, a second robot arm rotation structure 108, and a third robot arm rotation structure 109. The upright 122 of the robot arm 120 and the four-bar linkage 107 may be connected by the first robot arm rotating structure 105. The four-bar linkage 107 and the robot arm link 124 may be connected by the second robot arm rotating structure 108. The arm link 124 and the arm link 126 may be connected by a third arm rotation structure 109. The robot arm 120 further has a hydraulic assist cylinder 106, both ends of which are connected to the column 122 and the four-bar linkage 107, respectively, thereby assisting the rotation of the robot arm link 124 and the robot arm link 126.

In this specification, a robot arm rotation structure or rotation structure is to be understood as a structure that can be controlled electronically or manually, or rotated "actively controlled" in any suitable manner, including but not limited to mechanical structures that utilize a motor or stepper motor to control rotation. Where components 107/124 and 107 '/124' respectively show different positions/states of these components when operating the robot arm.

As shown in fig. 1, this figure illustrates schematically the manner in which the various robotic arms and hydraulic cylinders change during operation. Wherein the parts that are manipulated to move are shown in phantom, and how the arm links effect rotational movement through a rotatable arm rotation structure.

When one end of a rod 106R connecting the hydraulic cylinder 106 and the four-bar linkage 107 is pushed forward by the pressing of the hydraulic cylinder 106, the other end of the rod 106R drives the four-bar linkage 107 to move downward. The robot arm links 124 and 126 can thus move up and down due to the up and down movement of the four-bar linkage 107. On the other hand, the presence of the arm rotation structures 105, 108 and 109 enables the upright 122 and the arm links 124 and 126, respectively, to rotate about the rotation structures. Thus, the robot arm links 124 and 126 can move in three dimensions.

The arm link 126 at the end of the power-assisted arm 120 is fitted with a gripper/gripping device for gripping the gypsum board 10. The worker may hold the robot arm 120 adjacent the other end of the post 122 and direct the robot arm 120 to move. The robot arm 120 responds to the movement of the other end thereof, and the movement of the robot arm 120 is compensated by means of assistance such as a pneumatic system 106 mounted on the robot arm 120, thereby reducing the manpower consumption.

Preferably, the gripping device on the robot arm link 126 has a vacuum cup mounting plate 111 for mounting the vacuum cup 116. The vacuum cups 116 hold the gypsum board 10 by drawing a vacuum tightly against the surface of the handled gypsum board 10. The motion of the robotic arm 120 may be manually manipulated to pick up and handle the gypsum board 10 from the other lifting platform 114 while the vacuum chuck 116 is in close proximity to the surface of the gypsum board 10.

The holding device of the robot arm 120 also has a gypsum board back guard mechanism 112. The protective device 112 can be opened during handling to hold the gypsum board 10 from beneath the gypsum board 10 to prevent the gypsum board 10 from falling off due to accidental failure of the vacuum chuck 116. When the gypsum board 10 reaches the target location, the safety guard 112 may be manually released and the robotic arm 120 manually guided to position the gypsum board 10 at the target location. For example, the gypsum board retainer guard mechanism 112 has a pair of support members. After the gypsum board 10 is held by the vacuum chuck 116, the pair of support members can be moved toward each other to form a surface to hold the gypsum board 10. Optionally, the mechanical arm linkage 126 also has a plasterboard turning hydraulic cylinder 110 for fine adjustment of the angle of the mechanical arm linkage 126 and the angle of inclination of the plasterboard 10.

With a similar working mechanism, driven by a hydraulic cylinder 110 connected to the robot arm link 126 through a rod 110R, the robot arm link 126 can be rotated in a plane perpendicular to the operating plate of the lifting platform 101 by the pushing of the hydraulic cylinder 110, which enables the mounting plate 111 to operate in a surface angled to the operating plate of the lifting platform 101.

The hydraulic cylinder 106 enables the arm links 124 and 126 to move up and down to some extent by operating the hydraulic cylinders, the arm links, and the arm rotating structure described above; rotation about the rotational structure allows the robot arm links 124 and 126 to move side-to-side and back-and-forth to some extent; and the hydraulic cylinder 110 drives the robot arm link 126 and thus moves the mounting plate 111 to a position at an angle to the operating plate of the lift platform 101. Thus, the robot arm link 126 may move in three dimensions, and the mounting plate 111 may reach a range of widths of the working surface that are at an angle to the operating plate of the lift platform 101.

It will be appreciated that the clamping device may vary in design as recognized by those skilled in the art, including the use of a more powerful vacuum chuck to ensure that the gypsum board 10 is securely gripped without the addition of a protective mechanism 112 or other mechanical gripper, or the clamping device may have other alternative mechanical means such as a clamp of the protective mechanism 112 or other mechanical gripper without a vacuum chuck to accommodate different sizes of gypsum boards or other building boards.

The second movable lifting platform 114 is used for storing and stacking a plurality of plasterboards 10 to be carried, and is mainly responsible for supporting and transferring the plasterboards 10. The platform 114 is free to be raised and lowered to transport the plasterboard 10 from the ground to the current height for pick up by the robotic arm 120. When the supported plasterboard 10 is used up, the platform 114 can be freely raised and lowered, again to transport the plasterboard 10 from the ground to the current position. The platform 114 carries the plasterboard 10 to be handled for installation, and when the plasterboard 10 is insufficient, the lifting platform 114 is free to be lifted to effect transport of the plasterboard 10 from the ground to a target height.

Preferably, the first and second mobile lift platforms 101,114 may each be disposed in a movable base. In addition, the transport device 100 has a mobile lift platform connecting device 115, which can be used to connect the bottom of the two mobile lift platforms 101,114 fixedly or flexibly (with a rope) or without a connection, so that the two platforms 101,114 move in the same path on a plane and the two lift platforms 101,114 can be lifted and lowered freely. Alternatively, the mobile lift platform attachment 115 may be released from one of the two mobile lift platforms 101,114, leaving the two mobile lift platforms 101,114 free to move independently. Alternatively, the two mobile platforms 101,114 may be connected wirelessly, and send commands from one to the other via wireless signals. For example, when the movable lifting platform 101 moves to one direction, the other movable lifting platform 114 can move along the same path, or the operator can adjust the clamping position of the object 10 by operating the movable lifting platform 101 to control the lifting of the movable lifting platform 114.

Preferably, both platform 101,114 and robotic arm 120 are fitted with an alarm emergency stop button (not shown). When a sensor on the platform 101,114 detects that the lifting platform 101,114 tilts to a certain angle, a safety button alarms, and when the platform 101,114 tilts further, a scram device is triggered to stop the actions of the whole platforms 101 and 114 and the mechanical arm 120, so that the safety is ensured. The person handling the robot 120 on the platform 101,114 also holds a safety button that ensures that when the safety button is activated, the entire system stops and returns to the original safety position.

Referring to fig. 2, an exemplary operation of the conveyance device 100. In actual construction, first, the gypsum board 10 to be mounted is carried to the lifting platform 114 by a forklift or the like (step 201), and a worker operates the platform 101,114 to be lifted to a predetermined position on the lifting platform 101 (step 202). The robot arm 120 is manually guided to the designated gypsum board 10 position (step 203) and when the vacuum pads 116 on the robot arm 120 contact the gypsum board 10, the vacuum button is activated to bring the vacuum pads 116 into close contact with the gypsum board 10 (step 204). The worker lifts the gypsum board 10 and triggers the safety guard 112 to hold the gypsum board 10 from the bottom (step 205). The worker carries the gypsum board 10 to a target position with the aid of the robot arm 120 and adjusts the posture of the gypsum board 10 to a reasonable posture with the aid of the robot arm 110, releases the safety guard 112 and places the gypsum board 10 at the target position. Additionally, the robotic arm 120 may be released and fine-tuned to the installed gypsum board 10 to ensure that the installation requirements are met (step 206). Steps 203-206 may assist the movement of the robotic arm by a pneumatic system (step 211).

Depending on the number of plasterboards 10, the conveyor 100 will perform different operations (step 207). If the number of gypsum boards 10 is sufficient, the worker again performs the laying work of the gypsum boards 10 (repeats steps 203 to 206). If the gypsum board 10 is insufficient during the work, the lifting table 114 is manually controlled to be lowered to the ground (step 208), and after the gypsum board 10 is filled (step 209), the lifting table 114 is controlled to be raised again to a specified position (step 210) and the laying work of the gypsum board 10 is performed again (steps 203 to 206). In the whole process, the state of the safety protection button is monitored by the mechanical arm 120 and the lifting platform 101,114 in real time, and after the safety protection button gives a warning, the actions of the lifting platform 101,114 and the mechanical arm 120 are automatically stopped, and the safety position is returned, so that the safety is ensured.

Referring to fig. 3, the present disclosure provides another embodiment of a transport device. In this example, the transporter 300 has a transport platform 310 comprising an elevator table 310A operable to move up and down, the elevator table 310A being configured to receive at least one item 10 and being operable to move the item 10 up and down; and a robot arm 320 provided on the lift table 310A and configured to carry the object 10, wherein the robot arm 320 is moved up and down while the lift table 310A moves the object 10 up and down; wherein the robot arm 320 has a gripping device arranged to move between a gripping position on the lifting table 310A and at least one predetermined mounting position of the object 10, the gripping device being configured to grip the object 10 accommodated on the lifting table 310A in the gripping position and to release the object 10 in the at least one predetermined mounting position, for example for mounting the object 10.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the transporter 300 provides a structure in which the mobile platform 310 is combined with a robot arm 320. A truss structure 301 is disposed on the platform 310 for carrying a mobile power-assisted robot 320 that is freely movable relative to the truss structure 301. Meanwhile, the lifting platform 310 is used for storing and stacking a plurality of plasterboards 10 to be carried. The truss structure 301 has a pair of rails 303, and the power-assisted arm post 302 of the arm 320 is slidably mounted on the rails 303 back and forth, thereby being slid back and forth relative to the truss structure 301 (as indicated by the arrow above the arm 320) to adjust the position. When laying the gypsum board 10, the movable lifting platform 310 can be used as it is to reach the target position without building a scaffold in advance, and the gypsum board 10 can be laid. For example, the plasterboard 10 is laid at a specified position by the movement, the lifting, and the assistance of the assisting mechanical arm 320 of the movable lifting platform 310 on the ground.

Since the robotic arm 320 is located on the same lifting table 320A as the plasterboard 10, the plasterboard 10 on the stack may be consumed by continued installation and therefore the gripping position may be lower and lower. Preferably, the robotic arm 320 may be configured to adjust the gripping position as the gypsum board 10 is consumed. Or the position of the lifting table 320A where the gypsum board 10 is placed may be added with an additional auxiliary lifting table (not shown) to adjust the holding position of the gypsum board 10.

The power assisted robotic arm 320 is mounted adjacent the end of the truss structure 301 with a control panel by which a worker can control the motion of the various components of the robotic arm 320 and direct the motion of the robotic arm 320. During operation, the gypsum board 10 to be laid is placed on the lifting platform 310, the power-assisted mechanical arm 320 responds to the instruction of an operator, the motion of the mechanical arm 320 is compensated in a pneumatic power-assisted or hydraulic power-assisted mode, and the labor consumption of the operator is reduced. When the gypsum board 10 is exhausted, a new gypsum board 10 is replenished by lowering the lifting platform 310 to the ground.

The robot arm 320 has a plurality of robot arm rotating structures for moving the plurality of pivotable portions of the robot arm 320 between the retracted position and the extended position. The robot arm 320 has a first rotation structure 313 and a second rotation structure 307. The arm column 302 and the first assister arm (four-bar linkage) 311 may be connected by a first rotation structure 313. The four-bar linkage 311 and the second assister robot arm 308 may be connected by a connection structure 314. The second assister robot arm 308 and the third assister robot arm 322 may be connected through the second rotation structure 307.

Preferably, the robotic arm 320 is a pneumatically assisted robotic arm, actuated by compressed air. The robot arm 320 also has a plurality of pneumatic cylinders to assist the robot arm 320. The two ends of the first pneumatic cylinder 312 are connected to the arm column 302, and the first assister arm 311 and the rod 312R assist the movement of the first assister arm 311. The second pneumatic cylinder 304 has two ends respectively connected to the power-assisted robot arm 322 and the robot arm end 324, thereby assisting the rotation of the robot arm end 324.

The end 324 of the arm also has a gripping device for holding the plasterboard 10. Specifically, the gripping device at the end 324 of the robotic arm has a vacuum chuck mounting plate for holding the gypsum board 10 by vacuum suction. The clamping device also has a safety guard having a pair of supports. After the gypsum board 10 is held by the vacuum chuck, the pair of support members can be moved toward each other to form a surface to hold the gypsum board 10.

Preferably, the lift table platform 310 may be disposed in a movable base. The platform 310 also has a platform fence 309 to prevent personnel from falling from the air.

Preferably, the movable lifting platform 310 and the power-assisted mechanical arm 320 are both equipped with safety detection devices, when the inclination angle of the lifting platform 310 reaches a threshold angle, the sensor sends out a warning signal, if the lifting platform 310 is further inclined, an emergency stop signal is triggered, the action of the power-assisted mechanical arm 320 is stopped and the safety position is recovered, and meanwhile, the height of the lifting platform 310 is reduced and the safety state is recovered.

Fig. 3 likewise shows an exemplary manner of variation of the individual robot arms and hydraulic cylinders during operation. Wherein the parts that are manipulated to move are shown in phantom, and how the arm links effect rotational movement through a rotatable arm rotation structure. Where components 308/311 and 308 '/311' respectively represent different positions/states of these components when operating the robot arm.

Unlike the embodiment of fig. 1, the embodiment of fig. 3 implements a single lifting platform to complete the operations of lifting the gypsum board stack and moving and mounting the gypsum boards placed on the lifting platform using a robot arm on the lifting platform, wherein the power-assisted robot arm 322 can rotate around the rotating structure 307; on the other hand, the auxiliary robot arm end 324 connected to the power robot arm 322 may be further driven by the pneumatic cylinder 304 to form an angle with the auxiliary robot arm end 324. Thus, the auxiliary robot arm 324 may operate in conjunction with translation and rotation to grip the gypsum board placed on the same lift platform 310A and then mount the gypsum board in a vertical plane.

Referring to fig. 4, the detailed operation of the transporter 300 is as follows. When laying the gypsum board 10, the movable lifting platform 310 is first started to reach a designated position (step 401), and the movable lifting platform 310 is manipulated to reach a designated height (step 402). In actual construction, first, the gypsum board 10 to be laid is transported to the lifting platform 310 by using a forklift or other equipment. The lift platform 310 is manipulated to move to the target position and the lift platform 310 is raised to the target height. After the elevating platform 310 is stabilized, the position of the power-assisted robot arm 320 is adjusted by the guide rail 303 installed on the truss 301, the power-assisted robot arm 320 is moved to a proper position on the elevating platform 310, and the robot arm 320 is fixed on the guide rail 303. Then, the assist robot arm 320 is locked to the guide rail 303, and the preparation work before the gypsum board 10 is laid is completed (step 403).

After the preparation work is completed, the control terminal of the power-assisted robot arm 320 is operated to move the robot arm 320 to a specified position following the operator (step 404). The movement of the robotic arm 320 may be responded to by a pneumatic or hydraulic assist system 312,304 of the robotic arm 320 as the robotic arm 320 is moved, reducing the human consumption in operating the robotic arm 320. When the robot 320 is operated to reach the designated position, the posture of the end of the robot 320 is adjusted, and the vacuum chuck mounted on the end of the robot 320 is controlled to suck or release the carried object 10.

When the gypsum board 10 is conveyed specifically, the mechanical arm 320 is first adjusted to reach a designated position, the vacuum chuck is operated to tightly suck up the conveyed gypsum board 10 (step 405), and after the gypsum board 10 is sucked up by the vacuum chuck, the safety protection device is turned on to prevent the vacuum chuck from being accidentally disabled (step 406). When laying the gypsum board 10, the assist mechanical arm 320 is guided to the position of the gypsum board 10 by the control panel, the vacuum suction cup on the control mechanical arm 320 sucks the gypsum board 10 and lifts up the gypsum board 10, and after the suction is completed, the safety protection device is opened to prevent the gypsum board from falling off.

The assist robot arm 320 is moved to a predetermined position according to a target position where the gypsum board 10 is to be laid (step 407), and the gypsum board 10 is laid by adjusting the posture of the sucked gypsum board 10 (step 408). The gypsum board 10 is set in its posture by manipulating the panel and guiding the robot arm 320 to a designated position ready for laying the gypsum board 10. When laying the gypsum board 10, the safety protection device is first released and the gypsum board 10 is placed at the target location by the robot arm 320. After the gypsum board 10 is placed, the position of the gypsum board 10 is finely adjusted through the control panel on the power-assisted mechanical arm 320, and the installation requirement is guaranteed to be met.

After the laying is complete, the vacuum cups are released (step 409) to release the gypsum board 10, and the robotic arm 320 is adjusted to again direct the vacuum cups to the target position (step 410) in preparation for the next pick-up and laying action of the gypsum board 10 (steps 403 through 409). After the gypsum board 10 handling system finishes the laying operation of the current area, the lifting platform 310 is lifted or moved to reach the next area to be laid to prepare for the laying operation of the gypsum board 10 (steps 401 to 409 are repeated).

When the tail end of the mechanical arm 320 can not cover the target position for laying gypsum boards, the position of the power-assisted mechanical arm 320 can be adjusted by moving the power-assisted mechanical arm 320 or moving the lifting platform 310 through the guide rail 303, so that the coverage range of the mechanical arm 320 can be adjusted. If the target location is far from the location that the robotic arm 320 can cover, it is necessary to first retrieve the robotic arm 320 and lower the lift platform 310 to the lowest, move the lift platform 310 to a reasonable position, and then raise the lift platform 310 for gypsum board 10 placement.

In addition, when the number of gypsum boards 10 is insufficient, the robot arm 320 is guided to a safe position, and the lifting platform 310 is lowered to the lowest, and the gypsum boards 10 are replenished by a forklift or another lifting platform is used to replenish the gypsum boards 10 in the air. During the whole paving process, the safety protection devices of the mechanical arm 320 and the lifting platform 310 detect signals of the safety protection devices in real time. When the safety protection device gives a warning or an emergency stop signal, the actions of the lifting platform 310 and the mechanical arm 320 are automatically stopped, and the safety position is returned.

Preferably, one or more movable lifting platforms are combined with the mechanical arm, so that the complexity of matching with a scaffold or a shed frame in the existing building industry is reduced; use the arm to carry out the helping hand operation, entire system simple structure, it is stable nimble, the security is strong, production efficiency is high.

Alternatively, the transport apparatus 100,300 may use an overhead platform instead of the mobile platform 101/114 or the lift table 310, on which the robot arms 120,320 are mounted. The gypsum board 10 is transported directly to the accessible area at the end of the robotic arm 120,320 using a stationary hoist, and after the robotic arm 120,320 picks up the gypsum board 10, the robotic arm 120,320 is held stationary and the robotic arm 120,320 and gypsum board 10 are mounted by moving the suspended platform to a target location.

Alternatively, the booster 106,304,312 of the present invention can be replaced in a pneumatic booster, a hydraulic control booster or an electric booster. In addition, the pneumatic valve used in the air path of the pneumatic power assisting device can be replaced by an electric control pneumatic valve so as to improve the automation degree of the system.

Advantageously, the utility model discloses use portable lift platform and portable helping hand arm to combine together, when laying the gypsum board, need not build the scaffold frame in advance, realized laying the convenience of gypsum board fast. Suspend the platform in midair for the use, this utility model stability is high, can install mechanical helping hand equipment on the platform. The utility model discloses use the transport installation of the supplementary gypsum board of pneumatic or hydraulic power system, use manpower sparingly for laying efficiency of gypsum board has improved the security that the gypsum board was laid. This design simple structure, the security is high, need not to prepare auxiliary device in advance, has realized building fast of gypsum board wall among the building industry.

Thus, having described several embodiments, it will be recognized by those of skill in the art that various modifications, additional structures, and equivalents may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the above description should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined by the claims of the present application.

Claims (23)

1. A conveyor for conveying articles, the conveyor having:

a first transport platform comprising a first lift operable to move up and down;

a second transport platform comprising a second lift operable to move up and down, the second lift configured to receive at least one item and operable to move the item up and down; and

a robot arm disposed on the first lift table and configured to carry the object;

wherein the robotic arm has a gripping device arranged to move between a gripping position on the second lift and at least one predetermined mounting position for the item, the gripping device being configured to grip the item received on the second lift in the gripping position and release the item in the at least one predetermined mounting position.

2. The transporter according to claim 1 further having a rotational structure configured to rotationally move the robotic arm to move the holding device and the object held thereby between the holding position and the predetermined mounting position.

3. The transporter according to claim 1 wherein the holding device further has a vacuum chuck configured to hold the object by suction.

4. The transporter according to claim 3 wherein the gripper further has a protection mechanism comprising a pair of supports movable toward each other to secure and/or hold the object held by the vacuum chuck.

5. The transporter according to claim 1 wherein the robotic arm is further provided with an adjustment device at an end remote from the first transport platform configured to adjust the angle of the gripping device and the object held thereby.

6. The transporter according to claim 5 wherein the robotic arm further has a force assist device configured to assist in rotation of the robotic arm.

7. The transporter according to claim 6 wherein the booster and the adjustment device are pneumatic, hydraulic, or electric.

8. The transporter of claim 1, wherein the first transport platform and/or the second transport platform is configured for operational movement in a suspended manner.

9. The transporter of claim 1, wherein the first transport platform and the second transport platform are configured to move on the ground to transport the item.

10. The transporter according to claim 1 wherein the first transport platform and the second transport platform are connectable by at least one of: fixed connection, wired connection and wireless connection.

11. The transporter of claim 1 further having a safety detection device comprising a sensor configured to sense inclination of the first and second platforms, the safety detection device configured to stop operation of the transporter when the sensor senses that the inclination of the first or second platform exceeds a threshold.

12. A conveyor for conveying articles, the conveyor having:

a transport platform comprising a lift operable to move up and down, the lift configured to receive at least one item and operable to move the item up and down; and

a robot arm provided on the lift table and configured to carry the object, wherein the robot arm is moved up and down while the lift table moves the object up and down;

wherein the robot arm has a gripping device arranged to move between a gripping position on the lift table and at least one predetermined mounting position of the object, the gripping device being configured to grip the object received on the lift table in the gripping position and to release the object in the at least one predetermined mounting position.

13. The transporter according to claim 12 further having a rotational structure configured to rotationally move the robotic arm to move the holding device and the object held thereby between the holding position and the predetermined mounting position.

14. The transporter according to claim 12 further having a sliding structure configured to slide the robotic arm back and forth relative to the lift table.

15. The transporter according to claim 12 wherein the holding device further has a vacuum chuck configured to hold the object by suction.

16. The transporter according to claim 15 wherein the gripper further comprises a protective mechanism including a pair of supports movable toward each other to secure and/or hold the object held by the vacuum chuck.

17. The transporter according to claim 12 wherein the robotic arm is further provided with a first assist device at an end remote from the transport platform configured to adjust the angle of the gripper and the object held thereby.

18. The transporter according to claim 17 wherein the robotic arm further has a second force assist device configured to assist in rotation of the robotic arm.

19. The transporter according to claim 18 wherein the first and second boosters are pneumatic, hydraulic, or electric.

20. The transporter according to claim 12 wherein the transport platform is configurable for operational movement in a suspended manner.

21. The transporter according to claim 12 wherein the transport platform is configured to move on the ground to transport the item.

22. The transporter according to claim 12 further having a safety detection device comprising a sensor configured to sense inclination of the lift table, the safety detection device configured to stop operation of the transporter when the sensor senses that the inclination of the lift table exceeds a threshold.

23. The transporter according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the article comprises plasterboard or building board.

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