CN219526160U - Fork device, robot and warehouse system - Google Patents

Abstract

The application provides a fork device, a robot and a storage system, wherein the fork device is used for picking and placing a material box, the fork device comprises a telescopic mechanism and a picking mechanism, the picking mechanism is arranged on the telescopic mechanism and slides along the length direction of the telescopic mechanism, the picking mechanism comprises a picking unit, the picking unit is provided with two picking parts, the two picking parts are positioned on two opposite sides of the picking mechanism and are detachably connected with the material box, the two picking parts are configured to pick and place the material box on different sides of the fork device, so that the picking unit can pick and place the material box in different directions of the fork device, and the multi-directional picking can be realized under the condition that the fork device and the robot do not need to rotate, the picking efficiency is improved, and meanwhile, the storage density of the storage system is improved.

Description

Fork device, robot and warehouse system

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of warehouse logistics, in particular to a fork device, a robot and a warehouse system.

Background

With the development of artificial intelligence and automation technology, robots are widely used in the field of warehouse logistics for picking, placing, transporting and sorting goods. In a logistics system, goods are stored on a goods shelf, and a robot with corresponding functions is in butt joint with the goods shelf or a conveying line to pick up the goods or complete a goods conveying task.

In the related art, a robot for picking and placing goods can move in a roadway between goods shelves, a fork for picking and placing goods is usually arranged on the robot, a manipulator which can extend out of a body of the fork in one single direction is usually arranged on the fork, the whole fork can rotate relative to the body of the robot, and the manipulator usually completes picking and placing goods operation on the side of the robot along the advancing direction, so that when the robot completes the task of picking and placing goods on the goods shelves on different sides, the fork needs to be rotated to change the orientation of the fork.

However, the manipulator of getting goods on the robot only can get goods towards the single direction of fork, when getting goods towards different directions, need wholly change fork or robot's orientation, lead to the width increase in tunnel between the adjacent goods shelves, storage density reduces.

Disclosure of Invention

The utility model provides a fork device, a robot and a warehousing system, which are used for solving the technical problem that the warehousing density of the warehousing system is reduced due to a picking and placing structure of the robot.

In a first aspect, the present utility model provides a fork device for picking and placing a material box, the fork device including a telescopic mechanism and a picking mechanism, the picking mechanism being disposed on the telescopic mechanism and sliding along a length direction of the telescopic mechanism, the picking mechanism including a picking unit having two picking portions, the two picking portions being located on opposite sides of the picking mechanism along the picking direction, the two picking portions being configured to be detachably connected to the material box, and the two picking portions being configured to pick and place the material box on different sides of the fork device, such that the picking unit faces the different directions of the fork device.

According to the fork device provided by the application, through the structural design of the goods taking unit, the goods taking unit can be moved to different positions of the fork device, and goods taking operation is completed in different directions of the fork device, so that multi-directional goods taking can be realized under the condition that the fork device and the robot do not need to rotate, the goods taking efficiency is improved, and meanwhile, the storage density of a storage system is improved.

As an alternative embodiment, the pick up unit acts on the surface of the material container adjacent to the fork device when the pick up unit picks up a load.

As an alternative embodiment, the pick-up section may be a suction cup.

As an alternative embodiment, the picking part is a plugging part, and the picking mechanism further comprises a first driving unit configured to drive the picking unit to slide so as to plug or separate the plugging part from the material box.

As an alternative embodiment, the sliding direction of the first driving unit when driving the goods taking unit to slide is perpendicular to the sliding direction of the goods taking mechanism when sliding relative to the telescopic mechanism.

As an alternative embodiment, the goods taking mechanism may further include a sliding plate and a connecting plate, the sliding plate is located on the telescopic mechanism and is movably disposed relative to the telescopic mechanism, the connecting plate is connected with the sliding plate, the first driving unit is disposed on the connecting plate, and the goods taking unit is connected with an output end of the first driving unit.

As an alternative embodiment, the goods taking mechanism may further include a guide shaft connected to the sliding plate, the goods taking unit has a guide hole, the guide shaft is disposed through the guide hole, and the first driving unit drives the goods taking unit to slide along the guide shaft.

As an alternative embodiment, the picking unit has a connection portion, two picking portions may be connected to opposite sides of the connection portion, and the picking mechanism may further include a mounting block connected to the output end of the first driving unit, and the connection portion is connected to the mounting block.

As an alternative embodiment, the two picking parts are bent relative to the connecting part along the sliding direction of the picking unit, and the two picking parts face the same direction.

As an alternative embodiment, the connection plate and the first driving unit may be located at a side of the picking unit in a length direction of the slide plate, and the first driving unit drives the picking unit to slide in a vertical direction.

As an alternative embodiment, the telescopic mechanism may include a base, a telescopic member slidably connected to the base, the picking mechanism slidably connected to the telescopic member, and the driving assembly may include a second driving unit configured to drive the telescopic member to slide relative to the base, and a third driving unit configured to drive the picking mechanism to slide relative to the telescopic member.

As an alternative embodiment, the second driving unit is disposed on the base, the telescopic member has a plurality of first engaging portions, the plurality of first engaging portions are arranged along a length direction of the base, and the output end of the second driving unit has a second engaging portion, and the second engaging portion is engaged with the first engaging portion, so that the telescopic member is driven to slide when the output end of the second driving unit rotates.

As an optional implementation manner, the third driving unit is arranged on the telescopic member, the driving assembly may further include a first flexible transmission member and at least two first transmission wheels, the at least two first transmission wheels are respectively arranged at two ends of the telescopic member, the first flexible transmission member is wound on the outer sides of the at least two first transmission wheels and moves along with rotation of the first transmission wheels, the output end of the third driving unit is connected with any one of the at least two first transmission wheels, and the goods taking mechanism may be connected with the first flexible transmission member.

As an optional implementation manner, the third driving unit is arranged on the base, the driving assembly may further include a second flexible transmission member and a plurality of second transmission wheels, the plurality of second transmission wheels are respectively arranged on the base and the telescopic member, the second flexible transmission member is wound on the outer sides of the plurality of second transmission wheels and moves along with rotation of the second transmission wheels, an output end of the third driving unit is connected with any one of the second transmission wheels on the base, and the picking mechanism is connected with the second flexible transmission member.

As an alternative embodiment, the second driving wheel on the telescopic member has a variable relative position with respect to the second driving wheel on the base when the telescopic member slides with respect to the base.

As an alternative implementation manner, the plurality of second driving wheels comprise two symmetrically arranged driving wheel groups, each driving wheel group comprises an outer driving wheel and two inner driving wheels, the outer driving wheel is arranged on the telescopic piece, one of the two inner driving wheels is arranged on the telescopic piece, the other of the two inner driving wheels is arranged on the base, and the inner driving wheels and the outer driving wheels have different positions in the sliding direction of the telescopic piece;

the second flexible transmission piece surrounds outside the inner transmission wheels of the two transmission wheel sets to form a closed ring shape, and the outer transmission wheels of the two transmission wheel sets are positioned outside the closed ring shape.

As an alternative embodiment, the two driving wheel sets are symmetrically distributed along the sliding direction of the telescopic member, and the distance between two mutually symmetrical inner driving wheels in the two driving wheel sets is larger than the distance between two outer driving wheels on the telescopic member.

As an alternative embodiment, the telescopic mechanism comprises a base and a driving assembly, wherein the goods taking mechanism is connected with the base in a sliding way, and the driving assembly is arranged on the base and is configured to drive the goods taking mechanism to slide relative to the base.

As an alternative embodiment, the telescopic mechanism may further comprise a first detection unit arranged on the base, the first detection unit being configured to detect the position of the telescopic member relative to the base.

As an alternative embodiment, the telescopic mechanism may further comprise a second detection unit arranged on the telescopic member, the second detection unit being configured to detect the position of the goods retrieval mechanism relative to the telescopic member.

As an alternative embodiment, the base comprises a mounting plate and two parallel substrates, the mounting plate is connected between the two substrates, and the second driving unit is arranged on the mounting plate; the telescopic piece can comprise two telescopic plates which are arranged in parallel, the two telescopic plates are respectively connected with the two base plates in a sliding way, and the two ends of the goods taking mechanism are respectively connected with the two telescopic plates in a sliding way.

In a second aspect, the application provides a fork device for taking and placing a material box, the robot comprises a robot main body and the fork device in the technical scheme, and the fork device is arranged on the robot main body.

In a third aspect, the application provides a warehousing system, which comprises a plurality of shelves and robots in the technical scheme, wherein the shelves are arranged at intervals, a roadway is arranged between every two adjacent shelves, the robots move in the roadway, and fork devices of the robots can take and put material boxes on the shelves on two sides of the roadway.

In addition to the technical problems, technical features constituting the technical solutions, and beneficial effects caused by the technical features of the technical solutions described above, other technical problems that the pallet fork device, the robot, and the warehousing system provided by the application can solve, other technical features included in the technical solutions, and beneficial effects caused by the technical features, further detailed description will be made in the detailed description of the embodiments.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions of the prior art, the drawings that are needed in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly described below, it will be obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present application, and that other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort to a person skilled in the art.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a robot application and warehousing system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a fork device in a robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a picking mechanism in a robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of another state of the goods picking mechanism in the robot according to the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a pick-up mechanism in a robot provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a cargo picking mechanism in a robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a first drive assembly of a fork assembly in a robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a side view of a first drive assembly of a fork assembly in a robot in accordance with an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a second drive assembly for a pallet fork assembly in a robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 11 is a side view of a second drive assembly for a pallet fork assembly in a robot in accordance with an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic view of an extended state of a fork device in a robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing a state in which a fork device of a robot is extended in another direction according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a second detection unit in the robot according to the embodiment of the present application.

Reference numerals illustrate:

100-robot; 110-a robot body; 120-fork means; 121-a telescopic mechanism; 1211-a base; 1211 a-a mounting plate; 1211 b-a substrate; 1212-telescoping member; 1212 a-a first engagement portion; 122-a pick-up mechanism; 1221-a first drive unit; 1222-a pick-up unit; 1222 a-pick-up section; 1222 b-a connection; 1222 c-a guide hole; 1223-sliding plate; 1224-connecting plates; 1225-a guide shaft; 1226-mounting blocks; 123-a drive assembly; 1231-a second driving unit; 1231 a-second engagement; 1232-a third driving unit; 1233-a first flexible transmission member; 1234-a first drive wheel; 1235-a second flexible transmission member; 1236-a second drive wheel; 1236 a-outer drive wheel; 1236 b-inner drive wheel; 124-a first detection unit; 125-a second detection unit; 126-sensing piece;

200-shelf;

300-material box.

Detailed Description

For the purpose of making the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application more apparent, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present application, but not all embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the application without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the application.

First, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are merely for explaining the technical principles of the present application, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application. Those skilled in the art can adapt it as desired to suit a particular application.

Further, it should be noted that, in the description of the present application, terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "rear", "inner", "outer", and the like indicate directions or positional relationships based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, which are merely for convenience of description, and do not indicate or imply that the apparatus or components must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus should not be construed as limiting the present application. The term "and/or" is herein merely an association relationship describing an associated object, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, may represent: a exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone.

In the description of the present specification, reference to the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiments," "examples," "specific examples," or "some examples," etc., means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments or examples. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

Various robots are widely used in various fields such as industry and life, and the robots play an important role in the industries such as transportation, logistics and the like, goods are usually stored by a goods shelf in a storage logistics system, and the robots can pick up and place the goods by docking with the goods shelf or a conveying line and can convey the goods. The robot for getting and putting goods can remove in the tunnel between goods shelves, is provided with the fork of getting and putting goods on the robot generally, is provided with the manipulator that can stretch out for a single direction for the body of fork on the fork generally, and the fork is whole can rotate for the body of robot, and the manipulator is usually accomplished in the side of robot along the direction of advance and is got and put goods operation, therefore, when the robot is to the task of getting and put goods to the goods shelves of different sides, need rotatory fork transfer fork's orientation.

Therefore, in the related art, when the transfer robot performs a cargo transferring task, if the transfer robot needs to be docked with other equipment, the side of the transfer robot along the forward direction needs to be guaranteed to be opposite to the other equipment, and when the cargo taking and placing operation is performed from different sides of the robot, the position of the fork needs to be rotated first, so that the cargo taking direction of the fork is opposite to the target goods shelf, telescopic cargo taking and placing can be performed, the cargo taking and placing efficiency of the robot is low, secondly, the fork of the robot rotates to have a certain rotation diameter, in order to provide space for turning the fork, the width of a roadway between adjacent goods shelves needs to be increased, the cargo taking and placing efficiency is reduced, the storage density is reduced, and the whole space utilization rate of the storage system is reduced.

According to the robot and the warehousing system, through the structural design of the fork device on the carrying robot, the fork device can finish picking and placing operations in different directions, when the robot is in a roadway, the fork is not required to be adjusted in a rotating mode, the whole posture of the robot is not required to be adjusted greatly, the picking and placing operations can be finished in the directions of the two sides of the robot, the roadway of the goods shelf does not need to reserve rotating position space for the carrying robot, the roadway width is reduced, the picking and placing efficiency is improved, and the space utilization rate and the warehousing density are improved.

In order to facilitate understanding, an application scenario of the robot provided by the embodiment of the application is first described.

The robot provided in this embodiment is applied to a warehouse logistics system for picking and placing goods, where the robot may be applied to logistics distribution of an industrial production line, in-out and in-storage of inventory products in manufacturing industry, in-out and in-storage of products in retail industry, and may also be applied to different fields such as fast delivery and in-storage of e-commerce logistics, and the transported products or goods may be industrial parts, electronic accessories or products, medicines, clothing ornaments, foods, books, etc., and may be used for directly transporting goods, or may also be used for transporting material boxes filled with goods.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a robot application and storage system provided by an embodiment of the present application, fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a robot provided by an embodiment of the present application, fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a fork device in a robot provided by an embodiment of the present application, fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a goods taking mechanism in a robot provided by an embodiment of the present application, fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of another state of a goods taking mechanism in a robot provided by an embodiment of the present application, and fig. 6 is a side view of a goods taking mechanism in a robot provided by an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 1 to 6, the fork device 120 according to the embodiment of the present application is used for picking and placing the material box 300,

the fork device 120 includes a telescopic mechanism 121 and a picking mechanism 122, and the picking mechanism 122 is disposed on the telescopic mechanism 121 and slides along the length direction of the telescopic mechanism 121. The pickup mechanism 122 includes a pickup unit 1222, and the pickup unit 1222 has two pickup portions 1222a. The two pick heads 1222a are located on opposite sides of the pick mechanism 122 along the pick direction, and the pick heads 1222a are configured to be removably coupled to the bin 300 such that the pick units 1222 are oriented to pick and place the bin 300 in different directions of the fork assembly 120.

It will be appreciated that the length direction of the telescopic mechanism 121 is the picking and placing direction of the fork device 120, when the picking unit 1222 is inserted into the material box 300, the material box 300 slides synchronously with the picking mechanism 122 along with the sliding of the picking mechanism 122, so that the material box 300 is pulled onto the fork device 120, or the material box 300 is pushed into the storage position of the shelf 200, and when the picking unit 1222 is separated from the material box 300, the picking mechanism 122 can return to the initial position for performing other operations of picking the material box 300.

It should be noted that, according to the structural design of the pickup unit 1222 on the fork device 120, the pickup mechanism 122 can slide to different positions of the fork device 120, that is, to different positions of the fork device 120 in the length direction, so that the pickup operation can be completed at both ends of the fork device 120 in the length direction, therefore, when the robot 100 performs the pickup or placing operation between the shelves 200, the fork device 120 and the robot 100 do not need to rotate, the pickup task of the material boxes 300 on the shelves 200 on both sides can be completed by utilizing the movement of the pickup mechanism 122, the pickup or placing efficiency is improved, and meanwhile, the space of the rotation radius is not reserved for the rotation of the fork device 120 or the robot 100 for the width between the shelves 200, so that the storage density of the storage system is improved.

The mechanism of the pick mechanism 122, and the manner in which the pick unit 1222 picks up the material tank 300, will be described in detail first.

First, the longitudinal direction of the fork device 120 is defined as the X direction, and the sliding direction of the pickup mechanism 122 with respect to the telescopic mechanism 121 is also defined as the X direction. Defining the width direction of the fork assembly 120 as the Y-direction. The direction perpendicular to the XY plane is defined as the Z direction, i.e., the height direction of the fork device 120 is defined as the Z direction.

As an alternative embodiment, the pick unit 1222 acts on a surface of the material box 300 proximate to the fork assembly 120 as the pick unit 1222 picks up a good.

It is understood that the pick head 1222a may be a socket, and the pick mechanism 122 may further include a first drive unit 1221, the first drive unit 1221 being configured to drive the pick unit 1222 in a sliding motion to plug or disconnect the socket from the bin 300.

With continued reference to fig. 1-6, in one possible implementation, the retrieval mechanism 122 may further include a skid plate 1223 and a web 1224. The slide plate 1223 is provided on the telescopic mechanism 121, and the slide plate 1223 is slidable with respect to the telescopic mechanism 121. The connecting plate 1224 is connected to the sliding plate 1223, the first driving unit 1221 is disposed on the connecting plate 1224, and the picking unit 1222 is connected to an output end of the first driving unit 1221.

It will be appreciated that the slide plate 1223 serves as a carrier for the first drive unit 1221 and the pick up unit 1222. The first driving unit 1221 may be a telescopic motor, and the output end of the first driving unit 1221 may slide along a straight line, so as to drive the pickup unit 1222 to slide along the straight line.

Note that, the switching between the insertion and separation states of the pick up portion 1222a of the pick up unit 1222 and the material box 300 corresponds to the sliding process of the pick up unit 1222, and the sliding process of the output end of the first drive unit 1221 is a reciprocating motion along a straight line. Accordingly, the sliding process of the pick unit 1222 is a straight reciprocating motion, and the specific value of the sliding travel of the pick unit 1222 may be designed according to the matching manner of the pick unit 1222 and the material box 300. For example, the side wall of the material box 300 is provided with a slot, the pick up portion 1222a may be plugged into the slot, and the sliding stroke of the pick up unit 1222 may be matched to the plugging depth of the pick up portion 1222a in the slot.

In some embodiments, the first drive unit 1221 drives the pick unit 1222 in a direction of sliding perpendicular to the direction of sliding of the pick mechanism 122 relative to the expansion mechanism 121. For example, as shown in fig. 3, the first driving unit 1221 drives the pickup unit 1222 to perform a lifting motion along a vertical direction (Z direction); the pickup mechanism 122 reciprocates in the horizontal direction (X direction) with respect to the telescopic mechanism 121. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, the first drive unit 1221 may also drive the pick up unit 1222 back and forth in another horizontal direction (Y-direction).

In some embodiments, the retrieval mechanism 122 may further include a guide shaft 1225, the guide shaft 1225 being coupled to the slide plate 1223. The pickup unit 1222 has a guide hole 1222c, a guide shaft 1225 is inserted through the guide hole 1222c, and the first driving unit 1221 drives the pickup unit 1222 to slide along the guide shaft 1225.

It is appreciated that the guide shaft 1225 may guide the sliding of the pickup unit 1222, ensure smoothness of the sliding of the pickup unit 1222, and avoid deviation of the insertion fit of the pickup portion 1222a with the material box 300. Furthermore, the guide shaft 1225 may ensure the reliability of the sliding of the output end of the first driving unit 1221 from the radial shearing force of the output end of the first driving unit 1221.

Illustratively, the guide shaft 1225 is a cylinder, and the guide shaft 1225 may be detachably connected to the sliding plate 1223, or the guide shaft 1225 may be welded or integrally formed with the sliding plate 1223, which is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present application. In addition, there may be two guide shafts 1225, and the two guide shafts 1225 are disposed parallel to each other, and two guide holes 1222c are disposed on the corresponding pickup unit 1222 and correspond to the two guide shafts 1225 one by one, so as to further improve the stability of the sliding process of the pickup unit 1222. Of course, the guide shaft 1225 may be three or more, which is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present application.

In one possible implementation, the pick up unit 1222 has a connection 1222b, and two pick up portions 1222a may be connected to opposite sides of the connection 1222 b. The pickup mechanism 122 may further include a mounting block 1226, the mounting block 1226 being connected to an output end of the first driving unit 1221, and the connection portion 1222b being connected to the mounting block 1226.

It will be appreciated that the mounting block 1226 may be coupled to the output of the first drive unit 1221 by a latch or threaded fastener, etc., while the attachment portion 1222b of the pick up unit 1222 may be coupled to the mounting block 1226 by a fastener or by welding.

For example, the two pick up portions 1222a are bent along the sliding direction of the pick up unit 1222 relative to the connection portion 1222b, and the two pick up portions 1222a are bent in the same direction, as shown in fig. 3, with both pick up portions 1222a being bent downward along the Z-direction. Thus, the two pick devices 1222a can be configured to engage the material container 300 when the pick mechanism 122 is slid to different ends of the fork assembly 120.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a cargo picking mechanism in a robot according to an embodiment of the present application.

Referring to fig. 4 and 7, it should be noted that the connection board 1224 and the first driving unit 1221 may be located at a side of the pickup unit 1222 along the length direction of the sliding board 1223. The first driving unit 1221 drives the pickup unit 1222 to slide along the vertical direction, the whole pickup unit 1222 may have a "U" structure, and the pickup portion 1222a of the pickup unit 1222 may extend upwards, or the pickup portion 1222a of the pickup unit 1222 may extend downwards, so as to adapt to the pickup and placement requirements of the material boxes 300 with different structures.

In addition, the two pick-up portions 1222a and the connection portion 1222b may be integrally formed by a plate process, or the two pick-up portions 1222a and the connection portion 1222b may be welded and connected, which is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present application.

As an alternative embodiment, the pick head 1222a may be a suction cup.

It will be appreciated that the suction cup may contact and create suction against the surface of the bin 300, for example, by creating suction by means of vacuum, to move the bin 300 with the pick up section.

In the above embodiments, the pick unit 1222 is configured to act on the surface of the bin 300 adjacent to the fork assembly 120 during pick, so that the pick mechanism 122 does not occupy space around the bin 300 (e.g., up, down, left, and right of the bin 300) during pick.

The specific structure of the telescopic mechanism 121 will be described in detail below.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a first driving assembly of a fork device in a robot according to an embodiment of the present application, and fig. 9 is a side view of the first driving assembly of the fork device in the robot according to the embodiment of the present application.

Referring to fig. 8 and 9 in combination with fig. 2-4, in one possible implementation, the telescoping mechanism 121 may include a base 1211, a telescoping member 1212, and a drive assembly 123, with the telescoping member 1212 slidably coupled to the base 1211. The pick mechanism 122 is slidably coupled to the telescoping member 1212. The drive assembly 123 can include a second drive unit 1231 and a third drive unit 1232, the second drive unit 1231 being configured to drive the telescoping member 1212 to slide relative to the base 1211, the third drive unit 1232 being configured to drive the retrieval mechanism 122 to slide relative to the telescoping member 1212.

It will be appreciated that sliding of the telescoping member 1212 relative to the base 1211 can cause the fork assembly 120 to interface with the storage location of the pallet 200. The docking means that the fork device 120 is opposite to the pallet 200, and the material box 300 may be transferred between the fork device 120 and the pallet 200, and the fork device 120 may abut against the pallet 200 or may have a gap with the pallet 200.

The sliding of the pick mechanism 122 relative to the telescoping 1212 may then either pull the material box 300 from the storage location onto the fork assembly 120 or push the material box 300 on the fork assembly 120 into the storage location. In order to realize the cooperative work of the pickup mechanism 122 and the expansion plate, the expansion piece 1212 is driven by the second driving unit 1231 to expand and contract bi-directionally along the length direction of the base 1211 relative to the base 1211, so that the fork device 120 can be docked with the shelves 200 on different sides of the base 1211 according to the task requirements.

It should be noted that the telescopic element 1212 may extend from two ends of the base 1211 with respect to the base 1211, that is, may be used to take and put goods from two sides of the fork device 120. The sliding travel of the telescoping member 1212 relative to the base 1211 is dependent upon the spacing of the fork assembly 120 from the edge of the pallet 200, and in order to ensure that the telescoping member 1212 has sufficient sliding travel for bi-directional telescoping in different situations, the uni-directional telescoping travel of the telescoping member 1212 may be approximately one-half the length of the telescoping member 1212, such that the sum of the bi-directional telescoping travel is approximately the length of the telescoping member 1212.

In addition, the sliding travel of the retrieval mechanism 122 relative to the telescoping member 1212 may be approximately the length of the telescoping member 1212, i.e., the retrieval mechanism 122 may slide between the ends of the telescoping member 1212.

As can be seen, the fork assembly 120 is divided into three stages, with the base 1211 being the first stage component, the telescoping member 1212 being the second stage component, and the retrieval mechanism 122 being the third stage component. The sliding movement of the telescoping member 1212 relative to the base 1211, and the sliding movement of the retrieval mechanism 122 relative to the telescoping member 1212, can be independently controlled and coordinated by a controller, as will be described in more detail below with respect to the sliding movement between the different stages.

With continued reference to fig. 8 and 9, in one possible implementation, the second driving unit 1231 may be disposed on the base 1211. The expansion element 1212 has a plurality of first engagement portions 1212a, and the plurality of first engagement portions 1212a are arranged along the length of the base 1211. The output end of the second driving unit 1231 has a second engaging portion 1231a, and the second engaging portion 1231a engages with the first engaging portion 1212a, so that the telescopic member 1212 is driven to slide when the output end of the second driving unit 1231 rotates.

It is understood that the second driving unit 1231 may be a motor, and an output end of the second driving unit 1231 may be connected to a gear coaxially disposed, and a second engaging portion 1231a is provided in a circumferential direction of the gear. And the first engagement portion 1212a of the telescopic element 1212 may have a rack structure, and the gear is engaged with the rack. The output end of the second driving unit 1231 rotates to drive the rack to slide, so as to drive the telescopic element 1212 to slide.

It should be noted that, the second driving unit 1231 may be disposed at a middle position of the base 1211 along the length direction, so that when the telescopic element 1212 stretches and contracts bi-directionally with respect to the base 1211, the output end of the driving unit may engage with the first engaging portion 1212a at a different position along the length direction of the telescopic element 1212, so that the telescopic element 1212 stretches and contracts towards both ends with enough sliding stroke.

In the embodiment of the present application, the third driving unit 1232 is configured to drive the cargo picking mechanism 122 to slide relative to the telescopic member 1212, and the third driving unit 1232 may be disposed on the base 1211 or the telescopic member 1212, which will be described below.

With continued reference to fig. 8 and 9, in one possible implementation, a third drive unit 1232 can be disposed on the telescoping member 1212. The driving assembly 123 may further include a first flexible transmission member 1233 and at least two first transmission wheels 1234, where the at least two first transmission wheels 1234 are disposed at two ends of the telescopic member 1212. The first flexible transmission member 1233 is wound around the outer sides of at least two first transmission wheels 1234 and moves with the rotation of the first transmission wheels 1234. The output end of the third driving unit 1232 is connected to any one of the at least two first transmission wheels 1234, and the picking mechanism 122 may be connected to the first flexible transmission member 1233.

It will be appreciated that when there are two first drive wheels 1234, the two first drive wheels 1234 may be provided at each end of the telescopic element 1212. The third driving unit 1232 is mounted on the telescopic member 1212, and the output end of the third driving unit 1232 drives the first transmission wheel 1234 to rotate, thereby driving the first flexible transmission member 1233 to move. When the first flexible transmission member 1233 is moved, the pickup mechanism 122 is moved synchronously.

Illustratively, the first flexible transmission member 1233 may be a flexible member such as a belt, a chain, etc., and the first transmission wheel 1234 may be a pulley, a sprocket, etc., which is not limited in particular by the embodiment of the present application. Taking a belt and pulley as an example, the slide plate 1223 of the pick mechanism 122 may be coupled to the belt via a toothed plate. Specifically, the sliding plate 1223 abuts on the outside of the belt, and the toothed plate engages on the inside of the belt, thereby sandwiching the belt between the toothed plate and the sliding plate 1223. The toothed plate and the sliding plate 1223 may be fixedly connected by fasteners such as screws, and the toothed plate and the sliding plate 1223 are pressed against the belt, ensuring the reliability of the connection of the sliding plate 1223 with the first flexible transmission member 1233.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a second driving assembly of a fork device in a robot according to an embodiment of the present application, fig. 11 is a side view of the second driving assembly of the fork device in the robot according to an embodiment of the present application, fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of an extended state of the fork device in the robot according to an embodiment of the present application, and fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of an extended state of the fork device in another direction in the robot according to an embodiment of the present application.

Referring to fig. 10 to 13, in another possible implementation, the third driving unit 1232 may be disposed on the base 1211. The driving assembly 123 may further include a second flexible transmission member 1235 and a plurality of second transmission wheels 1236, where the plurality of second transmission wheels 1236 are disposed on the base 1211 and the telescoping member 1212, respectively. The second flexible transmission member 1235 is wound around the outer sides of the plurality of second transmission wheels 1236 and moves with the rotation of the second transmission wheels 1236. The output end of the third driving unit 1232 is connected with any one of the second driving wheels 1236 on the base 1211, and the pickup mechanism 122 is connected with the second flexible driving member 1235.

It will be appreciated that the second drive wheel 1236 on the telescoping member 1212 has a variable relative position to the second drive wheel 1236 on the base 1211 as the telescoping member 1212 slides relative to the base 1211, and the second flexible drive member 1235 is maintained in tension.

In some embodiments, the plurality of second drive wheels 1236 includes two drive wheel sets symmetrically disposed, each drive wheel set including an outer drive wheel 1236a and two inner drive wheels 1236b (as shown in fig. 11). Wherein the outer driving wheel 1236a is disposed on the telescopic member 1212, one of the two inner driving wheels 1236b is disposed on the telescopic member 1212, and the other of the two inner driving wheels 1236b is disposed on the base 1211. The inner driving wheel 1236b and the outer driving wheel 1236a have different positions in the sliding direction of the telescopic member 1212, the second flexible driving member 1235 surrounds the outer driving wheel 1236b of the two driving wheel sets to form a closed ring shape, and the outer driving wheels 1236a of the two driving wheel sets are both located outside the closed ring shape.

It will be appreciated that the two driving wheel sets are symmetrically distributed along the sliding direction of the telescopic element 1212, and the space between the two inner driving wheels 1236b of the two driving wheel sets, which are symmetrical to each other, is larger than the space between the two outer driving wheels 1236a of the telescopic element 1212, so as to ensure that the telescopic element 1212 has a sufficient telescopic stroke relative to the base 1211, and the telescopic element 1212 has a bi-directional telescopic stroke relative to the base 1211.

Illustratively, in the X direction, the two outer drive wheels 1236a can be positioned at or near the middle of the telescoping member 1212, and the two inner drive wheels 1236b on the telescoping member 1212 can be positioned at each end of the telescoping member 1212, and the two inner drive wheels 1236b on the base 1211 can be positioned at each end of the base 1211. In the Z direction, the two inner driving wheels 1236b on the telescopic element 1212, the two outer driving wheels 1236a on the telescopic element 1212, and the two inner driving wheels 1236b on the base 1211 are sequentially disposed from top to bottom. The annular profile of the second flexible transmission member 1235 formed when the telescoping member 1212 slides relative to the base 1211 can provide a travel space for the relative change in position of the telescoping member 1212 and the second transmission wheel 1236 on the base 1211.

The inner transmission wheel 1236b and the outer transmission wheel 1236a have a pitch in the X direction. When the telescoping member 1212 extends from the front end relative to the base 1211 (as shown in fig. 11 and 12), the space between the inner drive wheel 1236b at the front end of the base 1211 and the outer drive wheel 1236a on the telescoping member 1212 decreases, while the space between the inner drive wheel 1236b at the rear end of the base 1211 and the outer drive wheel 1236a on the telescoping member 1212 increases; while the telescoping member 1212 extends from the rear end relative to the base 1211 (as shown in fig. 13), the spacing between the inner drive wheel 1236b at the front end of the base 1211 and the outer drive wheel 1236a on the telescoping member 1212 increases, and the spacing between the inner drive wheel 1236b at the rear end of the base 1211 and the outer drive wheel 1236a on the telescoping member 1212 decreases.

In addition, one of the second drive wheels 1236 on the base 1211 may be a drive wheel and the other second drive wheel 1236 may be a driven wheel. The third driving unit 1232 is connected with a driving wheel, and drives the driving wheel to rotate, and the driving wheel drives the second flexible transmission piece 1235 to transmit, so as to drive the driven wheel to rotate. The second flexible transmission member 1235 may be a belt, a chain, etc., and correspondingly, the second transmission wheel 1236 may be a pulley, a sprocket, etc., and the matching manner of the first flexible transmission member 1233 and the first transmission wheel 1234 is similar, and will not be described herein.

In some embodiments, the telescoping mechanism 121 may not include the telescoping member 1212, and the retrieval mechanism 122 may be slidably coupled directly to the base 1211, in which case the drive assembly is disposed on the base 1211 and configured to drive the retrieval mechanism 122 to slide relative to the base 1211.

In one possible implementation, the telescoping mechanism 121 may further include a first detection unit 124 (as shown in fig. 8 and 9), the first detection unit 124 being disposed on the base 1211, the first detection unit 124 being configured to detect the position of the telescoping member 1212 relative to the base 1211.

It is understood that there may be two first detecting units 124, and the two first detecting units 124 may be disposed at two ends of the base 1211 along the length direction. When the telescopic element 1212 is retracted from different ends relative to the base 1211 for picking or placing operations, the first detecting units 124 at both ends can detect whether the telescopic element 1212 is extended and whether the telescopic element 1212 is retracted, respectively.

The first detecting unit 124 may be a non-contact detecting unit such as a photoelectric sensor, or may be a contact detecting unit such as a contact switch, which is not limited in specific type and working principle of the first detecting unit 124 in the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a second detection unit in the robot according to the embodiment of the present application.

Referring to fig. 14 in combination with fig. 8, in a possible implementation manner, the telescopic mechanism 121 may further include a second detecting unit 125, where the second detecting unit 125 is disposed on the picking mechanism 122, and the second detecting unit 125 is configured to detect a position of the picking mechanism 122 relative to the telescopic member 1212.

It can be appreciated that there may be two second detecting units 125, the telescopic element 1212 may be provided with the sensing element 126, and the two second detecting units 125 may cooperate, so that when the picking mechanism 122 slides to different ends of the telescopic element 1212 relative to the telescopic element 1212 to perform picking or placing operations, different sensing signals are generated when the two second detecting units 125 are opposite to different positions of the sensing element 126, so as to accurately determine the position of the picking mechanism 122 relative to the telescopic element 1212.

In one possible implementation, the base 1211 may include a mounting plate 1211a and two parallel substrates 1211b, the mounting plate 1211a is connected between the two substrates 1211b, the second driving unit 1231 is disposed on the mounting plate 1211a, and the telescopic element 1212 may include two parallel telescopic plates, which are slidably connected to the two substrates 1211b, and two ends of the pickup mechanism 122 are slidably connected to the two telescopic plates.

Note that the third driving unit 1232 may be a motor. When the third driving unit 1232 is disposed on the base 1211, a transmission shaft may be connected between the two base 1211b, and the transmission shaft is connected to the second driving wheel 1236. The output shaft of the third driving unit 1232 may be connected to the transmission shaft through a transmission member such as a gear or a speed reducer, so that the third driving unit 1232 drives the transmission shaft to rotate when operating.

When the third driving unit 1232 is disposed on the telescopic member 1212, a transmission shaft may be connected between the two telescopic plates, and the transmission shaft is connected to the first transmission wheel 1234. The output shaft of the third driving unit 1232 may be connected to the transmission shaft through a transmission member such as a gear or a speed reducer, so that the third driving unit 1232 drives the transmission shaft to rotate when operating.

In addition, the third driving unit 1232 may be disposed at a side of the transmission shaft to improve space utilization, and the type, output power, and transmission ratio with the transmission shaft of the third driving unit 1232 are not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present application.

Referring to fig. 1 to 14, an embodiment of the present application provides a robot 100 applied to a warehouse system, which can move between shelves 200 of the warehouse system, and acquire a material box 300 from the shelves 200 or place the material box 300 on the shelves 200, so as to perform the operations of picking and placing the material box 300.

The robot 100 provided in the embodiment of the application includes a robot main body 110 and a fork device 120, the fork device 120 is disposed on the robot main body 110, the fork device 120 can be lifted relative to the robot main body 110, the robot main body 110 can move on the ground, so that the fork device 120 can be opposite to different storage positions of the shelf 200 to obtain the target material box 300 from the corresponding storage position, and the fork device 120 can perform the operation of picking and placing the material box 300 when corresponding to the storage position of the shelf 200.

The embodiment of the application also provides a warehousing system, which comprises the goods shelf 200 and the robot 100 in the technical scheme. The plurality of shelves 200 are arranged at intervals, a roadway is arranged between the adjacent shelves 200, and the robot 100 moves in the roadway. The fork devices 120 of the robot 100 can pick and place the material boxes 300 on the racks 200 at both sides of the roadway.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical solution of the present application, and not for limiting the same; although the application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical scheme described in the foregoing embodiments can be modified or some or all of the technical features thereof can be replaced by equivalents; such modifications and substitutions do not depart from the spirit of the technical solutions according to the embodiments of the present application.

Claims (23)

1. A fork assembly for picking and placing a material container, comprising: the telescopic mechanism and get goods mechanism, get goods mechanism set up in telescopic mechanism is last, and can follow telescopic mechanism's length direction slides, get goods mechanism includes gets goods unit, get goods unit has two get goods portion, two get goods portion is located get goods mechanism along getting goods direction's relative both sides, two get goods portion be used for with the material case can dismantle the connection, and two get goods portion is configured to get and put the material case of fork device different sides, so that get goods unit towards the different directions of fork device get put the material case.

2. The fork assembly of claim 1 wherein said pick unit acts upon a surface of the bin proximate to said fork assembly when said pick unit picks up a load.

3. The fork assembly of claim 1 wherein said pick up section is a suction cup.

4. The fork apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pick up section is a plug-in section, the pick up mechanism further comprising a first drive unit configured to drive the pick up unit to slide to plug-in or separate the plug-in section from the bin.

5. The fork apparatus of claim 4 wherein the direction of sliding of the first drive unit when driving the pick up unit is perpendicular to the direction of sliding of the pick up mechanism when sliding relative to the telescopic mechanism.

6. The fork assembly of claim 4 wherein said pick up mechanism further comprises a slide plate and a connecting plate, said slide plate being positioned on said telescoping mechanism and slidably disposed relative to said telescoping mechanism, said connecting plate being connected to said slide plate, said first drive unit being positioned on said connecting plate, said pick up unit being connected to an output of said first drive unit.

7. The fork assembly of claim 6 wherein said pick up mechanism further includes a guide shaft, said guide shaft being coupled to said slide plate, said pick up unit having a guide aperture, said guide shaft being disposed through said guide aperture, said first drive unit driving said pick up unit to slide along said guide shaft.

8. The fork assembly of claim 6 wherein said pick up unit has a connecting portion, two of said pick up portions being connected to opposite sides of said connecting portion, said pick up mechanism further comprising a mounting block connected to an output of said first drive unit, said connecting portion being connected to said mounting block.

9. The fork device of claim 8, wherein two of said pick up sections are bent relative to said connecting section in a sliding direction of said pick up unit; and/or, the two goods taking parts are bent towards the same direction.

10. The fork assembly of claim 6 wherein said connection plate and said first drive unit are located laterally of said pick up unit along a length of said slide plate, said first drive unit driving said pick up unit to slide in a vertical direction.

11. The fork apparatus of any one of claims 1-10, wherein the retraction mechanism includes a base, a retraction member and a drive assembly, the retraction member being slidably coupled to the base, the drive assembly including a second drive unit configured to drive the retraction member to slide relative to the base and a third drive unit configured to drive the retrieval mechanism to slide relative to the retraction member.

12. The fork apparatus of claim 11, wherein the second driving unit is disposed on the base, the telescopic member has a plurality of first engaging portions, the plurality of first engaging portions are arranged along a length direction of the base, and the output end of the second driving unit has a second engaging portion, and the second engaging portion engages with the first engaging portion, so that the telescopic member is driven to slide when the output end of the second driving unit rotates.

13. The fork device of claim 11, wherein the third driving unit is disposed on the telescopic member, the driving assembly further comprises a first flexible transmission member and at least two first transmission wheels, the at least two first transmission wheels are disposed at two ends of the telescopic member respectively, the first flexible transmission member is wound on the outer sides of the at least two first transmission wheels and moves along with rotation of the first transmission wheels, an output end of the third driving unit is connected with any one of the at least two first transmission wheels, and the picking mechanism is connected with the first flexible transmission member.

14. The fork assembly of claim 11, wherein the third drive unit is disposed on the base, the drive assembly further comprises a second flexible transmission member and a plurality of second transmission wheels, the plurality of second transmission wheels are disposed on the base and the telescopic members, respectively, the second flexible transmission member is wound on the outer sides of the plurality of second transmission wheels and moves along with rotation of the second transmission wheels, an output end of the third drive unit is connected with any one of the second transmission wheels on the base, and the picking mechanism is connected with the second flexible transmission member.

15. The fork assembly of claim 14 wherein said second drive wheel on said telescoping member has a variable relative position with respect to said second drive wheel on said base as said telescoping member slides with respect to said base.

16. The pallet fork apparatus of claim 14 wherein a plurality of said second drive wheels include two drive wheel sets symmetrically disposed, each of said drive wheel sets including an outer drive wheel disposed on said telescoping member and two inner drive wheels, one of said two inner drive wheels disposed on said telescoping member and the other of said two inner drive wheels disposed on said base, said inner and outer drive wheels having different positions in the sliding direction of said telescoping member;

the second flexible transmission piece surrounds the outer sides of the inner transmission wheels of the two transmission wheel sets to form a closed ring shape, and the outer transmission wheels of the two transmission wheel sets are positioned outside the closed ring shape.

17. The fork assembly of claim 16 wherein two of said drive pulley sets are symmetrically disposed along the direction of sliding movement of said telescoping member and wherein the spacing between said inner drive pulleys of two of said drive pulley sets are symmetrically spaced from each other by a distance greater than the spacing between said outer drive pulleys of said telescoping member.

18. The fork assembly of any one of claims 1-10, wherein the telescoping mechanism includes a base and a drive assembly slidably coupled to the base, the drive assembly being disposed on the base and configured to drive the slide of the pick mechanism relative to the base.

19. The fork apparatus of any one of claims 12-17, wherein the telescoping mechanism further comprises a first detection unit disposed on the base, the first detection unit configured to detect a position of the telescoping member relative to the base.

20. The fork apparatus of any one of claims 12-17, wherein the retraction mechanism further comprises a second detection unit disposed on the retraction member, the second detection unit configured to detect a position of the retrieval mechanism relative to the retraction member.

21. The fork apparatus of any one of claims 12-17, wherein the base comprises a mounting plate and two parallel-disposed base plates, the mounting plate being connected between the two base plates, the second drive unit being disposed on the mounting plate; the telescopic parts comprise two telescopic plates which are arranged in parallel, the two telescopic plates are respectively connected with the two base plates in a sliding mode, and two ends of the goods taking mechanism are respectively connected with the two telescopic plates in a sliding mode.

22. A robot comprising a body and the fork assembly of any one of claims 1-21, wherein the fork assembly is disposed on the body.

23. A warehousing system characterized by comprising a plurality of shelves and the robot of claim 22, wherein the shelves are arranged at intervals, a roadway is arranged between every two adjacent shelves, the robot is configured to move in the roadway, and fork devices of the robot can pick and place material boxes on the shelves on two sides of the roadway.