CN219929547U - Get and put subassembly and transfer robot - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a pick-and-place assembly and a transfer robot, the pick-and-place assembly comprising: the device comprises a base and a fork holding unit, wherein the fork holding unit is arranged on the base and comprises two telescopic arm mechanisms which are arranged on the base at intervals; the two telescopic arm mechanisms are configured to extend or retract in a picking and placing direction so as to pick and place the container; wherein the two telescopic arm mechanisms are configured to move relative to the base in a lateral direction perpendicular to the pick-and-place direction to compensate for lateral misalignment between the telescopic arm mechanisms and the container. The horizontal displacement of the telescopic arm mechanism is used for compensating the position deviation between the telescopic arm mechanism and the container, so that the movement precision is high, and the response is quick.

Description

Get and put subassembly and transfer robot

Technical Field

The disclosure relates to the technical field of warehouse logistics, in particular to a picking and placing assembly; the present disclosure also relates to a transfer robot.

Background

The transfer robot is an important component for realizing 'goods to people' in the intelligent storage field, and the transfer robot generally comprises a chassis assembly, a portal assembly and a picking and placing assembly, and can realize picking and placing of containers through the picking and placing assembly. The bin is typically sized to fit the pick and place assembly, which needs to be aligned with the bin when picking and placing the bin, thereby avoiding pick and place failures.

In the prior art, in order to accurately align the pick-and-place assembly with the bin, it is necessary to control the transfer robot to move to compensate for the positional deviation between the bin and the pick-and-place assembly. Because the transfer robot is higher in height, the stand column is longer, and when translational motion of the chassis is transferred to the picking and placing assembly positioned at the top end of the robot, the defects of slow response and poor precision exist.

Disclosure of Invention

The utility model provides a get and put subassembly and transfer robot in order to solve the problem that exists among the prior art.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a pick-and-place assembly comprising:

a base;

the fork holding unit is arranged on the base and comprises two telescopic arm mechanisms which are arranged on the base at intervals; the two telescopic arm mechanisms are configured to extend or retract in a picking and placing direction so as to pick and place the container;

wherein the two telescopic arm mechanisms are configured to move relative to the base in a lateral direction perpendicular to the pick-and-place direction to compensate for lateral misalignment between the telescopic arm mechanisms and the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, both of the telescoping arm mechanisms are configured to move independently in a lateral direction under the control of respective lateral adjustment mechanisms.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the two telescopic arm mechanisms are configured to be controlled by the same or different magnitudes of the respective lateral adjustment mechanism co-directional or counter-directional movements to compensate for lateral misalignment between the telescopic arm mechanism and the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the two telescopic arm mechanisms are configured to be controlled by the same or different magnitudes of the respective lateral adjustment mechanism co-directional or counter-directional movements to adjust the distance between the two telescopic arm mechanisms.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the two telescopic arm mechanisms are configured to be controlled by the same or different magnitudes of the respective lateral adjustment mechanisms in the same direction or in opposite directions to compensate for lateral misalignment between the telescopic arm mechanisms and the container and to adjust the distance between the two telescopic arm mechanisms.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the telescoping arm mechanism is configured to be a guided fit on the base; the transverse adjusting mechanism comprises a synchronous belt and a driving motor which are arranged on the base, and the telescopic arm mechanism is connected with the synchronous belt; the synchronous belt is configured to be controlled by the driving motor to drive the telescopic arm mechanism to move in the transverse direction in the rotating process.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, an image acquisition device is provided on the base, the image acquisition device being configured to acquire the pose of the container after the pick-and-place assembly is raised to a target height; the telescopic arm mechanism is configured to move in a lateral direction based on the pose to compensate for lateral misalignment between the telescopic arm mechanism and the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the telescopic arm mechanism is configured to move in a lateral direction based on the pose, so that a spacing between two telescopic arm mechanisms is adapted to a size of the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the pick-and-place assembly includes a lift platform to which the base is rotatably coupled, and the clasping unit is configured to rotate relative to the lift platform based on the pose bias to compensate for a deflection angle between the clasping unit and the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a traversing platform is disposed on the base, and the traversing platform is connected to the base in a guiding manner; the fork holding unit is configured to be connected to the traversing platform; the traversing platform is configured to drive the clasping unit to move in a lateral direction to compensate for lateral misalignment between the clasping unit and the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a mounting bracket is provided on the base; the telescopic arm mechanism is in guide fit with the mounting bracket; the telescopic arm mechanism is configured to be controlled by a displacement of the height adjusting mechanism in a height direction relative to the mounting bracket.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the height adjustment mechanism is configured to control the telescopic arm mechanism to move in the height direction based on a height deviation between the telescopic arm mechanism and the carrier.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the free end of the telescopic arm mechanism is provided with a detection sensor, and the height adjustment mechanism is configured to control the telescopic arm mechanism to move in the height direction to avoid an obstacle when the detection sensor is triggered.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the height adjustment mechanism comprises a lead screw motor and a lead screw nut drivingly connected to the lead screw motor; the screw nut is fixed on the telescopic arm mechanism and is configured to drive the telescopic arm mechanism to move in the height direction under the driving action of the screw motor.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a free end of the telescopic arm mechanism is provided with an obstacle avoidance sensor configured to detect whether an extension path of the telescopic arm mechanism is blocked; the telescopic arm mechanism is configured to extend when a path detected by the obstacle avoidance sensor is unobstructed; and moving in the transverse direction when the path detected by the obstacle avoidance sensor is blocked.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the telescopic arm mechanism is configured to extend or retract in a first direction to take and place a container located in the first direction; the telescopic arm mechanism is configured to extend or retract in a second direction to take and place a container located in the second direction.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a transfer robot including:

a chassis assembly;

a mast assembly disposed on the chassis assembly and configured to extend in a height direction;

a pick-and-place assembly disposed on the mast assembly and configured to move in a height direction along the mast assembly; the picking and placing assembly comprises a base and a fork holding unit arranged on the base, wherein the fork holding unit comprises two telescopic arm mechanisms which are arranged on the base at intervals; the two telescopic arm mechanisms are configured to extend or retract in a pick-and-place direction to pick and place a container, and are further configured to move relative to the base in a lateral direction perpendicular to the pick-and-place direction to align the container in the lateral direction.

One benefit of the present disclosure is that the pick and place assembly is capable of moving two telescoping arm mechanisms in a lateral direction such that the telescoping arm mechanisms can be aligned with a container. The transverse displacement of the telescopic arm mechanism is flexibly adjusted, and the power required for driving the original element is low due to the small volume and weight of the telescopic arm mechanism, so that the carrying cost is saved; in addition, the picking and placing assembly disclosed by the invention compensates the position deviation between the picking and placing assembly and the container through the transverse displacement of the telescopic arm mechanism, so that the motion precision is high and the response is quick.

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

Drawings

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

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of a transfer robot of the present disclosure;

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

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a pick-and-place assembly according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural view of a lateral adjustment mechanism of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a pick-and-place assembly according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural view of a traversing platform of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a partial schematic view of the telescopic arm mechanism of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a pick-and-place assembly according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged schematic view of the structure of FIG. 8A;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural view of a height adjustment mechanism of the present disclosure;

fig. 11 is a schematic view of a pick-and-place assembly according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

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

1. The device comprises a chassis component, 2, a portal component, 3, a picking and placing component, 30, a fork unit, 31, a base, 311, a mounting bracket, 312, an image acquisition device, 32, a transverse adjusting mechanism, 321, a driving motor, 322, a synchronous belt, 323, a belt wheel, 324, a fixed block, 33, a telescopic arm mechanism, 331, a poking finger, 332, a detection sensor, 333, an obstacle avoidance sensor, 34, a height adjusting mechanism, 341, a guide rail, 342, a slide block, 343, a screw nut, 344, a screw motor, 35, a lifting platform, 36, a traversing platform, 361, a slide rail, 362 and a traversing motor.

Detailed Description

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

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

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

It should be noted that: like reference numerals and letters denote like items in the following figures, and thus once an item is defined in one figure, no further discussion thereof is necessary in subsequent figures.

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

Herein, "first", "second", etc. are used only for distinguishing one another, and do not denote any order or importance, but rather denote a prerequisite of presence.

Herein, "equal," "same," etc. are not strictly mathematical and/or geometric limitations, but also include deviations that may be appreciated by those skilled in the art and allowed by fabrication or use, etc.

The utility model provides a get and put subassembly, including base and armful fork unit, wherein armful fork unit sets up on the base, including two telescopic arm mechanisms of interval setting on the base, telescopic arm mechanism can stretch out or retract along getting the direction of putting to get the container and put. The telescopic arm mechanism may for example be used to effect the removal and placement of the containers by clamping, hooking, magnetic attraction, vacuum attraction, forking or in a manner known to those skilled in the art.

The two telescopic arm mechanisms of the present disclosure are configured to move relative to the base in a lateral direction perpendicular to the pick-and-place direction to compensate for lateral misalignment between the telescopic arm mechanisms and the container.

In particular, the telescopic arm mechanism of the present disclosure may move in a lateral direction relative to the base, which allows for compensating for positional deviations between the telescopic arm mechanism and the container by movement of the telescopic arm mechanism when there is a positional deviation in the lateral direction between the telescopic arm mechanism and the container, thereby ensuring that the pick-and-place assembly may be aligned with the container between pick-and-place actions, avoiding a failure in picking a bin due to the positional deviation.

The picking and placing assembly disclosed by the invention can accurately and stably pick and place the container by moving the two telescopic arm mechanisms in the transverse direction so that the telescopic arm mechanisms can be aligned with the container. The transverse displacement of the telescopic arm mechanism is flexibly adjusted, and the power required for driving the original element is low due to the small volume and weight of the telescopic arm mechanism, so that the carrying cost is saved; in addition, the picking and placing assembly disclosed by the invention compensates the position deviation between the picking and placing assembly and the container through the transverse displacement of the telescopic arm mechanism, so that the motion precision is high and the response is quick.

For ease of understanding, the pick-and-place assembly of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 1-11, in conjunction with specific embodiments. It should be noted that, in order to keep the text concise, the present disclosure also introduces the handling robot when describing the picking and placing assembly, and the description of the handling robot is not repeated separately.

Example 1

The present disclosure provides a pick-and-place assembly, which may be assembled on a handling robot, or on a workbench or a stand, to which the present disclosure is not limited. In this embodiment, a case where the robot is mounted on a transfer robot will be described in detail.

Referring to fig. 1, the transfer robot of the present disclosure includes a chassis assembly 1, a mast assembly 2, and a pick-and-place assembly 3. The chassis assembly 1 is supported on a work surface and is used for carrying the mast assembly 2, and the chassis assembly 1 can be configured to be supported on the ground and have a certain length and width with the ground so as to ensure the stability of the self-movement. The chassis assembly 1 may be provided with a driving wheel which is in contact with the ground and which drives the chassis assembly 1 to move over the ground. The mast assembly 2 may be configured to be disposed on the chassis assembly 1, e.g., a bottom of the mast assembly 2 is fixedly coupled to a top of the chassis assembly 1, and the mast assembly 2 may be configured to extend in a height direction to correspond to a height of the vehicle.

With continued reference to fig. 1, the pick-and-place assembly 3 is disposed on the mast assembly 2 and is configured to move in a height direction along the mast assembly 2 such that the pick-and-place assembly 3 can be moved to correspond to storage locations of different heights to effect pick-and-place of containers of different heights.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to fig. 2, the pick-and-place assembly 3 includes a lift platform 35 disposed on the mast assembly 2. The lift platform 35 is configured for guided attachment to the mast assembly 2 and for supporting the remaining structure of the pick-and-place assembly 3. The lifting platform 35 can move in the height direction along the portal assembly 2 so as to drive the whole picking and placing assembly 3 to move in the height direction along the portal assembly 2 together, thereby realizing picking and placing of containers with different heights.

Referring to fig. 3, the pick-and-place assembly of the present disclosure includes a base 31 and a yoke unit 30, the yoke unit 30 including two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 disposed on the base at intervals. The telescopic arm mechanism 33 may be extended or retracted along a picking and placing direction, as shown in fig. 3, to pick and place the container, the picking and placing direction is the extending direction of the telescopic arm mechanism 33. The telescopic arm mechanism 33 may be configured as a primary telescopic fork structure, a secondary telescopic fork structure, or a telescopic fork structure of more stages to accommodate storage positions of various depths. The telescopic arm mechanism 33 in the present disclosure achieves taking and placing of containers through the fingers 331.

In detail, with continued reference to fig. 3, the free ends of both telescopic arm mechanisms 33 have fingers 331 thereon, the fingers 331 being configured to move between a vertical position and a horizontal position. When the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 extend towards the container, the two fingers 331 are kept at vertical positions so as to ensure that the telescopic arm mechanisms 33 extend smoothly and do not touch the container; when the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are extended to both sides of the container, the two fingers 331 are moved and maintained in the horizontal position, that is, the position state of the fingers 331 shown in fig. 3, to horizontally frame the container; when the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 retract along the picking and placing direction, the two fingers 331 continue to be kept at the horizontal position so as to hook the container onto the object placing platform in the middle of the fork holding unit 30.

The two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 of the present disclosure are configured to move in a lateral direction perpendicular to the pick-and-place direction with respect to the base 31 to compensate for lateral deviation between the telescopic arm mechanisms 33 and the container. When there is a positional deviation in the lateral direction between the telescopic arm mechanism 33 and the container, the positional deviation between the telescopic arm mechanism 33 and the container can be compensated by the movement of the telescopic arm mechanism 33, so that the picking and placing assembly 3 can be aligned with the container between the picking and placing actions, and the case picking failure caused by the positional deviation is avoided.

The flexible adjustment of the transverse displacement of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 is realized, and the power required for driving the original element is low due to the small volume and weight of the telescopic arm mechanism 33, so that the carrying cost is saved; in addition, the pick-and-place assembly of the present disclosure compensates for positional deviation with the container by lateral displacement of the telescopic arm mechanism 33, so that the movement accuracy is high and the response is fast.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, with continued reference to fig. 3, the pick-and-place assembly 3 further includes an image capture device 312 located on the base 31, the image capture device 312 being configured to capture the pose of the container after the pick-and-place assembly 3 is raised to the target height. The image capture device 312 may be a conventional image capture device 312 such as a video camera, a still camera, or the like. In the present disclosure, the image capture device 312 is a depth camera. The depth camera shoots the container in real time, so that the information of the horizontal position, the height position, the storage depth, the size and the deflection attitude of the container are determined; the depth camera can also shoot the carrier in real time, so that the information such as the horizontal position, the height position, the storage depth and the like of the storage position on the carrier can be obtained. The transfer robot can adjust the position of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 based on the above information, so that the telescopic arm mechanism 33 moves laterally to a position corresponding to the container or the storage position, so as to compensate the lateral deviation between the telescopic arm mechanism 33 and the container, and facilitate the telescopic arm mechanism 33 to take and put the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, with continued reference to fig. 3, the pick and place assembly 3 further includes a lateral adjustment mechanism 32. The two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are configured to be independently moved in the lateral direction under the control of the respective lateral adjustment mechanisms 32. That is, the telescopic arm mechanism 33 can be moved laterally with respect to the base 31 alone.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the two telescoping arm mechanisms 33 are configured to be controlled by the same or different magnitudes of the respective lateral adjustment mechanisms 32 in either the same direction or opposite directions to compensate for lateral misalignment between the telescoping arm mechanisms 33 and the container. For example, when the container is taken and placed by the taking and placing assembly 3, the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 may be controlled to move a predetermined distance in the lateral direction with respect to the base 31 based on the deviation between the telescopic arm mechanisms 33 and the container, so that the telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are aligned with the container or the storage position. When moving, because the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are independently controlled, the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 can be controlled to move in the same direction or in opposite directions by the same amplitude or different amplitudes according to actual conditions, so that the aim of alignment is achieved. For example, in a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, if the lateral deviation of the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 with the same magnitude is calculated, the adjustment purpose can be achieved only by controlling the same magnitude of the movement of the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 in the same direction.

For example, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, if the lateral deviation between the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 and the container is calculated to be different, the respective displacements of the respective movements of the respective telescopic arm mechanisms 33 may be controlled, so that the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 may be ensured to be moved to the aligned positions.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the two telescoping arm mechanisms 33 are configured to be controlled by the same or different magnitudes of the respective lateral adjustment mechanisms 32 in the same or opposite directions to adjust the distance between the two telescoping arm mechanisms 33. For example, when the container is taken and placed by the taking and placing assembly 3, the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 may be controlled to move a predetermined distance in the lateral direction with respect to the base 31 based on the deviation between the distance between the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 and the size of the container, so that the distance between the telescopic arm mechanisms 33 is adjusted to fit the container. When moving, because the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are independently controlled, the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 can be controlled to move in the same direction or in opposite directions by the same amplitude or different amplitudes according to actual conditions, so that the purpose of adjusting the distance is achieved.

For example, in a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, if the distance between the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 is calculated to be smaller than the size of the container, the corresponding magnitudes of the reverse movements of the corresponding telescopic arm mechanisms 33 may be controlled, so that the distance between the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 may be ensured to be adjusted to the extent that the distance fits the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the two telescoping arm mechanisms 33 are configured to be controlled by the same or different magnitudes of the respective lateral adjustment mechanisms 32 in either the same direction or opposite directions to compensate for lateral misalignment between the telescoping arm mechanisms 33 and the container and to adjust the distance between the two telescoping arm mechanisms 33. For example, when the container is taken and placed by the taking and placing assembly 3, the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 may be controlled to move a predetermined distance in the lateral direction with respect to the base 31 based on the deviation between the distance between the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 and the container size and the lateral deviation between the telescopic arm mechanisms 33 and the container, so that the distance between the telescopic arm mechanisms 33 is adjusted to fit the container and align the container. When moving, because the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are independently controlled, the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 can be controlled to move in the same direction or in opposite directions according to actual conditions, or different magnitudes, so that the purposes of adjusting the distance and adjusting the container are achieved.

For example, in a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, if the lateral deviation between the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 and the container is calculated to be different, and the distance between the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 is not adapted to the size of the container, the respective displacements of the respective telescopic arm mechanisms 33 can be controlled respectively, so that it is possible to ensure that the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are moved to the aligned positions, and the distance between them is adjusted to the extent that they are adapted to the container.

In the above embodiment, the relative positional relationship between the telescopic arm mechanism 33 and the container or the storage position is determined based on the image information acquired by the image acquisition device 312. The telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are configured to move in the lateral direction based on the container pose acquired by the image pickup device 312, so that the space between the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 is adapted to the size of the container, and the container is aligned for easy taking and placing.

In a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, the image capturing device 312 is configured to obtain pose information of the container after the to-be-clasped fork unit 30 moves to a predetermined height along with the lifting platform 35; the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are configured to move in opposite or facing directions in the lateral direction based on the calculated lateral deviation until the spacing between the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 is adapted to the size of the container; or the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are configured to move in the same direction in the lateral direction based on the calculated pose deviation to compensate for the lateral deviation between the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 and the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to fig. 3 and 4, the telescopic arm mechanism 33 and the lateral adjustment mechanism 32 are both configured on the base 31, wherein the lateral adjustment mechanism 32 includes a drive motor 321, a timing belt 322, a pulley 323, and a fixed block 324. The pulley 323 is rotatable by the driving of the driving motor 321, and the timing belt 322 is rotatably connected to the pulley 323. That is, the timing belt 322 can be rotated by the driving of the driving motor 321. The fixed block 324 is disposed on the synchronous belt 322, and when the synchronous belt 322 rotates, the fixed block 324 moves along with the synchronous belt 322. As shown in fig. 4, the timing belt 322 is disposed in a lateral direction, and the fixing block 324 is movable in the lateral direction when the timing belt 322 rotates. The telescopic arm mechanism 33 is fixedly connected to the fixed block 324, and the fixed block 324 drives the telescopic arm mechanism 33 to move along the transverse direction when moving along the transverse direction. That is, the timing belt 322 is configured to drive the telescopic arm mechanism 33 to move in the lateral direction during rotation by the drive motor 321.

With continued reference to fig. 4, two lateral adjustment mechanisms 32 are disposed in parallel on the base 31. The two driving motors 321 are adjacently arranged and respectively control the respective corresponding synchronous belts 322 to rotate along the transverse direction. The two synchronous belts 322 are arranged in parallel and drive the corresponding fixed blocks 324 to move along the transverse direction, the two fixed blocks 324 cannot interfere with each other in the moving process, and the moving process is completely independent. This arrangement allows the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 to move independently in the lateral direction without interfering with each other.

Because the telescopic arm mechanism 33 has smaller volume and weight, the power of the required driving original is lower, compared with the scheme that the whole transfer robot moves to align the container by moving the chassis assembly 1, the transfer cost is greatly saved, the precision of the transverse displacement of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 is improved, and the response speed in the control process is accelerated. In addition, the lateral adjustment mechanism 32 is very space-saving and does not add any additional height to the pick-and-place assembly 3.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to fig. 7, the free end of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 is provided with an obstacle avoidance sensor 333, the obstacle avoidance sensor 333 being configured to detect whether the extension path of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 is blocked. When no shielding exists on the path detected by the obstacle avoidance sensor 333, the telescopic arm mechanism 33 stretches out and performs the task of taking the container back; when there is a shade on the path detected by the obstacle avoidance sensor 333, the telescopic arm mechanism 33 moves in the lateral direction to avoid the obstacle.

In the process of taking and returning the container, the transfer robot can detect whether the extending path of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 is blocked or not through the obstacle avoidance sensor 333, and further acquire the relative position of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 and the container. When the container is caught on the projecting path of the telescopic arm mechanism 33, or when other obstacle exists near the container and is caught on the projecting path of the telescopic arm mechanism 33, the obstacle avoidance sensor 333 can recognize that the telescopic arm mechanism 33 collides with the container or other obstacle. Only when the obstacle avoidance sensor 333 detects that the extending path of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 is not blocked, the telescopic arm mechanism 33 is allowed to extend to hook the container located on the rack onto the transfer robot or push the container on the transfer robot onto the carrier for storage. This prevents the telescopic arm mechanism 33 from colliding with the container during the extension process, so that serious dislocation of the container or other adjacent containers occurs, and the safety of the container taking and returning process is ensured.

The obstacle avoidance sensor 333 may be a photoelectric sensor such as a laser sensor or an infrared sensor, and is capable of detecting whether an obstacle exists in front within a set detection depth range. For example, the laser sensor may emit a laser beam in a detection direction, and when an obstacle is present in front of the sensor, the emitted laser beam may strike the obstacle, and may be detected by the laser sensor at this time, and at this time, it may also be understood that the laser sensor or the infrared sensor is triggered, and emits a triggered electrical signal. When no obstacle is detected within the detection range of the obstacle avoidance sensor 333 or the detected obstacle exceeds the extension distance of the telescopic arm mechanism 33, the extension path of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 is considered to be unobstructed.

Since the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are simultaneously telescopic, the obstacle avoidance sensor 333 is provided at the free ends of the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33. When no shielding exists on the paths detected by the two obstacle avoidance sensors 333, the telescopic arm mechanisms 33 can extend, and when any one obstacle avoidance sensor 333 is triggered, the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 do not extend.

The obstacle avoidance sensor 333 is also configured to enable real-time detection during extension of the telescopic arm mechanism 33. If the bin is offset or otherwise caused by various factors during the extension of the telescopic arm mechanism 33, the obstacle avoidance sensor 333 can be triggered immediately as long as an obstacle appears on the extension path of the telescopic arm mechanism 33, and the telescopic arm mechanism 33 stops the extension action so as not to collide with the obstacle. In this process, the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 keep the movement synchronized, and when any one of the obstacle avoidance sensors 333 is triggered, the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 stop the extending movement at the same time.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to fig. 2 and 3, the base 31 is rotatably coupled to the elevating platform 35. When the transfer robot determines that there is a deflection angle between the container and the fork holding unit 30 based on the container pose acquired by the image acquisition device 312, the fork holding unit 30 can be rotated relative to the lifting platform 35, thereby compensating for the deflection angle. Because the volume weight of the fork holding unit 30 is smaller, the power of the required driving element is also lower, compared with the scheme that the whole transfer robot is rotated to align the container by rotating the chassis assembly 1, the transfer cost is saved, the precision of the deflection angle of the fork holding unit 30 is improved, and the response speed in control is accelerated.

In addition, when the obstacle avoidance sensor 333 detects that there is a shade on the path along which the telescopic arm mechanism 33 protrudes, the clasping fork unit 30 can be rotated by a predetermined angle with respect to the lifting platform 35 to compensate for the angular deviation between the clasping fork unit 30 and the container, or the telescopic arm mechanism 33 is configured to move in the lateral direction when the obstacle avoidance sensor 333 detects that there is a shade on the path to compensate for the lateral deviation between the telescopic arm mechanism 33 and the container. When the transfer robot disclosed in the present disclosure is used to transfer containers, it is first necessary to control the chassis assembly 1 to move on the ground, so as to drive the whole transfer robot to move to the position of the carrier corresponding to the target container. The pick-and-place assembly 3 is then moved to the corresponding height position of the target container by controlling the lift platform 35 to move in the height direction along the mast assembly 2. At this time, the pose of the target container can be acquired by the image pickup device 312, thereby judging the magnitudes of the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 respectively required to be adjusted in the lateral direction. The two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are each moved in the lateral direction under the control of the respective lateral adjustment mechanism 32 until lateral deviations from the target container are compensated for, while the spacing is also adjusted to fit the target container. If the image capturing device 312 detects that a deflection angle exists between the target container and the telescopic arm mechanism 33, the base 31 can be directly controlled to rotate on the lifting platform 35, so that the telescopic arm mechanism 33 can rotate relative to the lifting platform 35, and the deflection angle can be compensated.

After the adjustment, the telescopic arm mechanism 33 can be extended in the direction in which the target container is located. During the extension of the telescopic arm mechanism 33, the obstacle avoidance sensor 333 can monitor in real time whether the extension path of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 has an obstacle, and if the obstacle is encountered, the telescopic arm mechanism 33 can be further adjusted laterally to avoid the obstacle.

When the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are extended smoothly, the two fingers 331 can be put down, and the telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are retracted to hook the target container onto the picking and placing assembly. Finally, the chassis assembly 1 is controlled to move, and the current carrier position is left until the transfer robot transfers the target container to the end position.

Example two

The main difference between the first embodiment and the second embodiment is that the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are configured to move transversely in synchronization as a whole, that is, the fork unit 30 moves transversely as a whole, and this difference is described in detail below with reference to the drawings for ensuring brevity of the text. The specific structure and movement of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 are exactly the same as those of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 in the first embodiment, and will not be explained here.

Referring to fig. 5 and 6, in the present embodiment, a traversing platform 36 is provided on a base 31, the traversing platform 36 is connected to the base 31 by a sliding rail 361, and a fork holding unit 30 is connected to the traversing platform 36. The traversing platform 36 is configured to move the clasping unit 30 in a synchronized manner in a lateral direction to compensate for lateral misalignment between the clasping unit 30 and the container.

Specifically, the traversing platform 36 is controlled by a traversing motor 362, and when the traversing motor 362 is operated, the traversing platform 36 can move transversely relative to the base 31 along the sliding rail 361, and the fork unit 30 is connected to the traversing platform 36, so as to realize synchronous adjustment of the transverse displacement of the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33. When the picking and placing assembly 3 is to pick up and place the container, but the holding fork unit 30 is not aligned with the container or the storage position on the carrier in the transverse direction, the transverse moving motor 362 may control the transverse moving platform 36 to move transversely, so as to drive the holding fork unit 30 to move transversely synchronously until the container is aligned.

The traversing motor 362 is configured to control the amplitude of the lateral movement of the traversing platform 36 based on the container pose information acquired by the image capturing device 312, so as to drive the fork unit 30 to traverse synchronously with respect to the base 31, thereby compensating for the lateral deviation between the fork unit 30 and the container.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the yoke unit 30 is connected to the traversing platform 36, and the spacing between the two telescoping arm mechanisms 33 can be adjusted by a spacing adjustment device. The spacing adjustment device may be the lateral adjustment mechanism 32 of the first embodiment, or may be another type of adjustment device. For example, a distance adjusting device that simultaneously adjusts the movement of the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 toward or away from each other may be used to adjust the distance between the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 to a storage position that is adapted to the container or carrier.

The yoke unit 30 in this embodiment is capable of integrally synchronizing lateral movement. In practice, the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 can be adjusted transversely in synchronism as a whole until the midlines of the two are aligned with the midline of the container. The present embodiment provides a different control and adjustment manner from the embodiment, and can also realize efficient and accurate control of the lateral displacement of the fork holding unit 30.

Example III

The main difference between the first embodiment and the third embodiment is that the pick-and-place assembly 3 further includes a height adjustment mechanism 34, which is described in detail below with reference to the drawings for ensuring brevity of text. The specific structure and movement of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 are exactly the same as those of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 in the first embodiment, and will not be explained here.

Referring to fig. 8, the pick-and-place assembly 3 further includes a mounting bracket 311 provided on the base 31 and a height adjustment mechanism 34, and the telescopic arm mechanism 33 is in guide engagement with the mounting bracket 311 and is configured to be controlled by displacement of the height adjustment mechanism 34 in a height direction relative to the mounting bracket 311. Specifically, the mounting bracket 311 may be fixedly connected to the base 31, and if the pick-and-place assembly 3 described in the second embodiment is based on the pick-and-place assembly, the mounting bracket 311 may be fixedly connected to the traversing platform 36.

Specifically, the mounting bracket 311 and the height adjusting mechanism 34 are respectively provided with two, and respectively correspond to the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33, that is, the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are respectively guide-fitted on the mounting bracket 311 and respectively controlled by the respective height adjusting mechanisms 34 to move in the height direction relative to the mounting bracket 311. The two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 can be independently adjusted in height, but in practical application, the heights of the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are generally required to be integrally adjusted to compensate for the height deviation from the carrier. Thus, the two height adjusting mechanisms 34 can be driven synchronously, causing the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 to move in the height direction synchronously.

The height adjustment mechanism 34 may be configured to determine a height deviation between the telescopic arm mechanism 33 and the vehicle based on the vehicle image information acquired by the image pickup device 312, thereby controlling the magnitude of the movement of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 in the height direction to compensate for the height deviation between the telescopic arm mechanism 33 and the vehicle. The height adjustment mechanism 34 can only finely adjust the height of the telescopic arm mechanism 33, and if the entire pickup/discharge unit 3 is to be moved greatly, the lifting/lowering platform 35 is controlled to move up and down along the mast unit 2.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to fig. 9, the free ends of both telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are provided with detection sensors 332. The detection sensor 332 is a correlation sensor, and as shown in fig. 9, the detection sensor 332 can form an optical path between the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33. When the light path is intercepted by an obstacle, the detection sensor 332 is triggered. The height adjustment mechanism 34 is configured to control the telescopic arm mechanism 33 to move in the height direction to avoid an obstacle when the detection sensor 332 is triggered.

Specifically, the detection sensor 332 may be disposed at the same height as the finger 331. When the light path of the detection sensor 332 is cut off, it indicates that there is an obstacle at the height of the finger 331, and the finger 331 cannot move smoothly to the horizontal position, and the height of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 needs to be finely adjusted by the height adjusting mechanism 34 to put down the finger. In addition, when the telescopic arm mechanism 33 is extended to take out the container, the front end of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 may be scraped due to the natural sagging of the front end of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 by gravity. In this case, the height of the telescopic arm mechanism 33 needs to be finely adjusted by the height adjusting mechanism 34 to avoid the carrier or the obstacle, so that the container can be smoothly taken out and returned.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to fig. 10, the height adjustment mechanism 34 includes a lead screw motor 344 and a lead screw nut 343 drivingly connected to the lead screw motor 344. The screw nut 343 is fixedly connected to the telescopic arm mechanism 33, and is configured to drive the telescopic arm mechanism 33 to move in the height direction under the driving action of the screw motor 344.

The height adjusting mechanism 34 further includes a guide rail 341 and a slider 342, the guide rail 341 is fixedly connected to the telescopic arm mechanism 33, and the slider 342 is fixedly connected to the mounting bracket 311. When the screw nut 343 drives the telescopic arm mechanism 33 to move in the height direction under the driving action of the screw motor 344, the guide rail 341 slides in cooperation with the slider 342. In this embodiment, each telescopic arm mechanism 33 is provided with two guide rails 341 and two sliders 342 slidably connected to the two guide rails 341, respectively. The guide rails 341 provide support for the telescopic arm mechanism 33 in the vertical direction, enabling the telescopic arm mechanism 33 to move stably in the height direction with respect to the mounting bracket 311.

Example IV

The main difference of the fourth embodiment compared to the above three embodiments is that the telescopic arm mechanism 33 is also capable of taking and placing containers in two directions. In order to ensure brevity of text, this distinction point is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Referring to fig. 11, the telescopic arm mechanism 33 is configured to extend or retract in a first direction to take and put a container located in the first direction; and is also configured to extend or retract in a second direction to access containers located in the second direction. As shown in the view direction of fig. 11, the arrow at one end of the broken line points in the first direction and the arrow at the opposite end points in the second direction. The first direction and the second direction in the present disclosure are defined for clearly explaining the picking and placing operation of the telescopic arm mechanism 33, and the first direction and the second direction may be opposite directions.

As shown in fig. 11, the telescopic arm mechanism 33 has a multi-stage fork plate structure in which the last stage fork plate is the fork plate that protrudes to the outermost side. In the three previous embodiments, the telescopic arm mechanism 33 can only extend in a single-sided direction, so that only the finger 331 needs to be provided on one free end of the last-stage fork plate; in this embodiment, the fingers 331 are provided at both free ends of the last fork plate to pick and place containers in the first and second directions. The operation of the finger 331 is described in detail in the first embodiment, and will not be described here again.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, with continued reference to fig. 11, the pick-and-place assembly 3 further includes two image capture devices 312 located on the base 31, the two image capture devices 312 being configured to capture the pose of the container in the first and second directions after the pick-and-place assembly 3 is raised to the target height. The specific operation of the image capturing device 312 is described in detail in the first embodiment, and will not be described herein.

As shown in fig. 11, the image capturing device 312-1 is configured to acquire the pose of the container in the first direction after the pick-and-place assembly 3 is raised to the target height, so that the telescopic arm mechanism 33 can adjust the lateral displacement based on the pose information of the container to compensate the lateral deviation between the telescopic arm mechanism 33 and the container in the first direction, and the telescopic arm mechanism 33 is facilitated to pick and place the container in the first direction. The image capturing device 312-2 is configured to obtain the pose of the container located in the second direction after the pick-and-place assembly 3 is lifted to the target height, so that the telescopic arm mechanism 33 can adjust the lateral displacement based on the pose information of the container, so as to compensate the lateral deviation between the telescopic arm mechanism 33 and the container located in the second direction, and facilitate the telescopic arm mechanism 33 to pick and place the container located in the second direction. The manner in which the telescopic arm mechanism 33 adjusts the lateral displacement is identical to that of the first and/or second embodiments, and will not be described again.

Example five

Referring to fig. 3 and 5, the present embodiment provides a pick-and-place assembly, where the pick-and-place assembly 3 includes a base 31 and a fork assembly 30, and the fork assembly 30 includes two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 disposed on the base 31 at intervals; the two telescopic arm mechanisms 33 are configured to extend or retract in the pick-and-place direction to pick and place the containers, and are also configured to move in a transverse direction perpendicular to the pick-and-place direction with respect to the base 31 to align the containers in the transverse direction.

The picking and placing assembly 3 in this embodiment is identical to the picking and placing assembly 3 in the above four embodiments, and the picking and placing assembly 3 can be applied to other types of transfer robots or other devices that need to pick and place containers, and can also be used as a separate picking and placing device to pick and place containers.

The specific structure and connection relationship of the pick-and-place assembly 3 of this embodiment and the specific movement process thereof are identical to those of the pick-and-place assembly 3 of the above-described four embodiments, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

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

Claims (17)

1. A pick-and-place assembly, comprising:

a base (31);

the fork holding unit (30), the fork holding unit (30) is arranged on the base (31) and comprises two telescopic arm mechanisms (33) which are arranged on the base (31) at intervals; the two telescopic arm mechanisms (33) are configured to extend or retract in a picking and placing direction so as to pick and place the container;

wherein the two telescopic arm mechanisms (33) are configured to move in a transverse direction perpendicular to the pick-and-place direction with respect to the base (31) to compensate for lateral misalignment between the telescopic arm mechanisms (33) and the container.

2. Pick-and-place assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that both telescopic arm mechanisms (33) are configured to be controlled by respective lateral adjustment mechanisms (32) to move independently in a lateral direction.

3. Pick-and-place assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that the two telescopic arm mechanisms (33) are configured to be controlled by the same or different magnitudes of the same or opposite movements of the respective lateral adjustment mechanisms (32) to compensate for lateral deviations between the telescopic arm mechanisms (33) and the containers.

4. Pick-and-place assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that the two telescopic arm mechanisms (33) are configured to be controlled by the same or different magnitudes of the same or opposite movements of the respective lateral adjustment mechanisms (32) to adjust the distance between the two telescopic arm mechanisms (33).

5. Pick-and-place assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that two telescopic arm mechanisms (33) are configured to be controlled by the same or different magnitudes of the same or opposite movements of the respective lateral adjustment mechanisms (32) to compensate for lateral deviations between telescopic arm mechanisms (33) and the containers, and to adjust the distance between two telescopic arm mechanisms (33).

6. Pick-and-place assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that the telescopic arm mechanism (33) is configured to be guided fitted on the base (31); the transverse adjusting mechanism (32) comprises a synchronous belt (322) arranged on the base (31) and a driving motor (321), and the telescopic arm mechanism (33) is configured to be connected with the synchronous belt (322); the synchronous belt (322) is configured to drive the telescopic arm mechanism (33) to move in the transverse direction under the control of the driving motor (321) in the rotating process.

7. Pick-and-place assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that an image acquisition device (312) is provided on the base (31), the image acquisition device (312) being configured to acquire the pose of the container after the pick-and-place assembly (3) has been raised to a target height; the telescopic arm mechanism (33) is configured to move in a lateral direction based on the pose to compensate for lateral misalignment between the telescopic arm mechanism (33) and the container.

8. Pick-and-place assembly according to claim 7, characterized in that the telescopic arm mechanism (33) is configured to move in a lateral direction based on the pose, so that the spacing between two telescopic arm mechanisms (33) is adapted to the size of the container.

9. The pick-and-place assembly according to claim 7, characterized in that the pick-and-place assembly (3) comprises a lifting platform (35), the base (31) being rotatably connected to the lifting platform (35), the fork unit (30) being configured to rotate relative to the lifting platform (35) based on the pose deviation to compensate for the angle of deflection between the fork unit (30) and the container.

10. Pick-and-place assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that a traversing platform (36) is provided on the base (31), said traversing platform (36) being connected to the base (31) in a guided manner; the clasping unit (30) is configured to be connected to the traversing platform (36); the traversing platform (36) is configured to move the clasping unit (30) in a lateral direction to compensate for lateral misalignment between the clasping unit (30) and the container.

11. Pick-and-place assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that a mounting bracket (311) is provided on the base (31); the telescopic arm mechanism (33) is in guide fit with the mounting bracket (311); the telescopic arm mechanism (33) is configured to be controlled by displacement of the height adjusting mechanism (34) in the height direction relative to the mounting bracket (311).

12. Pick-and-place assembly according to claim 11, characterized in that the height adjustment mechanism (34) is configured to control the telescopic arm mechanism (33) to move in the height direction based on a height deviation between the telescopic arm mechanism (33) and the carrier.

13. Pick-and-place assembly according to claim 11, characterized in that the free end of the telescopic arm mechanism (33) is provided with a detection sensor (332), the height adjustment mechanism (34) being configured to control the telescopic arm mechanism (33) to move in height direction to avoid obstacles when the detection sensor (332) is triggered.

14. The pick-and-place assembly of claim 11, wherein the height adjustment mechanism (34) comprises a lead screw motor (344) and a lead screw nut (343) drivingly connected to the lead screw motor (344); the screw nut (343) is fixed on the telescopic arm mechanism (33) and is configured to drive the telescopic arm mechanism (33) to move in the height direction under the driving action of the screw motor (344).

15. The pick-and-place assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that a free end of the telescopic arm mechanism (33) is provided with an obstacle avoidance sensor (333), the obstacle avoidance sensor (333) being configured for detecting whether the extension path of the telescopic arm mechanism (33) is obstructed; the telescopic arm mechanism (33) is configured to extend when a path detected by the obstacle avoidance sensor (333) is unobstructed; and moving in a lateral direction when a path detected by the obstacle avoidance sensor (333) is blocked.

16. The pick-and-place assembly of claim 1, wherein the telescoping arm mechanism (33) is configured to extend or retract in a first direction to pick-and-place a container positioned in the first direction; the telescopic arm mechanism (33) is configured to extend or retract in a second direction to take and put a container located in the second direction.

17. A transfer robot, comprising:

a chassis assembly (1);

a mast assembly (2), the mast assembly (2) being arranged on the chassis assembly (1) and being configured to extend in a height direction;

-a pick-and-place assembly (3), the pick-and-place assembly (3) being arranged on the mast assembly (2) and being configured to move in a height direction along the mast assembly (2); the picking and placing assembly (3) comprises a base (31) and a fork holding unit (30) arranged on the base (31), wherein the fork holding unit (30) comprises two telescopic arm mechanisms (33) arranged on the base (31) at intervals; the two telescopic arm mechanisms (33) are configured to extend or retract in a pick-and-place direction to pick and place a container, and are further configured to move in a transverse direction perpendicular to the pick-and-place direction with respect to the base (31) to align the container in the transverse direction.