TWM655716U - Container retrieval device and mobile robot - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a container retrieval device and a handling robot. The container retrieval device includes a base and a telescopic fork, a telescopic driving assembly and a supporting follower assembly arranged on the base. The telescopic fork is provided with a locking assembly. The locking assembly limits the telescopic fork from extending and retracting so that the supporting follower assembly maintains a retracted state. The telescopic driving assembly can drive the telescopic fork to break away from the restriction of the locking assembly so that the telescopic fork and the supporting follower assembly can be retracted. The supporting follower assembly can extend and retract; the locking assembly can limit the extension and retraction of the telescopic fork. After the telescopic drive assembly loses power, the locking assembly can provide a locking force to keep the telescopic fork in a retracted state, so that the telescopic fork and the supporting follower assembly cannot extend forward. After the handling robot is powered off, the supporting follower assembly can still maintain a retracted state to prevent the supporting follower assembly from causing damage to personnel or surrounding equipment.

Description

Container retrieval device and handling robot

[Related Application]

This work claims the priority of application number 202222869701.1 filed with the China Patent Office on October 28, 2022; the priority of application number 202222701519.5 filed with the China Patent Office on October 13, 2022; all of which are incorporated into this work by reference.

This work is about the field of smart storage equipment technology, especially about a container retrieval device and a handling robot.

In the warehouse logistics system, when the telescopic fork of the handling robot is picking up and returning small-sized boxes, in order to prevent the small boxes from falling into the gap between the shelf and the telescopic fork, a follower pallet is generally designed in the telescopic fork assembly. During the process of picking up and returning the boxes, the follower pallet is extended to receive the small boxes to prevent them from falling. The design requirement of the follower pallet is to extend and retract itself during the process of the telescopic fork picking up and returning the boxes. In order to reduce costs, a separate and complex control unit is generally not designed to control the corresponding actions. Instead, a tension spring is simply installed as the power for the follower pallet to extend, and the retraction of the follower pallet is completed by the retraction of the telescopic fork.

The present invention provides a container retrieval device and a handling robot, comprising: a base; a telescopic fork, disposed on the base; a telescopic drive assembly, disposed on the base, configured to drive the telescopic fork to extend and retract along a first direction; a supporting follower assembly, disposed on the base, the supporting follower assembly extends and retracts following the extension and retraction of the telescopic fork, and the supporting follower assembly has a retracted state accommodated on the base and an extended state extending forward relative to the base; The locking assembly is arranged on the telescopic fork. The locking assembly limits the extension and retraction of the telescopic fork so that the supporting follower assembly maintains a retracted state. The telescopic driving assembly can drive the telescopic fork out of the restriction of the locking assembly, so that the telescopic fork and the supporting follower assembly can extend and retract.

The following will describe in more detail exemplary embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Although the drawings show exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that the present invention can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to enable a more thorough understanding of the present invention and to fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

It should be understood that the terms used herein are for the purpose of describing specific example embodiments only and are not intended to be limiting. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "a", "an", and "said" as used herein may also be meant to include plural forms. The terms "include", "comprise", "contain", and "have" are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of the features, steps, operations, elements, and/or parts described, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, parts, and/or combinations thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring them to be performed in the specific order described or illustrated, unless the order of execution is clearly indicated. It should also be understood that additional or alternative steps may be used.

Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used in the text to describe multiple elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may only be used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, or section from another region, layer, or section. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, terms such as "first", "second", and other digital terms do not imply an order or sequence when used in the text. Therefore, the first element, component, region, layer, or section discussed below may be referred to as a second element, component, region, layer, or section without departing from the teachings of the exemplary embodiments.

For ease of description, spatially relative terms may be used in the text to describe the relationship of one element or feature relative to another element or feature as shown in the figures, such as "inside", "outside", "inner side", "outer side", "below", "below", "above", "above", etc. Such spatially relative terms are intended to include different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figure is flipped, then the elements described as "below other elements or features" or "below other elements or features" will then be oriented as "above other elements or features" or "above other elements or features". Therefore, the example term "below..." can include both upper and lower orientations. The device can be oriented otherwise (rotated 90 degrees or in other directions) and the spatially relative descriptors used in the text are interpreted accordingly.

In the above design, when the follower tray is in the retracted state, the telescopic fork is also in the retracted state, and the telescopic fork can limit the follower tray from extending under the action of the tension spring, that is, under normal working conditions, the follower tray will be limited by the position of the telescopic fork and can only follow the extension and extension of the telescopic fork. However, when the handling robot is powered off, the telescopic fork usually loses the braking force to keep it in the retracted state. At this time, the follower tray may extend under the action of the tension spring, and the extended part of the follower tray is easy to injure people and property. In order to avoid this situation, some handling robots currently use a brake motor as the telescopic fork's telescopic drive power. In this way, after the handling robot is powered off, the brake motor keeps the telescopic fork in the retracted state, thereby providing a locking force for the follower tray to prevent the follower tray from popping out. However, this solution will affect the flexibility of maintenance personnel when inspecting the telescopic fork. For example, the brake needs to be released to pull out the telescopic fork for maintenance inspection.

Based on the above existing problems, referring to FIGS. 1 to 10 , the present embodiment provides a container retrieving device 100, comprising a base 110, a telescopic fork 120, a telescopic driving assembly 130, a supporting follower assembly and a locking assembly 140. The telescopic fork 120 is disposed on the base 110, and the telescopic driving assembly 130 is disposed on the base 110 to drive the telescopic fork 120 to extend and retract. The supporting follower assembly is disposed on the base 110, and the supporting follower assembly extends and retracts following the extension and retraction of the telescopic fork 120, and the supporting follower assembly has a retracted state accommodated on the base and an extended state extending forward relative to the base. The locking assembly 140 is disposed on the telescopic fork 120. The locking assembly 140 limits the extension of the telescopic fork 120 so that the supporting follower assembly maintains a retracted state. The telescopic driving assembly 130 can drive the telescopic fork 120 to break away from the restriction of the locking assembly 140, so that the telescopic fork 120 and the supporting follower assembly can extend or retract.

In one implementation, the supporting follower assembly includes a bearing member 150 and a driving member. When the telescopic fork 120 is extended, the bearing member 150 is extended forward under the action of the driving member. When the telescopic fork 120 is retracted, the bearing member 150 is driven to return backward. The locking assembly 140 is arranged on the telescopic fork 120. When the telescopic fork 120 is in a retracted state, the locking assembly 140 can limit the extension and retraction of the telescopic fork 120, and the telescopic driving assembly 130 can drive the telescopic fork 120 to break away from the restriction of the locking assembly 140, so that the telescopic fork 120 can be extended and retracted.

According to the container retrieving and returning device 100 of the present embodiment, the telescopic driving assembly 130 can drive the telescopic fork 120 to break away from the restriction of the locking assembly 140, so that the telescopic fork 120 and the supporting follower assembly can be extended and retracted, so that the telescopic fork 120 and the supporting follower assembly can be normally extended and retracted under the action of the telescopic driving assembly 130. The supporting member 150 follows the extension and retraction of the telescopic fork 120. Specifically, when the telescopic fork 120 is extended, the supporting member 150 is extended forward under the action of the driving member, and when the telescopic fork 120 is retracted, it drives the supporting member 150 to return to its original position backward. After the telescopic drive assembly 130 loses power, the locking assembly 140 can provide a locking force to keep the telescopic fork 120 in a retracted state, so that the telescopic fork 120 cannot be extended under the action of the locking assembly 140, and correspondingly, the carrier 150 cannot be extended forward under the action of the drive member. After the transport robot is powered off, the carrier 150 can still maintain a retracted state to prevent the carrier 150 from extending and causing damage to personnel or surrounding equipment; at the same time, the locking assembly 140 is arranged on the telescopic fork 120, which is more flexible when the telescopic fork 120 is inspected.

The container retrieval device 100 of this embodiment can be applied to a transporting device such as a transport robot. The container 1 retrieved by the container 1 retrieval device 100 can be a cargo box, a material box, a packaging box or a product.

The base 110 is a mounting base of the container retrieving device 100, and the telescopic driving assembly 130, the telescopic fork 120 and the supporting follower assembly are directly or indirectly mounted on the base 110. The structural form of the base 110 can be displayed as a plate-like structure or a frame structure.

The telescopic fork 120 is a component used to complete the retrieval of the container 1. Usually, the telescopic fork 120 includes two, and the two telescopic forks 120 are arranged at intervals in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the telescopic fork 120. For the convenience of description, the sequential arrangement direction of the two telescopic forks 120 is defined as the second direction B, and the extension direction of the telescopic fork 120 is defined as the first direction A. Usually, when the handling robot is in use, the second direction B and the first direction A are two mutually perpendicular directions on the horizontal plane; the two telescopic forks 120 are defined as the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 respectively. The first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 are arranged opposite to each other along the second direction B. The first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 are extended and retracted to transport the container 1 to the carrier 150 or remove the container 1 from the carrier 150. The process of transporting the container 1 to the carrier 150 can be considered as the process of taking the container 1, and the process of removing the container 1 from the carrier 150 can be considered as the process of returning the container 1.

Among them, the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 each include two push plates and at least two fork plates, and the at least two fork plates are arranged in sequence along a direction perpendicular to the first direction A, that is, the second direction B. Each fork plate extends along the first direction A, that is, the first direction A. Two adjacent fork plates among the at least two fork plates are slidably connected to enable the telescopic fork 120 to be telescopic. Usually, one of the at least two fork plates of the same telescopic fork 120 is fixed, and the other fork plates are telescopic fork plates. In this embodiment, the fork plate at one end perpendicular to the telescopic direction of the at least two fork plates is a fixed fork plate 121. Specifically, the fork plate of the first telescopic fork 127 far from the second telescopic fork 128 is a fixed fork plate 121, and the fork plate of the second telescopic fork 128 far from the first telescopic fork 127 is a fixed fork plate 121. In other words, the two fixed fork plates 121 are respectively located at the opposite outermost sides of the container retrieving device 100.

When the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 include two fork plates, the two fork plates are respectively a fixed fork plate 121 and a first-stage telescopic fork plate, the first-stage telescopic fork plate can be slidably arranged on the fixed fork plate 121 along the first direction A, and the push plate is arranged on the first-stage telescopic fork plate; when the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 include three or more fork plates, the first telescopic fork 127 and The second telescopic fork 128 includes a fixed fork plate 121 and a multi-stage telescopic fork plate, wherein the fixed fork plate 121 and the multi-stage telescopic fork plate are arranged in sequence, the first stage telescopic fork plate 122 can slide relative to the fixed fork plate 121 along the first direction A, the telescopic fork plate of the next stage in the adjacent telescopic fork plate can slide relative to the telescopic fork plate of the previous stage along the first direction A, and the push plate is arranged on the last stage telescopic fork plate. Referring to FIG. 11 , the adjacent fork plates can be connected by a telescopic guide rail 129 having a guiding function.

The specific structure of a telescopic fork 120 is given below, and the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 are a two-stage telescopic structure. The first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 have the same structure, and the first telescopic fork 127 is used as an example to specifically illustrate the structure below.

As shown in FIG5 and FIG11, the two-stage telescopic fork plate is respectively a first-stage telescopic fork plate 122 and a second-stage telescopic fork plate 123. The first-stage telescopic fork plate 122 is arranged on the fixed fork plate 121 and can slide relative to the fixed fork plate 121 along the first direction A. The second-stage telescopic fork plate 123 is arranged on the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122 and can extend and retract relative to the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122 along the first direction A. Among them, telescopic guide rails 129 are arranged between the fixed fork plate 121 and the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122 and between the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122 and the second-stage telescopic fork plate. The telescopic guide rails 129 extend along the first direction A to guide the extension and retraction of the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122 and the second-stage telescopic fork plate 123 along the first direction A. The second-stage telescopic fork plate 123 is provided with a fixed push plate 125 and a rotating push plate 126. The rotating push plate 126 is arranged at the front end, and the fixed push plate 125 is arranged at the rear end. The fixed push plate 125 is used to push the container 1 outwards when returning the container 1, and the rotating push plate 126 is used to push the container 1 inwards when taking the container 1 from the shelf 2 (shelf 2 of the storage system) or the temporary storage position (generally the temporary storage position on the handling robot). The rotating push plate 126 can rotate around the first direction A to be in two states: vertical and horizontal. In the vertical state, it does not protrude from the second-stage telescopic fork plate 123, and the telescopic fork 120 can be extended and embrace the container 1. In the horizontal state, it can contact with the container 1 to give the container 1 a thrust.

The first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 can respectively use independent power sources and transmission structures to realize their respective telescopic drive; the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 can also use a common power source and transmission structure to realize telescopic drive. The specific power source can be a motor. The transmission structure between the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122 and the fixed fork plate 121 can be realized by a mechanism such as a chain and a sprocket, a gear and a gear, a screw and a nut, etc. The movement of the second-stage and above fork plates can be realized by a pulley block.

It should be noted that the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 usually need to be extended and retracted synchronously. In order to achieve the synchronous extension and retraction of the two, it is preferred to select a telescopic drive assembly 130 that uses the same power source for the two. In one implementation, referring to FIG. 4 , the telescopic drive assembly 130 includes a first motor 131, a first transmission shaft 132, and two sets of transmission components. The telescopic drive assembly 130 includes a first motor 131, a first transmission shaft 132, and two active pulleys 133. The first motor 131 is connected to the first transmission shaft 132, and the first transmission shaft 132 extends along the second direction B. The two active pulleys 133 are connected to the first transmission shaft 132. 3 are sleeved on the first transmission shaft 132, the two active pulleys 133 can respectively move along the axial direction of the first transmission shaft 132 and the active pulleys 133 and the first transmission shaft 132 are relatively fixed in the circumferential direction; the telescopic driving pulley of the first telescopic fork 127 is connected to one of the two active pulleys 133, and the telescopic driving pulley of the second telescopic fork 128 is connected to the other of the two active pulleys 133.

The active pulley 133 can be fixedly connected to the telescopic driving pulley by means of an integrated structure, welding or screw connection.

Specifically, the first transmission shaft 132 can be a spline shaft, and the active pulley 133 is a spline nut matched with the spline shaft. The active pulley 133 can also be a sliding key or a long guide key, and the first transmission shaft 132 is a guide shaft matched with the sliding key or the long guide key.

The active pulley 133 can move along the axial direction of the first transmission shaft 132 and can be relatively fixed in the circumferential direction of the first transmission shaft 132, so that the active pulley 133 can always maintain torque transmission with the first transmission shaft 132 during the movement of the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 along the second direction B. The first motor 131 transmits the torque to the first transmission shaft 132, and the first transmission shaft 132 transmits the torque to the telescopic driving pulley connected to the active pulley 133, so as to complete the telescopic power transmission of the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 at any width.

One set of transmission components is connected to the first telescopic fork 127, and the other set of transmission components is connected to the second telescopic fork 128. Among them, the two sets of transmission components include a driving pulley 133 and a driven pulley, which are arranged in sequence along the first direction A and are set on the fixed fork plate 121. A telescopic synchronous belt 134 is connected between the driving pulley 133 and the driven pulley. The driving pulley 133 is connected to the first transmission shaft 132, and the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122 is connected to the telescopic synchronous belt 134. The first motor 131 rotates to drive the first transmission shaft 132 to rotate, thereby driving the two driving pulleys 133 to rotate. Each driving pulley 133 drives the corresponding telescopic synchronous belt 134 to rotate, thereby realizing the extension and contraction of the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122 along the first direction A. A pulley and a transmission belt are provided on the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122. One end of the transmission belt is connected to the fixed fork plate 121, and the other end is connected to the second-stage telescopic fork plate 123 after passing through the pulley.

The driving pulley 133 rotates to drive the telescopic synchronous belt 134 to move. Under the action of the telescopic synchronous belt 134, the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122 is telescopic along the first direction A, and the pulley on the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122 moves along the first direction A. The transmission belt wound around the pulley drives the second-stage telescopic fork plate 123 to telescopic along the first direction A at twice the speed of the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122. In the process of returning the container 1, the container 1 is on the carrier 150, and the fixed push plate 125 is in contact with the container 1, controlling the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 to extend forward along the first direction A, so that the container 1 can be pushed out of the carrier 150 and placed on the temporary storage position of the handling robot or the shelf 2 of the storage system. During the process of taking container 1, when container 1 is on the shelf 2 or the temporary storage position and the rotating push plate 126 is in a vertical state, the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 are extended forward along the first direction A and surround the container 1, and then the rotating push plate 126 is controlled to be in a horizontal state, the rotating push plate 126 acts on the container 1, controls the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 to retract, and the rotating push plate 126 pushes the container 1 onto the carrier 150.

It should be noted that the switching of the rotating push plate 126 between the horizontal state and the vertical state can be realized by the motor and the transmission component. The driving pulley 133 controls the forward and reverse rotation of the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 by forward or reverse rotation.

The supporting member 150 of this embodiment can be a tray structure or a hollow rod structure, which is used to support the container 1.

When the container retrieval device exchanges containers 1 with the shelf 2, a gap may be formed between the shelf 2 and the supporting follower assembly. For small containers 1, it is easy for the container 1 to get stuck in the gap or fall from the gap under the action of gravity during the process of retrieving and returning the container 1. To solve this problem, the supporting follower assembly of the invention can also be extended and retracted along the first direction A to avoid the problem of small boxes falling and getting stuck due to the gap between the handling robot and the shelf 2.

Specifically, the support member 150 may include a first support member 152 and a second support member 153, the first support member 152 and the second support member 153 respectively include a guide portion 154 and a sliding portion 155, the guide portion 154 and the sliding portion 155 both extend along the first direction A, the sliding portion 155 is disposed on the guide portion 154, and the sliding portion 155 can slide on the guide portion 154 along the first direction A. The container retrieving device further includes a driving member, the driving member is disposed on the base 110 and connected to the sliding portion 155, and the driving member is used to drive the sliding portion 155 to extend forward along the first direction A.

Moving forward along the first direction A refers to the sliding portion 155 moving away from the base 110 , and correspondingly, moving backward along the first direction A refers to the sliding portion 155 moving toward the base 110 .

The driving member is used to drive the carrier 150 to move forward. The driving member can be an elastic structure such as a tension spring 160, a compression spring, a gas spring, a rubber elastic belt, etc., or can be a controllable mechanism with linear driving capability such as an electromagnetic iron, an electric push rod, a motor and a synchronous belt. It should be noted that the driving force provided by the driving member to the carrier 150 should be less than the resistance of the locking assembly 140 to the telescopic fork 120, so that when the telescopic fork 120 is in a retracted state, the locking assembly 140 can limit the extension and retraction of the telescopic fork 120.

In a specific embodiment, the driving member is a tension spring 160, and the number of the tension spring 160 is at least one. The tension spring 160 is arranged along the first direction A, one end of the tension spring 160 is fixedly connected to the base 110, and the other end is fixedly connected to the supporting member 150. The tension spring 160 applies a pulling force forward along the first direction A to the supporting member 150, so that when the telescopic fork 120 is extended, the supporting member 150 also extends forward.

Of course, the driving member is a tension spring 160 and the connection method with the sliding part 155 can be as shown in Figures 11 and 12, the sliding part 155 of the first supporting member 152 and the sliding part 155 of the second supporting member 153 are respectively connected to a tension spring 160, and one end of any tension spring 160 is fixed on the base 110, and the other end is fixed on the sliding part 155. The tension spring 160 can generate a tensile force so that the sliding part 155 of the first supporting member 152 and the sliding part 155 of the second supporting member 153 have the ability to extend forward.

It should be noted that when an elastic structure such as a tension spring 160 is used as a driving member, it should be ensured that when the supporting member 150 moves to the maximum stroke, a forward force can still be applied to the supporting member 150 so that the supporting member 150 can be stably set at the maximum stroke.

Furthermore, a first limiting portion may be provided on the base 110, and a second limiting portion may be provided on the supporting member 150. The first limiting portion is provided at the front side of the extension path of the second limiting portion along the sliding portion 155, and the second limiting portion can abut against the first limiting portion to limit the maximum travel of the supporting member 150 extending forward along the first direction A.

In order to realize the linkage between the telescopic fork 120 and the supporting member 150, a first limiting member is fixed on the telescopic fork 120, and a second limiting member 151 is provided at the rear end of the supporting member 150. The first limiting member is provided at the front end of the second limiting member 151. When the telescopic fork 120 retracts, the first limiting member abuts against the second limiting member 151 to drive the supporting member 150 to return backward.

Of course, the second limiting portion can also be correspondingly arranged on the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153. Specifically, the first limiting portion can be arranged on the front side of the second limiting portion along the extension path of the sliding portion 155, and the second limiting portion can abut against the first limiting portion to limit the maximum travel of the sliding portion 155 extending forward in the first direction A.

It should be noted that the sliding portion 155 of the first supporting member 152 and the sliding portion 155 of the second supporting member 153 are respectively provided with second limiting portions, and the corresponding base 110 is respectively provided with first limiting portions corresponding to the two second limiting portions. Under the action of the second driving assembly such as the tension spring 160, when the sliding portion 155 of the first supporting member 152 and the sliding portion 155 of the second supporting member 153 extend forward, the second limiting portion can abut against the rear side of the first limiting portion, so that the first limiting portion blocks the second limiting portion at the front side of the second limiting portion, thereby preventing the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 from continuing to move forward.

It should be noted that when an elastic structure such as a tension spring 160 is used as a driving member, it should be ensured that when the sliding portion 155 of the first supporting member 152 and the sliding portion 155 of the second supporting member 153 move to the maximum stroke, a forward force can still be applied to the sliding portion 155 of the first supporting member 152 and the sliding portion 155 of the second supporting member 153, so that the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 can be stably set at the maximum stroke.

In one implementation, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , the fixed push plate 125 on the rear side of the first telescopic fork 127 and the fixed push plate 125 on the rear side of the second telescopic fork 128 respectively form a first stopper, and the rear end of the carrier 150 has a second stopper 151 arranged vertically. The fixed push plate 125 is arranged at the front side of the second stopper 151. When the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 retract along the first direction A, the fixed push plate 125 can synchronously push the second stopper 151 to make the carrier 150 retract synchronously; when the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 extend along the first direction A, the carrier 150 extends forward under the action of a driving member such as a tension spring 160.

The support member 150 is retracted by the retracting action of the fixed push plate 125 of the first telescopic fork 127 and the fixed push plate 125 of the second telescopic fork 128. This design can ensure that after the container 1 completely falls on the support member 150, the support member 150 and the container 1 are retracted synchronously, thereby ensuring that no matter the size of the container 1, it will not be stuck or fall due to the gap.

Furthermore, the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 can be linked when the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 are extended and retracted along the first direction A. Specifically, a first limiting member 156 is provided above the sliding portion 155, and a second limiting member 151 is provided on the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153, and the first limiting member 156 abuts against the second limiting member 151; when the first telescopic fork 127 and/or the second telescopic fork 128 retracts along the first direction A, the first limiting member 156 moves synchronously and pushes the second limiting member 151 to retract the sliding portion 155 of the first supporting member 152 and the sliding portion 155 of the second supporting member 153.

Referring to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 , specifically, the fixed push plate 125 on the rear side of the first telescopic fork 127 and the fixed push plate 125 on the rear side of the second telescopic fork 128 respectively form a first stopper 156, and the sliding portion 155 of the first supporting member 152 and the sliding portion 155 of the second supporting member 153 respectively have a second stopper 151 arranged vertically. The fixed push plate 125 is arranged at the front side of the corresponding second stopper 151, the second stopper 151 of the first supporting member 152 abuts against the fixed push plate 125 of the first telescopic fork 127, and the second stopper 151 of the second supporting member 153 abuts against the fixed push plate 125 of the second telescopic fork 128. In this way, when the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 retract along the first direction A, the fixed push plate 125 can synchronously push the sliding portion 155 of the first supporting member 152 and the sliding portion 155 of the second supporting member 153 to retract; when the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 extend along the first direction A, under the action of driving members such as the tension spring 160, the sliding portion 155 of the first supporting member 152 and the sliding portion 155 of the second supporting member 153 extend forward.

The retraction action of the fixed push plate 125 of the first telescopic fork 127 and the fixed push plate 125 of the second telescopic fork 128 drives the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 to retract. This design can ensure that after the container 1 completely falls on the supporting follower assembly, the supporting follower assembly and the container 1 are retracted synchronously, thereby ensuring that no matter how big or small the container 1 is, it will not be stuck or fall due to the gap.

It should be noted that when the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 are in the retracted state, the fixed push plate 125 always acts as a limiting component for the second limiting member 151, so that when the telescopic fork 120 is not extended, the supporting member 150 cannot extend forward. In other words, the driving member made of elastic structure such as the tension spring 160 is in a compressed force storage state, giving the supporting member 150 a continuous forward thrust, but due to the limitation of the fixed push plate 125 on the second limiting member 151, the supporting member 150 cannot extend forward through the tension spring 160.

The locking assembly 140 of this embodiment can be disposed on one of the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128, or the locking assembly 140 can be disposed on the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128. The locking assembly 140 can be disposed between two adjacent fork plates of the first telescopic fork 127 or the second telescopic fork 128 along the second direction B.

5 and 6 , in one implementation, the locking assembly 140 is disposed between the fixed fork plate 121 and the telescopic fork plate adjacent to the fixed fork plate 121. The telescopic fork plate adjacent to the fixed fork plate 121 refers to the telescopic fork plate adjacent to the fixed fork plate 121 along the second direction B, that is, the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122.

A locking assembly 140 is described in detail below.

5 to 10 , the locking assembly 140 includes a first matching member 141 and a second matching member 142, one of which is disposed on the fixed fork plate 121, and the other is disposed on the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122. The first matching member 141 has an elastic telescopic member 1411, and the second matching member 142 is provided with a groove 1421. When the telescopic fork 120 is in a retracted state, the elastic telescopic member 1411 extends out and locks in the groove 1421. When the telescopic driving assembly 130 drives the telescopic fork 120, the elastic telescopic member 1411 slides out of the groove 1421 and retracts.

For the convenience of description, one of the fixed fork plate 121 and the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122 on which the second matching member 142 is disposed is defined as the second one, and the other one is defined as the first one. The groove 1421 can be directly disposed on the second one, or on the guide block 1422. In one implementation, the second matching member 142 includes a guide block 1422, which is fixed to a side of the second one facing the first one, and the groove 1421 is disposed on a side of the guide block 1422 facing the first one.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 , in this embodiment, the second one is the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122, and the first one is the fixed fork plate 121. The first matching member 141 is mounted on the fixed fork plate 121, the elastic telescopic member 1411 is arranged on the side of the first matching member 141 facing the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122, the guide block 1422 is arranged on the side of the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122 facing the fixed fork plate 121, and the groove 1421 is arranged on the side of the guide block 1422 facing the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122. When the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122 moves forward under the action of the telescopic driving assembly 130, the guide block 1422 moves along the first direction A relative to the first matching member 141, forcing the elastic telescopic member 1411 to retract and move out of the groove 1421, and the elastic telescopic member 1411 and the groove 1421 are unlocked.

It is understandable that the groove 1421 is provided on the guide block 1422, and the guide block 1422 is provided on the side of the second object facing the first object (in this embodiment, the second object is the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122, and the first object is the fixed fork plate 121), so that the guide block 1422 protrudes from the surface of the second object. When the telescopic fork 120 is extended and retracted to the misalignment of the elastic telescopic member 1411 and the guide block 1422, the elastic telescopic member 1411 is opposite to the side of the second object. Since the distance between the side of the second object and the first object is larger than the distance between the guide block 1422 and the first object, the resistance between the elastic telescopic member 1411 and the second object is smaller. In this way, when the telescopic fork 120 is extended or retracted, the telescopic fork 120 needs to overcome the relatively large resistance between the elastic telescopic member 1411 and the guide block 1422 only in the early stage of extension or the late stage of retraction. In the late stage of extension and the early stage of retraction, the telescopic fork 120 is basically not subject to the resistance of the elastic telescopic member 1411, thus avoiding the problem of continuous excessive extension resistance.

6 and 7 , further, the guide block 1422 is provided with a guide surface 1423 at the front end of the groove 1421, and the guide surface 1423 is arranged facing the first party. From the back to the front, the guide surface 1423 is gradually approached to the second party, and the front end of the guide surface 1423 is flush with the side of the second party facing the first party.

The front and rear are defined based on the extension and retraction action of the telescopic fork 120. In a first direction A, the direction when the telescopic fork 120 is extended is the front direction, and the direction when the telescopic fork 120 is retracted is the rear direction.

The setting of the guide surface 1423 can make the elastic telescopic member 1411 gradually fall into the side surface of the second or first-stage telescopic fork 120, so that the resistance of the elastic telescopic member 1411 to the telescopic fork 120 changes more smoothly, which is conducive to the smooth extension and contraction of the telescopic fork 120.

In this embodiment, the elastic retractable member 1411 can be an elastic member such as a rubber block, or a member having elasticity by means of an elastic mechanism such as a spring. There are many types of members having elasticity by means of an elastic mechanism such as a spring. For example, a spring is provided on the second matching member 142, and the spring supports the elastic retractable member 1411. The elastic retractable member 1411 can retract by compressing the spring 1414 under the action of an external force. When the external force is reduced or cancelled, the spring extends the elastic retractable member 1411 again. Specifically, in this embodiment, the first matching member 141 adopts a roller plunger, and the roller 1415 of the roller plunger is elastic under the action of the internal structure of the roller plunger, and the roller 1415 is also the elastic elastic member 1411.

Furthermore, the first matching member 141 may also be provided with an adjusting member 143, which is connected to the elastic telescopic member 1411 and is used to adjust the elastic force of the elastic telescopic member 1411.

Usually, the adjusting member 143 has an operating end 1433. In order to facilitate the adjusting operation of the adjusting member 143, referring to Figures 5 and 6, the first matching member 141 can be arranged on the fixed fork plate 121 (that is, the first one is the fixed fork plate 121), and the corresponding second matching member 142 is arranged on the first-level telescopic fork plate 122. The operating end 1433 of the adjusting member 143 is arranged toward the side of the fixed fork plate 121 away from the first-level telescopic fork plate 122, that is, the operating end 1433 is arranged toward the outer side of the fixed fork plate 121.

It can be understood that the elastic force of the elastic telescopic member 1411 refers to the force applied by the elastic telescopic member 1411 to the groove 1421 when the elastic telescopic member 1411 is in the groove 1421.

With respect to the elastic stretchable member 1411 in the form of a rubber block, the adjusting member 143 can adjust the elastic force of the rubber block by changing the position of the rubber block. For example, the protrusion of the rubber block facing the groove 1421 can be enlarged, so that when the rubber block abuts against the groove 1421, the pressure of the rubber block on the groove 1421 increases; conversely, the protrusion of the rubber block facing the groove 1421 can be reduced, so that when the rubber block abuts against the groove 1421, the pressure of the rubber block on the groove 1421 decreases. For components that rely on elastic mechanisms such as springs to have elasticity, the elastic force of the elastic telescopic member 1411 can be adjusted by adjusting the length of the spring. For example, if the spring is a compression spring 1414, the end of the spring away from the elastic telescopic member 1411 can be moved closer to the elastic telescopic member 1411, so that the length of the spring is further shortened, and the elastic force provided by the spring to the elastic telescopic member 1411 is increased; conversely, the end of the spring away from the elastic telescopic member 1411 is moved closer to the elastic telescopic member 1411, so that the length of the spring is further extended, and the elastic force provided by the spring to the elastic telescopic member 1411 is reduced.

By setting the adjustment member 143 to adjust the elastic force of the elastic expansion member 1411, the locking assembly 140 can be adaptively adjusted according to the force of the driving member, that is, the tension spring 160 on the supporting member 150. When the selected tension spring 160 exerts a greater force on the supporting member 150, the elastic force of the elastic expansion member 1411 is increased to prevent the locking assembly 140 from being forced to unlock under the action of the tension spring 160, thereby causing the supporting member 150 to extend forward. In this way, the locking assembly 140 can be applied to tension springs 160 with different tensions, and has a wider range of applications; when assembling the device, even if the tension values of the tension springs 160 are less consistent, the same type of locking assembly 140 can be used.

In one implementation, the elastic telescopic member 1411 can be arranged to roll, and when the telescopic drive assembly 130 drives the telescopic fork 120 to extend or retract, the elastic telescopic member 1411 can roll on the guide block 1422 to enter or slide out of the groove 1421 to reduce the resistance between the elastic telescopic member 1411 and the guide block 1422.

In this embodiment, the first matching member 141 can be a roller plunger with an elastic adjustment mechanism, and the elastic adjustment mechanism forms an adjustment member 143. In actual arrangement, the adjustment member 143 can be arranged on a side of the fixed fork plate 121 away from the movable fork plate, that is, arranged on the outer side of the fixed fork plate 121, so that the operator can adjust the adjustment member 143 conveniently.

The roller plunger as the first fitting member 141 can be a roller plunger of a longitudinal bracket type or a roller plunger of a hinged type. The roller 1415 of the roller plunger of the longitudinal bracket type is extended and retracted in a linear manner, while the roller 1415 of the roller plunger of the hinged type is extended and retracted in a rotational manner. This embodiment is described with reference to the roller plunger of the hinged type.

10 , the roller plunger includes a mounting seat 1412, a swing arm 1413, a compression spring 1414 and a roller 1415, wherein a first end of the swing arm 1413 is hinged to the mounting seat 1412, and a second end of the swing arm 1413 is connected to the roller 1415, wherein the roller 1415 is rollably arranged on the swing arm 1413, and two ends of the compression spring 1414 are respectively connected to the mounting seat 1412 and the swing arm 1413, and the compression spring 1414 applies an elastic force to the swing arm 1413 in the direction of the second mating member 142, and the swing arm 1413 can swing around the first end under the action of the compression spring 1414 and an external force and drive the roller 1415 to extend or retract.

The external force generally comes from the roller 1415, that is, the roller 1415 is subjected to the force of the second matching member 142 and transmits the force to the swing arm 1413. When the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122 is extended relative to the fixed fork plate 121, the roller 1415 is continuously subjected to the pressure of the second matching member 142 during the process of moving out of the groove 1421. The pressure forces the roller 1415 and the swing arm 1413 to swing away from the second matching member 142. That is, referring to FIG. 10, the swing arm 1413 carries the roller 1415 to swing to the left along the swing direction E, and the roller 1415 is moved to the left. 15 retracts; when the first-stage telescopic fork plate 122 retracts relative to the fixed fork plate 121, the roller 1415 moves into the groove 1421, and under the action of the elastic force of the compression spring 1414, the roller 1415 and the swing arm 1413 move toward the direction close to the second matching member 142, that is, referring to FIG. 10, the swing arm 1413 swings rightward along the swing direction E with the roller 1415, and the roller 1415 extends into the groove 1421.

It can be understood that the hinged roller plunger adopts hinge point rotation motion to minimize the space size and facilitate design and installation.

For the roller plunger of hinged type, an adjusting member 143 may also be provided. In one implementation, the adjusting member 143 includes a stud 1432 and a nut 1431. The mounting seat 1412 is generally arranged in a groove shape, the stud 1432 is on a side wall of the mounting seat 1412, the stud 1432 is screwed to the mounting seat 1412, and the end of the stud 1432 passing through is screwed to the nut 1431, and the end of the stud 1432 on the inner side of the mounting seat 1412 is connected to the compression spring 1414. By rotating the stud 1432, the stud 1432 can be moved along the length direction of the stud 1432, thereby changing the length of the compression spring 1414, so as to adjust the elastic force of the compression spring 1414.

It should be noted that FIG. 10 only adaptively shows the swinging principle of the roller plunger, and the compression spring, the adjusting member and the hinge at the first end of the swinging arm are not shown.

The handling robot is also called a material box robot, which plays an important role in the warehouse logistics system. There are many kinds of goods in the warehouse, and the material boxes are of different sizes. The traditional material box robot has the defect of a single box model, which directly affects the operation efficiency of the warehouse robot and the storage density and utilization rate of the warehouse. In other words, the distance between the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 in the related technology cannot be adjusted, and there is a problem of a single box model and low efficiency in picking up goods.

Referring to FIGS. 11 to 13 , in some other embodiments of the present invention, the container retrieving device in this example further includes an adjusting mechanism, which is connected to one or both of the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128, and is used to adjust the spacing distance between the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 along the second direction B. The supporting follower assembly is used to carry the container 1, and includes a first supporting member 152 and a second supporting member 153 sequentially arranged along the second direction B, and the position of the first supporting member 152 and/or the second supporting member 153 in the second direction B is adjustable. The adjusting mechanism and the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 are directly or indirectly mounted on the base 110.

The adjusting mechanism may be installed on the base 110, and the adjusting mechanism is used to adjust the distance between the left and right telescopic forks to adapt to the width of different containers 1. The adjusting mechanism may adjust the distance between the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 along the second direction B by adjusting the position of the first telescopic fork 127 along the second direction B; or may adjust the distance between the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 along the second direction B by adjusting the position of the second telescopic fork 128 along the second direction B; or may adjust the distance between the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 along the second direction B by adjusting both the position of the first telescopic fork 127 and the position of the second telescopic fork 128 along the second direction B.

The following is a detailed introduction to a regulating mechanism.

In one implementation, the adjustment mechanism may include two sets of first drive assemblies 180, wherein one set of the first drive assemblies 180 is connected to the first telescopic fork 127 to drive the first telescopic fork 127 to move along the second direction B, and the other set of the first drive assemblies 180 is connected to the second telescopic fork 128 to drive the second telescopic fork 128 to move along the second direction B. In this way, the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 can be driven separately.

In another implementation, the adjustment mechanism includes a first drive assembly 180, which is connected to at least one of the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 to drive the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 to move relative to each other along the second direction B. When the first driving assembly 180 is connected to one of the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128, the first driving assembly 180 adjusts the spacing distance between the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 along the second direction B by driving the first telescopic fork 127 or the second telescopic fork 128; when the first driving assembly 180 is connected to the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128, the spacing distance between the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 along the second direction B is adjusted by driving the two to move toward or away from each other synchronously.

Specifically, the first drive assembly 180 includes a power device and a transmission member, the power device is connected to the input end of the transmission member, and the output end of the transmission member is connected to the first telescopic fork 127 and/or the second telescopic fork 128. The transmission member can be a ball screw member, a synchronous belt member, a chain member, or a connecting rod member.

This embodiment provides a specific structure for driving the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 to move synchronously by a set of first drive components 180. Referring to FIG. 3 , FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 , the number of the first drive components 180 is one set, and the first drive components 180 include a second motor 181, a second synchronous belt 182, a second driving pulley 183 and a second driven pulley 184. The second motor 181 is connected to the second driving pulley 183, and the second synchronous belt 182 is wound around the second driving pulley 183 and the second driven pulley 184. The second synchronous belt 182 has a first part and a second part, and the first part and the second part are respectively arranged on both sides of the second driving pulley 183, the first telescopic fork 127 is connected to the first part, and the second telescopic fork 128 is connected to the second part. The second motor 181 rotates to drive the second driving pulley 183 to drive the first part and the second part to move, so that the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 move synchronously toward or away from each other along the second direction B.

The second driving pulley 183 is fixed on the output shaft of the second motor 181 and rotates with the output shaft of the second motor 181. The second driven pulley 184 is fixed on the base 110 and retains the freedom of the second driven pulley 184 to rotate around its own axis. The second synchronous belt 182 passes around the second driving pulley 183 and the second driven pulley 184 respectively. At the same time, the upper and lower sides of the second synchronous belt 182 form a first part and a second part respectively. The first part is connected to the fixed fork plate 121 of the first telescopic fork 127, and the second part is connected to the fixed fork plate 121 of the second telescopic fork 128 to ensure the consistency of the movement of the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128. With the rotation of the second motor 181, the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 are driven to move in opposite directions.

In order to ensure the correct movement trajectory of the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128, a guide rail 170 may be further provided on the base 110. The number of the guide rail 170 is at least one. The guide rail 170 extends along the second direction B. The first telescopic fork 127 and/or the second telescopic fork 128 slides with the guide rail 170 through a first sliding fitting portion.

In order to ensure that the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 have good synchronization at any position along the first direction A, at least two guide rails 170 can be arranged at intervals along the first direction A. The first sliding fitting portion can be fixedly connected to the fixed fork plate 121 of the corresponding first telescopic fork 127 or second telescopic fork 128.

The receiving assembly of the container retrieving and returning device of this embodiment is mounted on the base 110. One of the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 may be adjustable in position in the second direction B, or both may be adjustable in position in the second direction B. The adjustment of the positions of the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 in the second direction B may be achieved by providing an independent driving mechanism, or by linkage under the action of relative movement of the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128.

In one implementation, the first supporting member 152 is connected to the first telescopic fork 127 or the second telescopic fork 128, so that the first supporting member 152 can move along the second direction B following the relative movement of the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 along the second direction B. When the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 move synchronously along the second direction B, the first supporting member 152 can be connected to any one of the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128. When only one of the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 can move along the second direction B, the first supporting member 152 is connected to the one that can move along the second direction B.

In another implementation, the second supporting member 153 is connected to the first telescopic fork 127 or the second telescopic fork 128, so that the second supporting member 153 can move along the second direction B following the relative movement of the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 along the second direction B. When the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 move synchronously along the second direction B, the second supporting member 153 can be connected to any one of the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128. When only one of the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 can move along the second direction B, the second supporting member 153 is connected to the one that can move along the second direction B.

11, 12 and 13, in another implementation, the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 are located between the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128, and the first supporting member 152 is located on a side of the second supporting member 153 close to the first telescopic fork 127; the first telescopic fork 127 is connected to the first supporting member 152, and the first supporting member 152 can move in the second direction B following the first telescopic fork 127; the second supporting member 153 is connected to the second telescopic fork 128, and the second supporting member 153 can move in the second direction B following the second telescopic fork 128.

A specific structural form is given below for this implementation method.

12 and 13 , the container retrieval device further includes a first connecting rod assembly 191 and a second connecting rod assembly 192 , the first telescopic fork 127 is connected to the first supporting member 152 via the first connecting rod assembly 191 , and the second telescopic fork 128 is connected to the second supporting member 153 via the second connecting rod assembly 192 .

The ends of the first connecting rod assembly 191 and the second connecting rod assembly 192 that are close to each other can be hinged to ensure that the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 have better linkage.

Specifically, the first connecting rod assembly 191 and the second connecting rod assembly 192 each include a plurality of connecting rod pairs, the two connecting rods in each connecting rod pair are cross-hinged, the plurality of connecting rod pairs are arranged in sequence along the second direction B, and one connecting rod in one of the connecting rod pairs is hinged to one of the connecting rods in the adjacent connecting rod pair, and the other connecting rod in one of the connecting rod pairs is hinged to the other connecting rod in the adjacent connecting rod pair. The connecting rod pair far from the second connecting rod assembly 192 in the first connecting rod assembly 191 is connected to the first telescopic fork 127, the connecting rod pair far from the first connecting rod assembly 191 in the second connecting rod assembly 192 is connected to the second telescopic fork 128, and the two connecting rods of the connecting rod pairs close to each other in the first connecting rod assembly 191 and the second connecting rod assembly 192 are connected by hinges corresponding to each other. The hinge positions of the two connecting rods of one of the connecting rod pairs in the first connecting rod assembly 191 are connected to the first supporting member 152, and the hinge positions of the two connecting rods of one of the connecting rod pairs in the second connecting rod assembly 192 are connected to the second supporting member 153.

In a more specific embodiment, the first connecting rod assembly 191 and the second connecting rod assembly 192 respectively include two pairs of connecting rod pairs. Among them, the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 are placed on the guide rail 170, and the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 slide and match with the guide rail 170 through the second sliding matching portion. The first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 only retain the degree of freedom along the guide rail 170, that is, the second direction B. Referring to FIG. 13, the movement of the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 in the second direction B is driven by the rhombus structure formed by the connecting rod pairs. One end of the two connecting rods of a pair of connecting rods of the first connecting rod assembly 191 is hinged and fixed on the fixed fork plate 121 of the first telescopic fork 127, and the middle of the two connecting rods of the other pair of connecting rods is hinged, and the hinge position is fixed on the first supporting member 152. The connecting rods of the two pairs of connecting rods of the first connecting rod assembly 191 are hinged correspondingly; one end of the two connecting rods of a pair of connecting rods of the second connecting rod assembly 192 is hinged. , and fixed on the fixed fork plate 121 of the second telescopic fork 128, the middle parts of the two connecting rods of the other pair of connecting rods are hinged, and the hinge position is fixed on the second supporting member 153, the connecting rods of the two pairs of connecting rods of the second connecting rod assembly 192 are correspondingly hinged; the connecting rods of the connecting rod pairs close to each other of the first connecting rod assembly 191 and the second connecting rod assembly 192 are correspondingly hinged, and finally form a continuous diamond structure as shown in Figure 13.

It should be noted that when both the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 include the guide portion 154 and the sliding portion 155, the guide portion 154 is slidably disposed on the guide rail 170 through the second sliding fitting portion. The first connecting rod assembly 191 can be connected to the guide portion 154 of the first supporting rod to realize the linkage of the first supporting rod with the first telescopic fork 127 along the second direction B, and the second connecting rod assembly 192 can be connected to the guide portion 154 of the second supporting rod to realize the linkage of the second supporting rod with the second telescopic fork 128 along the second direction B.

The first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 of the container retrieving device of this embodiment may be rod-shaped structures. Specifically, the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 each include at least one supporting rod, and the supporting rod extends along the first direction A. Specifically, the supporting rod may be a rod formed by the cooperation of the guide portion 154 and the sliding portion 155 .

The first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 may each be a supporting rod, or may be two or more supporting rods sequentially arranged along the first direction A with or without intervals.

It should be noted that the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 may also be plate-shaped or comb-shaped, and side wings may be added on both sides of the supporting rod to increase the bearing area. The supporting follower assembly may also include a third supporting member, which may be disposed between the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153, and the position of the third supporting member along the second direction B is not adjustable.

In the container retrieval device of this embodiment, the spacing distance between the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 along the second direction B (i.e., the width direction) can be adjusted according to the width of the container 1, thereby expanding the model range of the container 1 applicable to the container retrieval device; and a supporting follower component is added. During the process of retrieval and return of the container, the supporting follower component will automatically extend forward to fill the gap between the retrieval and return container device and the shelf 2 to ensure the retrieval and return of the container. There will be no problem of boxes getting stuck during the process; the distance between the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153 can be coupled with the distance between the first telescopic fork 127 and the second telescopic fork 128 along the second direction B, ensuring the combined force of the distance between the first supporting member 152 and the second supporting member 153, thereby reducing the probability of failure of the container retrieval device to retrieve the container 1, and greatly improving the work efficiency of the handling robot using the container retrieval device.

This embodiment also provides a transport robot, including a chassis assembly 200, a lifting mechanism 400 and a container retrieving device. The lifting mechanism 400 is arranged on the chassis assembly 200, and the container retrieving device is connected to the lifting mechanism 400 and can be lifted and lowered in a vertical direction under the action of the lifting mechanism 400. The container retrieving device is the container retrieving device provided in this embodiment.

The chassis assembly 200 includes a chassis and a travel drive assembly. The travel drive assembly includes a travel motor, a travel drive wheel and a travel universal wheel. The number of travel drive wheels can be two, and the number of travel universal wheels can be two or more. The travel drive wheel can be arranged in a front-rear center with left-right differential arrangement, or in a left-right center with front-rear idler arrangement. The travel universal wheel only plays a supporting role, and its relative arrangement position is relatively arbitrary. It can be directly placed under the chassis, or it can form a wheel set and be hinged under the chassis.

Referring to FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 , the lifting mechanism 400 includes a column guide assembly and a lifting drive assembly, wherein the column guide assembly is fixed on the chassis and can be composed of one, two or more columns, and has a guiding effect on the vertical movement of the lifting drive assembly. The lifting drive assembly is a component arranged on the column guide assembly and can move in the vertical direction, and there are many ways to implement it, specifically, it can be a motor with a transmission belt assembly or a motor with a chain assembly, etc. The function of the lifting drive assembly is to carry the container retrieval device and the container 1 up and down. The end of the lifting drive assembly can be connected to the mounting base 410. The base 110 of the container retrieval device is arranged on the mounting base 410. The mounting base 410 can move in the vertical direction under the action of the lifting drive assembly, thereby driving the container retrieval device to move in the vertical direction.

Furthermore, the handling robot of this embodiment may also include a rotating mechanism 500, which is a key component connecting the lifting mechanism 400 and the container retrieving device. The rotating mechanism 500 is used to rotate the container retrieving device relative to the lifting mechanism 400. The rotation range can be 220 degrees, and the movement can be realized by a transmission method such as a synchronous belt and a gear set. Through the rotating mechanism 500, the container retrieving device can adjust the direction of the telescopic fork assembly, so that the container 1 in different directions can be retrieved.

In a specific implementation, the base 110 is mounted on a mounting base 410 connected to the end of the lifting drive assembly, and only the base 110 is allowed to rotate freely around the vertical direction, ensuring that the container retrieval device can rotate around a certain vertical axis relative to the lifting mechanism 400.

In one implementation, referring to FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 , the rotating mechanism 500 includes a rotating drive motor 510 , a rotating drive pulley 520 , a rotating timing belt 530 , and a fixed support pulley 540 . Among them, the fixed support pulley 540 is installed on the installation base 410, and the rotary drive pulley 520 is installed on the output end of the rotary drive motor 510, and can rotate along the output shaft of the rotary drive motor 510. The rotary drive motor 510 is fixed on the base 110, and the rotary synchronous belt 530 connects the rotary drive pulley 520 and the fixed support pulley 540. Under the action of the rotary drive motor 510, the rotary drive pulley 520 rotates while performing a circular motion around the fixed support pulley 540, thereby driving the base 110 to rotate around the axis of the fixed support pulley 540.

Furthermore, the handling robot of this embodiment can also temporarily store a storage location assembly 300, which is fixed to the column guide assembly. The temporary storage location assembly 300 forms a temporary storage location for loading one or more material boxes, so that the handling robot can transport multiple containers 1 at one time. The specific structure of the temporary storage location assembly 300 can be in various forms such as a plate, a comb shape, a rod shape, a belt shape, etc.

The handling robot of this embodiment has at least the beneficial effects of the container retrieval device proposed in this embodiment.

The above is only a preferred specific implementation of the embodiment of the present invention, but the protection scope of the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily thought of by a technician familiar with the technical field within the technical scope disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention should be covered within the protection scope of the embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the embodiment of the present invention shall be based on the protection scope of the claim. The above is only a preferred specific implementation of the embodiment of the present invention, but the protection scope of the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily thought of by a technician familiar with the technical field within the technical scope disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention should be covered within the protection scope of the embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be based on the protection scope of the patent application.

1: Container

2: Shelves

100: Container retrieval device

110: Base

120: Telescopic fork

121:Fixed fork plate

122: First-stage telescopic fork plate

123: Second stage telescopic fork plate

125: Fixed push plate

126: Rotating push plate

127: First telescopic fork

128: Second telescopic fork

129: Telescopic rail

130: Telescopic drive assembly

131: First Motor

132: First drive shaft

133: Active pulley

134: Telescopic synchronous belt

140: Locking assembly

141: First matching piece

1411: Elastic expansion member

1412:Mounting seat

1413:Swing arm

1414:Compression spring

1415:Roller

142: Second matching piece

1421: Groove

1422:Guide block

1423:Guide surface

143: Adjustment

1431: Nut

1432: Stud

1433: Operation terminal

150:Carrying parts

151: Second limiter

152: First supporting member

153: Second supporting member

154: Guidance Department

155: Sliding part

156: First limiter

160: Extension spring

170:Guide rail

180: First drive assembly

181: Second Motor

182: Second synchronous belt

183: Second drive pulley

184: Second driven pulley

191: First connecting rod assembly

192: Second connecting rod assembly

200: Chassis components

300: Temporary storage unit

400: Lifting mechanism

410:Mounting base

500: Rotating mechanism

510: Rotary drive motor

520: Rotary drive pulley

530: Rotary timing belt

540:Fixed support pulley

A: First direction

B: Second direction

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the diagrams required for use in the embodiments or prior art descriptions will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the diagrams described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technical personnel in this field, other diagrams can be obtained based on these diagrams without creative labor.

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the process of the handling robot taking and returning a container proposed in the present invention; FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the handling robot proposed in the present invention; FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a perspective of the container taking and returning device provided in the present invention; FIG4 is a schematic diagram of another perspective of FIG3; FIG5 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the telescopic fork provided in the present invention; FIG6 is an enlarged view of the C part of FIG5; FIG7 is a schematic diagram of the cooperation between the first matching member and the second matching member provided in the present invention; FIG8 is a front view schematic diagram of the first matching member provided in the present invention; FIG9 is a side view schematic diagram of the first matching member provided in the present invention; FIG10 is a D-D cross-sectional view of FIG9; FIG11 is a schematic diagram of the container taking and returning device proposed in the present invention; FIG. 12 is a top view schematic diagram of FIG. 11 omitting the telescopic drive assembly; FIG. 13 is a bottom view of the container retrieval device of FIG. 11 omitting the base and the first drive assembly; FIG. 14 is an assembly schematic diagram of the rotating mechanism proposed in the present invention; and FIG. 15 is an assembly schematic diagram of the container retrieval device and the rotating mechanism provided in the present invention.

100: Container retrieval device

110: Base

125: Fixed push plate

126: Rotating push plate

127: First telescopic fork

128: Second telescopic fork

130: Telescopic drive assembly

150: Carrier

151: Second limiter

Claims (21)

A container retrieving device comprises: a base; a telescopic fork disposed on the base; a telescopic driving assembly disposed on the base and configured to drive the telescopic fork to extend and retract along a first direction; a supporting follower assembly disposed on the base, the supporting follower assembly extending and retracting following the extension and retraction of the telescopic fork, and the supporting follower assembly having a housing received in the base and a locking assembly disposed on the telescopic fork, the locking assembly limiting the extension of the telescopic fork to keep the supporting follower assembly in the retracted state, the telescopic drive assembly can drive the telescopic fork out of the restriction of the locking assembly, so that the telescopic fork and the supporting follower assembly can extend and retract. The container retrieval device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the telescopic fork comprises at least two fork plates arranged in sequence along the second direction, each fork plate extends along the first direction, and two adjacent fork plates of at least two fork plates are slidably connected so that the telescopic fork can be extended and retracted along the first direction; the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction; and the locking assembly is arranged between two adjacent fork plates of at least two fork plates. The container retrieval device as described in claim 2, wherein the fork plate located at one end of the second direction among at least two of the fork plates is a fixed fork plate, and the other fork plates are telescopic fork plates, the fixed fork plate is fixed on the base, the telescopic fork plate is slidably arranged on the fixed fork plate, the telescopic fork plate adjacent to the fixed fork plate among the telescopic fork plates is a first-stage telescopic fork plate, and the locking assembly is arranged between the fixed fork plate and the first-stage telescopic fork plate. The container retrieval device as described in claim 3, wherein the locking assembly includes a first mating member and a second mating member, one of which is arranged on the fixed fork plate, and the other is arranged on the first-stage telescopic fork plate; the first mating member has an elastic telescopic member, and the second mating member is provided with a groove, when the telescopic fork is in a retracted state, the elastic telescopic member extends and locks in the groove, and when the telescopic drive assembly drives the telescopic fork, the elastic telescopic member slides out of the groove and retracts. As described in claim 4, the container retrieval device, wherein the first mating member is also provided with an adjusting member, the adjusting member is connected to the elastic telescopic member and is configured to adjust the elastic force of the elastic telescopic member. The container retrieval device as described in claim 5, wherein the first mating member is arranged on the fixed fork plate, and the second mating member is arranged on the first-stage telescopic fork plate; the adjusting member has an operating end, and the operating end is arranged toward a side of the fixed fork plate away from the first-stage telescopic fork plate. The container retrieval device as described in claim 4, wherein one of the fixed fork plate and the first-stage telescopic fork plate is the first one, the other of the fixed fork plate and the first-stage telescopic fork plate is the second one, the first matching piece is arranged on the first one, and the second matching piece is arranged on the second one; the second matching piece includes a guide block, the guide block is fixed to a side of the second one facing the first one, and the groove is arranged on the side of the guide block facing the first one. The container retrieval device as described in claim 7, wherein the guide block is provided with a guide surface at the front end of the groove, the guide surface is provided facing the first party, and along the direction from the back to the front, the guide surface is gradually provided close to the second party, and the front end of the guide surface is flush with the side surface of the second party facing the first party. The container retrieval device as described in claim 7, wherein the elastic telescopic member can be arranged to roll, and when the telescopic drive assembly drives the telescopic fork to extend and retract, the elastic telescopic member can roll on the guide block to enter or slide out of the groove. A container retrieval device as described in any one of claims 4 to 9, wherein the first matching member is a roller plunger, and the roller of the roller plunger forms the elastic retractable member. As described in claim 10, the roller plunger further comprises a mounting seat, a swing arm and a compression spring, the first end of the swing arm is hinged to the mounting seat, the second end of the swing arm is connected to the roller, the two ends of the compression spring are respectively connected to the mounting seat and the swing arm, the compression spring applies an elastic force to the swing arm in the direction of the second mating part, and the swing arm can swing around the first end and drive the roller to extend or retract under the action of the compression spring and external force. As described in claim 1, the container retrieval device, wherein the supporting follower assembly includes a carrier and a driving member, the driving member is connected to the carrier, when the telescopic fork is extended, the carrier extends forward under the action of the driving member; when the telescopic fork is retracted, the carrier is driven to return to its original position backward. A container retrieving and returning device as described in claim 12, wherein the container retrieving and returning device comprises a first telescopic fork and a second telescopic fork arranged at intervals along the second direction, and the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork are respectively telescopic along the first direction; the container retrieving and returning device further comprises an adjusting mechanism, the adjusting mechanism is arranged on the base, the adjusting mechanism is connected to one or both of the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork, and is configured to adjust the spacing distance between the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork along the second direction; the supporting member comprises a first supporting member and a second supporting member arranged in sequence along the second direction, and the position of the first supporting member and/or the second supporting member in the second direction is adjustable. A container retrieval device as described in claim 13, wherein one of the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork that can move along the second direction is connected to the first supporting member, so that the first supporting member and the first telescopic fork or the second telescopic fork are linked in the second direction; and/or one of the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork that can move along the second direction is connected to the second supporting member, so that the second supporting member and the first telescopic fork or the second telescopic fork are linked in the second direction. The container retrieval device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the first supporting member and the second supporting member respectively include a guide portion and a sliding portion, the guide portion and the sliding portion both extend along the first direction, the sliding portion is arranged on the guide portion, and the sliding portion can slide along the first direction on the guide portion; the driving member is arranged on the base and connected to the sliding portion, and the driving member is configured to drive the sliding portion to extend forward along the first direction. As described in claim 15, the container retrieval device is provided with a first limiter fixed on the telescopic fork, the rear end of the carrier is provided with a second limiter, and the first limiter is provided at the front end of the second limiter; when the telescopic fork is retracted, the first limiter abuts against the second limiter to drive the carrier to return to its original position. A container retrieving device comprises: a base; a telescopic fork assembly disposed on the base, the telescopic fork assembly comprising a first telescopic fork and a second telescopic fork disposed at intervals along a second direction, the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork respectively extending and retracting along a first direction, the second direction being perpendicular to the first direction; an adjusting mechanism disposed on the base, the adjusting mechanism connected to one or both of the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork, and configured to adjust the interval distance between the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork along the second direction; and a supporting follower assembly disposed on the base, comprising a first supporting member and a second supporting member disposed in sequence along the second direction, the position of the first supporting member and/or the second supporting member in the second direction being adjustable. The container retrieval device as described in claim 17, wherein the adjustment mechanism includes two sets of first drive assemblies, one set of the first drive assemblies is connected to the first telescopic fork to drive the first telescopic fork to move along the second direction, and the other set of the first drive assemblies is connected to the second telescopic fork to drive the second telescopic fork to move along the second direction; or the adjustment mechanism includes a set of first drive assemblies, the first drive assembly is connected to at least one of the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork to drive the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork to move relative to each other along the second direction. A container retrieval device as described in claim 17, wherein one of the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork that can move along the second direction is connected to the first supporting member, so that the first supporting member and the first telescopic fork or the second telescopic fork are linked in the second direction; and/or one of the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork that can move along the second direction is connected to the second supporting member, so that the second supporting member and the first telescopic fork or the second telescopic fork are linked in the second direction. The container retrieval device as described in claim 19, wherein the first supporting member and the second supporting member are located between the first telescopic fork and the second telescopic fork, and the first supporting member is located on a side of the second supporting member close to the first telescopic fork; the first telescopic fork is connected to the first supporting member so that the first supporting member and the first telescopic fork are linked in the second direction, and the second supporting member is connected to the second telescopic fork so that the second supporting member and the second telescopic fork are linked in the second direction. A transport robot, comprising: a chassis assembly; a lifting mechanism, arranged on the chassis assembly; and a container retrieval device, connected to the lifting mechanism and capable of being lifted and lowered in a vertical direction under the action of the lifting mechanism, wherein the container retrieval device is a container retrieval device as described in any one of claims 1 to 20.