WO2019141257A1

WO2019141257A1 - Omni-directional mobile robot applied to intelligent warehouse

Info

Publication number: WO2019141257A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/072414
Authority: WO
Inventors: 郭建文; 高守国; 张智聪; 曾志彬; 肖猷坤; 吴国洪
Original assignee: 东莞理工学院
Priority date: 2018-01-18
Filing date: 2019-01-18
Publication date: 2019-07-25
Also published as: CN108177147B; CN108177147A

Abstract

An omni-directional mobile robot applied to an intelligent warehouse, comprising a mobile platform, a traction mechanism, an ultrasonic obstacle avoidance system, a visual module and a remote control maintenance module, and further comprising an auxiliary positioning mechanism mated with the mobile robot, so as to realize that the robot carries a shelf to automatically reach a target region in a traction mode, and to monitor the working state of the robot and the warehouse environment. Moreover, the robot can be managed and maintained via a network. In addition, the robot is designed into a Mecanum wheel type mobile platform, and therefore can move in all directions, and is high in flexibility.

Description

Omni-directional mobile robot for smart warehouse

Technical field

The invention relates to the field of robot structure design and robot control technology, in particular to an omnidirectional mobile robot applied to a smart warehouse.

Background technique

The logistics management activities of the intelligent warehouse are basically controlled by electronic computers. The management of goods (raw materials, products, etc.) is equipped with robots, the number of employees is low, and the operation efficiency is high. The omnidirectional movement involved in the present invention refers to a movement mode such as oblique walking, zero radius turning, and the like in addition to translation in the front, rear, left and right directions.

With the rapid development of the Internet of Things industry, in order to comply with the times, various storage robots have appeared in various countries at home and abroad.

(1) In foreign countries, Amazon has established its own robot team for warehouse management. However, in order to use this warehouse automation system developed by Kiva Systems, it is necessary to carry out special transformation of the target warehouse and add a lot of necessary infrastructure. The cost is high, the technical difficulty is large, and the maintenance is difficult. It is not suitable for most domestic enterprises. The introduction.

(2) Domestically, there is no relatively complete warehouse management robot application. For most enterprises, many medium and large warehouses have not yet introduced intelligent robots or introduced robots with a single function and unfriendly operation; the way of goods distribution and packaging is still the traditional “man-made distribution” mode, instead of Intelligent distribution, so the warehouse operation speed has not been broken for a long time.

(3) The top logistics management enterprises in China have adopted the pure sensor technology of AGV, which has certain limitations. In addition, many AGV cars adopt a lift-up structure, and the trolley needs to carry the overall quality of the shelves. The electric drive causes a certain rigid impact, which affects the service life of the trolley and increases the loss of energy.

(4) For most AGV cars, when the cruise track is a curve, the wheel needs to generate a differential to achieve the turn, and the required radius of the curve is large. When many cars work in the warehouse, the car lives. It is limited by space and time. The development of all-round mobile robots, trying to greatly reduce the movement of warehouse employees, improve the speed of warehouse management goods work.

(5) The existing storage robot only adopts the positioning method of the electronic sensor, and the interference intensity of the environment is high, the positioning accuracy is not high, and it is easy to malfunction in the work.

It can be seen that the above problems are difficult for most warehouse management operations in China, and the positioning of equipped robots is difficult, resulting in the long-term breakthrough of intelligent warehouse technology, which greatly limits the development of many aspects of intelligent warehouses, especially intelligence. Development.

Summary of the invention

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is how to provide an all-round mobile robot for intelligent warehouse which can effectively improve the running speed of the warehouse, the flexibility of movement, and the development of an intelligent warehouse.

In order to solve the above technical problem, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: an omnidirectional mobile robot applied to a smart warehouse, which is characterized by: a mobile platform, a traction mechanism, an ultrasonic obstacle avoidance system, a vision module, a remote control maintenance module, An AGV sensor module, an RFID read/write module, a drive module and a control module, the traction mechanism is disposed on the mobile platform, the drive module is controlled by the control module, and the drive module is configured to drive the traction mechanism And moving the mobile platform; the ultrasonic obstacle avoidance system is located on the mobile platform, and is connected to a signal input end of the control module, for sensing a distance between the mobile platform and an obstacle; the visual module is located on the mobile Connected to the signal input end of the control module for image acquisition of environmental information around the mobile platform; the remote maintenance module is located on the mobile platform, and the signal input end of the control module a connection for receiving a control command transmitted by the remote controller to control movement of the mobile platform; an AGV sensor module The block is located on the mobile platform, and is connected to the signal input end of the control module for guiding the movement of the mobile platform; the RFID read/write module is located on the mobile platform, and is connected to the signal input end of the control module. Used to read information on RFID tags on the ground.

A further technical solution is that the mobile platform comprises a vehicle body and two pairs of Mecanum wheels on the underside of the vehicle body, the Mecanum wheel is connected to the reducer through a coupling, and the speed reducer is connected to the stepping motor M, The stepping motor M is connected to the stepping motor driver U3 through the lead A and B phase lines; the stepping motor driver U3 has its signal port connected to the motion control card U1, and the stepping motor M drives the mecanum Wheel action; the body comprises a chassis, front and rear side panels, left and right side panels, a large top panel and a small top panel.

A further technical solution is that the traction mechanism comprises an electric lifting rod, a support plate and a traction column, the electric lifting rod is connected to the power source through the relay A; the electric lifting rod is disposed at the center of the chassis; the center of the support plate Positioning the electric lifting rod; connecting four supporting columns below the end angle of the supporting plate, four supporting columns are disposed in the four positioning holes of the large top plate, and the four supporting columns are fixedly connected with the bearing below the positioning hole, The traction column is disposed above the support plate and diagonally distributed. The normally open end and the common end of the relay A are electrically connected to the arduino single chip U2.

A further technical solution is that the ultrasonic obstacle avoidance system comprises six ultrasonic sensors, the signal end of which is electrically connected to the arduino single chip U2; the arduino single chip U2 and the motion control card U1 are electrically connected through a communication interface; The ultrasonic sensors are respectively disposed on the front and rear side plates and the left and right side plates, and four ultrasonic sensors are symmetrically mounted on the front and rear side plates, and two ultrasonic sensors are symmetrically mounted on the left and right side plates.

A further technical solution is that the visual module comprises a digital camera connected to a small top plate of the mobile platform through a camera support rod; the digital camera is electrically connected to the router through a network cable; the lower end of the camera support rod is built in The roller is connected to a steering gear, and the signal end of the steering gear is electrically connected to the arduino single chip U2, and the control module controls the digital camera to rotate through the steering gear.

A further technical solution is that the remote maintenance module includes a router, the router is disposed on a small top panel of the vehicle body at a position in front of the camera support rod, and the router is electrically connected to the motion control card U1 through a network cable.

A further technical solution is that the corner code is arranged between the parallel bars of the shelf and diagonally distributed, the funnel is connected with the corner code, the AGV sensor module is installed in front of the vehicle body, and the AGV sensor module is electrically connected with the arduino single chip microcomputer, and the +5V power supply and the The VCC terminal of the arduino MCU is electrically connected, and the ground is electrically connected to the GND terminal of the arduino MCU. The RFID read/write module is installed in the center of the chassis, the AGV magnetic wire is installed in the center of the warehouse corridor, and the RFID tag is mounted on the two AGV magnetic wires at right angles. At the office.

The beneficial effects produced by the above technical solutions are as follows: (1) The mobile platform designed based on the Mecanum wheel technology has the advantages of high flexibility and full-scale mobility, and is suitable for cargo transportation management of medium and large warehouses, and greatly reduces the warehouse. The movement of employees effectively improves the efficiency of warehousing operations;

(2) Designing the robot to drive the shelf to be driven by the traction, and installing the universal wheel on the four-legged shelf, effectively avoiding the hard-damaged motor due to the overload of the lifting type, and effectively avoiding the rigid impact of the lifting type on the shelf and causing the shelf center of gravity to be unstable. And the phenomenon of goods shaking;

(3) Designing a combination of electronic sensor positioning and mechanical structure positioning, so that the robot can be quickly and accurately integrated with the shelf;

(4) The ultrasonic obstacle avoidance system is designed, the system has strong stability, and it has the function of automatic obstacle avoidance in all four moving directions, and the obstacle avoidance effect is good;

(5) Two working modes of wireless remote control and automatic walking are designed. The robot uses an automatic mode to walk on the public road. The robot enters the designated shelf parking space, and the robot and the shelf are combined, all controlled by wireless. The two working modes coexist, which makes the robot suitable for different storage environments, combined with the effect of automatic obstacle avoidance, to achieve the intelligent operation of the warehouse to a certain extent;

(6) The visual module is set to monitor the environment of the warehouse in real time, monitor the positioning of the robot and the shelf, and the working state of the robot.

DRAWINGS

The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the drawings and specific embodiments.

1 is a schematic perspective structural view of an omnidirectional mobile positioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a top plan view of an omnidirectional mobile positioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a partial schematic view of an omnidirectional mobile positioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a schematic diagram showing the circuit connection of the omnidirectional mobile positioning system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

1, digital camera; 2, router; 3, camera support rod; 4, ultrasonic sensor; 5, Mecanum wheel; 6, body; 7, electric lifting rod; 8, support plate; 9, traction column; ; 11, corner code; 12, shelf; 13, steering gear; 14, AGV sensor module; 15, RFID read and write module; U1, motion control card; U2, arduino microcontroller; U3, stepper motor driver; M, stepping Motor; A, relay.

Detailed ways

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. It is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts are within the scope of the present invention.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a full understanding of the present invention, but the invention may be practiced in other ways than those described herein, and those skilled in the art can do without departing from the scope of the invention. The invention is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, the present invention discloses an omnidirectional mobile robot applied to a smart warehouse, comprising: a mobile platform, a traction mechanism, an ultrasonic obstacle avoidance system, a vision module, a remote maintenance module, and an AGV sensor module 14. An RFID reading and writing module 15, a driving module and a control module, wherein the traction mechanism is disposed on the mobile platform, the driving module is controlled by the control module, and the driving module is configured to drive the traction mechanism and the Moving the platform; the ultrasonic obstacle avoidance system is located on the mobile platform, and is connected to the signal input end of the control module for sensing the distance between the mobile platform and the obstacle; the visual module is located on the mobile platform. And being connected to the signal input end of the control module, configured to perform image collection on environment information around the mobile platform; the remote control maintenance module is located on the mobile platform, and is connected to a signal input end of the control module, Receiving a control command transmitted by the remote controller to control movement of the mobile platform; the AGV sensor module 14 is located on the mobile platform, and The signal input end of the control module is connected to guide the movement of the mobile platform; the RFID read/write module 15 is located on the mobile platform and is connected to the signal input end of the control module for reading the RFID tag on the ground. information.

Further, the mobile platform includes two pairs of Mecanum wheels 5 and a vehicle body 6; the Mecanum wheel 5 is connected to the speed reducer through a coupling, and further connected to the stepping motor M; the body 6 includes a chassis, front and rear The side plate, the left and right side plates, the large top plate and the small top plate are enclosed by the chassis, the front and rear side plates, the left and right side plates, the large top plate and the small top plate; the stepping motor M is connected by the drawn A and B phase lines To the stepping motor driver U3; the stepping motor driver U3 has its signal port connected to the motion control card U1;

Further, the traction mechanism includes an electric lifting rod 7, a support plate 8, and a traction column 9; the electric lifting rod 7 is connected to a power source through a relay A; the electric lifting rod 7 is disposed at a center of the chassis; the support plate The central position of 8 is connected to the electric lifting rod 7; the supporting plate 8 is connected with four supporting columns below the end angle, and further, the four supporting columns are arranged on the four positioning holes of the large top plate, correspondingly, four supports The column is fixedly connected to the bearing below the positioning hole; the traction column 9 is disposed above the support plate 8 and diagonally distributed; the normally open end and the common end of the relay A are electrically connected to the arduino single chip U2;

The ultrasonic obstacle avoidance system is composed of six ultrasonic sensors 4 and an arduino single chip U2; the signal end of the ultrasonic sensor 4 is electrically connected to the arduino single chip U2; the arduino single chip U2 and the motion control card U1 are electrically connected through a communication interface; The six ultrasonic sensors 4 are respectively disposed on the front and rear side plates and the left and right side plates, and four ultrasonic sensors are symmetrically mounted on the front and rear side plates, and two ultrasonic sensors are symmetrically mounted in the center of the left and right side plates.

The camera module includes a digital camera 1; the digital camera 1 is connected to the camera support rod 3; the digital camera 1 is electrically connected to the router 2 through a network cable; the camera support rod 3 is disposed at a small top plate position in front of the robot; The built-in roller of the camera support rod 3 is connected to a steering gear 13; the signal end of the servo 13 is electrically connected to the arduino single chip U2;

The remote maintenance module includes a router 2; the router 2 is disposed at a small top plate position of the aluminum plate body 6 and at a front position of the camera support rod 3; the router 2 is electrically connected to the motion control card U1 through a network cable;

The corners 11 are disposed between the parallel bars of the shelf 12 and are diagonally distributed, the funnel 10 is coupled to the corner code 11, and the funnel 10 is adapted to the traction column 9, when the traction column 9 is inserted into the funnel 10, The shelf motion can be driven by the mobile platform. The AGV sensor module 14 is installed in front of the vehicle body 6. The AGV sensor module 14 is electrically connected to the arduino single chip microcomputer, and the +5V power supply is electrically connected to the VCC terminal of the arduino microcontroller, and the GND terminal of the arduino microcontroller is electrically connected. Connected, the RFID read/write module 15 is installed in the center of the chassis of the body 6, the AGV magnetic wire is installed in the center of the warehouse corridor, and the RFID tag is installed at the right angle intersection of the two AGV magnetic wires.

The working principle of the mobile positioning system is as follows:

Around the Mecanum wheel is a rotatable center wheel. The angled peripheral axle transforms part of the wheel steering force into a wheel normal force. Depending on the direction and speed of the respective wheel, these forces are ultimately needed at any time. A resultant force vector is generated in the direction so that the mobile platform can move freely in the direction of the final resultant force vector without changing the direction of the wheel itself.

The four Mecanum wheels are driven by a stepper motor, the same speed, relying on the difference of the steering of each Mecanum wheel, to achieve the translation of the robot in all directions, without the need to generate differential to achieve the turn.

The upper computer control unit is composed of a PC and an application program, and the PC connects the motion control card through the router network. The PC is mainly responsible for the management of the information flow and the data flow, and reads the data from the motion control card, and after the calculation, sends the control command to the motion control card. The direction of the driver and the pulse signal pin are connected to the motion control card. The driver receives the pulse signal from the motion control card and controls the operation of the DC stepper motor through the internal PWM circuit, thus forming an omni-directional mobile control system.

In the initial stage of system operation, the PC sends a control command to the motion control card, and then outputs a low-level trigger relay from the signal pin of the motion control card, the loop connecting the electric lift rod is energized, and the electric lift rod performs the return movement. The robot recognizes the movement of the magnetic wire along the guide rail by the AGV sensor. When moving to the intersection of the two straight magnetic wires, the RFID receives the information of the RFID card at the intersection, and the robot judges the direction of the motion according to the sensor information and the target warehouse information sent by the host computer. When the robot moves to the end of the magnetic wire, it is the target warehouse position that the robot needs to reach; the PC sends a control command to the motion control card to output a high-level trigger relay, the circuit connecting the electric lifting rod is energized, and the electric lifting rod performs the ascending motion. . The robot is inserted from the bell below the funnel through the traction column above the robot. The two traction columns are guided to the central tube position of the two funnel structures by the gravity of the shelf and the funnel structure; when the top of the traction column is flush with the corner code, The low-level response relay is output from the signal pin of the motion control card, the circuit is powered off, and the electric lifting rod stops working. Further, the motion control card outputs a pulse signal and a direction signal to the stepping motor driver, and the stepping motor works, and the robot drives The shelves move toward the target warehouse. After reaching the target warehouse, the high-level trigger relay is output from the signal pin of the motion control card again, the circuit connecting the electric lifting rod is energized, and the electric lifting rod performs the returning motion, and the traction column above the robot leaves from below the funnel, and the robot completes the taking. Goods work.

Ultrasonic ranging is realized by programming the arduino MCU, and the obstacle distance in four directions is calculated in real time according to the speed of sound. When the distance measurement value in a certain direction is smaller than the preset obstacle avoidance effective distance value (the effective distance value is set to 20cm), arduino MCU will send obstacle avoidance command to the motion control card through serial communication (TX, RX). After being recognized by the relevant program of the motion control card, the motion control card will output the corresponding pulse signal and direction signal to control the robot to avoid automatically. Open obstacles and walk.

The built-in roller of the camera support rod is connected with a steering gear. The signal end of the servo is electrically connected with the arduino single-chip microcomputer. Through the programming of the arduino single-chip microcomputer, the receiving command is realized to control the steering of the camera to monitor the working state of the robot, such as above the robot. The correct positioning of the traction column to the funnel opening. The upper computer program sends commands to the motion control card through the router, and then the motion control card sends commands from the serial port (TX, RX) to the arduino MCU, and outputs a pulse signal to control the rotation of the servo to drive the camera.

Suitable for a variety of environments, the robot is highly flexible and practical, especially suitable for medium and large warehouses. The flexible and intelligent all-round mobile robot can effectively carry out high-intensity work for handling goods, greatly reducing the movement of warehouse employees, obviously Improve the efficiency of warehousing operations, strong application, and have a good application prospect.

Claims

An omnidirectional mobile robot applied to a smart warehouse, comprising: a mobile platform, a traction mechanism, an ultrasonic obstacle avoidance system, a vision module, a remote maintenance module, an AGV sensor module (14), an RFID read/write module (15), a driving module and a control module, the traction mechanism is disposed on the mobile platform, the driving module is controlled by the control module, and the driving module is configured to drive the traction mechanism and the moving platform to move; An ultrasonic obstacle avoidance system is located on the mobile platform, and is connected to a signal input end of the control module, for sensing a distance between the mobile platform and an obstacle; the visual module is located on the mobile platform, and the control module is The signal input end is connected to perform image collection on the environment information around the mobile platform; the remote control maintenance module is located on the mobile platform, and is connected to the signal input end of the control module, and is used for receiving the remote control downlink Control command to control movement of the mobile platform; an AGV sensor module (14) is located on the mobile platform, and the control module The signal input terminal is connected to guide the movement of the mobile platform; the RFID read/write module (15) is located on the mobile platform and is connected to the signal input end of the control module for reading information of the RFID tag on the ground.
The omnidirectional mobile robot for use in a smart warehouse according to claim 1, wherein said mobile platform comprises a vehicle body (6) and two pairs of Mecanum wheels (5) located on a lower side of the vehicle body (6), The Mecanum wheel (5) is connected to the reducer through a coupling, and the speed reducer is connected to the stepping motor M, and the stepping motor M is connected to the stepping motor driver U3 through the lead A and B phase lines; the stepping motor The driver U3 has its signal port connected to the motion control card U1, and the stepper motor M drives the action of the Mecanum wheel (5).
The omnidirectional mobile robot for use in a smart warehouse according to claim 2, wherein the vehicle body (6) comprises a chassis, front and rear side panels, left and right side panels, a large top panel and a small top panel.
The omnidirectional mobile robot for use in a smart warehouse according to claim 1, wherein the traction mechanism comprises an electric lifting rod (7), a support plate (8) and a traction column (9), and the electric lifting rod ( 7) connected to the power source through the relay A; the electric lifting rod (7) is disposed at the center of the chassis; the central position of the support plate (8) is connected to the electric lifting rod (7); the end of the supporting plate (8) Four support columns are connected under the corners, four support columns are arranged in four positioning holes of the large top plate, four support columns are fixedly connected with bearings below the positioning holes, and the traction column (9) is arranged on the support plate (8) Above and diagonally distributed, the normally open and common ends of the relay A are electrically connected to the arduino microcontroller U2.
The omnidirectional mobile robot applied to the intelligent warehouse according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic obstacle avoidance system comprises six ultrasonic sensors (4), and the ultrasonic sensor (4) has a signal end and an arduino single chip U2. Connecting; the arduino single chip U2 and the motion control card U1 are electrically connected through a communication interface; six of the ultrasonic sensors (4) are respectively disposed on the front and rear side plates and the left and right side plates, and the front and rear side plates are symmetrically mounted with four ultrasonic sensors. Two ultrasonic sensors are symmetrically mounted in the center of the left and right side plates.
The omnidirectional mobile robot for use in a smart warehouse according to claim 1, wherein said visual module comprises a digital camera (1), said digital camera (1) passing through a camera support rod (3) and a mobile platform The small top plate is connected; the digital camera (1) is electrically connected to the router (2) through a network cable; the lower end of the camera support rod (3) has a built-in roller connected to a steering gear (13), and the steering gear (13) The signal terminal is electrically connected to the arduino microcontroller U2, and the control module controls the rotation of the digital camera through the servo (13).
The omnidirectional mobile robot applied to the intelligent warehouse according to claim 1, wherein the remote maintenance module comprises a router (2), and the router (2) is disposed at a position in front of the camera support bar (3). On the small top board of (6), the router (2) is electrically connected to the motion control card U1 through a network cable.
The omnidirectional mobile robot for use in a smart warehouse according to claim 1, wherein the corner code (11) is disposed between the parallel bars of the shelf (12) and diagonally distributed, the funnel (10) and the corner code (11) The connection, the funnel (10) is adapted to the traction column (9), and when the traction column (9) is inserted into the funnel (10), the shelf movement can be driven by the moving platform, the AGV sensor module (14) Installed in front of the body (6), the AGV sensor module (14) is electrically connected to the arduino microcontroller, the +5V power supply is electrically connected to the VCC terminal of the arduino microcontroller, and the ground is electrically connected to the GND terminal of the arduino microcontroller, and the RFID read/write module (15) Installed in the center of the chassis of the body (6), the AGV magnetic wire is installed in the center of the warehouse corridor, and the RFID tag is installed at the right angle intersection of the two AGV magnetic wires.