WO2022033043A1

WO2022033043A1 - Cargo batch pick-and-place system and cargo batch pick-and-place method

Info

Publication number: WO2022033043A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/084268
Authority: WO
Inventors: 沈科; 黄志明; 赵广志; 谢受浪; 钟芳明; 肖晓清; 谭杰
Original assignee: 苏州牧星智能科技有限公司
Priority date: 2020-08-11
Filing date: 2021-03-31
Publication date: 2022-02-17
Also published as: CN111924394B; CN111924394A

Abstract

A cargo batch pick-and-place system and a cargo batch pick-and-place method. The cargo batch pick-and-place system comprises a mobile robot (1), a pick-and-place device (2) and a controller (3), wherein the mobile robot is provided with a plurality of cargo placement stations (11) arranged in a vertical linear array; the pick-and-place device is provided with a docking device (21), a loading temporary storage region (22) and an unloading temporary storage region (23); the docking device includes pick-and-place units (211) of the same number as the cargo placement stations; cargo stored in the loading temporary storage region can be transferred to the docking device in batches; the cargo unloaded by the docking device can be transferred to the unloading temporary storage region in batches; and the controller can control the operation of the mobile robot and the pick-and-place device. By means of providing the pick-and-place device having the docking device, each pick-and-place unit of the docking device can load cargo into the corresponding cargo placement station on the mobile robot in batches or can unload the cargo on all the cargo placement stations together, thereby saving on loading and unloading time and improving the operation efficiency of the mobile robot.

Description

Batch picking and placing system for goods and method for picking and placing goods in batches

technical field

The invention relates to the technical field of warehousing, in particular to a system for picking up and placing goods in batches and a method for picking up and placing goods in batches.

Background technique

For the mobile robot shown in FIG. 1 , it has multiple cargo placement positions, and all cargo placement positions are arranged in a linear array in the vertical direction. The robot can transport goods in batches, so as to reduce the number of reciprocating movements and improve the operation efficiency. In the prior art, the robot needs to stop at the loading or unloading position when unloading and loading the goods, and loads the goods into each storage position or loads the goods on each storage position in turn with the help of its own lift or an external lift. Take out in turn, that is to say, how many loading or unloading processes need to be performed as many cargo spaces exist. This loading and unloading method seriously slows down the operation efficiency of the robot. Therefore, it is necessary to load and unload the robot. The cargo and unloading process is optimized to improve the loading and unloading efficiency.

technical problem

In order to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention provides a batch picking and placing system and a method for picking and placing goods in batches with high loading and unloading efficiency.

technical solutions

In order to achieve the above purpose, the batch picking and placing system for goods of the present invention includes:

A mobile robot, which has multiple placement positions set in a vertical linear array;

A pick-and-place device, which is provided with a connection device, a loading buffer area, and an unloading buffer area; the connection device includes a number of pick-and-place units equal to the number of the storage positions; the goods stored in the loading buffer area can be bulk transfer to the docking device; cargo unloaded by the docking device can be bulk transferred to the unloading buffer; and

a controller, which can control the operation of the mobile robot and the pick-and-place device.

Further, the pick-and-place device further includes a loading lift and a loading lift, which are respectively connected to the loading buffer area and the unloading buffer area.

Further, the pick-and-place device further includes a transition area, and both the loading buffer area and the unloading buffer area establish a circulation relationship with the connecting device through the transition area.

Further, the loading buffer area and the unloading buffer area are both long strips with a plurality of buffer bits, and the two are arranged in parallel, and one of the two is collinearly connected to the loading buffer area, and the other is connected to the loading buffer area. A push mechanism is arranged between the sender and the loading buffer area.

Further, the mobile robot can also have a lifting and lowering loading and unloading mechanism, and the loading and unloading mechanism can perform loading and unloading operations for each of the storage positions.

Further, each layer of the pick-and-place unit, the loading buffer area and each layer of the unloading buffer area are provided with a transmission device.

A method for picking and placing goods in batches, which is applied to the controller of the above-mentioned system for picking and placing goods in batches, and the method includes:

Controlling the mobile robot to move to a preset position, so that each position on the mobile robot is docked with each pick-and-place unit;

Control the operation of the pick-and-place device to transfer the goods from the positions on the mobile robot to the docking device during the unloading process, or transfer the goods from the docking device to the docking device during the picking process. each location on the mobile robot;

controlling the operation of the pick-and-place device to transfer the goods on the docking device to the unloading buffer during the unloading process, or to transfer the goods on the loading buffer to the unloading buffer during the pick-up process connection device.

Further, the system for picking up and placing goods in batches further includes a loading elevator and an unloading elevator, which are respectively connected to the loading buffer area and the unloading buffer area; the method further includes:

Controlling the loading elevator to sequentially load the buffer positions of each layer of the loading buffer area;

The unloading elevator is controlled to unload the buffer positions of each layer of the unloading elevator in sequence.

Further, the mobile robot can also have a lifting and lowering loading and unloading mechanism, and the loading and unloading mechanism can perform operations of loading and unloading goods for each of the storage positions; the method further includes:

controlling the loading and unloading mechanism to load each of the storage positions one by one;

The loading and unloading mechanism is controlled to unload the goods on each of the storage positions one by one.

Further, the pick-and-place device further includes a transition area; the transferring the goods on the connecting device to the unloading buffer area during the unloading process includes:

controlling the operation of the pick-and-place device, so that the goods on the connecting device are first transferred to the transition area, and then transferred from the transition area to the unloading buffer area;

The transferring the goods on the loading buffer area to the connecting device in the process of picking up the goods includes:

The operation of the pick-and-place device is controlled so that the goods on the loading buffer area are first transferred to the transition area, and then transferred from the transition area to the connection device.

beneficial effect

In the system for picking up and placing goods in batches and the method for picking up and placing goods in batches of the present invention, by arranging a picking and placing device with a connecting device, each picking and placing unit of the connecting device can load the goods in batches to each storage position on the mobile robot or can Unloading the goods on all the storage positions together greatly saves the time of loading and unloading, and improves the operation efficiency of the mobile robot.

Description of drawings

Accompanying drawing 1 is the structure diagram of mobile robot;

Accompanying drawing 2 is the top view structure diagram of goods batch pick-and-place system;

Accompanying drawing 3 is the side view structure diagram of the cargo batch pick-and-place system;

Accompanying drawing 4 is the schematic flow chart of the unloading process in the cargo batch picking and placing method;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of the picking process in the method for picking up and placing goods in batches.

In the figure: 1- mobile robot; 11- storage position; 12- loading and unloading mechanism; 13- movable chassis; 2- pick-and-place device; 21- connection device; 211- pick-and-place unit; 23-unloading buffer area; 24-loading elevator; 25-unloading elevator; 26-transition area; 27-push mechanism; 3-controller.

Embodiments of the present invention

The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 , the batch picking and placing system for goods includes a mobile robot 1 , a picking and placing device 2 and a controller 3 .

Among them, the mobile robot 1 has a movable chassis 13, and the movable chassis 13 has a plurality of storage positions 11 arranged in a vertical linear array, and each storage position 11 can be loaded with goods; in addition, the mobile robot 1 also includes movable With respect to the loading and unloading mechanism 12 that lifts and lowers the movable chassis 13 , the loading and unloading mechanism 12 can perform loading and unloading operations for each of the storage positions 11 . In practical application, the loading and unloading mechanism 12 on the mobile robot 1 can pick up the goods from the shelves, and load the obtained goods to each storage position 11 in turn, and it can also unload and place the goods on each storage position 11 in turn. back to the shelf.

The pick-and-place device 2 includes a connection device 21 , a loading buffer area 22 , and a loading buffer area 23 ; the connecting device 21 includes a number of pick-and-place units 211 equal to the number of the storage positions 11 , and the loading buffer area 22 The unloading buffer area 23 has the same number of layers as the number of the storage areas 11, and each layer includes at least one buffer area. In this embodiment, each layer of the loading buffer area 22 includes two buffers. Each layer in the unloading buffer area 23 contains three buffer bits; during the loading process, the goods stored in the loading buffer area 22 can be transferred to the connecting device 21 in batches; during the unloading process, all The goods unloaded by the connecting device 21 can be transferred to the unloading buffer area 23 in batches.

All the above pick-and-place units 211 can perform pick-and-place actions synchronously. In this embodiment, all pick-and-place units 211 are lifted and lowered synchronously to realize batch unloading and loading operations.

In actual use, it is necessary to load the goods on each layer of the loading buffer area 22, and it is necessary to unload the goods on each layer of the unloading buffer area 23. In order to facilitate the above process, the pick-and-place device 2 also includes an upper The cargo elevator 24 and the unloading elevator 25 are respectively connected to the loading buffer area 22 and the unloading buffer area 23 . The loading lifts 24 can be respectively connected with the buffer bits of each layer of the loading buffer area 22 to perform loading operations on the buffer bits of each layer, and the unloading lifts 25 can be respectively connected with the buffer bits of each layer of the unloading buffer area 23 to perform the buffering operation of each layer. position for unloading operations.

The controller 3 can control the operation of the mobile robot 1 and the pick-and-place device 2 . It should be noted that the controller 3 here is a general term. In an embodiment, the controller 3 may be an overall control system. All actions performed by the robot 1 and the pick-and-place device 2 are controlled by the master control system; in another embodiment, the controller 3 may include a control center and several sub-control units, and the controller 3 is all the control centers and sub-control units. In general, each mobile robot 1 and the pick-and-place device 2 are equipped with a sub-control unit, and each sub-control unit is connected to the control center. The control center is responsible for assigning tasks to each sub-control unit. Units are responsible for controlling the subject in which they are located.

The above-mentioned batch pick-and-place system is used in the sorting scenario of picking and placing goods on the shelves. When an order needs to be processed, the pick-and-place device 2 on the mobile robot 1 can sequentially obtain the corresponding goods from the shelves (the goods here are generally It is a cargo frame, and the cargo frame is filled with multiple items) and put them into the storage positions 11 on each floor in turn, and then the mobile robot 1 moves with all the goods to the pick-and-place device 2 for unified unloading, and the unloaded goods from the pick-and-place device 2 pass through The unloading lifts 25 are sequentially put on the sorting line. The sorted cargo frame moves to the position of the loading elevator 24 through the sorting line, and the loading elevator 24 can sequentially feed the cargo frames to the buffer positions of each layer of the loading buffer area 22. The cargo buffer area 22 first transfers the cargo to the connecting device 21 , and the connecting device 21 then loads the cargo on the pick-and-place units 211 on each floor to the storage positions 11 on each floor of the mobile robot 1 in batches. After the mobile robot 1 receives the goods, it moves to the rack with the goods and puts the goods back to their original positions.

Preferably, the pick-and-place device 2 further includes a transition area 26 , and both the loading buffer area 22 and the unloading buffer area 23 establish a circulation relationship with the connecting device 21 through the transition area 26 . In addition, the loading buffer area 22 and the unloading buffer area 23 are both long strips with a plurality of buffer bits, and the two are arranged in parallel, and one of them is connected to the loading buffer area 22 in a collinear manner, and the other is connected to the loading buffer area 22. A pushing mechanism 27 is arranged between one of the two and the loading buffer area 22 , and the pushing direction of the pushing mechanism 27 is perpendicular to the flow direction of the goods on the loading buffer area 22 and the unloading buffer area 23 . In addition, in order to facilitate the flow of goods, the pick-and-place unit 211 , the buffer positions of each layer of the loading buffer area 22 , the buffer positions of each layer of the unloading buffer area 23 , and the transition positions of the transition area 26 are equipped with conveying devices. In the example, the conveying devices on the four are all conveying roller sets, and in other embodiments, the conveying devices on the four may also be conveyor belts.

Based on the above system for picking up and placing goods in batches, the present invention also provides a method for picking up and placing goods in batches, which is applied to the above-mentioned system for picking up and placing goods in batches. The method is implemented by the controller 3, and the method includes the following steps S301-S303 , it is worth noting that the sequence numbers of the steps below do not represent the actual execution order of the steps, and some steps may be replaced in positions or implemented synchronously.

Step S301, controlling the mobile robot 1 to move to a preset position, so that each placement position 11 on it is docked with each pick-and-place unit 211;

Step S302, control the operation of the pick-and-place device 2 to transfer the goods from the positions 11 on the mobile robot 1 to the connecting device 21 during the unloading process, or to transfer the goods from The connecting device 21 is transferred to the respective cargo positions 11 on the mobile robot 1;

Step S303, controlling the operation of the pick-and-place device 2 to transfer the goods on the connecting device 21 to the unloading buffer area 23 during the unloading process, or to make the loading buffer area 22 during the picking process. The goods on it are transferred to the connecting device 21 .

In order to make the process of the picking process or the unloading process clearer, the following describes the picking process and the unloading process respectively.

As shown in Figure 4, the unloading process includes the following steps A1-A3:

Step A1, controlling the mobile robot 1 to move to a preset position, so that each placement position 11 on it is docked with each pick-and-place unit 211;

In this step, the mobile robot 1 has the goods placed on the cargo position.

Step A2, controlling the operation of the pick-and-place device 2, so that the goods are transferred from the positions 11 on the mobile robot 1 to the connecting device 21;

In this step, the docking device 21 is initially in a lowered state, and the overall lift is set by a set distance (50 mm in this embodiment) to a raised state so that all the goods are lifted from their storage positions and held by the pick-and-place unit 211 .

In step A3, the operation of the pick-and-place device 2 is controlled, so that all the goods on the connecting device 21 are transferred to the unloading buffer area 23 synchronously.

In this step, the goods on the connecting device 21 are first transferred to the transition area 26 , and then transferred from the transition area 26 to the unloading buffer area 23 ; control the pick-and-place units 211 and the layers of the transition area 26 The above-mentioned transfer process can be realized by running together the transfer roller sets on the transition position and the buffer positions on each layer of the unloading buffer area 23 .

As shown in Figure 5, the pickup process includes the following steps B1-B3:

Step B1, controlling the mobile robot 1 to move to a preset position, so that each placement position 11 on it is docked with each pick-and-place unit 211;

In this step, the mobile robot 1 is in an unloaded state with a cargo position.

Step B2, controlling the operation of the pick-and-place device 2, so that the goods on a group of buffer positions on the loading buffer area 22 are transferred to each pick-and-place unit 211 of the connection device 21;

In this step, when the connecting device 21 is in a raised state, the goods on the loading buffer area 22 are first transferred to the buffer position closest to the transition area 26, and then pushed to the transition area 26 by the push mechanism 27, and then moved to the transition area 26 by the push mechanism 27. The transition zone 26 is transferred to the docking device 21 .

Step B3, controlling the operation of the pick-and-place device 2, so that the goods are transferred from the connecting device 21 to each position 11 on the mobile robot 1;

In this step, the connecting device 21 is lowered by a set distance (50 mm in this embodiment) so that all the goods are separated from the pick-and-place unit 211 where they are located and are supported by the respective storage positions.

In the actual implementation process, the general unloading process and the picking process are implemented alternately, that is, the above steps A1, A2, A3, B2, and B3 are executed in sequence, so that the mobile robot 1 can carry the goods to the pick-and-place device 2 after picking up the goods from the shelf. After unloading, a batch of already-sorted cargo boxes can be returned to the shelf and put the goods back on the shelf. In this way, the mobile robot 1 does not have an empty journey for a period of time, and the running time of the mobile robot 1 can be effectively used to improve the goods. transport efficiency.

Preferably, the method further includes the following steps S401 and S402:

Step S401, controlling the loading elevator 24 to sequentially load the buffer positions of each layer of the loading buffer area 22;

In step S402, the unloading elevator 25 is controlled to unload the buffer positions of each layer of the unloading elevator 25 in sequence.

The above steps S401 and S402 may be performed simultaneously.

Since the mobile robot 1 can also lift and lower the loading and unloading mechanism 12, the loading and unloading mechanism 12 can perform loading and unloading operations for each of the storage positions 11; the method further includes the following steps S501 and S502:

Step S501, controlling the loading and unloading mechanism 12 to load each of the storage positions 11 one by one;

This step is applied to the process in which the mobile robot 1 picks up the goods from the shelves and loads the goods into each of the storage positions 11 .

Step S502 , controlling the loading and unloading mechanism 12 to unload the goods on each of the storage positions 11 one by one.

This step is applied to the process in which the mobile robot 1 returns the pallet after sorting to the shelf.

In the system for picking up and placing goods in batches and the method for picking up and placing goods in batches of the present invention, by setting up a picking and placing device with a connecting device, each picking and placing unit of the connecting device can load the goods in batches to each storage position on the mobile robot or can Unloading the goods on all the storage positions together greatly saves the time of loading and unloading, and improves the operation efficiency of the mobile robot.

The above is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it should be pointed out: for those skilled in the art, under the premise of not departing from the principle of the present invention, several improvements and modifications can also be made, and these improvements and modifications are also It should be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

A cargo batch pick-and-place system, characterized in that it includes:

A mobile robot, which has multiple placement positions set in a vertical linear array;

A pick-and-place device, which is provided with a connection device, a loading buffer area, and an unloading buffer area; the connection device includes a number of pick-and-place units equal to the number of the storage positions; the goods stored in the loading buffer area can be batch transfer to the docking device; cargo unloaded from the docking device can be transferred to the unloading buffer in batches; and a controller that can control the mobile robot and the pick-and-place device to operate.
The system for picking and placing goods in batches according to claim 1, wherein the picking and placing device further comprises a loading elevator and an unloading elevator, which are respectively connected to the loading buffer area and the unloading buffer area.
The system for picking and placing goods in batches according to claim 1, wherein the picking and placing device further comprises a transition area, and the loading buffer area and the unloading buffer area are established through the transition area and the connecting device. circulation relationship.
The system for picking and placing goods in batches according to claim 3, wherein the loading buffer area and the unloading buffer area are both long strips with a plurality of buffer positions, and the two are arranged in parallel, and one of the two is arranged in parallel. One is connected to the loading buffer area in line, and the other is provided with a push mechanism between the other and the loading buffer area.
The system for picking and placing goods in batches according to claim 1, characterized in that the mobile robot can also have a lifting and lowering loading and unloading mechanism, and the loading and unloading mechanism can perform loading and unloading operations for each of the storage positions.
The system for picking and placing goods in batches according to claim 1, wherein each layer of the pick-and-place unit, the loading buffer area and each layer of the unloading buffer area are provided with a transmission device.
A method for picking and placing goods in batches, which is applied to the controller of the system for picking and placing goods in batches according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises:

Controlling the mobile robot to move to a preset position, so that each position on the mobile robot is docked with each pick-and-place unit;

Control the operation of the pick-and-place device to transfer the goods from the positions on the mobile robot to the docking device during the unloading process, or transfer the goods from the docking device to the docking device during the picking process. each location on the mobile robot;

controlling the operation of the pick-and-place device to transfer the goods on the docking device to the unloading buffer during the unloading process, or to transfer the goods on the loading buffer to the unloading buffer during the pick-up process connection device.
The method for picking up and placing goods in batches according to claim 7, wherein the system for picking up and placing goods in batches further comprises a loading elevator and an unloading elevator, which are respectively connected to the loading buffer area and the unloading buffer area; The method also includes:

Controlling the loading elevator to sequentially load the buffer positions of each layer of the loading buffer area;

The unloading elevator is controlled to unload the buffer positions of each layer of the unloading elevator in sequence.
The method for picking and placing goods in batches according to claim 7, wherein the mobile robot can also be lifted and lowered by a loading and unloading mechanism, and the loading and unloading mechanism can perform operations of loading and unloading goods for each of the storage positions; The method also includes:

controlling the loading and unloading mechanism to load each of the storage positions one by one;

The loading and unloading mechanism is controlled to unload the goods on each of the storage positions one by one.
The method for picking and placing goods in batches according to claim 7, wherein the picking and placing device further comprises a transition area; and the transferring the goods on the connecting device to the unloading buffer area during the unloading process comprises: :

controlling the operation of the pick-and-place device, so that the goods on the connecting device are first transferred to the transition area, and then transferred from the transition area to the unloading buffer area;

The transferring the goods on the loading buffer area to the connecting device in the process of picking up the goods includes:

The operation of the pick-and-place device is controlled so that the goods on the loading buffer area are first transferred to the transition area, and then transferred from the transition area to the connecting device.