Unmanned forklift

Abstract

The present invention relates to an unmanned forklift, comprising: a vehicle body; a driving mechanism for driving the vehicle body to move; a fork connected to the vehicle body for supporting cargo; a bracket installed on the vehicle body; a visual recognition device provided on the bracket; and a controller electrically connected to the visual recognition device and the driving mechanism, wherein the controller can control the driving mechanism to adjust the direction of travel of the vehicle body according to position information recognized by the visual recognition device, and the controller is rotatably connected to the bracket so that an observation window is formed between the top of the bracket and the controller. The above-mentioned unmanned forklift can adapt to automatic mode or manual mode, and the controller can rotate the bracket so that an observation window is formed between the top of the bracket and the controller, which will not block the operator's observation line of sight and has better operation safety.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of unmanned forklifts, and in particular to an unmanned forklift. Background Art

[0002] Most of the existing unmanned forklift controllers are fixed on the unmanned forklift bracket. When the unmanned forklift is in automatic mode or manual mode, the controller will block the operator's line of sight, posing a major safety hazard. Summary of the invention

[0003] Based on this, it is necessary to provide an unmanned forklift to address the problem of low operational safety when the controller switches between multiple operating modes.

[0004] An unmanned forklift, comprising:

[0005] Vehicle body;

[0006] A driving mechanism, used for driving the vehicle body to move;

[0007] A cargo fork connected to the vehicle body and used for supporting cargo;

[0008] A bracket, mounted on the vehicle body;

[0009] A visual recognition device, disposed on the support; and

[0010] A control box, comprising a shell and a controller disposed in the shell, wherein the shell is provided with a control member, the control member is electrically connected to the controller and can switch the controller to selectively enter a manual mode and an automatic mode, when the controller is in the manual mode, the controller is used to receive a control instruction of the control member and control the drive mechanism to adjust the motion state of the vehicle body, when the controller is in the automatic mode, the controller is electrically connected to the visual recognition device and the drive mechanism, and the controller can control the drive mechanism to adjust the travel direction of the vehicle body according to the position information recognized by the visual recognition device;

[0011] Wherein, the shell is rotatably connected to the bracket.

[0012] The unmanned forklift can adapt to automatic mode or manual mode, and the shell can rotate relative to the bracket so that the gap between the top of the bracket and the controller can be adjusted without blocking the operator's sight, and the operation safety is better.

[0013] In one embodiment, the shell is capable of rotating relative to the bracket between a first position and a second position. When the shell is in the first position, the shell is close to the top of the bracket to block the gap between the top of the bracket and the vehicle body. When the shell is in the second position, the shell is away from the top of the bracket and forms an observation window between the shell and the top of the bracket.

[0014] In one of the embodiments, it further comprises an elastic damping member, one end of the elastic damping member is hinged to the bracket, and the other end of the elastic damping member is hinged to the shell.

[0015] In one embodiment, the elastic damping member includes a piston rod and a cylinder body, the piston rod is inserted in the cylinder body, one end of the cylinder body away from the piston rod is hinged to the bracket, and one end of the piston rod away from the cylinder body is hinged to the shell, and when the shell rotates relative to the bracket, the controller can drive the piston rod to telescopic movement relative to the cylinder body.

[0016] In one embodiment, the bracket includes a first support plate, a second support plate and a third support plate, the second support plate and the third support plate are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the vehicle body, the first support plate is connected to the second support plate and the third support plate and spans across the vehicle body, and the shell is hinged to the second support plate and the third support plate through the elastic damping member.

[0017] In one embodiment, it also includes a mounting base, which includes a bottom plate, a first side plate and a second side plate that are connected to each other, the first side plate and the second side plate are fixed to the bracket, the bottom plate, the first side plate and the second side plate form a accommodating space, and the shell is located in the accommodating space and connected to the first side plate and the second side plate.

[0018] In one embodiment, the first side panel and / or the second side panel includes a main panel and a sub-panel, the main panel and the sub-panel are connected approximately vertically, the main panel and the bottom panel are connected to form a whole, the shell is connected to the main panel by fasteners, and the angle of the shell is located at the junction of the main panel and the sub-panel.

[0019] In one of the embodiments, a locking assembly is further included. The first side panel and / or the second side panel is provided with the locking assembly, and the locking assembly is detachably connected to the bracket.

[0020] In one embodiment, the locking assembly includes a locking seat and a knob, the locking seat is fixed to the first side plate and / or the second side plate, the knob passes through the locking seat, and the knob is threadedly connected to the bracket.

[0021] In one embodiment, the visual recognition device is embedded in the bracket and external light can enter the visual recognition device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 is an axonometric view of an unmanned forklift in one embodiment, wherein the controller is located at a first position;

[0023] Figure 2 is an axonometric view of an unmanned forklift in one embodiment, wherein the controller is located at a second position;

[0024] Figure 3 for Figure 1 An exploded view of the unmanned forklift shown;

[0025] Figure 4 for Figure 1 An exploded view of the bracket and elastic damping parts in the unmanned forklift is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In order to facilitate the understanding of the present invention, the present invention will be described more fully below with reference to the relevant drawings. The preferred embodiments of the present invention are given in the drawings. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to make the disclosure of the present invention more thoroughly understood.

[0027] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be a central element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be a central element at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only implementation method.

[0028] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art of the present invention. The terms used herein in the specification of the present invention are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. The term "and / or" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items.

[0029] Please refer to Figure 1 An unmanned forklift according to an embodiment includes a vehicle body 100 , a fork 200 , a driving mechanism 300 , a bracket 400 , a control box 500 and a visual recognition device 600 .

[0030] Please refer to Figure 1The fork 200 is connected to the vehicle body 100 and is used to support the picked-up object. It should be noted that the picked-up object can be a material or a supporting structure that carries the material. For example, the fork 200 is used to lift the material tray carrying the material to transfer the material when the vehicle body 100 moves.

[0031] The driving mechanism 300 is disposed on the vehicle body 100 and is used to provide power for the vehicle body 100 to move. For example, the power source of the driving mechanism 300 may be a servo motor or a stepper motor, which is not limited here.

[0032] Please refer to Figure 1 The control box 500 includes a shell 510 and a controller (not shown in the figure) arranged in the shell 510. The shell 510 is provided with a control member 520, which is electrically connected to the controller and can switch the controller to selectively enter a manual mode and an automatic mode.

[0033] When the controller is in automatic mode, the controller is electrically connected to the visual recognition device 600 and the driving mechanism 300 , and the controller can control the driving mechanism 300 to adjust the moving direction of the vehicle body 100 according to the position information recognized by the visual recognition device 600 .

[0034] Specifically, the shell 510 is installed on one side of the bracket 400, and the visual recognition device 600 is installed on the side of the bracket 400 away from the shell 510. The visual recognition device 600 can identify the surrounding environment. The controller will determine the position of the unmanned forklift based on the image obtained by the visual recognition device 600 to generate position information, and then the controller can control the unmanned forklift to move along a preset trajectory based on the position information.

[0035] In some embodiments, the bracket 400 is fixedly connected to the vehicle body 100. In other embodiments, the bracket 400 is rotatably connected to the vehicle body 100, and the bracket 400 rotates relative to the vehicle body 100, driving the visual recognition device 600 to rotate, which is beneficial to expand the range of surrounding environment recognition.

[0036] Furthermore, the visual recognition device 600 is embedded in the bracket 400 and external light can enter the visual recognition device 600, which can effectively protect the visual recognition device 600 and prevent external factors from interfering with the shooting of the visual recognition device 600 and affecting the shooting effect.

[0037] In some embodiments, the visual recognition device 600 is a wide-angle lens, and the wide-angle range is 120 degrees to 180 degrees. In other embodiments, the wide-angle range of the visual recognition device 600 can also be adjusted as needed.

[0038] When the unmanned forklift is switched from the automatic mode to the manual mode by operating the operating member 520 , the controller is used to receive the operating instruction of the operating member 520 and control the driving mechanism 300 to adjust the motion state of the vehicle body 100 .

[0039] Specifically, the control member 520 may be a rocker or a button for the operator to manually control the unmanned forklift. Specifically, the control member 520 can input a control signal to the controller so that the controller moves according to the operator's control instructions. For example, taking the control member 520 as an example, which includes a rocker for controlling the steering or travel of the unmanned forklift, when the controller is switched to the manual control mode, the wheel steering of the unmanned forklift can be controlled by operating the rocker to swing left and right.

[0040] Further, please refer to Figure 2 The shell 510 is rotatably connected to the bracket 400 so that an observation window 401 is formed between the top of the bracket 400 and the shell 510, so that the above-mentioned unmanned forklift can adapt to the manual mode. When switching from the automatic mode to the manual mode, the operator's observation line of sight will not be blocked, and the operation safety is better.

[0041] Specifically, the housing 510 can be in a first position 501 (eg, Figure 1 ) and the second position 502 (as shown Figure 2 When the shell 510 is located at the first position 501, the shell 510 is close to the top of the bracket 400 to block the gap between the top of the bracket 400 and the vehicle body 100. When the shell 510 is located at the second position 502, the shell 510 is away from the top of the bracket 400 and forms an observation window 401 between the shell 510 and the top of the bracket 400.

[0042] For further information, please refer to Figure 3 The above-mentioned unmanned forklift also includes an elastic damping member 700, one end of the elastic damping member 700 is hinged to the bracket 400, and the other end of the elastic damping member 700 is hinged to the shell 510. The elastic damping member 700 can realize slow rotation of the shell 510 to avoid collision caused by excessive rotation of the shell 510 and damage to the control box 500.

[0043] Specifically, please refer to Figure 4 The elastic damping member 700 includes a piston rod 710 and a cylinder body 720. The piston rod 720 is inserted into the cylinder body 710. One end of the cylinder body 720 away from the piston rod 710 is hinged to the bracket 400. One end of the piston rod 720 away from the cylinder body 720 is hinged to the housing 510. The cylinder body 720 is filled with compressed gas. When the housing 510 is in the first position 501 (such as Figure 1 ) and the second position 502 (as shown Figure 2When the piston rod 710 rotates between the cylinder body 710 and the piston rod 711, the controller can drive the piston rod 710 to telescopically move relative to the cylinder body 710.

[0044] In some embodiments, the elastic damping member 700 is a nitrogen spring, and the compressed gas is compressed nitrogen. In other embodiments, the elastic damping member 700 can also be replaced by a gear, and the housing 510 and the bracket 400 are both provided with a gear, and the housing 510 and the bracket 400 are rotatably connected by the two gears meshing with each other, and the housing 510 can also be rotated slowly relative to the bracket 400.

[0045] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 4 The bracket 400 is U-shaped and includes a first support plate 410, a second support plate 420 and a third support plate 430. The second support plate 420 and the third support plate 430 are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the vehicle body 100. The first support plate 410 is connected to the second support plate 420 and the third support plate 430 and spans across the vehicle body 100. The shell 510 is hinged to the second support plate 420 and the third support plate 430 through an elastic damping member 700.

[0046] For the sake of convenience, the following is combined with reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 Provide explanation.

[0047] When the housing 510 is located at the first position 501 (eg Figure 1 ), the housing 510 is close to the inner sides of the first support plate 410, the second support plate 420 and the third support plate 430 to block the gap between the top of the bracket 400 and the vehicle body 100. When the housing 510 is in the second position 502 (as shown in FIG. Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the shell 510 is away from the first support plate 410, the second support plate 420 and the third support plate 430 and forms an observation window 401 with the top of the bracket 400. When the shell 510 rotates relative to the bracket 400 and switches between the first position 501 and the second position 502, since the shell 510 is hinged to the second support plate 420 and the third support plate 430 through the elastic damping member 700, the shell 510 can be freely flipped relative to the vehicle body 100, and the controller can drive the piston rod 710 to telescopically move relative to the cylinder body 710.

[0048] In other embodiments, the bracket 400 may also be in an arc shape or other irregular shapes.

[0049] In some embodiments, the first support plate 410, the second support plate 420 and the third support plate 430 are an integrally formed structure with high structural strength and strong bearing capacity. In other embodiments, the first support plate 410, the second support plate 420 and the third support plate 430 can be a spliced ​​structure, and the first support plate 410, the second support plate 420 and the third support plate 430 are all configured as a retractable structure to adapt to control boxes 500 of different sizes and expand the scope of application.

[0050] Please refer to Figure 4 The unmanned forklift further includes a mounting seat 800 , the housing 510 is fixed to the mounting seat 800 , and the mounting seat 800 is connected to the bracket 400 .

[0051] Specifically, the mounting base 800 includes a bottom plate 810, a first side plate 820 and a second side plate 830 that are interconnected. The bottom plate 810, the first side plate 820 and the second side plate 830 form a receiving space 801. The shell 510 is located in the receiving space 801 and is connected to the first side plate 820 and the second side plate 830.

[0052] In some embodiments, the first side plate 820 and the second side plate 830 are both L-shaped. Taking the first side plate 820 as an example, the first side plate 820 includes a main plate 821 and a sub-plate 822. The main plate 821 and the sub-plate 822 are vertically connected, and the main plate 821 is connected to the bottom plate 810 to form a whole. The rear side of the shell 510 is connected to the main plate 821 by fasteners such as screws or bolts, and the angle of the shell 510 is located at the junction of the main plate 821 and the sub-plate 822, which can effectively protect the angle of the shell 510 and prevent the shell 510 from being damaged by collision when rotating. The second side plate 830 has a similar structure to the first side plate 820 and will not be described in detail here. In other embodiments, the first side plate 820 and the second side plate 830 can also be arc-shaped or U-shaped or other irregular shapes.

[0053] In some embodiments, the bottom plate 810, the first side plate 820 and the second side plate 830 are an integrally formed structure with good integrity and strong bearing capacity. In other embodiments, the bottom plate 810, the first side plate 820 and the second side plate 830 can also be a spliced ​​structure, which is easy to disassemble and assemble, and is conducive to resource reuse.

[0054] For further information, please refer to Figure 4 The above-mentioned unmanned forklift also includes a locking assembly 900. The first side plate 820 and / or the second side plate 830 are provided with a locking assembly 900. The locking assembly 900 is detachably connected to the bracket 400. The locking assembly 900 and the bracket 400 need to be unlocked before the shell 510 can be rotated to prevent the shell 510 from rotating at will and posing a safety hazard.

[0055] Specifically, the locking assembly 900 includes a locking seat 910 and a knob 920. In some embodiments, the locking seat is fixed to the first side plate 820 and / or the second side plate 830, and the knob 920 passes through the locking seat 910 and is threadedly connected to the bracket 400. In other embodiments, the locking assembly 900 can also be a buckle, and the housing 510 is detachably connected to the bracket 400 through the buckle.

[0056] In the above-mentioned unmanned forklift, the control member 520 is electrically connected to the controller, and can switch the controller to selectively enter the manual mode and the automatic mode; the shell 510 is rotatably connected to the bracket 400. When the unmanned forklift is switched from the automatic mode to the manual mode, an observation window 401 can be formed between the top of the bracket 400 and the shell 510, which will not block the operator's observation line of sight, and the operation safety is better; through the elastic damping member 700, the shell 510 can be rotated slowly to avoid collision caused by too fast rotation and damage to the control box 500.

[0057] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0058] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present invention, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that, for ordinary technicians in this field, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present invention shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. An unmanned forklift, characterized in that: include: Vehicle body; A driving mechanism, used for driving the vehicle body to move; A cargo fork connected to the vehicle body and used for supporting cargo; A bracket, mounted on the vehicle body; A visual recognition device, disposed on the support; and A control box, comprising a shell and a controller disposed in the shell, wherein the shell is provided with a control member, the control member is electrically connected to the controller and can switch the controller to selectively enter a manual mode and an automatic mode, when the controller is in the manual mode, the controller is used to receive a control instruction of the control member and control the drive mechanism to adjust the motion state of the vehicle body, when the controller is in the automatic mode, the controller is electrically connected to the visual recognition device and the drive mechanism, and the controller can control the drive mechanism to adjust the travel direction of the vehicle body according to the position information recognized by the visual recognition device; The shell is rotatably connected to the bracket so that an observation window is formed between the top of the bracket and the shell; the shell is installed on one side of the bracket, and the visual recognition device is installed on a side of the bracket away from the shell.

2. The unmanned forklift according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shell can rotate relative to the bracket between a first position and a second position. When the shell is in the first position, the shell is close to the top of the bracket to block the gap between the top of the bracket and the vehicle body. When the shell is in the second position, the shell is away from the top of the bracket and forms an observation window between the shell and the top of the bracket.

3. The unmanned forklift according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes an elastic damping member, one end of which is hinged to the bracket, and the other end of which is hinged to the shell.

4. The unmanned forklift according to claim 3, characterized in that: The elastic damping member includes a piston rod and a cylinder body, the piston rod is inserted in the cylinder body, one end of the cylinder body away from the piston rod is hinged to the bracket, and one end of the piston rod away from the cylinder body is hinged to the shell. When the shell rotates relative to the bracket, the controller can drive the piston rod to telescopic movement relative to the cylinder body.

5. The unmanned forklift according to claim 3, characterized in that: The bracket includes a first support plate, a second support plate and a third support plate, the second support plate and the third support plate are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the vehicle body, the first support plate is connected to the second support plate and the third support plate and spans across the vehicle body, and the shell is hinged to the second support plate and the third support plate through the elastic damping member.

6. The unmanned forklift according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a mounting base, which includes a bottom plate, a first side plate and a second side plate that are connected to each other, the first side plate and the second side plate are fixed to the bracket, the bottom plate, the first side plate and the second side plate form a accommodating space, and the shell is located in the accommodating space and connected to the first side plate and the second side plate.

7. The unmanned forklift according to claim 6, characterized in that: The first side panel and / or the second side panel include a main panel and a sub-panel, the main panel and the sub-panel are connected approximately vertically, the main panel and the bottom panel are connected to form a whole, the shell and the main panel are connected by fasteners, and the angle of the shell is located at the junction of the main panel and the sub-panel.

8. The unmanned forklift according to claim 6, characterized in that: It also includes a locking assembly, which is provided on the first side panel and / or the second side panel, and is detachably connected to the bracket.

9. The unmanned forklift according to claim 8, characterized in that: The locking assembly includes a locking seat and a knob. The locking seat is fixed to the first side plate and / or the second side plate. The knob passes through the locking seat, and the knob is threadedly connected to the bracket.

10. The unmanned forklift according to claim 1, characterized in that: The visual recognition device is embedded in the bracket and external light can enter the visual recognition device.

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