Control device, system and method for unmanned forklift

Abstract

The present invention relates to a control device, system and method for unmanned forklifts. The device includes: a control module, which is connected to a host computer for communication, and is used to receive an operation instruction sent by the host computer, and output a fork control signal according to the operation instruction; an output verification module, which is electrically connected to the control module, and is used to output a verification signal according to the fork control signal and the voltage and value required for the actual operation of the fork of the unmanned forklift; a fork drive circuit, which is respectively connected to the control module and the output verification module, and is used to receive the fork control signal and the verification signal, and drive the fork of the unmanned forklift to operate according to the fork control signal and the verification signal. The present application outputs a verification signal according to the actual operation of the forklift by setting an output verification module, so as to ensure that the two electrical signals received by the fork drive circuit meet the requirements of the original vehicle, and avoid the situation where the fork of the unmanned forklift cannot work due to the different operations of the unmanned forklift.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of robotics technology, and in particular to a control device, system and method for unmanned forklifts. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, influenced by external factors such as factory intelligence and rising labor costs, the traditional logistics work stage that relies on human transportation has gradually transformed from specialization to automation and intelligence. One of the most obvious manifestations is that the requirements for flexible automated equipment handling in factory internal logistics and logistics warehousing have increased rapidly. Among them, unmanned forklifts are also a very popular product at this stage.

[0003] The traditional method of controlling the forks of unmanned forklifts is that the forklift mainboard directly outputs two control signals with constant voltage and value to the forklift's fork driver, and the fork driver detects whether the sum of the control signals meets the original vehicle voltage and value. However, as the forklift operates differently (mainly due to different fork operation methods), the original vehicle voltage and value may fluctuate, but the sum of the two signals output by the forklift mainboard cannot fluctuate with the fluctuation of the original vehicle voltage and value, causing the forklift's fork driver to detect an erroneous input signal and stop working. Summary of the invention

[0004] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a control device, system and method for unmanned forklifts to address the above problems.

[0005] A control device for an unmanned forklift, the device comprising:

[0006] A control module is connected to the host computer for receiving an operation instruction sent by the host computer and outputting a fork control signal according to the operation instruction;

[0007] An output verification module, electrically connected to the control module, for outputting a verification signal according to the fork control signal and the voltage and value required for the actual operation of the fork of the unmanned forklift;

[0008] The fork driving circuit is connected to the control module and the output verification module respectively, and is used to receive the fork control signal and the verification signal, and drive the fork of the unmanned forklift to operate according to the fork control signal and the verification signal.

[0009] In one of the embodiments, the control module includes a control unit and an amplification unit;

[0010] The control unit is communicatively connected with the host computer, and is used to receive the operation instruction and output a fork control signal within a preset voltage range according to the operation instruction;

[0011] The amplifying unit is connected to the control unit, and is used for receiving the fork control signal, amplifying the fork control signal and then outputting it.

[0012] In one embodiment, the amplification unit includes an operational amplifier U1A; the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier U1A is connected to the output terminal of the control unit, the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier U1A is grounded through a resistor, and the output terminal of the operational amplifier U1A is connected to the first input terminal of the fork driving circuit.

[0013] In one embodiment, the output verification module includes an operational amplifier U1B, the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier U1B is connected to the output terminal of the operational amplifier U1A, the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier U1B receives the voltage and value required for the actual operation of the fork of the unmanned forklift, and the output terminal of the operational amplifier U1B is connected to the second input terminal of the fork drive circuit.

[0014] In one embodiment, the voltage range of the fork control signal is 0V-3.3V.

[0015] In one embodiment, the control unit adopts a STM32F1 series microcontroller.

[0016] Based on the same inventive concept, the present application also provides a control system applied to an unmanned forklift, comprising:

[0017] Host computer;

[0018] A control device for an unmanned forklift as described in any of the above; the control device for an unmanned forklift is communicatively connected to the host computer.

[0019] Based on the same inventive concept, the present application also provides a control method applied to an unmanned forklift, comprising:

[0020] Receive an operation instruction and output a fork control signal according to the operation instruction;

[0021] Output a calibration signal according to the fork control signal and the voltage and value required for the actual operation of the fork of the unmanned forklift;

[0022] The forks of the unmanned forklift are controlled to perform operations according to the control signal and the verification signal.

[0023] In one embodiment, the operation instruction includes any one of a fork lifting instruction, a fork forward and backward movement instruction, a fork left and right movement instruction, and a fork pitch instruction.

[0024] In one embodiment, when executing the fork lifting instruction, the voltage and value required for the unmanned forklift operation include any one of 4.8V, 4.9V or 5V.

[0025] The control device, system and method applied to the unmanned forklift above-mentioned output verification module is set to output a verification signal according to the actual operation of the forklift, so as to ensure that the two electrical signals received by the fork driving circuit meet the requirements of the original vehicle, and avoid the situation that the original vehicle voltage and value may fluctuate as the operation of the unmanned forklift is different, but the sum of the two signals output by the mainboard cannot fluctuate with the fluctuation of the original vehicle voltage and value, resulting in the fork driving circuit of the forklift detecting an erroneous input signal and stopping working. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a control device applied to an unmanned forklift in an embodiment;

[0027] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a control device applied to an unmanned forklift in another embodiment;

[0028] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a partial circuit principle of a control unit in an embodiment;

[0029] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of a part of the circuit principle of a control device applied to an unmanned forklift in one embodiment;

[0030] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of a control method applied to an unmanned forklift in one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] In order to facilitate the understanding of the present application, the present application will be described more fully below with reference to the relevant drawings. The preferred embodiments of the present application are given in the drawings. However, the present application 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 application more thoroughly and comprehensively understood.

[0032] 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.

[0033] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this application belongs. The terms used herein in the specification of this application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit this application.

[0034] Generally speaking, the main principle of unmanned forklifts is to improve the original manual control forklifts, usually by adding a main control board and cutting the main board into the original control system of the forklift ( Figure 5 The original vehicle handle in the forklift is removed, and the control system of the original forklift is shielded to realize the unmanned driving control of the forklift; the operations performed by the fork of the unmanned forklift include but are not limited to lifting operations, forward and backward movement operations, left and right movement operations and pitching operations; generally speaking, under normal circumstances, the voltage and value required by the fork for each operation are 5V, but because the lifting operation requires the goods to be lifted, if the lifting height and the weight of the goods exceed a certain level, the voltage and value output to the fork will fluctuate, which may become 4.8V or 4.9V. At this time, if only the control unit 110 outputs two voltages and a voltage of 5V to the fork, the fork driver will detect an error and stop working; based on this situation, the present application will provide a new control device for an unmanned forklift, which will be specifically reflected in subsequent embodiments.

[0035] See also Figure 1 , is a schematic diagram of the structure of a control device applied to an unmanned forklift in an embodiment. The control device applied to the unmanned forklift may include a control module 10, an output verification module 20 and a fork drive circuit 30; the control module 10 is connected to a host computer (not shown); in this specific embodiment, the control module 10 is mainly used to receive an operation instruction sent by the host computer and output a fork control signal according to the operation instruction; the output verification module 20 is electrically connected to the control module 10, and is used to output a verification signal according to the fork control signal and the voltage and value required for the actual operation of the fork of the unmanned forklift; the fork drive circuit 30 is connected to the control module 10 and the output verification module 20 respectively, and is used to receive the fork control signal and the verification signal, and drive the fork of the unmanned forklift to operate according to the fork control signal and the verification signal.

[0036] The control device applied to the unmanned forklift above outputs a verification signal according to the actual operation of the forklift by setting an output verification module, thereby ensuring that the two electrical signals received by the forklift drive circuit meet the requirements of the original vehicle, thereby avoiding the situation that the original vehicle voltage and value may fluctuate as the operation of the unmanned forklift is different, but the sum of the two signals output by the mainboard cannot fluctuate with the fluctuation of the original vehicle voltage and value, resulting in the forklift's fork drive circuit detecting an erroneous input signal and stopping working.

[0037] The above briefly describes the control device applied to the unmanned forklift of the present application. In order to enable those skilled in the art to have a deeper understanding of the technical solution of the present invention, its control principle is explained below in combination with the specific composition structure to describe the working process of the control device applied to the unmanned forklift of the present application.

[0038] Specifically, you can refer to Figure 2 , the control module 10 may include a control unit 110 and an amplification unit 120; the control unit 110 is connected to the host computer (not shown), specifically, the control module 10 and the host computer may be connected to each other by wire or by wireless; the control unit 110 is used to receive the operation instruction and output a fork control signal within a preset voltage range according to the operation instruction, that is, in this specific embodiment, the host computer is mainly used to send the operation instruction, specifically, the host computer may be a computer, a tablet computer, a smart mobile terminal, etc.; it can be understood that in order to implement In order to realize the automatic driving function of the unmanned forklift, the control unit 110 may also be integrated with algorithms related to automatic driving, such as common positioning algorithms, navigation algorithms, motion planning algorithms and mapping algorithms. Due to the operating characteristics of the forklift, the control unit 110 should also be equipped with an algorithm for controlling the movement of the fork of the forklift; optionally, the control unit 110 may adopt an STM32F1 series microcontroller, and the voltage range of the fork control signal outputted by the control unit 110 may be 0V-3.3V; the amplifying unit 120 is connected to the control unit 110, and is used to receive the fork control signal, and amplify the fork control signal and output it.

[0039] Further reference may be made to Figure 3 and Figure 4 The control unit 110 mainly includes a microprocessor chip U2, and the amplification unit 120 may include an operational amplifier U1A; the in-phase input terminal 2 of the operational amplifier U1A is connected to the output terminal of the control unit 110, the inverting input terminal 3 of the operational amplifier U1A is grounded through a resistor R121, and the output terminal 1 of the operational amplifier U1A is connected to the first input terminal ( Figure 4Specifically, in addition to the operational amplifier U1A, the amplifying unit 120 also includes a resistor R101, a resistor R111, a resistor R131, a resistor R141, a capacitor C101, a capacitor C111 and a capacitor C121, wherein the resistance value of the resistor R101 can be 30K, the resistance value of the resistor R111 can be 50K, the resistance value of the resistor R131 can be 50K, the resistance value of the resistor R141 can be 2K, and the resistor R141 plays a current limiting role. It can be understood that the connection relationship between the various components of the amplifying unit 120 in this specific embodiment can be referred to. Figure 4 , which will not be further elaborated here.

[0040] For further information, please refer to Figure 4 , the output check module 20 may include an operational amplifier U1B, the inverting input terminal 6 of the operational amplifier U1B is connected to the output terminal 1 of the operational amplifier U1A, specifically, the inverting input terminal 6 of the operational amplifier U1B is connected to the output terminal 1 of the operational amplifier U1A through a resistor R171; the non-inverting input terminal 5 of the operational amplifier U1B receives the required voltage and value V-Sum-1 of the actual operation of the fork of the unmanned forklift, specifically, the required voltage and value V-Sum-1 of the actual operation of the fork of the unmanned forklift is transmitted to the non-inverting input terminal 5 of the operational amplifier U1B through a resistor R151; the output terminal 7 of the operational amplifier U1B is connected to the second input terminal ( Figure 4 Generally speaking, under normal circumstances, the voltage and value required by the fork for each operation are 5V. However, since the lifting operation requires the goods to be lifted, if the height and weight of the goods exceed a certain level, the voltage and value output to the fork will fluctuate, which may become 4.8V or 4.9V. Therefore, in this specific embodiment, the voltage and value V-Sum-1 transmitted to the non-inverting input terminal 5 of the operational amplifier U1B may be 4.8V, 4.9V, or still 5V.

[0041] Furthermore, in addition to the operational amplifier U1B, the output verification module 20 may also include a resistor R161, a resistor R181, a resistor R191, a capacitor C101, a capacitor C131 and a diode D101, wherein the resistance value of the resistor R161 may be 10K, the resistance value of the resistor R181 may be 10K, the resistance value of the resistor R191 may be 2K, and the resistor R191 plays a current limiting role. The operational amplifier U1B and the operational amplifier U1A may use the same type of chip, such as TLE2072IDR. It can be understood that the connection relationship between the components of the output verification module 20 in this specific embodiment can be referred to. Figure 4 , which will not be further elaborated here.

[0042] In order to describe the solution of this application in more detail, the following Figure 3 and Figure 4 The specific circuit diagram illustrates the working principle of the control device part of this application.

[0043] First, the control unit 110 outputs a 0V-3.3V analog control signal DAC_OUT1, which becomes DAC_OUT1O after passing through the RC network composed of resistor R2 and capacitor C7. DAC_OUT1O is given to the non-inverting input terminal 3 of the operational amplifier U1A after passing through resistor R101. At the same time, the inverting input terminal 2 of the operational amplifier U1A is grounded through resistor R121. The input DAC_OUT1O signal is boosted by the operational amplifier U1A and current limited by resistor R141, and then becomes signal DA_1 and is output to the fork driving circuit 30; at the same time, DA_1 is introduced into the inverting input terminal 6 of the operational amplifier U1B after passing through resistor R171, and the original vehicle voltage sum value V-Sum-1 is introduced into the non-inverting input terminal 5 of the operational amplifier U1B after passing through resistor R151. At this time, a difference DA_Sub_1 will be obtained at the output terminal of the operational amplifier U1B. The signals DA_1 and DA_Sub_1 are simultaneously output to the fork driving circuit 30 of the forklift to control the movement of the fork.

[0044] Based on the same inventive concept, the present application also provides a control system for unmanned forklifts, the control system may include a host computer (not shown) and any of the aforementioned control devices for unmanned forklifts; the control device for unmanned forklifts is connected to the host computer in communication, and the control device and the host computer may be connected in communication via a wired manner or wirelessly; the host computer provides a platform for controlling the forklift, and the user may send some control instructions (including but not limited to motion control instructions, fork lifting instructions, fork forward and backward movement instructions, fork left and right movement instructions, and fork pitch instructions) to the control device through the host computer, thereby realizing remote unmanned control of the forklift, and at the same time, the host computer may also display the real-time status of the forklift to the user through a screen and / or LED. In addition, the relevant description of the control device for unmanned forklifts and its beneficial effects can refer to the aforementioned embodiments, and will not be further elaborated here.

[0045] Based on the same inventive concept, the present application also provides a control method for an unmanned forklift, which can be used as an auxiliary reference. Figure 5 , the control method may include steps S410-S430.

[0046] Step S410, receiving an operation instruction and outputting a fork control signal according to the operation instruction.

[0047] Specifically, the operation instruction includes any one of a fork lifting instruction, a fork forward and backward movement instruction, a fork left and right movement instruction, and a fork pitch instruction. Optionally, when executing the fork lifting instruction, the voltage and value required for the unmanned forklift operation includes any one of 4.8V, 4.9V or 5V.

[0048] Step S420, outputting a verification signal according to the fork control signal and the voltage and value required for the actual operation of the fork of the unmanned forklift.

[0049] Step S430: Control the forks of the unmanned forklift to operate according to the control signal and the verification signal.

[0050] The control method applied to the unmanned forklift can ensure that the two electrical signals received by the fork drive circuit meet the requirements of the original vehicle by outputting a verification signal according to the actual operation of the forklift after receiving the fork control signal, thereby avoiding the situation that the original vehicle voltage and value may fluctuate as the operation of the unmanned forklift is different, but the sum of the two signals output by the mainboard cannot fluctuate with the fluctuation of the original vehicle voltage and value, resulting in the fork drive circuit of the forklift detecting an erroneous input signal and stopping working.

[0051] 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.

[0052] 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. A control device for an unmanned forklift, characterized in that: The device comprises: A control module is connected to the host computer for receiving an operation instruction sent by the host computer and outputting a fork control signal according to the operation instruction; An output verification module, electrically connected to the control module, for outputting a verification signal according to the fork control signal and the voltage and value required for the actual operation of the fork of the unmanned forklift; a fork driving circuit, connected to the control module and the output verification module respectively, for receiving the fork control signal and the verification signal, and driving the fork of the unmanned forklift to operate according to the fork control signal and the verification signal; The verification signal is the difference between the voltage and value required for the actual operation of the fork of the unmanned forklift and the fork control signal.

2. The control device for an unmanned forklift according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control module includes a control unit and an amplification unit; The control unit is communicatively connected with the host computer, and is used to receive the operation instruction and output a fork control signal within a preset voltage range according to the operation instruction; The amplifying unit is connected to the control unit, and is used for receiving the fork control signal, amplifying the fork control signal and then outputting it.

3. The control device for an unmanned forklift according to claim 2, characterized in that: The amplification unit includes an operational amplifier U1A; the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier U1A is connected to the output terminal of the control unit, the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier U1A is grounded through a resistor, and the output terminal of the operational amplifier U1A is connected to the first input terminal of the fork driving circuit.

4. The control device for an unmanned forklift according to claim 3, characterized in that: The output verification module includes an operational amplifier U1B, the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier U1B is connected to the output terminal of the operational amplifier U1A, the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier U1B receives the voltage and value required for the actual operation of the fork of the unmanned forklift, and the output terminal of the operational amplifier U1B is connected to the second input terminal of the fork drive circuit.

5. The control device for an unmanned forklift according to claim 2, characterized in that: The voltage range of the fork control signal is 0V-3.3V.

6. The control device for an unmanned forklift according to claim 2, characterized in that: The control unit adopts an STM32F1 series microcontroller.

7. A control system for an unmanned forklift, characterized in that: include: Host computer; A control device for an unmanned forklift according to any one of claims 1 to 6; the control device for an unmanned forklift is communicatively connected to the host computer.

8. A control method applied to an unmanned forklift, characterized in that: include: Receive an operation instruction and output a fork control signal according to the operation instruction; Output a calibration signal according to the fork control signal and the voltage and value required for the actual operation of the fork of the unmanned forklift; Controlling the fork of the unmanned forklift to operate according to the control signal and the verification signal; The verification signal is the difference between the voltage and value required for the actual operation of the fork of the unmanned forklift and the fork control signal.

9. The control method for an unmanned forklift according to claim 8, characterized in that: The operation instruction includes any one of a fork lifting instruction, a fork forward and backward movement instruction, a fork left and right movement instruction and a fork pitch instruction.

10. The control method for an unmanned forklift according to claim 9, characterized in that: When executing the fork lifting instruction, the voltage and value required for the unmanned forklift operation include any one of 4.8V, 4.9V or 5V.

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